jason preston

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It’s time to close out 2025 with The Times’ All-Star football package.

It’s awards time

Trent Mosley of Santa Margarita holds the CIF state championship Open Division trophy after beating De La Salle.

(Craig Weston)

The unanimous player of the year is Trent Mosley of Santa Margarita. During the postseason, he was unstoppable as a receiver and wildcat quarterback. The Eagles smartly decided he needed to get as many targets and opportunities as possible to turn short passes into long gainers, and he delivered in spectacular fashion. All the people who declined to make him one of their “five-star prospects” perhaps because of his size or a misunderstanding of how fast he is might want to reconsider now that he’s headed to USC and ready to be an impact player. Here’s the profile.

Luke Fahey of Mission Viejo.

(Craig Weston)

The back of the year is Luke Fahey of Mission Viejo. Ohio State is getting its next top quarterback. Accurate with a strong arm and great leadership skills, Fahey set an example of how you can reach the top while waiting your turn. He didn’t become the full-time starter until his senior season for the good of the team. He became a Mission Viejo legend. Here’s the profile.

Braiden McKenna of Los Alamitos, left, opens a hole against Cathedral Catholic.

(Craig Weston)

The lineman of the year is Braiden McKenna of Los Alamitos. Playing center, he helped ignite a ground game that produced two 1,000-yard rushers and a Southern Section Division 2 championship. Here’s the profile.

Los Alamitos football coach Ray Fenton stands with his players during an Alpha League opener at SoFi Stadium.

(Craig Weston)

The coach of the year is Ray Fenton of Los Alamitos. He took an underrated team and guided them to a Division 2 championship without transfers and lots of best friends uniting. Here’s the profile.

Here’s a look at the 22-person Times All-Star team.

Here’s the final top 25 rankings by The Times.

Here’s the complete package.

With finals taking place or finished, get ready for the transfer portal to open for high school football players looking for new schools for the spring semester.

There have been lots of rumors about players coming to Santa Margarita to play for coach Carson Palmer after the Eagles won the Division 1 title in his rookie season. Mater Dei has had two lackluster freshman classes the last two years, so if the Monarchs intend to keep up in the Trinity League, look for new players checking in.

Mission Viejo has an opening at quarterback, so keep watch who ends up there. Will JSerra players stick around for a new coach or switch to another Trinity League team.

St. John Bosco has lots of returning players, including two promising quarterbacks who will be juniors. It will be a surprise in today’s environment if both stay. The Braves are expected to get a top defensive back/receiver in the coming days. Sierra Canyon has plenty of back-ups expected to move into starting roles, but it’s been the same problem in recent years for the Trailblazers: Average play at quarterback against the best teams doesn’t get you to be one of the top two teams.

In the City Section, Carson won its 12th championship and gets to build the likely City player of the year, quarterback Chris Fields III. Will Crenshaw continue its rise? Will Birmingham start a new winning streak against City teams? What will happen to coach Robert Garrett, who didn’t get to coach this season at Crenshaw while on administrative leave with no end date in sight. All he does is check in from home waiting for a long and confusing Los Angeles Unified School District investigative process to play out despite reaching 300 career victories.

New coaches at JSerra, Bishop Alemany, St. Francis, Bishop Montgomery, Oaks Christian and St. Paul will offer a glimpse about what direction those private school programs want to take.

JSerra makes historic hire

Finally, a Trinity League school said yes.

Hardy Nickerson of the Chicago Bears poses for his 2007 NFL headshot at photo day in Chicago. He’s the new head coach at JSerra.

(Getty Images / Getty Images)

Hardy Nickerson, a Verbum Dei grad who was an All-Pro linebacker and coached in the NFL, college and high school ranks, was hired by JSerra as its new football coach, becoming the first Black head football coach in the Trinity League since it was formed in 2006. Here’s the report.

This is a story from 2021 about the lack of Black head coaches in the league.

There’s been excuses in the past, from lack of fit, to lack of coaching experiences to lack of school ties. Nickerson earned this chance based on years of qualifications and coaching at every level, from youth to high school to college to the NFL.

There’s no guarantee of success, however, in a league in which the other five schools have invested lots of money and hard work trying to be successful. There’s an expectation coaching in the league you get about three years and are gone without progress.

Nickerson will face the same challenges as his predecessor, former Azusa Pacific coach Victor Santa Cruz, who came in with strong qualifications but was pushed out following a 3-7 season.

If Nickerson succeeds, it can pave the way for other Black head coaches to get a chance to be a coach at a top private school. It has happened in basketball, but football has been way behind.

Basketball

It’s freedom day for high school basketball players who transferred without moving and have been sitting out the first month of the season. They’re getting the best Christmas present of all — eligibility on Friday.

Many teams will undergo changes that could lead to much-improved performances. Sierra Canyon, Chaminade, Mater Dei, Loyola, Crespi, Arcadia and Pasadena are among the schools getting stronger. Among girls, Etiwanda and Corona Centennial will be getting new players.

Crespi is getting 6-foot-9 junior Rodney Mukendi, which will add much-needed rebounding and a rim protector.

Ontario Christian’s girls’ basketball team has won 14 straight games to start the season. Etiwanda is 7-1. The inevitable meeting between the two should happen in the postseason.

The day after Christmas is always one of the busiest basketball days of the season with tournaments galore. The Classic at Damien leads the tournament action. The fact that sit-out period players become eligible on Dec. 26 will make for interesting matchups and possible surprises.

On Monday in Las Vegas, there will be some great matchups at the Tarkanian Classic, including Redondo Union vs. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, San Gabriel Academy vs. La Mirada and Santa Margarita vs. Utah Timpview.

Here’s this week’s top 25 boys basketball rankings by The Times.

Here’s this week’s top 10 City Section boys basketball rankings by The Times.

Baseball/softball

St. John Bosco closer Jack Champlin

It’s not too early to start speculating which teams will challenge defending Division 1 champion St. John Bosco for No. 1 this season. The Braves are loaded with quality returnees, from twins James and Miles Clark to star closer Jack Champlin.

There are at least seven other schools gearing up to make a title run, including JSerra, Orange Lutheran, Huntington Beach, Santa Margarita, Harvard-Westlake, Cypress, Corona and Norco.

Among the elite players, JSerra outfielder Blake Bowen is being mentioned as a possible first-round draft pick. Trey Ebel of Corona is hoping to follow brother Brady as a high pick. Norco has two of the best underclassmen in sophomore pitcher Jordan Ayala and junior shortstop Dylan Seward. Huntington Beach has the best hitter/pitcher in junior Jared Grindlinger. Santa Margarita returns Brody Schumaker, who is switching from second base to shortstop. Harvard-Westlake welcomes a group of off-the-chart freshmen, led by El Segundo Little League World Series hero Louis Lappe.

In softball, Norco looks strong but JSerra has pitching and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame made a big move last season to be a contender with lots of youth.

Notes

Point guard Ryan Gov from Cypress has committed to Azusa Pacifica …

Mark Holman has resigned as football coach at San Dimas …

Mike Moschetti has resigned as football coach at St. Paul …

Former Campbell Hall football coach Dennis Keyes is the new football coach at Bishop Alemany. He was the defensive coordinator at Chaminade this past season and was an All-City player at Birmingham and starting defensive back at UCLA …

Baseball player Malachi Wobrock of Hart has committed to MIT.

From the archives: Colby Parkinson

Oaks Christian tight end Colby Parkinson during his playing days with the Lions.

(Los Angeles Times)

Former Oaks Christian tight end Colby Parkinson, 26, continues to demonstrate as a key player for the Rams why almost everyone was projecting him to be an NFL player since his high school days when he was a three-sport athlete.

Here’s a story from 2016 looking at his blossoming skills as a tight end in high school.

Here’s a story from 2024 on Parkinson signing with the Rams to come home.

Recommendations

From the Washington Post, a story on two high school basketball siblings who are five-star players.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

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Prep Rally will be on hiatus next week before returning Jan. 6.

From Sam Farmer: The Chargers are under the radar and over the moon.

They are methodically compiling victories — the latest, Sunday’s 34-17 thumping of the Dallas Cowboys — and perfectly content on the fringes of the national spotlight.

Lots of people wrote them off when those offensive linemen started falling like tall timber, yet the Chargers have found ways to win in spite of that. Seven times in eight games they have walked away victorious, keeping them in the running for the top seed in the AFC.

“We’re not worried about the outside noise,” said edge rusher Khalil Mack, part of a defense that has pitched second-half shutouts two weeks in a row. “Not getting too high, not getting too low. Staying even-keeled and trying to stack wins.”

Despite all that success, the Chargers (11-4) had yet to cement a spot in the postseason by the time they boarded the bus from AT&T Stadium to the airport. They needed a loss or tie by Houston — which beat Las Vegas later Sunday — or by Indianapolis, playing host to San Francisco on Monday night.

As for the Cowboys (6-8), they were eliminated from playoff contention the week before. They were playing for pride and had the NFL’s No. 1 offense, which showed up with Dak Prescott touchdown passes in the first two quarters.

But the quarterback of note in this game was Justin Herbert, who threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns and plunged across the goal line for another score. He also had a 34-yard scramble up the middle, the longest of the game, which ended with a violent collision that had him prone and wincing for a moment.

Continue reading here

Chargers-Cowboys summary

NFL scores

NFL standings

Lakers want consistency on technical calls

Clippers forward John Collins hangs on to the rim after dunking in front of Lakers guard Marcus Smart (36), guard Luka Doncic (77) and center Jaxson Hayes (11) on Saturday at Intuit Dome.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The only thing left for JJ Redick to do was joke about it. What else could be said after the Lakers made just six of 38 three-pointers in a 103-88 loss to the Clippers on Saturday?

“I was proud that we improved from three [after starting] four for 33,” the coach deadpanned. “So we got better as the game progressed.”

With four starters out because of injuries, the Lakers’ ice cold shooting doomed them to a season low in points. Star guard Luka Doncic left the game with 12 points at halftime after a left leg contusion sustained in the first half. Redick noticed the NBA’s leading scorer limping on the court during the second quarter. Fellow starters Austin Reaves (calf), Deandre Ayton (elbow) and Rui Hachimura (groin) already were sidelined as well as key reserve Gabe Vincent (back).

It left them with just one starter in LeBron James, who had 36 points, four rebounds and three assists as the Lakers (19-8) fell behind by 22 but cut the deficit to seven in the fourth quarter before fading again.

Continue reading here

NBA scores

NBA standings

USC men dominate against UC Santa Cruz

USC center Gabe Dynes dunks during a 102-63 win over the UC Santa Cruz at Galen Center on Sunday. Dynes finished with 16 points.

(John McGillen / USC Athletics)

From Ryan Kartje: The call came Monday morning, just six days before USC was slated to play its final nonconference contest. In light of the deadly shooting on Brown’s campus, its men’s basketball team wouldn’t make the trip west. If coach Eric Musselman hoped to test his Trojans again before the new year, he and his USC staff had less than 24 hours to find a replacement.

Which is how USC found itself facing UC Santa Cruz, a 6-6 Division III team with losses to Chapman, Redlands and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, on Sunday. USC had no trouble overwhelming the Banana Slugs in a 102-63 victory. But given the scrambling it took to schedule Santa Cruz, no one was complaining about the seamless victory heading into the Trojans’ winter break.

Musselman, who notched his 250th career win, initially hoped that USC could find a D-1 program to take Brown’s place. But rules limiting the amount of regular-season games a D-1 program can play narrowed that list considerably. It left USC’s coaches counting by hand to decide which teams would fit.

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USC-UC Santa Cruz box score

NCAA men’s basketball scores

Jazzy Davidson powers USC past Cal

USC’s Jazzy Davidson controls the ball in front of California’s Mjracle Sheppard during the first half Sunday at Chase Center.

(Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)

From the Associated Press: Freshman Jazzy Davidson scored a go-ahead layup with 4:05 remaining and finished with a season-best 24 points, leading the No. 19 USC women past California 61-57 on Sunday in the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic.

After Davidson’s basket, Londynn Jones hit a jumper the next time down as USC used a 6-0 burst to take control. The Trojans answered each Cal threat with a key defensive play or big basket.

Cal called time out with 43.8 seconds left and trailing 56-54, but as the Golden Bears tried to set up a play, USC’s Kennedy Smith made a steal of Sakima Walker’s bad pass.

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USC-California box score

NCAA women’s basketball scores

Santa Anita postpones opening races

From Jay Posner: After days of deliberation and faced with a forecast getting soggier by the day, Santa Anita officials have decided to postpone opening day of the 2025-26 race meeting from Friday until Sunday, Dec. 28.

It’s just the second time since 1976 that Santa Anita will not open on the day after Christmas. The other time was in 2019 for the same reason: wet weather. More than eight inches of rain are projected to fall between Tuesday night and Friday at Santa Anita.

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Should Angels fans cheer for Dodgers?

Angels star Mike Trout signs autographs for fans before a game against the Minnesota Twins at Angel Stadium on Sept. 8.

(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)

From columnist Bill Shaikin: Christmas is three days away, and you’re running out of time to get a gift for the Angels fan in your life. How about a Dodgers cap?

If ever a winter posed a loyalty test, this one could. The Dodgers spent $69 million on Edwin Díaz, the best closer available in free agency, and another $2 million in championship parade costs. The Angels spent $2 million on a closer who put up an 8.23 earned-run average last season.

Next year the Dodgers will try to become the first National League team to win three consecutive World Series. The Angels will try to end baseball’s longest postseason drought at 11 years, still without much of a plan beyond rushing first-round draft picks to the major leagues while treading the financial waters until Anthony Rendon’s contract runs out.

On Sunday they missed out on Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, who signed with the 102-loss Chicago White Sox. Of the Angels’ five acquisitions this winter, three did not play in the majors last season, and not because they are up-and-coming prospects.

Continue reading here

Author and journalist Shea Serrano’s new book, “Expensive Basketball,” is a New York Times bestseller that highlights unique, breakthrough moments in NBA history.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

From Gustavo Arellano: When Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy this weekend with another Latino finalist looking on from the crowd, the Cuban-American quarterback did more than just become the first Indiana Hoosier to win college football’s top prize, and only the third Latino to do so. He also subtly offered a radical statement: Latinos don’t just belong in this country, they’re essential.

At a time when questions swirl around this country‘s largest minority group that cast us in a demeaning, tokenized light — how could so many of us vote for Trump in 2024? Why don’t we assimilate faster? Why does Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh think it’s OK for immigration agents to racially profile us? — the fact that two of the best college football players in the country this year were Latino quarterbacks didn’t draw the headlines they would’ve a generation ago. That’s because we now live in an era where Latinos are part of the fabric of sports in the United States like never before.

That’s the untold thesis of four great books I read this year. Each is anchored in Latino pride but treat their subjects not just as sport curios and pioneers but great athletes who were and are fundamental not just to their professions and community but society at large.

Continue reading here

NHL

Scores

Standings

This day in sports history

1894 — The United States Golf Association is founded, becoming the governing body for the game in the country.

1915 — The Federal League folds. Owners of the American and National Leagues buy out half of the owners (Pittsburgh, Newark, Buffalo, and Brooklyn) of the Federal League teams. Phil Ball, owner of the St. Louis Terriers, is allowed to buy the St. Louis Browns of the AL, and Charles Weeghman, owner of the Chicago Whales, buys out the Chicago Cubs of the NL.

1924 — Babe Dye of the Toronto St. Patricks scores five goals in a 10-2 victory over the Boston Bruins.

1946 — The Cleveland Browns beat the New York Yankees 14-9 in the first AAFC championship game.

1969 — Pete Maravich sets an NCAA record by hitting 30 of 31 foul shots, and scores 46 points to lead LSU to a 98-89 victory over Georgia.

1974 — Boston’s Phil Esposito scores two goals, including his 500th goal, to lead the Bruins to a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Boston Garden.

1990 — Paul Coffey becomes the second NHL defenseman to record 1000 points. Coffey reaches the milestone with an assist on Kevin Stevens’ goal in second-period of a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders.

1996 — Brett Hull becomes the 24th player in NHL history to score 500 goals, with a hat trick in the St. Louis Blues’ 7-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Brett and his father, Bobby Hull, are the first father-son tandem to each score 500 goals.

2003 — Brett Favre passes for 399 yards and four touchdowns a day after his father dies, moving into second place in NFL history for career TD passes while leading the Green Bay Packers to a 41-7 victory over the Oakland Raiders. Favre passes Fran Tarkenton on the NFL’s career list with his 343rd career TD throw.

2005 — Reggie Campbell of Navy ties the NCAA bowl record with five touchdowns and had 290 all-purpose yards, leading the Midshipmen to a 51-30 win over Colorado State in the Poinsettia Bowl.

2006 — Peter Bondra scores his 500th NHL goal early in the third period to snap a 1-all tie and lead Chicago past Toronto 3-1.

2007 — Eathyn Manumaleuna blocks a field goal as time expires to give BYU a 17-16 victory over UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl.

2009 — Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh becomes the first defensive player voted The Associated Press College Football Player of the Year, winning the award after his dominant performance against Texas in the Big 12 title game.

2013 — Peyton Manning finishes 32 for 51 for 400 yards and four touchdown passes to set the single season touchdown mark in Denver’s 37-13 win over Houston. Manning, with 51 touchdown passes, passes Tom Brady (50 in 2007) for the most in a single season in NFL history.

2013 — Tom Brady leads the Patriots to a 41-7 win at Baltimore as New England clinches the AFC East. It’s the 11th division title for Brady, the most by a starting quarterback in NFL history.

2016 — Matt Linehan throws for 381 yards and four touchdowns and runs for a another score to help Idaho beat Colorado State 61-50 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. It’s the third-highest scoring game in bowl history. Idaho (9-4) matches its highest victory total since moving to FBS in 1996.

2020 — Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi scores his 644th goal for FC Barcelona during 3-0 win over Real Valladolid to break Pele’s record for most goals for one club; Pele, 643 goals for Santos 1956-74.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

From Gary Klein: Short week, strange and bad trip.

It started with Rams star receiver Puka Nacua ripping NFL referees and making an antisemetic gesture on a livestream.

It ended with an epic fourth-quarter collapse.

And a potentially catastrophic fall from the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

The Rams were on the verge of enduring a quick turnaround, a distracting controversy, and a flight delay but they could not hold on to the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

The Rams’ 38-37 overtime defeat by the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night at Lumen Field continued a cascade of ill-timed news for coach Sean McVay and a team regarded as a Super Bowl contender.

The Rams’ record fell to 11-4. The Seahawks displaced them atop the NFC West. And the road to home-field advantage for the playoffs now includes some major roadblocks.

Thank the Rams defense: It forced three turnovers but blew a 16-point fourth-quarter lead.

“This one’s a tough one right there,” coach Sean McVay said of the loss. “Never seen anything like some of the things that occurred.”

McVay was referencing a two-point conversion attempt by the Seahawks in the fourth quarter, which was initially ruled an incomplete pass that left the Rams with a 30-28 lead.

Continue reading here

Rams summary

NFL standings

————

From Gary Klein: As the Rams prepared for their game on Thursday night against the Seattle Seahawks, star receiver Puka Nacua, the Rams and the NFL issued statements related to Nacua performing a gesture “antisemitic in nature” during a livestream.

In a post on Instagram, Nacua apologized for the gesture he made while appearing on a livestream with Adin Ross and N3on. The livestreamers, with Nacua out of earshot, discussed whether Nacua would get in trouble if he performed a move that references an offensive stereotype about Jewish people. Ross is Jewish, but he often performs the move and teaches others how to do it in his livestreams.

They suggested Nacua perform the gesture the next time he celebrated after scoring a touchdown.

“At the time, I had no idea this act was antisemetic in nature and perpetuated hateful stereotypes against Jewish people,” Nacua wrote in his post. “I deeply apologize to anyone who was offended by my actions as I do not stand for any form of racism, bigotry or hate of another group of people.”

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NFL Week 16 picks: Rams defeat Seahawks; Broncos edge Jaguars

Lakers win high-scoring game

From Broderick Turner: When Brice Sensabaugh drilled a wide-open three pointer in the third quarter, Lakers coach JJ Redick quickly called a timeout and began to gesture with both hands toward his players, clearly showing his displeasure with their defense.

The Lakers responded.

They especially picked up their defensive intensity for an important spurt in the fourth quarter, slowing down the Utah Jazz and in the process the Lakers’ offense took off, the two converging at the right time to push them to a 143-135 win Thursday night at the Delta Center.

“Obviously we know this Utah team can score points at a very high rate, but it was very imperative that we got stops,” said LeBron James, who had another productive night with 28 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. “We had to get stops to start that fourth and then it allowed our offense to click.”

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Lakers box score

NBA standings

Clippers lose again

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points before resting in the fourth quarter, and the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back from a rare loss to beat the Clippers 122-101 on Thursday night.

The Thunder lost to the San Antonio Spurs last Saturday for just their second defeat of the season, ending their team-record, 16-game win streak. They recovered on Thursday after some much-needed rest and improved to 25-2 overall and 13-0 at home.

Gilgeous-Alexander made 13 of 24 shots and had seven rebounds and six assists. It was his 98th consecutive game with at least 20 points, adding to the second-longest streak in NBA history.

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Clippers box score

NBA standings

Londynn Jones has career game for USC

From Antony Solorzano: It was a game to remember for Londynn Jones. She played with confidence and showed her dribbling skills and displaying her all-around skills as she finished the game with a career-high 28 points in the USC women’s basketball team’s 86-39 win over Cal Poly on Thursday night at Galen Center.

In the first part of the game, Jones was perfect on offense while aggressively defending every time the Mustangs had the ball. When Cal Poly attacked, she came up with steals and completed the play with a field goal, sometimes even adding one more point on a foul.

“I’m just happy we’re figuring it out, starting to finally put the pieces together,” she said. “I know that’s something we’ve been emphasizing in practice, just watching films and putting the pieces together.”

Continue reading here

USC box score

Big Ten standings

————

From Ryan Kartje: With three key players out because of injury and USC in desperate need of depth, the Trojans are taking the rare step of adding reinforcements at the midseason mark.

Point guard Kam Woods, who last played at Robert Morris, was added to the Trojans’ roster and cleared to play on Thursday, despite the fact that USC is already a dozen games into the basketball season.

Woods could make an immediate impact for coach Eric Musselman, having averaged 14.9 points, 5.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game last year at Robert Morris, where he played alongside current Trojan, Amarion Dickerson. Woods is expected to step into the rotation right away with USC, after the Trojans lost starting point guard Rodney Rice for the season.

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Greg Biffle dies

A business jet crashed Thursday while trying to return to a North Carolina airport shortly after takeoff, killing all seven people aboard, including retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family, authorities said.

The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground. It had departed Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles north of Charlotte, but soon crashed while trying to return and land, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.

The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known, nor was the reason for the plane’s return to the airport in drizzle and cloudy conditions.

Biffle was on the plane with his wife, Cristina, and children Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, according to the highway patrol and a family statement. Others on the plane were identified as Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth.

Biffle, 55, won more than 50 races across NASCAR’s three circuits, including 19 at the Cup Series level. He also won the Trucks Series championship in 2000 and the Xfinity Series title in 2002.

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Snowboarding in Australia?

From Kevin Baxter: Growing up just outside Melbourne, Australia, Scotty James was more likely to spot the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot as he was to spot snow. For him, the Winter Olympics seemed about as accessible as Mars.

“It is very unique, being an Australian in winter sports,” he said. “We’re very few and far between.”

Unique, but not impossible. Because if he qualifies for February’s Milano-Cortina Olympics, as expected, James will become the first Australian man to represent the country in five separate Winter Olympics. If he reaches the podium in the men’s halfpipe, his specialty, he will become the most decorated winter Olympian in Australian history with three medals.

Yet it almost didn’t happen. If his father Phil, a passionate snowboarder, hadn’t talked a Vancouver ski-shop worker into selling 3-year-old Scotty a miniature display board during a family vacation to Canada decades ago, James still might be watching the Winter Olympics on TV.

Continue reading here

Kings end winless streak

Adrian Kempe scored twice in the second period, and the Kings beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Thursday night.

Anton Forsberg stopped 31 shots to help the Kings snap a four-game skid (0-2-2) and get just their third win in nine games (3-4-2).

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored for the Lightning and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 18 saves. Tampa Bay has lost three straight (0-2-1) and seven of its last nine (2-6-1).

Continue reading here

Kings summary

NHL standings

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1913 — Heavyweight champion Jack Johnson fights to a 10-round draw with Battling Jim Johnson in Paris.

1917 — The NHL begins play. Joe Malone of the Montreal Canadiens scores five goals in a 9-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Harry Hyland of the Montreal Wanderers scores five goals in a 10-9 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

1943 — Harry Lumley, at 17 years and 38 days old, becomes the youngest goaltender in NHL history when he plays for the Detroit Red Wings in a 6-2 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

1948 — The Cleveland Browns complete an undefeated season beating the Buffalo Bills 49-7 in AAFC championship game.

1948 — The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Chicago Cardinals 7-0 in a major snowstorm for the NFL title. Philadelphia’s Bucko Kilroy recovers a fumble on the 17-yard line in the fourth period, and Steve Van Buren later scores from the 5.

1976 — The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Colts 40-14 in an AFC playoff game. Ten minutes after the game, Donald Kroner, a former charter pilot, crashes a rented, low-wing, Piper Cherokee into the upper deck of Memorial Stadium. No one is seriously hurt as most of the capacity crowd of 60,020 left the one-sided contest early or were heading down the exit ramps.

1987 — Boston and St. Louis combine for the fastest two goals in NHL history. Ken Linseman puts the Bruins ahead 6-5 with 10 seconds left in the third period. Doug Gilmour of Boston wins the faceoff and shoots the puck into an empty net two seconds later to wrap up a 7-5 win over the Blues at Boston Garden.

1990 — Los Angeles Raiders running back Bo Jackson is named to the AFC team, as a reserve, becoming the first athlete chosen for All-Star games in two sports.

2001 — Marshall, led by Byron Leftwich, comes back from a 38-8 halftime deficit to beat East Carolina 64-61 in double-overtime in the GMAC Bowl for the highest scoring bowl game in history.

2007 — New York Islanders forward Chris Simon is banned for 30 games, drawing the longest suspension in NHL history again. Simon’s latest infraction was stepping on Pittsburgh’s Jarkko Ruutu with his skate during a Dec. 15 game. This is the seventh suspension of Simon’s career.

2009 — Michael Phelps helps his American team trounce a group of European all-stars in the Duel in the Pool, anchoring a relay to one of the eight world records the U.S. sets over the two-day meet in Manchester, England.

2010 — Philadelphia’s DeSean Jackson returns a punt 65 yards for a touchdown as time expires in the Eagles’ 38-31 comeback win at the New York Giants. It’s the only game-winning punt-return touchdown in NFL history as the Eagles come back from a 31-10 fourth-quarter deficit. It marks the ninth time in NFL history in which a team trailed by at least 21 points in the fourth quarter and wins the game.

2010 — The Detroit Lions stop their record road skid at 26 games with a 23-20 overtime win at Tampa Bay. It’s the first road win since Oct. 28, 2007, when they beat the Bears 16-7 at Chicago.

2017 — Freshman Trae Young has 26 points and ties an NCAA Division I record with 22 assists as No. 17 Oklahoma rolls past Northwestern State 105-68.

2017 — North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell becomes the third women’s Division I coach to register her 1,000th career victory after the Tar Heels beat Grambling State 79-63.

2017 — Geno Auriemma wins his 1000th game as top-ranked UConn beat Oklahoma 88-64 in the Hall of Fame women’s Holiday Showcase. Auriemma becomes the fourth women’s coach to reach the 1,000-win mark, joining Pat Summitt, Tara VanDerveer and Sylvia Hatchell, who earned her milestone victory earlier in the day.

2018 — Houston Rockets set NBA single-game record with 26 three-pointers in 136-118 victory over Washington Wizards;

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

From Ben Bolch: The crowd couldn’t believe what it had just witnessed.

Donovan Dent’s crossover move left a helpless defender watching from behind as he accelerated toward the basket, fans unleashing audible admiration even before the UCLA point guard completed the play with a driving layup.

Poor Noah Meeusen and everyone else who tried to stop Dent.

They were overmatched by the finishing ability and fearlessness of a player who had not shown much of either over the season’s first month, hardly resembling the star the Bruins thought they were getting.

On a revelation of a Wednesday night inside Pauley Pavilion, Dent finally looked like someone who could carry a team.

He did exactly that, the transfer from New Mexico helping the Bruins fend off Arizona State during a 90-77 victory that had his handprints all over it.

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UCLA box score

Big Ten standings

USC WINS AT HOME BUT LOSES RICE

From Ryan Kartje: Through a near-perfect nonconference slate, no matter what was thrown USC’s way, whether injuries or other unforeseen circumstances, the Trojans had never lacked for life on the court. It was that endless energy that had helped power them to a 10-1 start.

But for a while Wednesday, that vigor was conspicuously absent against Texas San Antonio, a team that lost four of its last five. Maybe it was the setting, in a mostly empty and eerily quiet Galen Center. Maybe it was the bad news from earlier in the day, as USC announced that point guard Rodney Rice would undergo shoulder surgery and miss the rest of the season.

Whatever it was, USC was eventually able to shake it off Wednesday night, turning a deficit late in the first half to a convincing, 97-70 victory over San Antonio in the second.

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USC box score

Big Ten standings

UCLA-USC TRANSFER TRACKER

From Ben Bolch and Ryan Kartje: A look at all the players who are transferring in and out of UCLA and USC in the NCAA transfer portal ahead of the 2026 college football season.

Wednesday’s updates:

Leaving UCLA: Salem Abdul-Wahab | Long Snapper

Leaving USC: Devan Thompkins | Defensive tackle

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LAKERS DEFENSE NEEDS STAR POWER

From Broderick Turner: They saw how “contagious” it was when playing defense at a high level against the Suns and how Jarred Vanderbilt lit the fuse to ignite things for the Lakers in their last victory over Phoenix.

And for the Lakers to maintain that defensive mindset, stars Luka Doncic and LeBron James also have to be committed to that end of the court.

That was the message from Lakers coach JJ Redick to Doncic and James.

“Yeah, it was good,” Doncic said. “We talked about a lot, not just that, but he was right. You got to get a little big more, especially from the star players. So that’s on us. That’s on me. And we just got to give more, especially at the start of the game. We got to start the game better. But I think in Phoenix, we did a pretty good job. The plan was focused on ourselves and [our] defensive mentality, so I think we did a pretty good job.”

The Lakers will be tested again on defense by the Utah Jazz Thursday night in Salt Lake City.

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NBA standings

A CHRISTMAS GIFT FROM DONCIC

From Broderick Turner: Luka Doncic was back at it again, this time surprising the Lakers and staff members with more than 100 e-bikes for Christmas gifts.

Doncic, who took his teammates to a Porsche Driving Experience in October as a way to bond, gave the gifts away Tuesday after practice.

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NACUA CALLS FOUL ON REFS

From Chuck Schilken: Puka Nacua thinks NFL referees are “the worst.”

He feels they fabricate calls just so their friends can see them on TV.

But, to be honest, the Rams star receiver doesn’t seem too upset about the situation.

During a livestream Tuesday with YouTubers N3on and Adin Ross, Nacua was asked if he thought referees might bend the truth at times when making their calls.

“Oh, a hundred percent,” Nacua answered matter-of-factly. “Yes, the refs are the worst.”

The third-year player continued in the same casual manner, saying that NFL officials are generally part-time employees who probably get a thrill when they appear on screen during national broadcasts — even if it’s while making a call.

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MCVAY, RAMS FACE A CHALLENGE IN SEATTLE

From Gary Klein: Sean McVay might truly qualify as sleepless in Seattle.

After the Rams’ victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday, the Rams coach left SoFi Stadium for the hospital and the birth of his second son, who arrived Monday morning. Then McVay game-planned for Thursday night’s showdown with the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.

Asked this week if he had slept much in the aftermath of the newborn’s arrival, the notoriously early-rising McVay chuckled.

“Not really,” he said. “Even for me. … This is a good challenge.”

McVay and the Rams, who hold the top seed in the NFC and have clinched a playoff spot, will face their biggest and most important test of the season against the Seahawks.

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NFL standings

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT RAMS VS. SEAHAWKS

From Gary Klein: Kamren Kinchens loves to play against the Seattle Seahawks.

The Rams’ second-year safety has six career interceptions — four against the Seahawks.

On Thursday night, the Rams (11-3) will play the Seahawks (11-3) at Lumen Field with first-place in the NFC West and the top seed in the NFC on the line.

The Rams defense is aiming to repeat their Nov. 16 performance against the Seahawks, when they intercepted four passes by Sam Darnold in a 21-19 victory at SoFi Stadium.

Kinchens had two interceptions, cornerbacks Cobie Durant and Darious Williams one each.

“I did good so are they going to not go at me at this time?” Kinchens said, adding that he welcomes the opportunity to “get more picks. Hopefully, that’s the case.”

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HALFTIME WITH SNOOP DOGG

From Chuck Schilken: Snoop Dogg knows what you want for Christmas.

More Snoop Dogg.

The rapper and pop culture icon will perform during the halftime show at the Detroit Lions-Minnesota Vikings game in Minneapolis on Dec. 25 as part of Netflix’s NFL Christmas Gameday streaming event.

Dubbed “Snoop’s Holiday Halftime Party,” the show will feature hit songs, special guests and holiday cheer, Netflix said in a news release.

“NFL, Netflix and your uncle Snoop on Christmas Day? We’re servin’ up music, love and good vibes for the whole world to enjoy,” Snoop Dogg said in the news release. “That’s the kind of holiday magic Santa can’t fit in a bag.”

On Tuesday, Netflix dropped an announcement video for the halftime show. In what may or may not be a hint at the identity of one of the special guests, funk legend George Clinton narrates the clip. At one point, the Parliament-Funkadelic leader utters, “bow wow wow, yippie yo yippie yay” — a line from his 1982 solo hit “Atomic Dog” that Snoop has used in multiple songs.

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CRAWFORD IS LEAVING THE RING

From Jad El Reda: Terence Crawford shook the boxing world on Tuesday by announcing his retirement, an unexpected decision that brings an end to one of the most dominant careers of the modern era.

At 38, the Omaha native decided to hang up his gloves at the top, undefeated and with a legacy that places him among the all-time greats.

Crawford bids farewell with a perfect record of 42 wins, 31 of them by knockout, after more than 17 years as a professional. With his unexpected retirement, Crawford leaves behind four titles in the 168-pound weight class.

“I’m retiring from competition, not because I’ve stopped fighting, but because I’ve won another kind of battle,” Crawford said in a YouTube video. “The battle where you retire on your own terms.”

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KINGS GO WINLESS FOR FOUR

Sam Bennett scored 10 seconds into the third period, Brad Marchand had two assists and the Florida Panthers beat the Kings 3-2 on Wednesday night to sweep the two-game season series.

Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for Florida, which has won six of its last seven games. Daniil Tarasov made 27 saves for the Panthers, including a breakaway stop against the Kings’ Trevor Moore with just under five minutes left to preserve a one-goal lead.

Joel Armia and Kevin Fiala had the goals for the Kings, who fell to 0-2-2 in their last four contests. The four-game winless streak matches a season-long slide for the Kings, who were 0-2-2 from Oct. 11 through Oct. 18 as well.

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Kings summary

NHL standings

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1930 — Adolph Rupp coaches his first game at Kentucky, a 67-19 win over Georgetown College in Kentucky. Rupp retires in 1972 after winning 879 games and four national titles.

1949 — The Philadelphia Eagles win the NFL championship with a 14-0 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

1954 — Montreal’s Maurice Richard becomes the first player in NHL history to score 400 goals during the Canadiens’ 4-2 road victory against the Chicago Black Hawks.

1961 — Olympic track star Wilma Rudolph wins The Associated Press’ female athlete of year award for the second consecutive year.

1962 — Wilt Chamberlain of the San Francisco Warriors scores 61 points in a 130-110 over the St. Louis Hawks.

1964 — Oscar Robertson of the Cincinnati Royals scores 56 points, including 18 in the final quarter, in a 111-107 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

1976 — Oakland quarterback Kenny Stabler scores with 14 seconds left to give the Raiders a 24-21 comeback victory over the New England Patriots in the in the AFC divisional playoffs.

1983 — Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky scores his 100th point of the season the Edmonton Oilers’ 34th game, a 7-5 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. Gretzky scores two goals and has two assists to get to 100 points faster than any player in NHL history. He finishes the season with 205 points.

1995 — Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers records the fifth-highest yardage total by a receiver in NFL history with 289 yards, and catches three touchdown passes in a 37-30 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

1997 — Germany’s Katja Seizinger wins her sixth straight race to tie former French star Jean-Claude Killy’s World Cup record for consecutive victories.

2005 — Indianapolis, which won its first 13 games, the fourth team in NFL history to do so, loses 26-17 at home to San Diego.

2006 — Tenth-ranked Arizona State beats Texas Tech 61-45 when the second outdoor game in women’s college basketball history is called on account of rain with 4:18 to play at Chase Field, home of baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks.

2007 — Edmonton sets an NHL record by competing in its fourth straight shootout, but loses to Dallas 2-1. The Oilers, who had won the first three, lose for the second time in their 12 shootout appearances.

2008 — Steve Asmussen is the first North American trainer to win 600 Thoroughbred races in a single year as Storm Trust captures the fifth race at Delta Downs.

2011 — The Green Bay Packers’ 19-game winning streak, second-longest in NFL history, is snapped with a 19-14 loss at Kansas City.

2011 — Brittney Griner scores 12 of her 25 points in the closing run that pushes the top-ranked Baylor Lady Bears past No. 2 UConn 66-61.

2016 — New England defeats Denver 16-3 to clinch the AFC East and earn a first-round bye. It marks the eighth consecutive division title for the Patriots, the longest streak in NFL history, breaking a tie with the 1973-79 Los Angeles Rams (seven). New England is the only team in NFL history to win 13 division titles in a 14-year span.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

From Anthony Solorzano: FIFA announced an affordable admission pricing tier for every nation that’s qualified for the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The supporter entry tier will make tickets available at a fixed price of $60 for every match, including the final, for each nation’s participating members associations.

The new tier comes after supporters’ groups from Europe called out FIFA on the dynamic pricing of tickets, which changes the value based on the popularity of the teams playing in each match.

“In total, 50% of each PMA allocation will fall within the most affordable range, namely supporter value tier (40%) and the supporter entry tier (10%),” FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday. “The remaining allocation is split evenly between the supporter standard tier and the supporter premier tier.”

FIFA will also waive the administrative fees for fans who secure participating member association tickets. But if their teams do not advance, they can seek refunds.

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FIRST, A SPECIAL DODGERS DEBATE

The Times’ very own Jack Harris, Bill Plaschke and Dylan Hernández come together — matching Christmas sweaters and all — to discuss all things Los Angeles Dodgers.

Watch it here

LAKERS’ JJ REDICK REMAINS HOPEFUL

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: In a game with 68 free throws, five technical fouls and one potential dagger three-pointer marred by an ejection, there was definitely a lot of struggle.

The thought still made JJ Redick smile.

“It’s about growth,” Redick said after the Lakers survived a slugfest against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. “It’s not about perfection.”

The Lakers (18-7) are far from perfect. They got blitzed by the San Antonio Spurs last week and gave up a 20-point lead in seven minutes in an ugly game against Phoenix. But there is still promise.

“Consistently, when they have been challenged on a very specific thing, they have responded to those challenges,” Redick said of his players.

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USC AND BROWN CANCEL MATCHUP

From Ryan Kartje: USC and Brown have mutually agreed to cancel their upcoming men’s basketball game at Galen Center on Sunday, in light of the recent mass shooting on Brown’s campus.

USC announced the cancellation on Tuesday morning while sending its support to Brown and those affected. The school said in a statement that it plans to announce a new nonconference opponent to fill the same slot on Sunday.

The matchup with Brown was slated to be USC’s nonconference finale. The Trojans have yet to lose outside of Big Ten play this season, currently standing at 9-0.

USC was set to be Brown’s first opponent since this past Sunday, when two people were killed and nine were wounded in a deadly shooting on campus.

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USC’S MAIAVA TO RETURN IN 2026

From Ryan Kartje: USC’s starting quarterback is returning for another season in 2026.

Jayden Maiava made it official Tuesday as the school announced that he had re-signed with the program for the upcoming season, his third with the Trojans.

Maiava led USC to a 9-3 record in his first full season as starter after taking over the job during the final month of the 2023 season. He threw for 3,431 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also added six scores on the ground.

Maiava struggled in each of the Trojans’ three losses on the road in 2025. But when asked about his progress last month, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley credited Maiava for leading “one of the best offenses in the country.”

“He’s been a big part of that,” Riley said. “He’s playing good. He’s still learning. He can play better. But he’s continuing to give us chances to win every week.”

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UCLA TOPPLES CAL POLY

From Anthony Solorzano: With a dominant performance on both sides of the court, including 46 rebounds and 19 steals, the UCLA women’s basketball team beat Cal Poly 115-28 on Tuesday at Pauley Pavilion.

The UCLA (10-1) defense held the Mustangs (2-8) to three points in the second quarter and forced 31 turnovers and single digit scoring in the last three quarters. The Bruins scored 59 points off turnovers. Senior Lauren Betts earned her third double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Freshman Sienna Betts, the No. 2 recruit from the 2025 class, played her first minutes with the Bruins, sharing the court with her sister for the first time for UCLA. She scored her first field goal in the fourth to give the Bruins their first 100-point game since December 2024 against Long Beach State, which they will face on Sunday.

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UCLA box score

Big Ten standings

DUCKS FALL TO BLUE JACKETS

Adam Fantilli scored with 1:28 left in overtime to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4–3 win over the Ducks on Tuesday night, breaking a five-game losing streak.

Zach Werenski scored twice and added an assist in his 600th NHL game, Boone Jenner had a goal and an assist, and Kent Johnson added two assists. Jet Greaves stopped 24 shots for his first win since Nov. 20.

Mikael Granlund had a goal and an assist, Ryan Strome and Jackson LaCombe also scored goals, and Ryan Poehling recorded two assists for the Ducks. Ville Husso made 24 saves as the Ducks dropped three games on their five-city trip.

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Ducks summary

NHL standings

STATUS OF RAMS’ RECEIVER UNCERTAIN

From Gary Klein: It’s going to be cold, and it could be raining on Thursday night in Seattle.

Not exactly ideal conditions for any receiver, let alone a near-33-year-old with a hamstring injury.

So while it seems doubtful that the Rams would let Davante Adams risk suffering more damage against the Seattle Seahawks, that did not stop coach Sean McVay on Tuesday from engaging in some gamesmanship.

McVay told reporters that a determination about Adams’ status would not be made until game time.

“He’s as tough as it gets,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters, “and so want to be able to kind of see what it looks like with the time that we have.”

The Rams, of course, could use Adams, a future hall of famer who leads the NFL with 14 touchdown catches.

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FOLEY LEAVES WWE FOR ITS TRUMP TIES

From Chuck Schilken: Professional wrestling legend Mick Foley announced Tuesday that he is “parting ways with WWE” because of the organization’s ties with fellow WWE Hall of Fame inductee President Trump.

“While I have been concerned about WWE‘s close relationship with Donald Trump for several months — especially in light of his administration’s ongoing cruel and inhumane treatment of immigrants (and pretty much anyone who “looks like an immigrant”) — reading the President’s incredibly cruel comments in the wake of Rob Reiner’s death is the final straw for me,” Foley, 60, wrote Tuesday on Instagram.

“I no longer wish to represent a company that coddles a man so seemingly void of compassion as he marches our country towards autocracy. Last night, I informed @WWE talent relations that I would not be making any appearances for the company as long as this man remains in office.

“Additionally, I will not be signing a new Legends deal when my current one expires in June.”

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THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1933 — The Chicago Bears win the first NFL championship with a 23-21 victory over the New York Giants. The Bears score the winning touchdown on a 36-yard play that starts with a short pass from Bronko Nagurski to Bill Hewitt, who then laterals to Bill Kerr for the score.

1944 — National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: Green Bay Packers beat New York Giants, 14-7 for 6th and final league title under long-time coach Curly Lambeau.

1983 — In his 352nd NHL game, Wayne Gretzky scores a goal & 5 assists in 8-1 rout of Quebec Nordiques to record his 800th point and 500th assist; averages 2.27 points, 1.42 assists, 0.85 goals per game to start career.

1987 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan scores 52 points to lead the Bulls to a 111-100 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

1991 — The Cleveland Cavaliers turn a 20-point halftime lead over Miami into the most lopsided victory in NBA history, 148-80 over the Heat. The 68-point margin eclipses the mark of 63 set March 19, 1972, when the Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 162-99.

1993 — Julio Cesar Chavez secures his place in boxing history, retaining his WBC super lightweight title with a fifth-round victory over Britain’s Andy Holligan. It’s the 27th time Chavez fought for a title without a loss since 1984, breaking Joe Louis’ mark of 26.

1993 — Virgil Hill becomes the most successful light heavyweight in boxing history, winning a record 15th title defense with a unanimous decision over Guy Waters of Australia. Hill, the WBA champion for five of the last six years, had been tied with Bob Foster, who held light heavyweight titles from 1968 to 1974.

2000 — Terrell Owens catches an NFL-record 20 passes for 283 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 17-0 victory over Chicago. Jeff Garcia completes 36 of 44 passes for 402 yards and two touchdowns for the 49ers.

2005 — John Ruiz loses the WBA heavyweight title, dropping a disputed majority decision to 7-foot Nikolay Valuev of Russia in Berlin. Valuev, the first Russian heavyweight champion, also becomes the tallest and heaviest (323 pounds) champion of all-time.

2006 — LaDainian Tomlinson breaks Paul Hornung’s 46-year-old NFL single-season scoring record on a 15-yard run in the first quarter of San Diego’s game against Kansas City. The touchdown run gives him 180 points, breaking Hornung’s record of 176 set with the Green Bay Packers in 1960.

2006 — Gilbert Arenas sets a franchise record with 60 points, 16 of them in overtime, to lead Washington to a 147-141 victory over the Lakers.

2013 — Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scores 21 points on a career-high seven 3-pointers and No. 1 Connecticut beat second-ranked Duke 83-61. Breanna Stewart has 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Huskies as coach Geno Auriemma earns his 850th career win.

2016 — Donnel Pumphrey breaks the NCAA career rushing record in his college finale, running for 115 yards and a touchdown in San Diego State’s 34-10 victory over Houston in the Las Vegas Bowl. Pumphrey passes former Wisconsin star Ron Dayne’s mark of 6,397 yards on a 15-yard run early in the fourth quarter and wraps up his sensational career in his Nevada hometown with 6,405 yards. Pumphrey’s senior total of 2,133 yards rushing ranks in the top 10 for a FBS player.

2016 — Malik Monk scores a Kentucky freshman record 47 points and hits the go-ahead 3-pointer with 16.7 seconds left to lead the sixth-ranked Wildcats past No. 7 North Carolina 103-100 in a thrilling showdown of traditional powers.

2022 — Minnesota Vikings recover from 33-0 down at halftime to beat Indianapolis Colts, 39-36 in overtime at US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN; biggest comeback in NFL history.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: 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.

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Tyler Skaggs trial update

From Steve Henson: Four years after the family of deceased Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs filed a wrongful death suit against the Angels, and two months into often contentious testimony in an Orange County Superior Court courtroom, jurors are set to begin deliberations on whether Skaggs’ widow and parents deserve hundreds of millions of dollars.

During closing statements Monday, plaintiffs lawyer Daniel Dutko argued that the Angels were negligent in failing to supervise Eric Kay, the drug-addicted team communications director who gave Skaggs the fentanyl that killed him in 2019.

However, Angels lawyer Todd Theodora insisted that Skaggs was a selfish, secretive opioid addict who for years manipulated Kay into obtaining drugs for him. Theodora told the jury that he didn’t believe the Angels owe the Skaggs family an award.

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Clippers lose again

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 21 of his 31 points in the first half and Cam Spencer added a career-high 27 points as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Clippers 121-103 on Monday night.

Jaylen Wells scored 16 points and rookie Cedric Coward had 12 as the Grizzlies earned a victory over the Clippers for the third time in less than three weeks. Ja Morant also scored 12 points for Memphis in his second game since returning from a calf injury.

Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points and Kris Dunn added 17 for the Clippers, who have lost 12 of their last 14 games.

James Harden was held to 13 points, while John Collins and Jordan Miller each had 10 for Los Angeles in its eighth straight home loss. The Clippers last won in their own building on Oct. 31.

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Clippers box score

NBA standings

Some Trojans won’t play in Alamo Bowl

From Steve Galluzzo: After Monday afternoon’s practice at Howard Jones Field, USC coach Lincoln Riley addressed the media for the first time since the Trojans’ victory over crosstown rival UCLA on Nov. 29.

USC (9-3), ranked No. 16 in the AP poll, is preparing to play Texas Christian (9-4) on Dec. 30 in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. USC finished 7-2 in its second season in the Big Ten and won four of its last five games, the only setback during that stretch being a 42-27 loss to Oregon, which is the No. 5 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Riley announced that safety Kamari Ramsey, receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, tight end Lake McRee and linebacker Eric Gentry will not play in the Alamo Bowl. Lane declared for the NFL draft on Monday.

“Anthony Lucas and Bishop Fitzgerald want to play in the game but are dealing with injuries and trying to get back … we’ll see how that goes,” Riley said. “Kilian O’Connor and Elijah Paige and Jahkeem Stewart all had surgery and will be ready to roll.”

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LAFC introduces new coach

From Kevin Baxter: Moments after Marc Dos Santos was formally introduced as the third head coach in LAFC history, he was led out of a news conference and onto the field at BMO Stadium to meet the most important constituency he’ll have to win over in his new job.

The fans.

Since the club entered MLS in 2018, no team has won more games, scored more goals, earned more points or won more trophies than LAFC. Yet as Dos Santos, a top assistant for five of those eight seasons, was hugging and mugging with some of the people who are soon to become his fiercest critics, another supporter approached general manager John Thorrington with a question.

“How do you separate [him] being a part of that coaching staff and telling the fans ‘look, it’s going to be different with this person?’” he asked.

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Kings lose, Kuemper injured

Mikko Rantanen, Matt Duchene and Wyatt Johnston had a goal and an assist each and Casey DeSmith tied a Dallas record with his 11th consecutive game earning points as the Stars rallied past the Kings 4-1 on Monday night.

Oskar Back scored his first NHL winning goal for the Stars, who are second in the overall standings and avoided their first three-game losing streak since mid-October.

Kings goalie Anton Forsberg stopped 17 shots, entering play with four minutes left in the first period after starter Darcy Kuemper was hit high by Rantanen and sustained an upper-body injury.

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Kings summary

NHL standings

Ducks beat Rangers

Cutter Gauthier scored the go-ahead goal six minutes into the third period and got his second on an empty-netter, Lukas Dostal stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced, and the Ducks beat the New York Rangers 4-1 on Monday night to end a two-game losing streak.

Gauthier’s first goal with one second left on a power play came off a perfectly placed pass from rookie Beckett Sennecke. Igor Shesterkin barely had a chance to react.

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Ducks summary

NHL standings

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1918 — Jack Dempsey knocks out Carl Morris in 14 seconds in a heavyweight bout in New Orleans.

1930 — Golfer Bobby Jones wins the first James E. Sullivan Award. The award is given to “the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States.”

1940 — Joe Louis knocks out Al McCoy in the sixth round at the Boston Garden to retain the world heavyweight title.

1945 — The Cleveland Rams beat the Washington Redskins 15-14 for the NFL championship. The deciding play turns out to be a first-quarter automatic safety when the Redskins’ Sammy Baugh passes from his own end zone and the wind carries the ball into the goal post.

1967 — Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scores 68 points in a 143-123 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

1973 — O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills rushes for 200 yards in a 34-14 victory over the New York Jets and sets an NFL record with 2,003 yards rushing for the season. Simpson needed 61 yards to break Jim Brown’s NFL single season rushing record of 1,863 yards set in 1963.

1990 — Warren Moon passes for a 527 yards — the second-greatest passing day in NFL history — as the Houston Oilers beat Kansas City 27-10.

2003 — New Orleans Saints receiver Joe Horn is fined $30,000 by the NFL for making a choreographed cell-phone call in the end zone to celebrate a touchdown during the Saints’ 45-7 rout of the New York Giants on Dec. 14.

2006 — Morten Andersen becomes the greatest scorer in NFL history. The 46-year-old Andersen breaks Gary Anderson’s career scoring record of 2,434 points with the second of four extra points in the Atlanta Falcons’ 38-28 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

2007 — Brett Favre passes for 227 yards in Green Bay’s 33-14 win over St. Louis, eclipsing Dan Marino to become the NFL career leader in yards passing. Favre, in his 17th season, finishes the game with 61,405 yards. Marino had 61,361 in 17 seasons.

2007 — Kikkan Randall becomes the first U.S. woman and second American to win a World Cup cross-country skiing race when she defeats world sprint champion Astrid Jacobsen of Norway in the final meters of a 1.2-kilometer freestyle race. Randall is the first American to win a World Cup cross-country race since Bill Koch in 1983.

2010 — American Ryan Lochte sets the first individual swimming world record since high-tech bodysuits were banned, winning the 400-meter individual medley at the short-course world championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

2012 — Ryan Lochte wins two more races at the short-course world championships in Istanbul, finishing the event with six golds and one silver. The result matches his medal total from the last championships, in Dubai in 2010.

2013 — Justin Tucker makes six field goals, including a 61-yarder in the final minute, to give the Baltimore Ravens an 18-16 win over the Detroit Lions.

2014 — Nick Bjugstad scores the game-winning goal in the longest shootout in NHL history to lift the Florida Panthers over the Washington Capitals 2-1. Bjugstad’s goal comes in the 20th round of a shootout — on the 40th shot — and beats Braden Holtby on the right side.

2016 — James Harden gets his sixth triple-double of the season and the Houston Rockets make an NBA-record 24 3-pointers in a 122-100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

2019 — Drew Brees breaks Peyton Manning’s NFL record (539) for career touchdown passes as New Orleans Saints rout Indianapolis Colts, 34-7; Brees 29 of 30 for 307 yards & 4 TDs for record 96.7% pass completion.

2020 — Major League Baseball announces it is elevating the Negro Leagues to Major League status

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. The high school football season has ended. That means it’s time for quarterbacks and others to transfer and lots of coach resignations and firings. Let’s examine the yearly ritual.

Change is coming

Welcome to December, when high school football programs start undergoing changes, with players and coaches deciding to come and go. JSerra, St. Francis, Bishop Alemany, Oaks Christian and Bishop Montgomery are private schools that pretty much got rid of their head coaches and have openings. Long Beach Poly, the most well-known public school in California, is advertising for a new coach after firing its coach following a season in which games were forfeited because of multiple ineligible players.

The question these days is what do principals/school presidents want from their football program besides winning and how do they want the coaches to execute that vision without breaking CIF rules?

Everyone knows recruiting is illegal as far as offering inducements to attend a school. There are no athletic scholarships allowed (wink, wink it’s called financial aid), Boosters and schools can’t set up NIL deals for players. Schools and boosters aren’t allowed to provide housing or jobs for parents as part of a deal for the child to attend.

In fact, many of these scenarios have been happening in the hope of chasing championships.

Whether it’s a public or private school, the people in charge must decide how high their ambitions are and how close to passing the gray line will they permit. People are starting to get caught. More than 40 students this season were declared ineligible by the Southern Section for providing false information on transfer paperwork. The players and their parents didn’t come out looking good and schools were equally at fault for failing to do their due diligence.

It’s OK for athletic directors to say no on transfers that look suspicious, but who’s really going to say no to a top quarterback? There’s nothing wrong with switching schools as long as rules are followed. Taking shortcuts with fake addresses and having assistants scout and make contact through parents, players or social media doesn’t pass muster.

So all the schools changing coaches and trying to rebuild or avoid rebuilding through the transfer portal, beware. The tricks of the trade are being exposed. AI is helping uncover cheaters. Maybe administrators should start offering a vision to focus on building a program from within and developing your own players.

Anyway, prepare for transferring to commence. It’s has become a rite of passage in high school sports, just like the college transfer portal.

State championships

Trent Mosley of Santa Margarita holds the CIF state championship Open Division trophy after beating De La Salle.

(Craig Weston)

Santa Margarita was unbeatable in the postseason, so much that first-year coach Carson Palmer said he wished his team could keep playing after the Eagles’ 47-13 win over De La Salle in the CIF state championship Open Division final. Here’s the report.

It was a tough weekend for Southern Section teams not named Santa Margarita. Oxnard Pacifica lost to Fresno Central East 42-28 in the 1-A final. Here’s the report.

Rio Hondo Prep’s dream of a 16-0 season ended with a 35-10 loss to Sonora in the 2-A final. Here’s the report.

Barstow was the only other Southern Section team to win a state title.

Here’s the complete results.

Boys basketball

Rancho Verde players get excited during tournament game against Etiwanda.

(Nick Koza)

Lots of teams are headed to Las Vegas this week for the Tarkanian Classic while others are taking trips to Hawaii.

Continuing to make a move is unbeaten Etiwanda, which won the North Orange County tournament championship, beating Heritage Christian in the final. The real event was Etiwanda and coach Danny Ryan facing Rancho Verde and coach Braydon Bortolamedi in the semifinals. Both trained under former Etiwanda coach Dave Kleckner, so their teams were using identical warm-up routines and focusing on Kleckner’s philosophy, defense first. Etiwanda won 63-57.

Mater Dei picked up the 1,300th win in the career of coach Gary McKnight.

Jason Crowe Jr. of Inglewood gets emotional with his grandfather, Kenneth, and mother Irene, after setting career scoring record against Beverly Hills.

(Nick Koza)

Inglewood guard Jason Crowe Jr. set a state record for most points scored in a career. Here’s a report.

St. John Bosco won its own tournament championship behind MVP Christian Collins, who scored 30 points in a win over La Mirada. The Braves are 8-0.

Freshman Will Conroy of Village Christian scored 38 points in a win over Chatsworth.

Grant Shaw, the son of Oak Park coach Aaron Shaw, made a game-winning basket to beat Agoura. Here’s the report.

Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.

Girls basketball

Jerzy Robinson, one of the top players in the state, made her season debut for Sierra Canyon last week after being sidelined with an injury.

Sage Hill, one of the top programs in the Southern Section, has replaced coach Kerwin Walters, sending shock waves through the coaching profession. It was first reported by the Orange County Register.

Running on the street

A car driven by a suspected driver under the influence slammed into and injured seven Anaheim High runners going out on a training session near campus last week.

It raised questions once again about high school athletes and others training on the streets of Southern California.

Here’s a look at one former athlete who was struck by a car when he was at Monroe High and how he views this latest incident.

Soccer

Loyola knocked off Cathedral in a battle of downtown Los Angeles boys soccer programs. Here’s the report.

Amber Ramirez had two goals as Cleveland defeated Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 2-0 in a big girls soccer match.

Notes . . .

Vinnie Lopez is the new football coach at Anaheim Canyon. He has lots of head coaching experience, including at Garden Grove Pacifica. . . .

After eight years as football coach at Oaks Christian, Charlie Collins and the school have parted ways. It creates another private-school opening that includes JSerra, St. Francis, Bishop Alemany and Bishop Montgomery. . . .

Todd Butler has resigned after five seasons as football coach at West Torrance to become offensive coordinator at El Camino College. . . .

Michael Calahan has resigned after six seasons as football coach at Aliso Niguel. . . .

Arlin Slayton has resigned as football coach at Rosemead. . . .

Harvard-Westlake’s power-hitting Jake Kim has committed to UCLA. He’s from the class of 2027. . . .

Junior pitcher Aiden Rae of JSerra has committed to UCLA. . . .

La Salle girls basketball player Casey Higgins has committed to Cal State Los Angeles. . . .

The All-CIF girls volleyball teams were announced. Here’s the link. . . .

There will be an all-star football game on Saturday at Simi Valley High. Here’s the information.

Former Los Alamitos receiver Makai Lemon won the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s top receiver playing for USC.

From the archives: Jeff Kent

Former Dodger and Edison grad Jeff Kent was voted into the Hall of Fame by era committee.

(Stephen Dunn / Getty Images)

The newest member of baseball’s Hall of Fame is Jeff Kent, who graduated from Edison High in Huntington Beach in 1986, went to Cal, then played 17 years in the major leagues.

Here’s a story from 1986 in which Kent got dropped from Edison when he disagreed with a position change.

Here’s a story from 1992 when Kent addressed his Edison days.

Recommendations

From the Washington Post, a story on a 6-foot-11 high school basketball player who reclassified trying to speed up a potential NBA career.

From the Seattle Times, a story on a high school football player who led his team to a state championship but might have hurt his college chances by playing running back instead of linebacker in a selfless decision.

From the Washington Post, a story on how self promotion in high school sports has become part of the recruiting experience.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.

He spoke of the importance of athletics to the institution, of the way they bring people together and showcase excellence.

The remarks weren’t nearly as remarkable as the person doing the speaking.

UCLA chancellor Julio Frenk.

In recent years, the school’s chancellors had distanced themselves from athletics as if they were a distasteful part of the job. Gene Block would show up at the occasional football or basketball game but never granted interview requests or spoke at coaches’ introductions. He did once attach his name to a statement that misspelled the last name of newly hired football coach Rick Neuheisel.

It’s believed that the last UCLA chancellor to speak at a coach’s introduction was Albert Carnesale in 2003 upon the hiring of Karl Dorrell.

All of which makes Frenk’s appearance, not to mention his speaking for nearly five minutes Tuesday inside a Luskin Center ballroom, all the more extraordinary. Frenk was there to welcome Bob Chesney, the new football coach who has quickly galvanized a long-suffering fan base with his passion and willingness to immediately poke rival USC by proclaiming that UCLA would soon become “the school in town.”

Frenk had UCLA fans at hello.

What he said next was even more encouraging.

“Athletics are the front porch of the university, one of the most visible signals of what we stand for,” Frenk said. “Athletics connect us across generations and geographies with students and alumni, friends as well as strangers. These things are extremely important and help build community and all of that is coming true at UCLA.”

There was also a reference to one word — alignment — that athletic director Martin Jarmond and Chesney would later echo in their remarks.

“Winning in college football requires a unified approach across all of the university — university leadership and athletics are aligned and committed to doing the right things to build a winning program,” Frenk said.

Jarmond suggested that Frenk was willing to help in a way that his predecessor was not — a slightly curious idea given Block’s willingness to support the move to the Big Ten Conference and approve Jarmond’s contract extension, but it seemed that Jarmond’s larger point was about increased institutional support for the football program under the new chancellor.

“What I’m excited and really enthused about,” Jarmond said, “is we have alignment in a way that we have not had in the past. We have a great chancellor in Chancellor Frenk that understands the importance of athletics, bringing communities together, engaging alumni, wanting our student-athletes to be successful and understanding the commitment it takes at the university level for a football program to be competitive. We have investment now, and we have leadership and vision. I don’t always feel we’ve had all of those together.”

Without question, Frenk’s early visibility has already set a new, welcome tone from inside Murphy Hall.

His comments were heartening for anyone who cares about UCLA athletics because they show he’s not only paying attention but also willing to do his part — one that’s essential — to support the operation.

Suggestion box

Mick Cronin

(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)

It probably shouldn’t take a public-records request to find out that a high-profile UCLA coach — who at the time was the state of California’s second-highest paid public employee behind since-fired Cal football coach Justin Wilcox — received a new contract seven months earlier.

But that’s the reality of the situation after a Times records request led to the disclosure of Mick Cronin’s new deal that will pay the Bruins men’s basketball coach $4.5 million a year as part of a contract running through the end of the 2029-30 season.

The reasoning given for the lack of disclosure was the fiscal situation facing the school at the time, including the prospect of federal funding cuts.

Appearances are important, yes. But so are integrity and transparency.

This is the second time in the last two years that UCLA has signed one of its biggest figures inside the athletic department to a new deal while staying mum. Jarmond’s contract extension was signed in the spring of 2024 and not announced until the following November — after the football team had won three consecutive games, alleviating a significant amount of pressure that Jarmond was facing for the hiring of football coach DeShaun Foster.

The bottom line is this: UCLA is a public institution that should pride itself on accountability, and if you aren’t willing to openly divulge any significant move that you make, then maybe you shouldn’t be making it.

Chesney moves

While the transfer portal doesn’t open until Jan. 2, Chesney provided some early insight into his possible approach in rebuilding his first UCLA roster.

Upon his arrival at James Madison, Chesney said he had a center, guard and a punter come back from the previous team and added roughly 60 players in the transfer portal to help the Dukes win their first bowl game in the history of the school. The next year, the Dukes added about 50 players through the transfer portal and made the College Football Playoff.

What might that mean for his work with the Bruins?

“That will have to be determined by our team when we get that fully assembled and moving forward next year,” Chesney said. “But then whatever our expectations are is where we build our standards and then the day-to-day process. But I see zero reason why, you know, we cannot be competing, cannot be competing for a championship.”

Chesney has begun to assemble his staff, reportedly agreeing to bring James Madison offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy with him and hiring Florida State general manager Darrick Yray in an identical post with the Bruins as part of his efforts to bring in staffers with West Coast ties.

Yray had spent seven seasons in a variety of roles at Oregon State, rising to the role of director of player personnel. Before that, Yray had worked for four seasons as an offensive assistant and three as assistant director of football operations at Fresno State, his alma mater.

Basketball blues?

Cronin’s teams usually get better over the course of the season, even in down years. So it would be folly to foretell of a lost season for the Bruins in mid-December.

But the big question facing UCLA (7-3) at this pivotal point is whether this season has any upside beyond being a bubble team that loses in the first or second round of the NCAA tournament.

As currently constructed, UCLA has so many issues that it’s hard to imagine a different outcome.

A tentative Donovan Dent has not been much of an upgrade over a tentative Dylan Andrews at point guard. Eric Dailey Jr. takes too many jumpers while drifting in and out of games. Tyler Bilodeau can really score but continues to be somewhat limited defensively despite his best efforts. The thought of what the departed Aday Mara and William Kyle III aren’t doing for this team in the post haunts Bruins fans on a daily basis.

What’s far more worrisome is that the talent level isn’t elite — can you really foresee anyone on this roster forging a long NBA career? — and a coach known for defense doesn’t have enough athletic, relentless players to construct a good defense.

Local high school recruiting has all but dried up and Cronin made another reference to needing more money to bring in players after donors shelled out a massive amount last spring to land Dent.

None of it portends an encouraging trajectory for a coach in his seventh season. Cronin is a developmental coach whose finest seasons came with players who were in his program for multiple years. With free agency now the only constant in the college game, it might be time for Cronin to develop a new plan for success.

Opinion time

How does the rest of the men’s basketball season play out for the Bruins?

Everything comes together and the team makes a deep NCAA tournament run
The team plays better before another early tournament exit
The bubble is burst and the team misses the tournament

Click here to vote in our survey.

Poll results

We asked, “What is your level of happiness with the Bob Chesney hire?”

After 1,340 votes, the results:

Ecstatic, couldn’t be happier, 64.7%
Guardedly optimistic, 30.3%
In wait-and-see mode, 4.1%
This is the best they could do? 0.9%

In case you missed it

UCLA gymnasts upbeat about upcoming year after strong offseason workouts

‘I’m where I want to be.’ UCLA’s Mick Cronin got a new five-year contract this summer

UCLA’s defense wilts and a key signature win slips away during loss to Gonzaga

UCLA’s Donovan Dent could be rounding into form just in time for Gonzaga showdown

‘I want to do my part.’ How Dave Roberts helped UCLA land new coach Bob Chesney

Here’s the reason Troy Aikman didn’t get thanked by that UCLA football player

Hernández: UCLA football coach Bob Chesney and the Bruins share why they believe he will win

‘We can win here.’ Bob Chesney gives a bold vision for success as UCLA’s coach

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email me at ben.bolch@latimes.com, and follow me on X @latbbolch. To order an autographed copy of my book, “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die,” send me an email. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

From Ryan Kartje: Since it first opened in 1923, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has been the sole home of USC football. No major sports team in the city’s history has played in the same venue for longer.

But after more than a century spent by USC in the city’s iconic stadium by the campus, The Times learned that the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games likely will force USC to find a new home for its football team in 2028, with the likeliest option being SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

People with knowledge of the situation not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Times that the Coliseum would not be ready for the start of the college football season in September 2028 because of the $100-million temporary track that’s being built on top of the Coliseum field to host the track-and-field competition at the L.A. Olympics and Paralympic Games.

The logistics still are being worked out with LA28, the city’s organizing committee, and USC has not made a final decision about where the 2028 football season will be played. A source said the school hasn’t officially determined whether the Coliseum field could be ready later in the fall, perhaps to host a portion of USC’s 2028 home schedule. But even if it is logistically possible, it’s not clear that USC’s athletic department would find that arrangement in its best interest, given it would mean uprooting the team midseason or spending a long stretch of the season away from L.A.

“USC and LA28 are working in lockstep on all logistics for the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” USC athletics spokesperson Cody Worsham said in a statement. “We will share details with the public when they are finalized.”

Continue reading here

DAVE ROBERTS HELPS UCLA

From Ben Bolch: Dave Roberts might have just contributed to another monumental steal.

UCLA landed what could be the coup of the college football coaching carousel with some assistance from the celebrated Dodgers manager and Boston folk hero whose stolen base in the 2004 playoffs sparked the Red Sox’s run to their first World Series title in nearly a century.

This time, Roberts came out of the advisory bullpen to help his alma mater snag what it hopes is a championship coach in Bob Chesney.

“I just see him as a guy that failure’s not an option,” Roberts told The Times of the coach who has agreed to a five-year, $33.75-million contract. “He’s gonna win. I think I have a pretty good gut and read on people and I couldn’t have more conviction in coach Chesney.”

Continue reading here

WHICH DODGERS WILL PLAY IN THE WBC?

From Jack Harris: The 2026 World Baseball Classic begins in less than three months.

Between now and then, the Dodgers will have to have some “delicate” conversations with their star trio of Japanese pitchers.

As of now, Dodgers front-office officials said at this week’s winter meetings, no final decisions have been made about whether Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki will participate in the tournament, nor if Shohei Ohtani (who has already confirmed his participation) will pitch in addition to hitting.

“We’re still working through that,” said president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who met with Team Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata at the Signia by Hilton Orlando this week.

Continue reading here

Shohei Ohtani made ‘very big contribution’ to help Dodgers teammate’s mother battle cancer

CLIPPERS LOSE AGAIN

Amen Thompson’s three-point play with 17.2 seconds left helped the Houston Rockets to a 115-113 win over the Clippers on Thursday night.

Thompson tipped in Alperen Sengun’s miss to break a 110-110 tie, was fouled by Kris Dunn and hit the free throw. The putback came off Houston’s third offensive rebound of the possession and 21st of the night.

Thompson made eight of 12 from the field and finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Continue reading here

Clippers box score

NBA standings

DUCKS’ WINNING STREAK ENDS

Anders Lee scored twice and had two assists, and David Rittich made 31 saves as the New York Islanders beat the Ducks 5-2 on Thursday night.

Simon Holmstrom had a goal and two assists and defensemen Travis Mitchell and Ryan Pulock each scored as the Islanders won for the fifth time in six games.

Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry scored for the Ducks, who had their three-game winning streak ended.

Continue reading here

Ducks summary

NHL standings

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1937 — Rookie Sammy Baugh throws second-half touchdown passes of 55, 78 and 33 yards to overcome a 14-7 Chicago lead and give the Washington Redskins a 28-21 victory over the Chicago Bears for the NFL championship.

1953 — Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadiens becomes the NHL’s all-time leading scorer with a goal and two assists in a 7-2 victory against the New York Rangers. Richard finishes the game with 611 points, one more than injured linemate Elmer Lach, who has held the record since February 1952.

1965 — Chicago’s Gale Sayers scores six touchdowns with 336 combined yards to lead the Bears to a 61-20 rout of the San Francisco 49ers. The six TDs give Sayers an NFL-record 21 for the season. Sayers’ first touchdown is a reception, the next four rushing and the final, an 85-yard punt return.

1968 — Arthur Ashe becomes first Black person be ranked No. 1 in tennis.

1971 — Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks scores his 1,000th point with an assist in the first period of a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota North Stars.

1977 — NBA Commissioner Larry O’Brien fines Kermit Washington $10,000 and suspends the Lakers forward for at least 60 days (26 games) for punching Houston’s Rudy Tomjanovich during a game on Dec. 9. The suspension is the longest ever in NBA history and the fine is the maximum permissible under league rules.

1986 — James “Bonecrusher” Smith knocks out Tim Witherspoon in the first round to win the WBA heavyweight title in New York.

1987 — Guard Mookie Blaylock leads Oklahoma to an NCAA-record 33 steals with 13 in a 152-84 victory over Centenary.

1990 — Connecticut uses a stifling press and quickness to jump to a 32-0 lead en route to an 85-32 victory over New Hampshire. New Hampshire plays 11 minutes and 48 seconds before scoring its first point.

2015 — Keenan Reynolds ends his Navy career with a clean sweep against Army. Reynolds rushes for two touchdowns and throws for another score to lead the No. 21 Midshipmen to their 14th straight win over the Black Knights, 21-17. Reynolds is the first quarterback over the 116-game series to go 4-0.

2015 — The Golden State Warriors’ NBA-record start ends at 24 wins when the Milwaukee Bucks beat them 108-95.

2016 — Tom Brady connects with Chris Hogan for a 79-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to help the New England Patriots overcome a sloppy second half and claim a 30-23 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Brady throws for 406 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the fourth NFL quarterback with at least 450 career touchdown passes. He also throws just his second interception of the season.

2021 — Dutchman Max Verstappen wins Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.

2024 — Six-time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Belichick is introduced as next head football coach at the University of North Carolina.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: LeBron James refused to look too far into the future to say what kind of team the Lakers might be when the playoffs arrive in April while they are still playing games in December.

Even though it was the NBA Cup quarterfinal game the Lakers lost to the San Antonio Spurs, 132-119, James didn’t want to venture into how things would unfold.

Two years ago, when the Lakers went to Las Vegas and won the inaugural NBA Cup championship, James cautioned then that they had a long way to go and that that wasn’t an indicator or what that team could accomplish.

Not making it to Las Vegas this time and instead now having to play the Suns in Phoenix on Sunday, James was asked where the Lakers stand long term when it comes to competing for the playoffs.

“It’s December what?” James responded.

He was told it was December 10.

“And you’re talking about the playoffs? Nah, can’t do that. It’s not OK. Not my mindset,” James said. “I don’t. I can’t think about what we can do in the playoffs in December. What I can say is that the habits that we built throughout the regular season each month, if we are in a position to make it to the postseason and be able to get to that point, well, we have to build it now. But as far as talking about what type of damage we’re gonna do in the postseason in December, that’s not right for the basketball gods, not for me.”

Continue reading here

Lakers box score

NBA standings

MORE DODGERS SIGNINGS?

From Jack Harris: As the hotel lobby at the Signia by Hilton Orlando filled at MLB’s winter meetings on Tuesday morning, an unexpected prize was falling into the Dodgers’ lap.

Edwin Díaz, the top reliever on this year’s free-agent market, was suddenly slipping away from the incumbent New York Mets, who reportedly made the fan favorite closer only a three-year offer that did little to entice him to re-sign with the team.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, were swooping in late to snatch away the hard-throwing right-hander, submitting a more lucrative three-year bid that would pay Díaz a relief-pitcher-record $23 million per season.

Just like that, the Dodgers had gone from a perfectly content, but unremarkably quiet winter, to one in which they’d once again flexed their financial muscles and stunned the baseball industry.

The Dodgers might not need to make another big move, in the same way they downplayed the need for any big acquisition coming into the winter.

But they’ll certainly be ready to pounce if another opportunity materializes.

“I would say we definitely can,” Friedman hinted when asked if another big move this offseason could be possible. “Whether that makes the most sense within the timing of our roster — there’s so many factors that go into it, and any decision you make has a future cost. It’s just weighing that. So, yes, we can. How likely it is, is probably another question.”

Continue reading here

Starz picks up drama on gambling scandal involving Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter

CHRIS PAUL ‘AT PEACE’

From Chuck Schilken: Former Clippers point guard Chris Paul says he’s “at peace with everything” after being abruptly dismissed by the team last week.

“Stuff’s been a little crazy in the past few days — to say the least,” Paul told People magazine in an interview published Tuesday. “But honestly, I’m home. My daughter had tryouts yesterday. My nephew had a basketball game. My son has a game coming up on the 12th.”

Paul’s son, Chris Paul II, is a sophomore guard for the Campbell Hall varsity basketball team, which plays Newbury Park on Friday.

“I have never seen my son play a game in person,” the elder Paul said. “Not a middle school game, not a high school game. So I’m excited about seeing him play.”

Also on Tuesday, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue denied an ESPN report from last week that he and Paul hadn’t been on speaking terms in the weeks leading up to the team’s decision to part ways with one of its most iconic players.

Continue reading here

CAN BOB CHESNEY BUILD A WINNER?

From Dylan Hernández: Bob Chesney has a welcoming demeanor. He articulates his thoughts well. And if the people who hired him are right, the small-school wonder will be a transformative figure in Los Angeles sports.

Officially introduced on Tuesday as UCLA’s new football coach, the 48-year-old Chesney has a new-age vibe about him. His opening remarks lasted about seven minutes and he answered questions for nearly 30 more, but that wasn’t enough to tell whether he’ll be another Sean McVay or another Brandon Staley.

Here’s the more important question: Does it matter?

The Sleeping Giant of a football program has been hibernating for so long that no one can be certain it’s still hibernating.

The Sleeping Giant could be a Dead Giant.

Bob Toledo couldn’t build a consistent winner at UCLA. Rick Neuheisel, Jim Mora and Chip Kelly couldn’t either.

Continue reading here

Here’s the reason Troy Aikman didn’t get thanked by that UCLA football player

PHILIP RIVERS RETURNS

From Sam Farmer: Philip Rivers has never been quick on his feet, but he can make quick decisions. That’s what made him such an outstanding NFL quarterback, and it’s part of the reason he’s a Hall of Fame semifinalist.

So it’s not surprising that, even at 44 and a grandfather, he didn’t linger long when the Indianapolis Colts called to take his temperature on coming back to play quarterback for them.

Rivers was at home in Alabama on Sunday night when he got a call from Colts coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard. They had just lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones to a torn Achilles tendon, and rookie backup Riley Leonard suffered an undisclosed knee injury in relief.

“We said, ‘What do you think?’” Steichen said Wednesday of phoning Rivers, the Chargers great who finished his career with the Colts. “He said, ‘Heck yeah, I’m interested. Heck yeah.’ So he slept on it and then we called him back Monday morning and he said, ‘I need to get up there and throw in that building. Start moving around.’”

The quarterback, five years removed from his last game, threw at the Colts facility Monday and Tuesday then went back to his hotel to think it over. When Steichen and Ballard called again, Rivers — in true Philip Rivers style — said, “Dag-gummit, let’s freaking go.”

Continue reading here

KINGS FALL TO KRAKEN

Vince Dunn scored on the power play 1:21 into overtime and the Seattle Kraken ended a five-game losing streak on Wednesday night by beating the Kings, 3-2.

Matty Beniers tied the score for the Kraken with a power-play goal with 25.3 seconds left in regulation. Jared McCann also scored for Seattle, which had been winless in six outings (0-5-1) since Nov. 23. Eeli Tolvanan assisted on the tying and winning goals. Dunn added two assists.

Joey Daccord made 24 saves.

Alex Laferriere had a short-handed goal and Kevin Fiala scored on the power play for the Kings. Anton Forsberg made 30 saves.

Continue reading here

Kings summary

NHL standings

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1938 — New York Giants beats the Green Bay Packers 23-17 to win the NFL championship.

1946 — The Chicago Stags and Cleveland Rebels play an experimental NBA game featuring 15-minute quarters, instead of the usual 12-minute quarters. The Stags beat the Rebels 88-70.

1949 — Johnny Lujack of the Chicago Bears passes for 468 yards and six touchdowns in a 52-21 rout of the Chicago Cardinals.

1951 — Joe DiMaggio announces his retirement from baseball.

1959 — Richie Guerin scores 57 points, at the time the most ever by a Knick, as New York defeats Syracuse 152-121. His team record was broken by Bernard King 25 years later.

1971 — The Lakers set an NBA record with 21 straight wins by beating the Atlanta Hawks 104-95, breaking the record of 20 set by the Milwaukee Bucks the previous year.

1972 — Joe Namath of the New York Jets passes for 403 yards and Don Maynard sets an NFL record for career receptions in a 24-16 loss to the Oakland Raiders. Maynard, with seven catches, breaks Raymond Berry’s record of 631 by one catch.

1977 — Philadelphia’s Tom Bladon scores four goals and collects four assists to set a record for defensemen with eight points in the Flyers’ 11-1 victory over the Cleveland Barons.

1981 — Former world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali’s 61st and last fight; loses to Trevor Berbick by unanimous decision in 10 rounds at Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, Nassau, Bahamas.

1982 — Dan Fouts the San Diego Chargers passes for 444 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-37 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. San Francisco’s Joe Montana passes for 356 yards to set an NFL record with five consecutive games of 300 yards or more passing.

1983 — John Henry becomes the first racehorse to surpass $4 million in career earnings when he wins the Hollywood Turf Cup with jockey Chris McCarron at Hollywood Park.

1985 — Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers registers seven assists in a 12-9 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks. The teams tie the NHL record for most total goals in a game.

1992 — Gary Bettman, the NBA’s senior vice president and general counsel, is named the NHL’s first commissioner.

1999 — Rowan ends Mount Union’s NCAA-record 54-game winning streak, beating the Purple Raiders 24-17 in overtime in a Division III semifinal game.

2002 — Danielle Dube becomes the third female goalie to start in a men’s pro hockey game, stopping 18 shots in the Long Beach Ice Dogs’ 4-1 loss to San Diego in the West Coast Hockey League.

2002 — Colorado’s Joe Sakic scores his 500th career goal in a 3-1 loss at Vancouver. Sakic is the 31st player in NHL history to reach the milestone.

2006 — Jerry Sloan becomes the fifth coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games after Utah defeats Dallas 101-79.

2009 — Tiger Woods announces an indefinite leave from pro golf to focus on his marriage.

2010 — Carl Hagelin scores two goals in the Michigan’s 5-0 victory over Michigan State at Michigan Stadium. The announced attendance of 113,411 crowd sets a world attendance record for a hockey game.

2015 — The Golden State Warriors need two overtimes to remain perfect on a very imperfect night and improved to 24-0 this season by outlasting the Boston Celtics 124-119.

2021 — 87th Heisman Trophy Award: Bryce Young, Alabama (QB)

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

From Jack Harris: Coming into the offseason, the Dodgers signaled that they would be conservative when it came to pursuing help in the bullpen.

Turned out, they were quietly plotting one of the most surprising — and influential — signings of the winter.

In a blockbuster move on Tuesday, the team agreed to a three-year, $69-million deal with top free-agent closer Edwin Díaz, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly, snatching the three-time All-Star and three-time reliever of the year award winner in a move that will transform their previously shaky bullpen.

Díaz, 31, was the consensus best relief pitcher in this year’s free-agent class. Over his nine-year career, he has a 2.82 ERA and 253 saves. In that time, no other MLB reliever tops him in strikeouts (839), while only Kenley Jansen has recorded more saves (334). With the New York Mets this past season — his second since returning from a knee surgery that sidelined him for all of 2023 — Díaz also had one of his best career campaigns, posting a 1.63 ERA with 28 saves in 31 opportunities and 98 strikeouts in 66 ⅓ innings.

He was so good, he elected to opt out of the final two years of the record-setting five-year, $102-million deal he signed with the Mets in 2022.

Thanks to that track record, the hard-throwing right-hander was positioned to be the highest-paid reliever on this year’s market. Most projections pegged him for another four- or five-year deal, making upward of $20 million per season again.

Continue reading here

MORE BASEBALL:

Shaikin: Edwin Díaz signing shows Dodgers aren’t going to worry about potential salary cap

Take a swing? Two Buss brothers consider investing in baseball’s Athletics

NEW UCLA COACH TAKES AIM AT USC

From Ben Bolch: Nine months before his debut in his first big-time college football coaching job, Bob Chesney sounded as confident as a running back with four downs to gain one yard.

Nothing could stop him, no matter the weight of the unique challenges ahead.

For instance…

How did he feel about UCLA’s lack of recent football success?

“To me,” Chesney said, “there is zero doubt in my mind that we can win here.”

A perceived lack of institutional support?

“Alignment,” Chesney said, referencing his shared vision with university officials, “was a word that continued to show up over and over and over again.”

That annoying crosstown rival?

“We don’t need to be the other school in this town,” Chesney said, “we need to be the school in this town and I promise that will happen here in the very, very near future.”

Continue reading here

USC BASKETBALL TAKES NOSTALGIC TRIP

From Ryan Kartje: When they first met more than four decades ago now, the four freshmen on the University of San Diego’s men’s basketball team in 1983 didn’t need long to figure out who would lead them. Eric Musselman had all but elected himself within moments of moving into their dorm room.

“Before I could even drop my bag on the bed, Eric goes, ‘OK, we’re going to the gym,’” recalled Scott Thompson, San Diego’s 7-foot center. “He’d barely said hello.”

It didn’t matter that, at 5-foot-7, Musselman — the future USC men’s basketball coach — was more than a foot shorter than his freshman counterparts, with the other two checking in at 6-foot-11 and 6-foot-9. Or that Musselman carried himself with a swagger and confidence more befitting, even then, of a coach than a college freshman. He was so sure of himself, he actually pitched himself for the head coaching job as a sophomore.

“Father [Pat] Cahill was our athletic director,” Musselman said. “So before they named our new coach [in 1984], I went in there and told him, ‘Hey I think I can coach these guys and be a student athlete and a coach, and it’d be great publicity, the first time ever and all that.”

“And Father Cahill told me to get back to class.”

Continue reading here

MORE USC:

Chad Baker-Mazara and Ezra Ausar lead USC to win at San Diego

USC vs. San Diego summary

RIVERS RETURNS TO NFL

From Sam Farmer: These are not your grandfather’s Indianapolis Colts.

Or perhaps they are.

The Colts are planning to sign Chargers legend Philip Rivers, who recently became a grandfather, bringing back the 44-year-old quarterback after five years of retirement.

Continue reading here

HIGH SCHOOLS

From Eric Sondheimer: It was paparazzi time on Tuesday night at the old Morningside High gymnasium, where more than 20 photographers stationed themselves on the baseline trying to capture the moment Jason Crowe Jr. of Inglewood set the state record for career scoring by a high school basketball player.

Think Chino Hills days with the Ball brothers and Sierra Canyon days with Bronny James to bring out the cameras en masse.

The 6-foot-4 senior and son of Inglewood coach Jason Crowe Sr. needed 29 points to pass the 3,659 career points accumulated by Tounde Yessoufou of Santa Maria St. Joseph.

Continue reading here

MORE HIGH SCHOOLS:

Josh Gallagher helps Loyola turn back Cathedral in boys’ soccer rivalry game

Prep basketball roundup: Freshman Major Williams makes 11 threes for Edison

DUCKS

Beckett Sennecke scored a shorthanded goal with one second remaining to force overtime, Leo Carlsson scored in the shootout and the Ducks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Tuesday night for their fifth win in seven games.

The 19-year-old Sennecke eluded three defenders and his shot deflected off the glove of Pittsburgh’s Erik Karlsson and into the net. A replay review confirmed the shot beat the buzzer.

Ville Husso made 45 saves, including seven in overtime, and stopped all three shots in the shootout.

Continue reading here

Ducks-Penguins summary

NHL standings

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1939 — The Green Bay Packers register the first shutout in an NFL championship game by beating the New York Giants 27-0.

1961 — Billy Cannon of the Houston Oilers rushes for 216 yards, catches five passes for 114 yards and scores five touchdowns in a 48-21 victory over the New York Titans. Cannon finishes with 373 combined yards.

1971 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scores a career-high 55 points in Milwaukee’s 120-104 victory over the Boston Celtics.

1982 — Michael Dokes knocks out Mike Weaver in the first round to capture the WBA heavyweight title in Las Vegas.

1985 — The Indiana Pacers hits only 19 field goals in an 82-64 loss to the New York Knicks, setting an NBA record for the fewest field goals made by one team since the inception of the shot clock.

1986 — Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins scores 57 points to lead the Hawks to a 123-95 rout of the Chicago Bulls.

1992 — The NHL awards expansion franchises to Anaheim and Miami. The newcomers, scheduled to begin play in the 1993-94 season, bring the NHL to 26 teams.

1994 — Art Monk sets an NFL record for consecutive games with a reception on New York’s first play in the Jets’ 18-7 loss to the Detroit Lions. Monk’s 5-yard catch gives him 178 consecutive games with a reception, breaking Steve Largent’s NFL mark.

1999 — Laffit Pincay Jr. guides Irish Nip to a two-length victory in the sixth race at Hollywood Park for his 8,834th victory, breaking Bill Shoemaker’s 29-year-old record and making him the world’s winningest jockey.

2006 — LaDainian Tomlinson breaks Shaun Alexander’s NFL single-season touchdown record of 28 when he scores three times in the San Diego Chargers’ 48-20 victory over the Denver Broncos. Tomlinson has 26 TDs rushing and three receiving.

2006 — Marvin Harrison of Indianapolis is the fourth player in NFL history with 1,000 receptions, joining Jerry Rice, Tim Brown and Cris Carter.

2008 — Carmelo Anthony matches George Gervin’s NBA record for points in a quarter with 33 in the third and finishes with a season-high 45 points in Denver’s 116-105 victory over Minnesota.

2010 — George Karl earns his 1,000th coaching victory, the seventh coach in NBA history, as Al Harrington scores a season-high 31 points and Nene adds 26 to help the Denver Nuggets hold off the Toronto Raptors 123-116.

2016 — 82nd Heisman Trophy Award: Lamar Jackson, Louisville Cardinals (QB), youngest player to win at 19.

2016 — Army ends a 14-year run of frustration against Navy, using an overpowering running game and opportunistic defense to carve out a long overdue 21-17 victory.

2016 — Roman Torres scores in the sixth round of penalty kicks to give the Seattle Sounders their first MLS Cup title, 5-4 over Toronto FC after 120 scoreless minutes. It’s the first MLS Cup final to fail to produce a goal in regulation, setting the stage for a dramatic tiebreaker.

2017 — Ben Roethlisberger completes 44 of a franchise-record 66 passes for 506 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to top 500 yards passing three times and leading Pittsburgh past Baltimore 39-38. Antonio Brown caught 11 passes for 213 yards for Pittsburgh.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

From Sam Farmer: All that talk about the left hand of Justin Herbert, and it’s the right foot of Cameron Dicker that made the difference.

Dicker kicked five field goals Monday night to lift the Chargers to a 22-19 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in a wild, turnover-filled game at SoFi Stadium.

On a night when the teams combined for eight turnovers — including a career-high four interceptions by Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts — the game fittingly ended with an interception. Tony Jefferson latched onto a pass that was tipped by fellow Chargers defensive back Cam Hart, snuffing out the Eagles’ last chance.

So Dicker’s 54-yard field goal with 6:24 remaining in the extra period provided the margin of victory, just as it was Dicker who forced overtime with a 46-yarder in the waning moments of regulation.

“What a team we have,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said, practically shouting at the postgame podium. “That’s my reaction — what a team we have. They refuse to lose.”

Continue reading here

Chargers-Eagles summary

NFL standings

DODGERS KNOCK DOWN RUMORS

From Jack Harris: It’s been an offseason of few acquisitions thus far for the Dodgers.

So much so that, on the first day of MLB’s annual winter meetings at the Signia by Hilton Orlando on Monday, the most intriguing rumor surrounding the team had to do with a potential subtraction from their big-league roster.

According to multiple reports, Teoscar Hernández has come up in the Dodgers’ trade talks with other teams this winter. USA Today went as far as saying the club was “shopping” the two-time All-Star, who is entering the second season of the three-year, $66-million deal he signed last offseason.

However, both manager Dave Roberts and general manager Brandon Gomes downplayed that notion while addressing reporters on Monday.

“Teo certainly fits [our roster still],” Roberts said. “He’s helped us win two championships. He’s one of my favorites.”

“That doesn’t feel likely,” Gomes added of the possibility of trading Hernández. “Obviously, you can never say never on those types of things. I know that’s come up [in reports]. But that’s not something we anticipate at all.”

The idea of the Dodgers trading Hernández has felt like a long shot from the start. Though the 33-year-old slugger suffered an inconsistent and injury-plagued regular season in 2025 — both at the plate, where he had 25 home runs but hit only .247, and especially defensively, where he had several notable lapses after moving to right field — the 10-year veteran has made crucial contributions in each of the Dodgers’ two World Series runs the last couple years, and has served in a mentor role to young players in the clubhouse; none more so than Andy Pages.

Continue reading here

MORE DODGERS:

A quiet Dodgers offseason has yet to heat up. Will winter meetings help them find a move?

From Ben Bolch: The eight remaining candidates met with UCLA’s search committee on Zoom, each answering the same set of questions.

When those conversations ended, Martin Jarmond, the athletic director who was presiding over the Bruins’ quest to find their next great football coach, asked everyone on the committee to prioritize which candidates needed to be seen in person.

Everyone’s list included the same name: Bob Chesney.

The James Madison coach had already wowed the committee by then, according to multiple people with knowledge of the search who spoke with The Times on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the process.

Chesney’s experience building programs into winners, established track record of success at multiple levels, ability to develop talent and appreciation for everything UCLA had to offer were all selling points that made him an attractive candidate early in a search lasting 2½ months.

Continue reading here

From Ryan Kartje: USC will face Texas Christian in its first trip to the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 30, the night before the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff kick off. Throw in the fact that the Horned Frogs finished in seventh place in the Big 12, and you don’t exactly have a marquee, made-for-TV matchup.

But for USC’s coach, the Alamo Bowl should carry a certain significance — if only for the fact that it’s where his reputation as a budding offensive mastermind was born.

Sixteen years ago this December, Lincoln Riley was on his way to a team meeting ahead of Texas Tech’s bowl game, when defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill pulled him aside. Mike Leach, the Red Raiders’ head coach had been suspended for the bowl for allegations of player mistreatment — and would be fired days later. McNeill, the interim coach, wanted Riley to call plays for him.

Riley was 26, and reeling from the news about his mentor.

“An opportunity arose out of a not-very-positive situation,” Riley said Sunday.

Continue reading here

NOTRE DAME CFP FALLOUT

From Chuck Schilken: One day removed from learning that Notre Dame had been left out of the College Football Playoff’s 12-team field, Fighting Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua was still fuming.

In addition to reiterating his frustrations with the CFP ranking process, Bevacqua also turned his ire on the Atlantic Coast Conference during a Monday morning appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.”

“We were mystified by the actions of the conference, to attack, you know, their biggest, really, business partner in football and a member of their conference in 24 of our other sports,” Bevaqua said. “And I wouldn’t be honest with you if I didn’t say that they have certainly done permanent damage to the relationship between the conference and Notre Dame.”

Continue reading here

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

From Eric Sondheimer: Palisades, hoping to be a City Section basketball title contender, unveiled two 6-foot-5 twins from Detroit, EJ and OJ Popoola, on Monday night, but there was no stopping Windward shooting threes in its home gym.

The Wildcats made 14 threes and received a terrific performance from 6-6 junior Davey Harris in an 80-60 victory. Harris, who said he was “80%” several weeks ago in Windward’s season opener after recovering from a knee injury that sidelined him for two seasons, now says he’s “85 to 90%.” If that’s true, wait until he’s 100% because he finished with 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Palisades (0-3) is doing exactly what City Section football teams did during their nonleage seasons — play tough Southern Section opponents to prepare for league play. The Dolphins open Western League play on Wednesday against Venice and will be an Open Division title contender.

Continue reading here

MORE HIGH SCHOOLS:

High school basketball: Monday’s boys’ and girls’ scores

Prep Rally: A big high school basketball record could be broken this week

KINGS

Joel Armia scored twice, Adrian Kempe had a goal and assist, and the Kings beat the Utah Mammoth 4-2 on Monday night.

Anze Kopitar also scored and Kevin Fiala had two assists to help the Kings get their third win in five games. Darcy Kuemper stopped 19 shots.

Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist, and Dylan Guenther also scored for the Mammoth in their sixth loss in eight games. Karel Vejmelka finished with 23 saves.

Continue reading here

Kings summary

NHL standings

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1934 — The New York Giants wins the NFL championship by beating the Chicago Bears 30-13 in the famous “Sneakers Game.” With the temperature at 9 degrees and the Polo Grounds field a sheet of ice, the Giants open the second half wearing basketball shoes and score 27 points in the final period to overcome a 13-3 Chicago lead.

1938 — The Chicago Cardinals select TCU center Ki Aldrich with the first pick of the NFL Draft.

1939 — The Chicago Cardinals select Tennessee half back George Cafego with the first pick of the NFL Draft.

1949 — The All-America Conference merges with the National Football League. Three teams from the AAFC — the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts — join the 10-team NFL. The league is called the National-American Football League, but months later the National Football League name is restored.

1973 — Jim Bakken of the St. Louis Cardinals kicks six field goals in a 32-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

1977 — Moses Malone scores 20 points and grabs nine rebounds in the second half to lead the Houston Rockets to a 116-105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. The game s marred by a one-punch knockout of Rockets’ forward Rudy Tomjanovich by Los Angeles forward Kermit Washington.

1984 — Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams rushes for 215 yards and two touchdowns against the Houston Oilers, breaking O.J. Simpson’s NFL single-season rushing record of 2,003 yards. Dickerson ends the season with 2,105 yards.

1993 — Kevin Johnson of Phoenix becomes the 13th player to record 10 steals in an NBA game, during the Suns’ 114-95 win over Washington.

2000 — Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith rushes for a season-high 150 yards, putting him over 1,000 for a record-tying 10th straight season and joins Walter Payton and Barry Sanders as the only players in NFL history with 15,000 career yards.

2001 — Bode Miller becomes the first American since 1983 to win a World Cup giant slalom race. Miller, third after the opening leg, has an excellent second run to win in a combined time of 2 minutes, 36.02 seconds in Val D’Isere, France.

2007 — Peyton Manning of Indianapolis becomes the fifth quarterback in NFL history to throw 300 touchdown passes, getting four and going 13-for-17 for 249 yards in a 44-20 win over Baltimore.

2009 — Cassidy Schaub rolls consecutive 300 games and sets a Professional Bowlers Association 16-game scoring record, averaging 257.25 to retain the second-round lead in the Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open. Schaub had a 16-game total of 4,116 pins to erase the PBA record of 4,095 set by John Mazza in Las Vegas in 1996.

2016 — Russia’s sports reputation is ripped apart again when a new report into systematic doping details a vast “institutional conspiracy” that covers more than 1,000 athletes in over 30 sports and a corrupted drug-testing system at the 2012 and 2014 Olympics. This second and final report by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren says the conspiracy involves the Russian Sports Ministry, national anti-doping agency and the FSB intelligence service, providing further details of state involvement in a massive program of cheating and cover-ups that operated on an “unprecedented scale” from 2011-15.

2017 — Jozy Altidore opens the scoring in the 67th minute and Toronto FC beats the Seattle Sounders 2-0 in the MLS Cup to become the first Canadian champion in league history.

2018 – New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady breaks Peyton Manning’s record for most touchdown passes in NFL history.

2018 — Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers breaks Tom Brady’s NFL record with his 359th straight pass without an interception during Packers 34-20 win over Atlanta Falcons; finishes game with streak intact at 368.

2021 – Chicago Black Hawks Marc-Andre Fleury becomes 3rd NHL goaltender to reach 500 career wins.

2023 — Japanese baseball two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani signs a North American pro-sports record 10-year $700m deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: LeBron James needed to send this message.

He still sits on his throne.

The Lakers superstar scored 10 consecutive points late in the fourth quarter to seal a 112-108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, finishing with 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists to help the Lakers (17-6) nab two wins out of a difficult three-game trip.

Philadelphia (13-10) crawled back from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and tied the score with 1:28 remaining on a shot by Joel Embiid. James answered with the fadeaway three-pointer over Quentin Grimes to put the Lakers up by three with 1:11 left. He all but iced the game with a 20-foot fadeaway shot over Grimes with 27.3 seconds remaining.

Running back up the court, James held both hands low to the ground in a “too small” signal. He placed an imaginary crown on his head. He soaked in the roars from the crowd and punctuated it with his signature silencer celebration.

“That was vintage Bron,” said Luka Doncic, who finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists after a two-game absence for the birth of his second child. “We’re happy he was there to save us.”

James played in his 1,015th win, passing Robert Parish for the second most in NBA history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record with 1,074. The Lakers won for the first time in Philadelphia since Dec. 16, 2016.

Continue reading here

Lakers box score

NBA standings

RAMS

From Gary Klein: There was no time for players and fans to send Rams coach Sean McVay get-well-soon cards.

A day after deciding not to travel with the team for fear of spreading stomach-flu symptoms, McVay arrived Sunday morning.

McVay fist-bumped players during warmups at State Farm Stadium, his trademark gelled hair spikes in full effect. And he looked none the worse for the wear while roaming the sideline sockless and calling plays against the Arizona Cardinals.

McVay and his players were feeling good after the Rams routed the Cardinals, 45-17.

Matthew Stafford passed for three touchdowns, Puka Nacua caught two touchdown passes in a game for the first time in his career, and Blake Corum rushed for a career-high 128 yards and two touchdowns as the Rams bounced back from a loss to the Carolina Panthers and improved to 10-3, reclaiming the top spot in the NFC.

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FERNANDO DOES NOT MAKE HALL OF FAME

From Jack Harris: Fernando Valenzuela was once more denied induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Fourteen months removed from his death at the age of 63 in October 2024, and 27 years removed from the end of a pitching career measured by more than just wins, losses and ERA, Valenzuela failed to be elected for the 2026 Hall of Fame class by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee — a 16-person group that once every three years considers players from the 1980s or later who had not been elected to the Hall through the traditional media vote.

Needing 12 votes from that committee to attain Hall of Fame status, Valenzuela instead came up short by receiving fewer than five.

Because Valenzuela didn’t receive five votes, he will be ineligible to be back on the Contemporary Era Committee’s ballot in 2028. The next time the committee could review his case won’t be until 2031.

Until then, his name will remain among the most notable snubs from Hall of Fame induction.

Continue reading here

Former Dodgers slugger and noted curmudgeon Jeff Kent voted into the Hall of Fame

From Ryan Kartje: For the 11th straight season and fourth time under coach Lincoln Riley, USC finished its season on the outside looking in at the College Football Playoff field.

But it will get to finish this football season with a first.

USC will face Texas Christian in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 30, a source not authorized to discuss the matchup publicly confirmed to The Times. The Trojans never have spent the bowl season in San Antonio, where the Alamo Bowl has been played since 1993.

Their opponent comes as somewhat of a surprise considering the Horned Frogs finished the regular season 8-4 in a tie for fifth in the Big 12. The Alamo Bowl gets first selection of Big 12 teams and could have chosen Brigham Young, which lost in the Big 12 title game and, like USC, finished within one win of the playoff field. But the bowl presumably passed on the Cougars because they took part in the game last season.

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USC BASKETBALL

From Ryan Kartje: Jazzy Davidson glanced at the basket with less than two minutes left in USC’s Big Ten opener and in a split-second’s time considered her options. Nearly nothing had fallen from three-point range for the Trojans. It took 25 minutes Sunday just to see one three-pointer drop, and the Trojans had made only two.

But the mere threat of the freshman pulling up from range, even on a night defined by defensive struggle, was enough to give Davidson the sliver of space she needed. After pausing she raced past her defender and toward the basket, lifting for a finger roll that propelled USC past Washington in a 59-50 victory.

The win wasn’t just a significant statement for USC ahead of its heavyweight battle with No. 1 Connecticut next Saturday. It was also a major mile marker for Lindsay Gottlieb, who became the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 wins.

Continue reading here

USC box score

Big Ten standings

USC-NOTRE DAME RIVALRY

From Bill Plaschke: The ongoing discussions about continuing the expired USC-Notre Dame football rivalry should begin with one basic truth.

Notre Dame needs USC more than USC needs Notre Dame.

The Irish are reeling today after they were stunningly left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff, but they never would have been part of the playoff conversation without a win over Holiday Bowl-bound USC.

The 10-2 Irish lost their first two games of the season before embarking on their usual cupcake schedule.

Somewhere in the muck of forgettable games against the likes of Boise State and Boston College and Navy, they needed a marquee win.

USC showed up in October and gave them the opportunity for that marquee win. Every year USC shows up in the middle of the season and gives them a chance at collecting that marquee win.

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UCLA BASKETBALL

From Antony Solorzano: Any time UCLA built a significant lead in the first half, Oregon tried to slow the the Bruins’ momentum with a timeout. The first call came after a UCLA built a 10-point advantage in the first quarter, with the second timeout after UCLA pulled ahead by 19 points.

It didn’t work — the Bruins remained in control of the game.

The No. 4 UCLA women’s basketball team (9-1) earned an 80-59 win over Oregon (10-1) during their Big Ten opener at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday.

Continue reading here

UCLA box score

Big Ten standings

UCLA WATER POLO

Frederico Jucá Carsalade scored with one second remaining to cap a four-goal fourth quarter, and UCLA rallied to beat USC 11-10 to win the men’s water polo championship Sunday at the Avery Aquatic Center.

It was the 14th championship for the second-seeded and defending champion Bruins (27-2), winning back-to-back titles for the fifth time.

USC (23-4), the top seed, was aiming for its 11th title — all since 1998 — in a tournament that began in 1969. The Trojans won six in a row from 2008 to 2013.

Continue reading here

DUCKS

Leo Carlsson scored two goals and rookie Beckett Sennecke had a goal and an assist in the Ducks’ 7-1 victory over the road-weary Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night.

Jacob Trouba, Mason McTavish, Alex Killorn and Frank Vatrano also scored for the Pacific Division-leading Ducks, who have won three of four. The Ducks took charge with a four-goal second period that featured a franchise-record 27 shots on Chicago’s net, capped by Carlsson’s 15th goal on a fluttering deflection for a 5-0 lead.

Ville Husso made 19 saves for the Ducks, who beat Chicago for the first time in three tries this season. Ryan Strome, Cutter Gauthier and Chris Kreider had two assists apiece.

Continue reading here

Ducks summary

NHL standings

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1940 — The Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins 73-0 for the most one-sided victory in NFL Championship play.

1942 — Georgia’s Frank Sinkwich wins the Heisman Trophy. Sinkwich ends his career holding the Southeastern Conference record for total offense with 2,399 yards.

1948 — Southern Methodist junior Doak Walker wins the Heisman Trophy. Walker over three years scores 303 points, including 40 touchdowns and 60 points after touchdowns.

1961 — Philadelphia’s Wilt Chamberlain scores 78 points and grabs 43 rebounds in a 151-147 triple overtime loss to the Lakers. Elgin Baylor leads the Lakers with 63 points.

1963 — Cookie Gilchrist of the Buffalo Bills sets an AFL record with 243 yards rushing and ties a league record with five touchdowns in a 45-14 rout of the New York Jets.

1977 — Texas running back Earl Campbell wins the Heisman Trophy.

1987 — Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers becomes the first NHL goaltender to shoot a puck into the opposing goal in a 5-2 victory over the Boston Bruins.

2000 — Shaquille O’Neal sets an NBA record by going 0-for-11 from the free-throw line as the SuperSonics beat the Lakers 103-95. He broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record, who went 0-for-10 for Philadelphia against Detroit on Nov. 4, 1960. O’Neal had 26 points and 16 rebounds.

2002 — Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon sets an NFL record with his 10th 300-yard game of the season, throwing for 328 yards in the Raider 27-7 win over San Diego and breaking a tie with Dan Marino, Warren Moon and Kurt Warner.

2007 — Florida quarterback Tim Tebow becomes the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. He beats out Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, the first player since 1949 to finish second in consecutive seasons.

2011 — Three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols agrees to a $254-million, 10-year contract with the Angels on the final day of baseball’s winter meetings. Pujols’ contract is the second-highest in baseball history and only the third to break the $200 million barrier, following Alex Rodriguez’s $252 million, 10-year deal with Texas before the 2001 season and A-Rod’s $275 million, 10-year contract with the Yankees before the 2008 season.

2011 — The NBA and players union reach financial agreement to end a 161-day lockout, shortening the season by 16 games.

2012 — Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel becomes the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, taking college football’s top individual prize after a record-breaking debut. Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o finishes a distant second and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein is third in the voting.

2013 — Zach Johnson rallies from four shots behind with eight holes to play and beats Tiger Woods, the No. 1 player in golf, at the World Challenge. Johnson holes out from a drop area for par on the last hole to force a playoff and wins when Woods misses a 5-foot par putt on the first extra hole.

2013 — Lydia Ko, a 16-year-old from New Zealand, rallies to win her first title as a professional. Ko, making her second pro start, wins the Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters, closing with a 4-under 68 for a three-stroke victory over South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu. She won four pro events as an amateur, taking the Canadian Women’s Open the last two years.

2018 — Kyler Murray, Oklahoma, wins Heisman Trophy.

2022 — American basketball star Brittany Griner is released by Russian authorities in a prisoner exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout; Griner detained on drug smuggling charges since February 2022.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.