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The Kings have reacquired veteran goalie Pheonix Copley to provide depth while Darcy Kuemper is slowed by a lower-body injury.

The Kings acquired the 33-year-old Copley from Tampa Bay in a trade Wednesday for future considerations.

Copley spent the previous three years in the Kings’ organization, including 42 games last season for the AHL’s Ontario Reign. The former Washington netminder started 35 games for the Kings during the 2022-23 season before missing most of the 2023-24 season because of a knee surgery.

The Lightning claimed Copley off waivers earlier this month while they were worried about the status of starter Andrei Vasilevskiy, who struggled with an injury in training camp. Vasilevskiy ultimately was healthy enough to play in Tampa Bay’s season opener.

Anton Forsberg is the primary backup to Kuemper, who was a Vezina Trophy finalist last season along with Vasilevskiy.

Forsberg started the only victory in four games this season for the Kings (1-2-1).

Kuemper missed practice Wednesday along with captain Anze Kopitar due to lower-body injuries. Forsberg seems likely to start when the Kings host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Marco Rossi scored in the fourth round of the shootout and the Minnesota Wild beat the Kings 4-3 on Monday night after giving up a three-goal lead in the third period.

Power-play goals by Jared Spurgeon, Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy gave Minnesota a 3-0 lead late in the first period.

The score remained until the third period when Kevin Fiala, Quinton Byfield scored early and Adrain Kempe late to send the game to overtime.

Fiala banked a rebound off the back of Jesper Wallstedt early in the third and Byfield added a power-play goal less than three minutes later to get the Kings to 3-2.

With an extra attacker, Kempe scored on a rebound with 44.4 seconds left in regulation for the Kings.

Darcy Kuemper stopped 23 shots for the Kings, who again struggled to stay out of the penalty box. Whistled for six infractions Monday, the Kings have been shorthanded 22 times in four games.

Making his season debut and first start since Dec. 21, 2024, Wallstedt made 31 saves for Minnesota. Vladimir Tarasenko had two assists.

Spurgeon scored 14:04 into the game with a shot from the right circle that went through a screen by Vinnie Hinostroza for a 1-0 Wild lead.

With a two-man advantage, Kaprizov scored from the slot just over two minutes later and Boldy skated in from below the right circle and his shot went off the glove of Kuemper at the post to make 3-0 at 16:33.

The Wild are converting on an NHL-best 47.1% of their power-play opportunities. Minnesota has scored eight times in 17 chances, including four goals in Saturday’s 7-4 loss to Columbus.

Kaprizov and Boldy each have a team-high three goals and seven points. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas have a league-best eight points apiece.

The walk-on took his place next to USC’s quarterback, the last man standing in a battered backfield. In the midst of a bruising Big Ten battle with Michigan, where brawn and ball control were at a premium, both of the Trojans’ top two running backs had already been carted up the Coliseum tunnel. Two of their top linemen, meanwhile, started Saturday in street clothes. The circumstances were anything but ideal for a team whose season hung in the balance.

King Miller, though, was already familiar with beating long odds. Not long ago, the redshirt freshman was buried on the depth chart, a preferred walk-on from Calabasas High without any obvious path to playing time at USC.

But that was before Saturday, before Miller saw a crease in the Michigan defense, before he took off on a breakaway, game-changing run that broke open the game and eventually lifted USC to a statement-making, 31-13 win over No. 15 Michigan.

It was a resounding victory for the Trojans, given how poorly they’d played in their loss to Illinois two weeks earlier, and for Lincoln Riley, who was just 3-11 against ranked teams prior to Saturday.

That the win came behind a back who pays his own way at USC only made it all the more impressive.

Miller had just two carries for 10 yards to his name, when Waymond Jordan, the Trojans’ leading rusher, hopped off the field in the second quarter, unable to put any weight on his foot. His next 16 carries, though, would go for 148 yards.

His outburst began with that breakaway early in the third quarter, as Miller slipped through a hole and took off, stutter-stepping his way past one Michigan defender and into the open field. Miller ultimately was tackled, only to punch in a touchdown two plays later.

USC tight end Walker Lyons makes a first-down gesture after catching a pass in the first half of the Trojans’ win over Michigan at the Coliseum on Saturday night.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

The score gave USC a 21-7 lead that it would never relinquish. But Miller wasn’t done with his breakout performance. He sprinted away for a similar, 47-yard gain on the very next drive.

The most encouraging developments came on defense, where USC bounced back from a disastrous defeat at Illinois to dominate Michigan and its standout freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood. After weeks of their secondary being picked apart, the Trojans held Underwood to just 207 yards on 15-of-24 passing. It was similarly stifling against the run, holding Michigan’s top rushing attack to a meager 3.5 yards per carry.

There were other positive signs Saturday too. For one, USC committed just three penalties, a season low.

Its offense, outside of Miller, has seen better days. Quarterback Jayden Maiava threw a bad interception in the red zone, when USC could have put the game away in the third quarter. Still, he finished with 265 yards and two touchdowns.

But this was the star walk-on’s night, begging the question: How long will it take USC to offer him a scholarship?

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava passes in front of Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore in the first half.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Before Miller burst onto the scene, it wasn’t clear how USC would look coming off the Illinois loss. But USC wasted no time asserting itself.

The Trojans marched down the field with ease on their opening possession. Jordan touched the ball six times, and Maiava completed all five of his passes, capping a seamless 11-play drive by hitting a wide open Ja’Kobi Lane in the end zone on a two-yard slant.

USC kept rolling on its next drive, until disaster struck and the momentum suddenly shifted. Just as the Trojans crossed into the red zone, threatening to bust the game open, tight end Lake McRee caught a pass over the middle and was popped by Michigan defensive back Jyaire Hill, who jarred the ball loose. The Wolverines recovered.

USC managed to withstand Michigan’s initial response, stopping an 11-play drive with a well-timed safety blitz on third down that pushed the Wolverines out of field-goal range. But a 14-play followup proved too much for the Trojans’ defense, which couldn’t stop Michigan’s ground game and gave up a tying touchdown to receiver Donaven McCulley.

With three minutes remaining in the half — and Michigan set to receive the third-quarter kick — USC finally kicked into high gear. It faced just one third down as it marched the length of the field. But with precious seconds ticking away, Maiava looked to the end zone where he found Makai Lemon, who leaped skyward to snag the pass between two defenders, then held on as he landed on his back for the go-ahead score.

USC, however, paid a price for that final scoring drive before the half. Jordan, the Trojans’ leading rusher, hopped off the field after a single carry, unable to put weight on his foot. He was eventually carted off the field, joining Eli Sanders, the Trojans’ other top back, who left the game in the first quarter.

But Miller seamlessly stepped into that void in the second half. He ripped off one big run, then another, sprinting his way into Trojan infamy in the midst of a statement victory.

USC wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane celebrates after scoring a on a touchdown reception in the first quarter against Michigan.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

WINNIPEG, Canada — Mark Scheifele broke a tie with 8:13 left with his second goal of the game, Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Kings 3-2 on Saturday.

Scheifele picked Josh Morrissey’s pass out of the air and deflected it past goalie Darcy Kuemper to give Winnipeg the lead. Alex Iafallo had a power-play goal for the Jets in the first period to help the Jets rebound from a season-opening home loss to Dallas on Thursday night.

Adrian Kempe and Mikey Anderson scored for the Kings, with Kuemper stopping 24 shots. The Kings played their third game, following an opening home loss to Colorado and a shootout victory at Vegas.

Scheifele tied it 2-2 with 1:03 left in the second. In the tail end of killing a penalty, Morgan Barron stole the puck and fed Scheifele, whose backhander deflected off Anderson past Kuemper.

The Kings took a 2-1 lead midway through the second. Kempe finished off a pretty three-way passing play with Anze Kopitar and Andrei Kuzmenko.

Anderson tied it 1-1 just 50 seconds into the second period. His screened shot from the point got by Hellebuyck.

Up next: Kings: At Minnesota on Monday night.

LAS VEGAS — Adrian Kempe and Trevor Moore scored during the shootout and the Kings spoiled Pavel Dorofeyev’s hat trick and Mitch Marner’s debut in a Vegas uniform with a 6-5 win over the Golden Knights on Wednesday night.

After squandering a pair of two-goal leads in the second period, and falling behind by two goals in the third, the Kings bounced back from Tuesday’s season-opening loss to Colorado.

Moore and Brandt Clarke scored late in the third to tie the game and force overtime after Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev scored to give Vegas a 5-3 lead.

Andrei Kuzmenko, Quinton Byfield and Joel Armia also scored in regulation, while Anton Forsberg stopped 30 shots for the Kings.

Dorofeyev notched the third hat trick of his career for Vegas and Adin Hill, who hasn’t beaten the Kings as a member of the Knights, made 21 saves.

The Kings didn’t show any signs of fatigue playing a back-to-back, as they opened a 2-0 lead in the first period with goals from Kuzmenko and Byfield.

Dorofeyev cut the lead in half just 2:10 into the second period when he fired a wrist shot past Forsberg and off the post. Armia put the Kings back in front by two goals later in the second when his blast from the right circle got past Hill’s far side.

Dorofeyev scored all of his goals in the second period.

Eichel, who signed an eight-year $108 million extension earlier in the day, finished with one goal and three assists. Mark Stone and Marner each had two assists.

No team has more wins against the Golden Knights than the Kings’ with 19.

Up next

Kings: At the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.

Golden Knights: At the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.

Luc Robitaille knew his hockey playing career was over when it took him longer to get his battered body ready for a game than it did to play it.

“It became harder and harder physically,” said Robitaille, whose next stop was the hall of fame. “I think I knew at that point.”

And once his mind was made up, there was no turning back.

For Anze Kopitar, who is in the peak of good health, the decision was a little different. The Kings’ longtime center announced last month that, at 38, he will retire after this season and spend more time with his family. But, like Robitaille, there will be no turning back.

“I’m not going to change my mind,” he said.

In fact, he’s not going to change anything. Kopitar said he’s approaching this season, his 20th with the Kings, the same way he approached the first 19.

“The last few years, I told myself that I have to enjoy it because you don’t know when the ending is com[ing],” he said. “So I’ve been enjoying it. I’m obviously having a lot of fun, still playing the game. This year won’t be any different.

“The focus is still on this season.”

A season that kicks off Tuesday when the Kings host the Colorado Avalanche. But while Kopitar is starting the season the same way as always, he’s hoping for a different ending since the Kings’ last four years have ended with first-round playoff losses to the Edmonton Oilers.

Another Stanley Cup title would be a nice parting gift, especially since Kopitar, entering a team-record 10th season as captain, would be the first man to hoist the trophy, an honor that went to Dustin Brown when the Kings won in 2012 and 2014.

“I’d like to win every year. I’d like to win this year,” he said.

“My kids weren’t born when we won, so I’d like to win so they can experience that feeling too.”

Kings captain Anze Kopitar skates during a game against the Chicago Blackhawks in March.

(Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

However Kopitar’s season finishes, his career will end with him joining Robitaille, now the Kings president, in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He is the Kings’ all-time leader in games (1,454), assists (838) and winning goals (78) and ranks in the top three in goals, points, plus-minus and power-play scores.

And just nine players in NHL history have played more games with one team than Kopitar, who has spent his entire career with the Kings.

Unlike Robitaille, he’s hardly hobbling off into retirement. He led the Kings with 46 assists and was second with 67 points last season, playing in 81 of 82 games. He also won his third Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, which goes to the player exhibiting the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct in the NHL.

But his two children — daughter Neza, 10, is a talented figure skater and son Jakob, 9, plays hockey — deserve more of his time and attention, he said.

“I still love to be in hockey and I’m still productive,” Kopitar said. “But on the flip side, the kids need their dad to be more present and be a dad, not a hockey player. I can walk away on my own terms and not be forced to retire because of injuries and because the body’s not holding up.”

Anze Kopitar and his wife, Ines, attend a Lakers game at Crypto.com Arena in January 2024.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

That wasn’t Robitaille’s experience. A fractured ankle late in career and lower back pain so severe he could hardly get out of bed, led to his retirement in 2006, less than six months before Kopitar’s NHL debut.

“It kind of felt to me that I had squeezed everything out of the lemon. There was nothing left,” Robitaille said. “I was really at peace.”

As for what advice he’d give his captain, Robitaille said he’ll tell Kopitar to make time to stop and smell the roses on his last trip around the league.

“If you listen to 99% of the guys that retire in any sport, the one thing they miss is the [locker] room,” he said. “So when you know you’re near the end, you’ve got to make sure you pay attention to every one of those little moments that you’re going to miss for the next 50 years of your life.

“You’re playing a game. You’re 30 years old or 40 years old — 38 for Kopi — and he’s playing a game. It’s amazing. Most people don’t get to do that in their life, you know?”

Kopitar’s decision comes with the Kings at a crossroads. They tied team records for points (105) and wins (48) last season while going a franchise-best 31-6-4 at home in Jim Hiller’s first full season as coach. That earned the team second place in the Pacific Division, its best finish in a decade.

Kings captain Anze Kopitar, left, speaks to defenseman Drew Doughty during a game against the Winnipeg Jets in December 2023.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The postseason was déjà vu all over again, however, with the Oilers eliminating the Kings.

General manager Rob Blake resigned four days later and was replaced by Ken Holland, who won four Stanley Cups as GM of the Detroit Red Wings. The Kings’ core is also in transition because when Kopitar steps aside, only defenseman Drew Doughty will remain from their Stanley Cup-winning teams.

“Passing the torch, [we]’ve been trying to for the past few years, been trying to mentor some of the kids in this locker room,” Kopitar said. “Maybe that’s what it is.”

Holland had mixed results in his first summer with the Kings, adding forwards Corey Perry (who will miss the first month of the season because of a knee injury) and Joel Armia, defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci and goalkeeper Anton Forsberg, and re-signing winger Andrei Kuzmenko to a club-friendly contract.

Also back are leading scorers Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe, who had 35 goals each, wingers Warren Foegele and Quinton Byfield and goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who had a career-best 2.02 goals-against average and finished third in Vezina Trophy voting.

But Holland lost veteran defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to the New York Rangers and failed to land Mitch Marner, the summer’s most-sought player, who wound up in Las Vegas.

And now he’s the team’s first general manager in two decades who has been forced to ponder a future without Anze Kopitar.

Anze Kopitar takes the ice before a game against the Winnipeg Jets in December 2023.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“We’re really going to enjoy having Kopi in the lineup this year. But next summer it’s going to be a big void,” Holland said on the Canucks Central podcast. “He’s big and strong. And it’s hard to find big, strong, talented centermen.

“He’s very intelligent. And I think the team follows his lead.”

As for Kopitar, he’s not thinking past the next nine months. He has the rest of his life to figure out what comes next.

“I haven’t really given too much thought of what’s going to happen [next], except for being home for my kids,” he said. “I’ll take my time and then see what, see what life throws at me.

“I’m going to miss the game of hockey. What I’m not gonna miss is working out, getting ready for the season, all the hours you’ve got to put in. But the game itself, of course, I’m going to miss it. It’s been here for the better part of 35 years. But listen, the summers are going to be more enjoyable.”

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Bell 27, Garfield 14

Bernstein 27, Hollywood 6

Eagle Rock 7, L.A. Marshall 0

L.A. Hamilton 36, Fairfax 12

L.A. Wilson 26, Franklin 12

Legacy 12, L.A. Roosevelt 6

Panorama 26, Granada Hills Kennedy 6

Roybal 22, Mendez 13

South East 18, Huntington Park 0

Sylmar 31, Van Nuys 6

Venice 20, L.A. University 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Beverly Hills 12, Immaculate Heart 0

Brentwood 19, Providence 7

Cerritos 40, Whitney 0

Mira Costa 18, Peninsula 7

Orange County Pacifica Christian 41, Garden Grove Santiago 6

Torrance 19, North Torrance 8

St. Bonaventure 28, Del Sol 14

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

SOUTHERN SECTION

Ayala 19, Highland 6

Bellflower 31, Corona 7

Bellflower 19, Fullerton 12

Castaic d. Fillmore, forfeit

Castaic 18, Knight 6

Corona 25, Crean Lutheran 0

Corona del Mar 27, Inglewood 18

Corona del Mar 35, St. Paul 0

Corona Centennial 13, Riverside Poly 6

Fullerton 25, Corona del Mar 19

Hart 12, Ayala 6

Hueneme d. Canyon Country Canyon, forfeit

Hueneme 6, Lompoc Cabrillo 0

Huntington Beach 46, Buena 0

Huntington Beach 41, Channel Islands 7

Knight d. Fillmore, forfeit

Knight 19, Castaic 6

Lompoc 20, Windward 18

Lompoc Cabrillo 19, Saugus 7

Oxnard Pacifica 18, Saugus 13

Segerstrom 20, Garden Grove 6

Segerstrom 20, St. Paul 18

Simi Valley 34, Hueneme 12

Simi Valley 28, St. Bonaventure 12

Simi Valley 26, Valencia 12

Ventura 39, Ayala 0

INTERSECTIONAL

Fullerton 18, San Pedro 14

Gilbert (Ariz.) Campo Verde 34, Western Christian 7

Huntington Beach 23, LA Marshall 0

L.A. Marshall 27, Hart 7

L.A. Marshall 18, Ventura 14

King/Drew 21, Buena Park 13

King/Drew 42, Nuview Bridge 7

Madera 12, Windward 7

Narbonne 31, Destiny Christian Academy 0

San Pedro 27, Corona 7

San Pedro 34, Inglewood 13

Segerstrom 20, King/Drew 6

Vacaville 27, Narbonne 7

CITY SECTION

Banning 28, King/Drew 7

Birmingham 6, Sherman Oaks CES 0

Chavez 2, Sun Valley Poly 2

Diego Rivera 25, Simon Tech 0

East Valley 54, Valor Academy 0

El Camino Real 19, Cleveland 13

Fairfax 36, LACES 6

Maywood Academy 20, Elizabeth 0

Maywood CES 18, Torres 0

North Hollywood 20, Arleta 0

North Hollywood 12, Arleta 7

Sotomayor 19, Marquez 7

Sotomayor 18, Marquez 0

Sun Valley Magnet 40, AMIT 0

Sun Valley Poly 13, Chavez 0

Taft 19, Chatsworth 12

Torres 9, Maywood CES 6

USC Hybrid 19, TEACH Tech 0

Van Nuys 34, Grant 0

Van Nuys 7, Immaculate Heart 0

Verdugo Hills 32, Monroe 13

Verdugo Hills 43, Monroe 6

Westchester 14, LACES 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alhambra 27, Bell Gardens 13

Anaheim 26, Garden Grove Santiago 6

Anaheim Canyon 7, Sonora 6

Antelope Valley 26, Eastside 6

Azusa 19, Duarte 14

Bakersfield Christian 25, Highland 12

Beckman 19, Tesoro 6

Bellflower 26, Paramount 0

Beverly Hills 12, Hawthorne 0

Bishop Amat 50, St. Bernard 0

Buena Park 24, Godinez 0

California 22, Sunny Hills 7

Channel Islands 45, Hueneme 21

Chino 14, Ontario 8

Covina 19, Northview 0

Cypress 28, Esperanza 19

Dominguez 13, Norwalk 12

Don Lugo 7, Chaffey 6

El Modena 13, Villa Park 12

El Toro 25, San Juan Hills 6

Estancia 20, Savanna 0

Fountain Valley 19, Los Alamitos 14

Fullerton 24, Laguna Hills 19

Garden Grove 28, Costa Mesa 19

Huntington Beach 21, Corona del Mar 7

Inglewood 26, Culver City 0

Irvine University 32, Irvine 6

La Habra 27, Brea Olinda 12

Lakewood 6, Long Beach Cabrillo 0

Lakewood St. Joseph 36, Gardena Serra 6

La Serna 24, El Rancho 24

Leuzinger 50, Compton Centennial 0

Linfield Christian 60, Ontario Christian 12

Los Amigos 32, Magnolia 7

Mater Dei 43, Dana Hills 19

Millikan 34, Long Beach Jordan 0

Montebello 13, Keppel 0

Mountain View 14, El Monte 13

Newport Harbor 27, Edison 7

Northwood 13, Woodbridge 6

Palm Desert 19, Xavier Prep 13

Pioneer 20, Glenn 18

Placentia Valencia 32, Tustin 6

Pomona 13, La Puente 0

Portola 44, Sage Hill 0

Ramona Convent 19, Cantwell-Sacred Heart 0

Rancho Alamitos 6, Orange 0

Redondo Union 13, Palos Verdes 7

Riverside King 33, Moreno Valley 19

Riverside Poly 47, Redlands 6

Rosemead 6, Arroyo 0

Rotary 14, Laguna Beach 13

Saddleback 38, Western 6

San Marino 42, Temple City 0

Santa Ana Foothill 18, Garden Grove Pacifica 0

Santa Fe 13, Whittier 12

Santa Paula 35, Fillmore 0

Saugus 39, St. Bonaventure 7

Schurr 22, San Gabriel 0

Segerstrom 33, Loara 18

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 33, Alemany 0

Sierra Vista 46, Baldwin Park 26

Simi Valley 13, Burbank Burroughs 7

South El Monte 19, Gabrielino 0

St. Paul 34, Bishop Diego 0

Trabuco Hills 26, Aliso Niguel 6

Van Nuys 7, Immaculate Heart 0

Vista del Lago 21, Lakeside 0

Warren 13, Downey 6

West Covina 34, Hacienda Heights Wilson 6

Western Christian 41, Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 6

Westminster 19, La Palma Kennedy 13

Yorba Linda 32, Troy 0

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

SOUTHERN SECTION

Costa Mesa 19, Katella 6

Dos Pueblos 31, Ventura 19

Highland 52, Littlerock 12

JSerra 35, Mater Dei 7

La Mirada 7, Mayfair 0

Knight 13, Palmdale 0

Orange Lutheran 26, Santa Margarita 13

Oxnard 41, Santa Barbara 6

Oxnard Pacifica 14, Buena 8

Quartz Hill 20, Lancaster 0

St. Bonaventure 19, Bishop Diego 12

A look at two of this week’s top high school football games in the Southland:

THURSDAY

Eastvale Roosevelt (3-2) at Corona Centennial (4-1), 7:30 p.m.

Centennial tries to give coach Matt Logan his 300th career victory. Roosevelt is on a three-game winning streak, but the Huskies are headed to another Division 1 playoff berth. The pick: Centennial.

FRIDAY

Dorsey (2-3) at Crenshaw (4-1), 7 p.m.

Playing without coach Robert Garrett (administrative leave), Crenshaw continues to show resilience behind quarterback Danniel Flowers. This is a key Coliseum League opener because the winner figures to face King/Drew to decide the league title. Dorsey needs to get the ball to its playmakers, led by Stafon Johnson Jr. The pick: Dorsey.

NEW YORK — A new report on book bans in U.S. schools finds Stephen King as the author most likely to be censored and the country divided between states actively restricting works and those attempting to limit or eliminate bans.

PEN America’s “Banned in the USA,” released Wednesday, tracks more than 6,800 instances of books being temporarily or permanently pulled for the 2024-2025 school year. The new number is down from more than 10,000 in 2023-24, but still far above the levels of a few years ago, when PEN didn’t even see the need to compile a report.

Some 80% of those bans originated in three states that have enacted or attempted to enact laws calling for removal of books deemed objectionable — Florida, Texas and Tennessee. Meanwhile, PEN found little or no instances of removals in several other states, with Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey among those with laws that limit the authority of school and public libraries to pull books.

“It is increasingly a story of two countries,” says Kasey Meehan, director of PEN’s Freedom to Read program and an author of the report. “And it’s not just a story of red states and blue states. In Florida, not all of the school districts responded to the calls for banning books. You can find differences from county to county.”

King’s books were censored 206 times, according to PEN, with “Carrie” and “The Stand” among the 87 of his works affected. The most banned work of any author was Anthony Burgess’ dystopian classic from the 1960s, “A Clockwork Orange,” for which PEN found 23 removals. Other books and authors facing extensive restrictions included Patricia McCormick’s “Sold,” Judy Blume’s “Forever” and Jennifer Niven’s “Breathless,” and numerous works by Sarah J. Maas and Jodi Picoult.

Reasons often cited for pulling a book include LGBTQ+ themes, depictions of race and passages with violence and sexual violence. An ongoing trend that PEN finds has only intensified: Thousands of books were taken off shelves in anticipation of community, political or legal pressure rather than in response to a direct threat.

“This functions as a form of ‘obeying in advance,’” the report reads, “rooted in fear or simply a desire to avoid topics that might be deemed controversial.”

The PEN report comes amid ongoing censorship efforts not just from states and conservative activists but from the federal government. The Department of Education ended an initiative by the Biden administration to investigate the legality of bans and has called the issue a “hoax.” PEN’s numbers include the Department of Defense’s removal of hundreds of books from K-12 school libraries for military families as part of an overall campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and “un-American” thinking.

In Florida, where more than 2,000 books were banned or restricted, a handful of counties were responsible for many of the King removals: Dozens were pulled last year as a part of a review for whether they were in compliance with state laws.

“His books are often removed from shelves when ‘adult’ titles or books with ‘sex content’ are targeted for removal — these prohibitions overwhelmingly ban LGBTQ+ content and books on race, racism, and people of color — but also affect titles like Stephen King’s books,” Meehan says. “Some districts — in being overly cautious or fearful of punishment — will sweep so wide they end up removing Stephen King from access too.”

PEN’s methodology differs from that of the American Library Assn., which also issues annual reports on bans and challenges. PEN’s numbers are much higher in part because the free expression organization counts any books removed or restricted for any length of time, while the library association only counts permanent removals or restrictions.

Both organizations have acknowledged that because they largely rely on media reports and information that they receive directly, their numbers are far from comprehensive.

The PEN report does not include data from Ohio, Oklahoma, Arkansas and other red states because researchers could not find adequate documentation. Meehan said PEN also doesn’t know the full impact of statewide laws.

Italie writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Fla., contributed to this report.

This week’s City Section top 10 high school football rankings by The Times:

1. BIRMINGHAM (2-3): Patriots take 49-game winning streak against City Section teams into the start of West Valley League play.

2. CARSON (3-3): Colts upset St. Pius X-St. Matthias with the help of some sit-out transfer students becoming eligible.

3. PALISADES (5-0): Dolphins finally get tested by Mary Star and show they can run the ball when needed in comeback victory.

4. SAN PEDRO (2-4): Pirates put up good fight before losing to unbeaten Laguna Beach.

5. BANNING (4-2): It’s regroup time after back to back losses to Palos Verdes and Redondo Union.

6. GARFIELD (3-2): Ceasar Reyes keeps rolling up big yards on the ground.

7. KENNEDY (4-1): Golden Cougars face Panorama on Friday in Valley Mission League.

8. EAGLE ROCK (3-2): Offensive line protects QB Liam Pasten in win over Marquez.

9. KING/DREW (4-1): Golden Eagles, aided by sit-out period transfers, have become Coliseum League favorites.

10. VENICE (2-3): Gondoliers open Western League play against unbeaten University.

Paramount+’s hit Sylvester Stallone drama Tulsa King is finally back for season three and a new addition to the cast has everyone excited

Tulsa King fans are ecstatic as another action movie legend has joined the cast as a powerful new enemy for crime boss Dwight ‘The General’ Manfredi (played by Sylvester Stallone).

Season three premiered last Sunday night (21st September), taking fans back to the night Dwight was kidnapped by Special Agent Musso (Kevin Pollak).

Thankfully, he’s soon released, albeit as Musso’s new informant on an unknown target, and reunites with Margaret (Dana Delany), apologising for her ranch being ransacked by gunmen the night before.

After a quick visit to his family in Little Italy, Dwight discovers Cleo Montague’s (Bella Heathcote) family distillery is due to be sold to the powerful Dunmire family after her father Theodore (Brett Rice) made a handshake deal.

However, Dwight sees the distillery as a valuable asset to his own empire and promises a better deal for the Montagues.

Cue the introduction of Tulsa King season three’s terrifying new villain, Jeremiah Dunmire, portrayed by none other than Hollywood star Robert Patrick.

Patrick is best known for portraying the unstoppable T-1000 in James Cameron’s hit action movie sequel Terminator 2: Judgement Day and has more recently landed roles in Yellowstone prequel 1923 and HBO’s Peacemaker.

Jeremiah is naturally furious to discover Theo has reneged on their deal, and sets a group of thugs on his mansion who beat him to a pulp and burn his home to the ground.

Viewers were on the edge of their seats during this nail-biting premiere, which raises the stakes for Dwight and his crew to a whole new level. Fans were also already impressed with Patrick’s performance as this season’s sadistic antagonist.

One ecstatic viewer took to X to reply to Patrick’s recent post in which he warned Dwight not to “cross” him.

Using plenty of fire emojis they exclaimed in the comments: “Yoooo, I just watched the new episode and O M G… and this is just the 1st episode and yall WENT TF OFFF… WOW!! ..

“You ARE GONNA BE A PROBLEMA FOR Dwight. Your character already starting off EVIL AF. Dude, I WAS YELLING AT THE TV AT THE END LIKE NOOO WAY! 10/10 show!!

“I can’t wait for next week.. man oh man.. GANGSTA A*** S***!! Awesome job yall!!!”

Someone else replied: “you’re awesome dude, great career, enjoy your success!!”

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Discussion continued over on Reddit, where one user wrote: “Good to see Robert Patrick get consistent acting work.” To which another viewer replied: “He killed it and he was only on screen for a few mins.”

Another said: “Robert Patrick Is [a] great bad guy character.”

While other fans praised the episode in general for starting off the new season strong, with one sharing: “It’s already looking great, way better than season 2’s premiere for sure.”

And a final fan predicted: “Sly’s gonna rip Terminator’s nuts off for killing that old guy!”

Are you excited to see Stallone going head-to-head with one of Hollywood’s greatest villains?

Tulsa King season 3 continues Sundays on Paramount+.

Jack Stooks spent 21 years working at the royal residence of Highgrove House and Gardens

King Charles III’s former gardener of 21 years has revealed what it was really like maintaining the landscape garden at the Royal residence.

Jack Stooks was responsible for Highgrove House and Gardens, one of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s most cherished homes in Gloucestershire.

Speaking on Friday’s This Morning, Jack not only provided gardening tips but also disclosed how he secured his position and recounted the occasion he gatecrashed King Charles’ honeymoon with Queen Camilla.

Jack told presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary: “I went on honeymoon with the King!” prompting Dermot, 52, to ask: “What’s that all about?” whilst Alison, 50, gasped: “You gatecrashed it?”

Clarifying what had occurred, Jack recalled: “After the wedding at Windsor, I got to do some cut flowers from the King’s garden, from the Queen’s garden and actually take them down to the wedding. They were actually used at their wedding!”, reports the Express.

“After the wedding, there were trees and things that came out of the chapel and I took those up to Scotland, to Birkhall, so I got to plant them with the King, which was amazing!”

Meanwhile, Jack disclosed how he landed his role, saying: “I wrote and asked for a job, there I was at Highgrove!” following an encounter with the King at his aunty and uncle’s residence where he “seemed nice”.

Noting he served as a gardener for 21 years, he continued: “I left last year! [That job] just from a simple letter!”

Jack previously shared with the Mirror about the King: “He was very much on the ball all the time. If he came home at the weekend, he would be out in the garden checking what’s been done, what hasn’t been done.”

The King, according to Jack, had a deep affection for his garden and would often make comments indicating his keen interest.

“He would be like, ‘This needs doing, that needs doing’,” Jack remembered. “So, it was really good to know that you’re working for somebody that actually took everything in.

“He was interested in the garden he knew what was going on. So, we all had the sense of satisfaction that we would get something right and know that it was actually being enjoyed and admired by the person who owns it.”

Catch This Morning on weekdays at 10am on ITV and ITV X

WASHINGTON — At a banquet table fit for a king, but set specially for him, President Trump called his state visit to the United Kingdom this week “one of the highest honors of my life.”

He then proceeded to tell guests at the white tie event that the United States was “a very sick country” last year before becoming “the hottest” again under his rule.

During a news conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Chequers estate Thursday, hailing a bilateral deal on artificial intelligence investments said to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars, Trump called America’s relationship with Britain “unbreakable,” bigger than any single esoteric policy disagreement.

But he quickly pivoted from magnanimity on the world stage, denying the results of his 2020 election defeat and calling exclusively on conservative reporters, who asked questions about Britain’s Christian nature and his predecessor’s alleged use of an autopen.

It was a familiar study in contrasts from the president, who routinely mixes diplomacy with domestic politics in his meetings with foreign leaders. Yet the sound of Trump engaging in fractious political discourse — not at the White House or a political event in Florida or Missouri, but inside Britain’s most revered halls — struck a discordant tone.

The Mirror, a national British tabloid aligned with Starmer’s Labour Party, wrote that Trump’s “wild … political rant” at Windsor Castle alongside King Charles III “seriously broke royal protocol.”

On Wednesday evening, as the formal banquet concluded, Trump took to his social media platform to designate a far left-wing political movement called Antifa as “a major terrorist organization,” describing the group as “A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER.”

President Trump appears with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a news conference Thursday at Chequers near Aylesbury, England.

(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

The move prompted a question to Starmer at the Chequers news conference from a right-ring reporter on whether he would consider taking similar action against leftist British groups.

“We obviously will take decisions for ourselves. I don’t want to comment on the decisions of the president,” Starmer said. “But we take our decisions ourselves.”

In another exchange, Trump repeated dramatically exaggerated figures on the number of undocumented migrants who entered the United States during the Biden administration, as well as false claims about the 2020 presidential election.

“I don’t want to be controversial, but you see what’s happened, and you see all the information that’s come out,” Trump said. “We won in 2020, big. And I said, let’s run. We gotta run. Because I saw what’s happening.”

The Royal Family went beyond its own rule book to show Trump extraordinary hospitality, honoring the president’s arrival with a 41-gun salute typically reserved for special, domestic occasions, such as the king’s birthday.

King Charles was hosting Trump for an unprecedented second state visit — a gesture never before extended to an American president — after the king’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, greeted him at Windsor in 2019.

“That’s a first and maybe that’s going to be the last time. I hope it is, actually,” Trump said in his banquet speech, prompting the king to chuckle and balk.

At the stunning dinner, along a table seating 160 people in St. George’s Hall, guests were offered a 1912 cognac honoring the birth year of the president’s Scottish-born mother, as well as a whiskey cocktail inspired by his heritage. The president, for his part, does not drink.

First Lady Melania Trump, left, President Trump, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Lady Victoria Starmer watch the Red Devils parachute display team at Chequers, the country home of the British prime minister, on Thursday.

(Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

But it is unclear whether the king’s soft-power diplomacy helped shift Trump closer to London’s priorities on foreign affairs. A growing chorus in Britain opposes Israel’s continued military operations in Gaza, and major U.K. parties are aligned on a moral and strategic need to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.

“Our countries have the closest defense, security and intelligence relationship ever known,” Charles said at the dinner. “In two world wars, we fought together to defeat the forces of tyranny.

“Today, as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace,” the king added.

A king’s request for Europe

Trump’s reciprocal remarks did not mention Ukraine. But at Chequers, the president repeated his general disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the ongoing war, a conflict Putin has escalated with attacks on civilians and the British Council building in Kyiv since meeting with Trump in Alaska a month ago.

“He’s let me down. He’s really let me down,” said Trump, offering no details on what steps he might take next.

Starmer, pressing to leverage the pomp of Trump’s state visit for actionable policy change, said that a coordinated response to Putin’s aggression would be forthcoming and “decisive.”

“In recent days, Putin has shown his true face, mounting the biggest attack since the invasion began, with yet more bloodshed, yet more innocents killed, and unprecedented violations of NATO airspace,” Starmer said, referencing Russia’s Sept. 9 drone flights over Poland. “These are not the actions of someone who wants peace.”

“It’s only when the president has put pressure on Putin,” Starmer added, “that he’s actually shown any inclination to move.”

Anze Kopitar, widely considered the greatest player in Kings franchise history and poised to become the team’s all-time leading scorer, announced Thursday he will retire at the end of the 2025-26 season.

Entering his 20th season with the Kings and the final year of his contract, the decision was somewhat expected from the 38-year-old team captain. He told KCAL News last month he was thinking about retirement and that it could be his last NHL season.

Kings general manager Ken Holland told NHL Network Radio in July that Kopitar indicated he wasn’t seeking a contract extension this summer and was intending to take things a “year at a time.”

Kopitar’s announcement came only hours after Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw announced he would retire at the end of the season.

Kopitar’s Hall of Fame credentials have already been established. The greatest player ever from Slovenia, he helped lead the Kings to the franchise’s Stanley Cup victories in 2012 and 2014 as part of a core four that included Dustin Brown, Jonathan Quick and Drew Doughty.

Kopitar is second all-time in franchise scoring, with 1,278 points in a franchise-leading 1,454 games played. He is 30 points away from breaking Marcel Dionne’s team record for most points (1,307). He ranks third all-time in franchise goals (440) behind Luc Robitaille (557) and Dionne (550) and leads in assists (838). He is a two-time Selke trophy winner (best defensive forward) and three-time Lady Byng trophy winner (gentlemanly play).

Drafted 11th overall by the Kings in 2005, Kopitar made an immediate impact during his 2006-07 rookie season, finishing with 20 goals and 61 points for a downtrodden team that was in the middle of a six-year playoff drought.

Kings center Anze Kopitar celebrates with the Stanley Cup after the Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils to win the franchise’s first title in 2012.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Eventually, with Doughty joining the team in 2008 coupled with steady growth from Brown, Quick and Kopitar, the Kings returned to the playoffs in 2010 before capturing the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2012.

Kopitar has stood out on a team that has had many greats, including NHL all-time leading scorer Wayne Gretzky.

“It’s really hard for me to sit here and say I’m the greatest King. That’s just not my personality. Far from it,” Kopitar told The Times’ Helene Elliott in 2023. “There’s been great Kings in this organization, with Marcel, Luc, Dave [Taylor], Wayne, Blakey [Rob Blake]. The list can go on for a little bit. Brownie. Individually, yes, but it’s about collective wins.”

With Kopitar’s decision, the biggest roster question facing the Kings remains whether they can re-sign Adrian Kempe to a long-term deal. Kempe, who has led the team in points the last two seasons, is in the final year of his contract.

The Kings open the preseason Sunday against the Ducks in the Empire Classic at Toyota Arena in Ontario. They begin the regular season against the Colorado Avalanche at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 7.

This is a developing story. The Times will have more on Kopitar’s decision to retire at the end of the season soon.

Age: 29 Ranking: 55 Strength: Forehand

British number two Katie Boulter, appearing in the BJK Cup for the seventh year, brings some much-needed experience to Anne Keothavong’s side.

She won her singles match against Germany in April’s qualifying event but lost in the singles against the Netherlands, before she and Jodie Burrage teamed up to win the decisive doubles match and clinch Britain’s finals place.

It has, however, been a mixed 2025 for Boulter.

She missed some tournaments early in the year with a foot injury before claiming a maiden clay title at a WTA 125 event in Paris.

A second-round defeat at the first women’s Queen’s event for 52 years was part of a difficult grass-court season, and Boulter relinquished her two-year reign as British number one to Raducanu as a result.

She achieved a fourth career win against a top-10 player – defeating Paula Badosa in the Wimbledon first round – but lost to lucky loser Solana Sierra in the next.

Boulter did not make it past the second round at any of the four Grand Slams, admitting at Wimbledon that her “moment might not come”.

But Boulter has often highlighted her love of competing for her country, with the BJK Cup bringing out the best in her.

That was in evidence against Japan on Thursday as she dropped just three games in a straight-set win over Moyuka Uchijima to secure Britain’s semi-final spot.

MONDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Bell 17, Legacy 0

Bell 33, South Gate 0

Camino Nuevo 16, Collins Family 0

Crenshaw 18, View Park 4

Dorsey 43, Dymally 6

Dorsey 28, Washington 6

Foshay 9, Angelou 2

Foshay 26, WISH Academy 0

GALA 26, Hawkins 12

Hawkins 34, Fremont 19

Jefferson 333, Stella 0

King/Drew 21, Paramount 0

LA Hamilton 25, Maywood Academy 0

LA Roosevelt 21, Maywood CES 0

LA Wilson 37, Maywood CES 0

LA Wilson 52, LA Roosevelt 6

Legacy 14, South Gate 13

Locke 26, Diego Rivera 0

Manual Arts 18, Los Angeles 13

New Designs University Park 12, Locke 6

North Hollywood 6, East Valley 0

Orthopaedic 26, Animo De La Hoya 6

Panorama 30, East Valley 0

Panorama 12, North Hollywood 0

Rise Kohyang 20, CALS Early College 13

Santee 31, Los Angeles 0

Santee 32, Manual Arts 0

Stern 30, Hollywood 0

Taft 32, Reseda 6

TEACH Tech Charter 18, Simon tech 6

SOUTHERN SECTION

Adelanto 20, San Gorgonio 14

Anaheim 34, Garden Grove Santiago 14

Anaheim Canyon 46, Sonora 6

Bell Gardens 38, Alhambra 7

Bolsa Grande 26, Loara 20

Brentwood 31, YULA 14

Buena Park 20, Godinez 6

Burbank Burroughs 26, Sacred Heart 0

Burbank Burroughs 45, Sacred Heart 0

Chaparral 29, Temecula Valley 0

Chino 27, Ontario 12

Colony 27, Los Altos 6

Compton 26, Long Beach Wilson 13

Corona 28, Corona Centennial 21

Covina 18, Rowland 13

Don Lugo 13, Chaffey 0

Edison 14, Corona del Mar 7

Esperanza 13, Cypress 7

Etiwanda 19, Los Osos 0

Fullerton 32, Segerstrom 12

Garden Grove 26, Costa Mesa 21

Garey 13, Nogales 0

Golden Valley 25, Saugus 13

Hacienda Heights Wilson 7, Charter Oak 6

Hart 6, Castaic 0

Hemet 19, Valley View 6

Hillcrest 28, Canyon Springs 26

Immaculate Heart 24, Village Christian 6

Katella 18, Ocean View 6

La Canada 34, Temple City 6

Laguna Hills 37, Tustin 0

La Habra 27, Brea Olinda 7

Lakewood St. Joseph 38, Gardena Serra 0

La Serna 14, El Rancho 0

Linfield Christian 38, Ontario Christian 0

Loma Linda Academy 18, Redlands Adventist 6

Long Beach Poly 35, Long Beach Cabrillo 6

Los Alamitos 20, Marina 0

Los Amigos 14, Western 0

Millikan 18, Lakewood 2

Mountain View 7, El Monte 7

Montebello 21, Keppel 6

Murrieta Valley 13, Vista Murrieta 6

Newport Harbor 39, Fountain Valley 0

Norco 20, Eastvale Roosevelt 6

Norte Vista 6, La Sierra 0

Northview 25, West Covina 12

Norwalk 12, Artesia 7

Orange Lutheran 46, Aliso Niguel 20

Palm Desert 6, Palm Springs 0

Patriot 12, Ramona 7

Placentia Valencia 6, Westminster 0

Portola 47, Laguna Beach 0

Rancho Alamitos 33, Orange 6

Rancho Cucamonga 38, St. Lucy’s 12

Rialto 47, Colton 6

Riverside King 31, Corona Santiago 20

Rosemead 20, Arroyo 6

Saddleback 39, Magnolia 6

San Dimas 24, South Hills 7

San Marino 47, Rio Hondo Prep 0

Santa Ana Foothill 6, Garden Grove Pacifica 0

Schurr 26, San Gabriel 20

Serrano 6, Aquinas 0

Shadow Hills 32, La Quinta 0

Shalhevet 32, Windward 31

South El Monte 13, Gabrielino 0

St. Anthony 48, Bishop Montgomery 12

Summit 30, Jurupa Hills 25

Sunny Hills 41, Fairmont Prep 14

Upland 35, Chino Hills 0

Valencia 6, Canyon Country Canyon 0

Villa Park 6, El Modena 0

West Ranch 7, Vasquez 0

Whittier 24, Santa Fe 0

Woodbridge 26, Irvine University 7

Yorba Linda 40, Troy 0

Yucaipa 20, Arlington 0

INTERSECTIONAL

JSerra 20, Torrey Pines 12

King/Drew 21, Paramount 0

Venice 26, Culver City 0

TUESDAY’S RESULTS

SOUTHERN SECTION

Adelanto 36, Rim of the World 0

Antelope Valley 35, Palmdale 0

Beaumont 32, Yucaipa 7

Beckman 19, Tesoro 15

Buena 20, Rio Mesa 13

Cajon 20, Redlands East Valley 19

Camarillo 39, Moorpark 0

Canyon Springs 27, Tahquitz 7

Chaminade 0, Alemany 0

Claremont 12, Ayala 9

Colony 13, Alta Loma 12

Dos Pueblos 21, Oxnard 14

El Toro 14, San Juan Hills 7

Etiwanda 41, St. Lucy’s 0

Hemet 32, Riverside North 13

Highland 32, Eastside 0

Indian Springs 18, Pomona 8

Lancaster 54, Littlerock 0

La Sierra 32, Redlands Adventist 28

Linfield Christian 32, Shadow Hills 6

Los Osos 12, Chino Hills 6

Monrovia 32, Rio Hondo Prep 0

Murrieta Mesa 18, Indio 12

Newbury Park 26, Agoura 12

Oxnard Pacifica 8, Santa Barbara 7

Palos Verdes 19, El Segundo 6

Patriot 28, Norte Vista 6

Quartz Hill 19, Knight 14

Ramona 13, Loma Linda Academy 6

Redlands 24, Citrus Valley 7

Redondo Union 15, Torrance 0

Riverside Poly 26, Hillcrest 0

Royal 25, Simi Valley 18

San Dimas 44, Los Altos 6

San Gorgonio 7, Jurupa Hills 6

San Jacinto 18, West Valley 0

San Jacinto Valley Academy 24, Nuview Bridge 6

San Marcos 33, Ventura 0

Santa Margarita 34, Dana Hills 0

Santa Monica 20, Burbank Burroughs 6

Schurr 32, Keppel 0

SEED LA 21, YULA 12

Summit 20, Arroyo Valley 14

Sunny Hills 36, Anaheim 6

Temecula Prep 47, California Military Institute 12

Thousand Oaks 21, Oaks Christian 12

Trabuco Hills 19, Aliso Niguel 18

Upland 27, Rancho Cucamonga 0

Vista Murrieta 18, Canyon Springs 12

Westlake 39, Calabasas 0

Kings forward Corey Perry will be sidelined for six to eight weeks after undergoing knee surgery.

The 40-year-old Perry was injured Friday while skating at his new team’s training complex, the team announced Saturday. The Kings will report for training camp in less than a week, and their season opener is Oct. 7 against Colorado.

Perry agreed to a one-year, $2-million contract laden with incentives to join the Kings this summer for his 21st NHL season. The 2011 NHL MVP spent his first 14 seasons with the Kings’ archrivals, the Anaheim Ducks, before moving on to Dallas, Montreal, Tampa Bay, Chicago and Edmonton.

Perry has played in the Stanley Cup Final in five of the last six seasons — but his team lost each time, including back-to-back losses with the Oilers to the Florida Panthers. He won a Stanley Cup title with the Ducks back in 2007.

Perry recorded 448 goals and 487 assists during his first 20 seasons, and he begins the new season 121st on the NHL’s career scoring list. He had 19 goals and 11 assists in 81 regular-season games for Edmonton last season before adding 10 goals and four assists in the playoffs.

Strictly Come Dancing is due to come back to our screens next weekend as a host of all-new contestants get ready to take to the dance floor

Strictly Come Dancing’s Ross King has been dealt a huge blow just days before the latest series’ launch show. The showbiz expert is just one of a collection of celebs that are set to put on their dancing shoes next week.

However, it isn’t looking good for the ITV correspondent as he hasn’t been dealt great odds for success. Ross is one of this year’s contestants among the likes of Dani Dyer, Vicky Pattison and Lewis Cope.

He is due to take to the dance floor next Saturday as the latest series begins on September 20. It’s not yet known who he has been partnered up with out of the professional dancers.

READ MORE: Strictly stars issued ‘strict rules’ for new series after show scandalsREAD MORE: Strictly star Stefan Dennis torn apart from wife with fears over dreaded ‘curse’

Betway have released their odds and it’s not looking too good for Ross. Ross has been placed at the bottom of the pile with odds of 66/1 of lifting the glitterball trophy.

Leading the way is Emmerdale star Lewis Cope with 11/4 odds of winning, while Ellie Goldstein is a close second contender of lifting the trophy with odds of 3/1 and Love Island winner Dani Dyer remains at 4/1.

It was revealed back in August that Ross would be one of this year’s contestants. He has since opened up about what training for the show has looked like for him.

READ MORE: Sian Welby stuns in £46 satin dress from M&S that’s perfect for party season

Appearing on ITV’s Lorraine, he said: “It has been absolutely amazing. The sun is shining and Glasgow has never looked better. I’ve seen so much of it because I’ve not been particularly training, but I have been walking a lot.

“I’ve been trying to keep up the training. Yesterday, my niece and nephew made me the biggest Sunday roast I have had in years. I’ve also been partaking in a delicacy here, which is rolling slices, and the people have been lovely.”

The star then went on to talk about how he feels about being at the bottom of another bookies’ odds. Ross explained: “”I felt a bit of pressure, of course, because I’m representing Lorraine, and I saw Alice Beer, who said I’m representing daytime.

“And then of course here they are saying I’m representing Scotland, but the great thing is I discovered today with the Bookies that I’m last at 50/1 to win, so the pressure is completely off me now.”

Ross said it is a “dream come true” to be competing on Strictly Come Dancing this year. He will be dancing beside celebs such as Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Alex Kingston, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, George Clarke and La Voix.

This year’s line-up also features EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal, Chris Robshaw, Ellie Goldstein, Thomas Skinner and Stefan Dennis. The contestants will be trying to win the praise of the iconic judging panel.

Returning to their annual judging duties will be Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and previous professional dancer Anton Du Beke.

Strictly Come Dancing is set to return to screens September 20 on BBC One.

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