kings

Welcome to UCLA football season.

Yes, it’s July, but the Bruins are kicking off a preseason gauntlet leading up to coach Bob Chesney’s debut campaign.

First up, Times columnist Bill Plaschke offered his thoughts on Chesney’s ability to lead a UCLA renaissance.

We’ve heard Chesney’s emphasis on service and winning at life before applying the same relentless effort to football-related activities consistently since he was hired.

But Plaschke reported his philosophy has quickly forged deep roots in Westwood, where Chesney’s optimism fits in seamlessly at the school built on John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. There’s also some very strong Ted Lasso energy brewing, which makes sense since the character is partially inspired by Wooden values.

Chesney has visited and cheered on every UCLA team, but he seems to have formed an especially strong bond with national champion women’s basketball coach Cori Close. Plaschke reported Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has also honored his promise to support the program, meeting with Chesney and bringing along Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax along for the visit.

The column is fascinating and worth your time.

We’ve heard from some UCLA fans were irritated about a potential Plaschke curse after he announced Chesney will make the Bruins winners, but its seems the Bruin faithful are just going to have get used to a growing bandwagon.

The UCLA hype should go national Wednesday, when quarterback Nico Iamaleava, defensive back Cole Martin and linebacker Samuel Omosigho join Chesney during Big Ten football media days.

It’s Chesney’s first chance to meet the national and regional media covering the Big Ten. He is naturally an exceptional public speaker and inevitably will be compared to his predecessor, who went viral for his difficulty the first time he stepped into the Big Ten spotlight.

It’s not a fair comparison, but Chesney is sure to score high marks despite a healthy amount of cynicism among Big Ten blue bloods and whispers throughout the league that UCLA’s high 2027 recruiting ranking is a bit inflated. Perhaps that’s the biggest compliment for UCLA, going from being ignored or laughed at to taking a few jabs over your glowing reviews.

Shortly after UCLA returns from media days, the team will kick off preseason camp. We’ll start to get a closer look at the Bruins’ offseason weight room progress and the team will work to prepare for a deceptively difficult opener at California, another long overlooked team with considerable hype entering the 2026 season.

Betts shines in Canada

Sienna Betts showed she’s ready to step into her older sister Lauren’s formidable shoes during a women’s basketball exhibition game against Canada.

The Bruins lost 69-55 to the Canadian national team Wednesday, but Sienna Betts looked like a formidable focal point of the UCLA attack.

She finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks.

Betts got valuable but limited minutes last season as Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic dominated the paint for the national champions.

Canada and UCLA did not have their full rosters available for the tune-up, with Bruins Timea Gardiner, K.K. Bransford, Somto Okafor and Lina Jerkovic missing the game.

The excursion gave a heavily overhauled UCLA roster a chance to face different and formidable competition before setting off on sight-seeing adventures, a team bonding opportunity that likely will mean more to the coaching staff than the final score.

UCLA alums win AUSL title

Bruins alum Jadelyn Allchin won Athletes Unlimited Softball League championship MVP honors after helping lead her team to its second consecutive AUSL title.

UCLA softball great Lisa Fernandez is the Talons’ general manager. Her roster and the entire league is packed with former Bruins who are helping AUSL grow at a rapid rate.

Connor Dullinger offered a great look at the role the Bruins have played in the growth of pro softball and explains why Fernandez is thinking bigger, pushing for global gains so that softball can be a permanent fixture at the Olympics.

In case you missed it

UCLA softball has deep impact on Athletes Unlimited Softball League

Plaschke: Bob Chesney is going to do the impossible at UCLA — win

UCLA women embrace new players, tougher standards in bid to repeat as champs

UCLA Unlocked: Gabriela Jaquez makes smoothest transition to WNBA

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Dodgers visit the White House

From Maddie Lee: The sun beat down on the assembled Dodgers players, coaches and staff members as they waited in silence for the real emcee of the event, President Trump, to emerge from the building behind them.

In front stood rows of chairs — with four-inch yellow cushions on them, as Trump made sure to point out in his closing remarks — and onlookers who had donned blue Dodgers snapbacks.

In fact, the new-look Rose Garden, slabs of white stone replacing grass, became a character of its own, the focal point for the first two minutes of Trump’s speech recognizing the 2025 World Series champions.

“It was always wet,” Trump said after making his grand entrance more than 10 minutes after the Dodgers had taken their place in front of the crowd. “You know, the White House is built on a wetland. … And I decided to do something about it. And this has become an incredible place for dining and for news conferences and for events like this.”

This event was the Dodgers’ second White House visit in as many years, in a new venue. It provided new material, and some active participants, for the Trump show Thursday afternoon.

As he retold the winding story of the Dodgers’ World Series for almost 20 minutes, Trump played to not only the audience, but the players behind him, shaking their hands when they came up in his speech, and the two men flanking him, Dodgers chairman Mark Walter and manager Dave Roberts.

“This was truly a great World Series, right?” Trump said, turning to his right.

“Maybe the best in history,” Roberts said.

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USC sued by sports donor

From Ryan Kartje: The L.A. billboard magnate whose name hung over the entrance to USC’s practice football field for a quarter century is suing the school for building a new, $200-million facility on top of it.

Brian Kennedy, a former donor whose company Regency Outdoor Advertising owns billboards all over Los Angeles, claims in the lawsuit that USC breached its contract by demolishing the practice field to build the Bloom Football Performance Center, which is set to open early next month. The arrival of the state-of-the-art facility and erasure of a field that featured the name of Kennedy, according to a complaint obtained by The Times, has caused him “reputational harm,” “embarrassment” and “humiliation.”

“For more than two decades,” the complaint states, “the Field stood as a visible acknowledgment of [Kennedy’s] extraordinary contributions to [USC] and the lasting relationship between [Kennedy] and the University.”

Kennedy was one of USC’s most visible and vocal boosters during its glory years under football coach Pete Carroll. In recent years, Kennedy had also used his billboards to demand the return of former USC running back Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy.

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Super Bowl or bust for Rams?

From Gary Klein: The Rams, as is seemingly their custom with a Super Bowl scheduled to be played at SoFi Stadium, made blockbuster trades to improve an already star-studded roster.

Players will report to training camp Saturday at Loyola Marymount as favorites to win Super Bowl LXI in their home stadium in February.

And that does not factor in eight-time All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald’s possible return from retirement.

Much, however, can go awry on the way to the NFL’s biggest showcase.

Injuries, subpar performances by Rams players and coaches, and outstanding clutch play by opponents — see the 2025 Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks — could derail the Rams’ presumptive date with destiny.

On Sunday, they will hold the first of 11 training-camp practices before preseason games against the Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints and the Chargers.

Here are six things to watch in training camp:

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Rams honor their history with new ‘Classic Sol’ and ‘Fearsome White’ uniforms

Puka Nacua’s attorney questions authenticity of bite marks in photo produced by accuser

Can the Chargers finally have a postseason breakthrough?

From Sam Farmer: A year after racking up more miles than any team in the NFL, the Chargers are homebodies.

For the first time in their 10 seasons in Los Angeles, they will open with back-to-back games on their home field — against Arizona and Las Vegas.

What’s more, one of their away games will be at SoFi Stadium, against the host Rams on Nov. 1.

Who knows if less time in an airplane will make a difference, but a franchise that hasn’t won a postseason game since the 2018 season will look for anything to change that trajectory.

It’s worth noting that Jim Harbaugh got his team to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons, and he has a history of turning around franchises in college football and the pros.

And, as they’ll show in training camp, the 2026 Chargers have made some significant changes.

Here are five things to watch in training camp:

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This day in sports history

1908 — John Hayes wins the Olympic marathon in a record of 2 hours, 55 minutes, 18.4 seconds. Italian Dorando Pietri is the first athlete to enter the stadium, but collapses several times before being disqualified when officials help him across the line.

1931 — Paavo Nurmi sets the world record at 2 miles in a meet at Helsinki, Finland, with a time of 8:59.6.

1960 — Jay Hebert beats Jim Ferrier by one stroke to win the PGA golf tournament.

1967 — Don January wins a playoff by two strokes over Don Massengale to win the PGA championship.

1970 — The International Lawn Tennis Assn. institutes the nine-point tiebreaker rule.

1976 — John Naber of the United States becomes the first swimmer to break the 2-minute barrier in the 200-meter backstroke at the Olympics in Montreal.

1976 — Mac Wilkins of the United States sets an Olympic record in the discus with a toss of 224 feet in Montreal.

1977 — Hollis Stacy wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf championship by two strokes over Nancy Lopez.

1998 — Tour de France riders, angered by the drug scandal that has dominated the event, protest by delaying the start of racing for two hours. Armin Meier, a member of the Festina team who was kicked off the tour the previous week, admits to a French radio station that he used a banned drug.

2005 — Lance Armstrong wins his seventh consecutive Tour de France. All of the titles are stripped in 2012 for doping.

2008 — Nancy Lieberman makes a one-game appearance for the Detroit Shock after the 50-year-old Hall-of-Famer signed a seven-day contract earlier in the day. Lieberman, finishes with two assists and two turnovers, surpassing her own record as the oldest player in WNBA history. Lieberman held the record playing at age 39 in 1997 while playing for the Phoenix Mercury.

2009 — Ron Hornaday Jr. holds off a late challenge from Mike Skinner to win the AAA Insurance 200, making him the first driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to win four consecutive races.

2010 — Fourteen-year-old Jim Liu of Smithtown, N.Y., beats Justin Thomas of Goshen, Ky., 4 and 2 to become the youngest U.S. Junior Amateur champion. Liu, who turns 15 next month, is more than six months younger than Tiger Woods when he won the first of his three consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur titles in 1991.

2011 — Cadel Evans wins the Tour de France, becoming the first Australian champion in cycling’s greatest race.

2014 — Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice receives a two-game suspension from the NFL after his offseason arrest for domestic violence. The six-year veteran was arrested after a Feb. 15 altercation in Atlantic City, N.J., with then-fiancee Janay Palmer.

2016 — Chris Froome celebrates his third Tour de France title in four years. The British rider finishes safely at the back of the main pack during the final stage, arm-in-arm with his teammates during the mostly ceremonial final stage ending on the Champs-Elysees. Froome, who also won the Tour in 2013 and 2015, becomes the first rider to defend the title since Miguel Indurain won the last of his five straight in 1995. Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven consecutive titles for doping.

2019 — 19-year-old Hungarian swimmer Kristof Milak breaks Michael Phelps’ 10-year-old 200m butterfly record in a time of 1:50.73, 0.78s faster than Phelps.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1909 — Nap Rucker of the Brooklyn Dodgers struck out 16 batters in a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1931 — In an 8-7 loss to Pittsburgh, Babe Herman of Brooklyn hit for the cycle for the second time in the season.

1947 — Jackie Robinson stole home for the first time in his major league career in the Brooklyn Dodgers’ 4-2 win over Pittsburgh.

1948 — Chicago White Sox outfielder Pat Seerey become the first major leaguer to strike out seven times in a doubleheader.

1949 — Cleveland pitcher Bob Lemon hit two home runs to lead the Indians to a 7-5 victory over the Washington Senators in the opener of a doubleheader.

1968 — Hoyt Wilhelm of the Chicago White Sox passed Cy Young’s major league record when he made his 907th appearance. He retired with 1,070 appearances.

1973 — Bobby Bonds homered and doubled to lead the NL to a 7-1 rout of the AL in the All-Star game at Kansas City.

1983 — The “Pine Tar” home run was hit by the Kansas City Royals’ George Brett off New York pitcher Rich Gossage at Yankee Stadium. Brett’s shot came with two outs in the top of the ninth to give the Royals a 5-4 lead. Brett’s homer was ruled an out because the amount of pine tar exceeded what was allowed. After a protest by the Royals, the final out and the Yankees’ half of the ninth was completed on Aug. 18.

1993 — Anthony Young of the New York Mets extended his record losing streak to 27 games when he walked in the winning run in the 10th inning for a 5-4 loss to the Dodgers.

1999 — In their biggest victory in 46 years, the New York Yankees routed the Cleveland Indians 21-1 as Chili Davis went 5-for-6 with six RBIs.

2010 — Tampa Bay won in Cleveland for the first time in nearly five years. The Rays ended an 18-game losing streak with a 6-3 win against the Indians. Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon snapped an 0-21 personal losing streak as the visiting manager that began when he was the Angels interim manager in 1996.

2016 — Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mike Piazza are inducted into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Cooperstown, NY. Griffey obtained the highest percentage of the vote ever — 99.3% — in being elected in his first year of eligibility by the BBWAA, while Piazza made it on his fourth try. A crowd estimated at 50,000, the second-largest ever at Cooperstown, is on hand to witness the event.

2022 — The induction ceremony is held for the Class of 2022 at the Hall of Fame. Three of the seven men inducted — David Ortiz, Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva — are present to receive the honor. The others, all deceased, are represented by relatives — Gil Hodges, Minnie Minoso and Buck O’Neil — while Dave Winfield introduces 19th century black baseball pioneer Bud Fowler. Over 35,000 are present in Cooperstown, NY to witness the ceremony, and Dominican flags and Boston Red Sox gear, in honor of Ortiz, are well in evidence in the crowd.

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.

Dalton Rushing snaps nine-game hitless streak

From Maddie Lee: Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing fought to end his skid.

He held up on a curveball from Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola that clipped the bottom of the strike zone. He fouled off a changeup. And he stayed disciplined as Nola tried to get him to chase a fastball up and two breaking balls in the dirt.

In a full count, Rushing fouled off another changeup. And then, finally, Nola made a mistake.

Rushing hammered the grooved fastball to left-center field, just shy of the Citizens Bank Park concourse.

“It’s pretty obvious I’ve been fighting recently,” Rushing said after the game. “The more you try in this game to fight out of a hole, the deeper you dig yourself in a hole. So I think that’s what it’s been recently. And today it was, obviously, you get a good start to the day, and it’s kind of uphill. Yeah, I wouldn’t say it was anything different. I just trusted myself today.”

It was the Dodgers’ first run during a 9-5 win and Rushing’s first hit in more than two weeks. Over the course of nine hitless games, he went 0-for-19.

Rushing has been the Dodgers’ starting catcher since early June, when Will Smith was first sidelined with a neck injury. And the Dodgers will continue to rely on him, with Smith out indefinitely.

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Dodgers box score

MLB standings

MORE DODGERS:

‘It looked good.’ Dodgers encouraged by Shohei Ohtani bullpen session after knee injury

Angels fall to Cards in series finale

Hunter Dobbins scattered six hits over six innings, JJ Wetherholt hit a home run in the sixth and the St. Louis Cardinals held on for a 1-0 victory over the Angels on Wednesday at Angel Stadium.

Dobbins, recalled from triple-A Memphis for Wednesday’s start, struck out five and walked none to help St. Louis snap a four-game losing streak and end the Angels’ three-game win streak.

Luis Gastelum threw a scoreless seventh, George Soriano had a 1-2-3 eighth and closer Riley O’Brien struck out Oswald Peraza with an 80-mph sweeper and Josh Lowe with a 98-mph sinker with two on in the ninth for his 26th save.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

New baseball team courts Asian fans in Irvine

From Bill Shaikin: Would he get his own song?

Lars Nootbaar grew up in Southern California, playing for USC and attending games at Dodger Stadium. His mother is from Japan, so he played with Shohei Ohtani on Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

In Japan, fans come up with a song for each player and sing it happily and relentlessly. Nootbaar played in the major leagues, not in the Japanese league, so he was not sure he would get a song until he came up to bat.

“I don’t know how everybody in the stadium knew how to do it,” the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder said Wednesday at Angel Stadium. “Everybody was chanting it. It was pretty awesome.”

In Japan, baseball games are nine innings of songs and chants, drums and noise sticks. No excessively caffeinated in-game hosts. No scolding video commands to make some noise. The joyful sounds are organic, and they come from the fans.

Nootbaar attended Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s last game in Japan and absolutely raved about the energy in the stadium. Does he believe that kind of fan experience would translate to an American ballpark?

“I don’t see why not,” Nootbaar said. “It would probably have to start small, but it would be cool to integrate that.”

We’re starting small, and soon. A minor league team plans to launch in Irvine next year, and the entrepreneur behind it is pitching it as a way to provide fans with a taste of Asian baseball.

“We’re going to really lean into some of the innovation in fan experience that you’ve seen in Korea and Japan,” said Paul Freedman, co-founder of Innovation Baseball Partners.

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Sparks fall to Mercury in final game before all-star break

From Joaquin Ruiz: The Sparks and Mercury teetered and tottered, but Phoenix pulled away late to hand Los Angeles an 86-82 loss on Wednesday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena in the two teams’ final game before a much-needed All-Star break.

With the game tied at 60 entering the fourth quarter, Phoenix scored consecutive baskets and never relinquished its advantage. Forward Alyssa Thomas dominated with 19 points, 11 rebounds, 15 assists and three steals, while guard Kahleah Copper poured in 21 points on 10-for-16 shooting to lead the Mercury precisely as Sparks coach Lynne Roberts expected.

“Players like [Thomas] and [Copper] … can both take over games,” Roberts said before the game. “Last time we played them, Copper had 41 … she is an absolute talent. I think they run good stuff. I like what [Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts] does.”

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Sparks-Mercury box

WNBA standings

Son scores again in LAFC win over Real Salt Lake

Son Heung-min scored a goal for the second consecutive game, Denis Bouanga added a goal, and LAFC beat Real Salt Lake 3-1 on Wednesday night.

Hugo Lloris, who leads MLS with nine shutouts this season, had six saves for LAFC (9-5-3).

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MLS standings

Galaxy fall to sizzling St. Louis City

Lukas MacNaughton and Marcel Hartel scored four minutes apart late in the first half to break open St. Louis City’s 3-1 victory over the Galaxy on Wednesday night.

Simon Becher scored in the second half after Galaxy defender Emiro Garcés was sent off in the 49th minute with his second yellow card, and St. Louis cruised to its third straight win.

St. Louis, which is unbeaten in six straight since early May, also leapfrogged the Galaxy into the Western Conference’s playoff positions with this victory.

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This day in sports history

1907 — Australasia beats British Isles 3-2 to win the Davis Cup held at Wimbledon. Australasia wins its first David Cup and ends the four-year reign of the British Isles.

1921 — At the annual Harvard-Yale vs. Cambridge-Oxford meet at Harvard Stadium, Harvard’s Edward Gourdin becomes the first to long jump 25 feet. Harvard lists Gourdin’s jump as 25 feet, 3 inches, but the official listing in U.S. Track and Field is 25-2.

1960 — Betsy Rawls becomes the first woman to win the U.S. Women’s Open golf title four times.

1966 — John Pennel pole vaults 17 feet, 6 1/4 inches for the world record in a meet at Los Angeles. It’s the eighth of nine world records he set in the event in his career and his first since 1963.

1976 — The last NFL All-Star game is held and is shortened when thunderstorms hit Chicago. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the All-Stars 24-0.

1978 — Hollis Stacy wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf championship for the second straight year.

1989 — Mark Calcavecchia wins the British Open, edging Greg Norman and Wayne Grady in a three-man playoff. Calcavecchia, the first American to win the Open in five years, birdies three of the four holes in the playoff.

1989 — Greg Lemond wins his second Tour de France with the closest finish ever, edging Laurent Fignon by 8 seconds. Lemond starts the day 50 seconds behind Fignon and wins the final stage, a 15-mile race against the clock from Versailles to Paris, in 26:57. Fignon finishes the stage 58 seconds slower.

1995 — John Daly wins the British Open at St. Andrews by four strokes in a four-hole playoff with Italy’s Costantino Rocca. Rocca forces the playoff by sinking a 65-foot putt on the 18th hole.

1995 — Miguel Indurain of Spain wins his record fifth consecutive Tour de France. Indurain joins Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault as the other five-time winners.

2000 — Tiger Woods, at 24, becomes the youngest player to win the career Grand Slam with a record-breaking performance in the British Open on the Old Course at St. Andrews. Woods closes with a 3-under 69 for a 19-under 269 total, the lowest score in relation to par at a major championship.

2000 — 87th Tour de France: no winner (Lance Armstrong disqualified).

2006 — Tiger Woods, one month after missing the cut for the first time in a major, becomes the first player since Tom Watson in 1982-83 to win consecutive British Open titles.

2006 — Floyd Landis, pedaling with an injured hip, cruises to victory in the Tour de France, keeping cycling’s most prestigious title in American hands for the eighth straight year.

2009 — Mark Buehrle pitches the 18th perfect game in major league history, a 5-0 win over Tampa Bay.

2012 — Penn State is all but leveled by penalties handed down by the NCAA for its handling of the allegations against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. The NCAA imposes an unprecedented $60 million fine, a four-year ban from postseason play and a cut in the number of football scholarships it can award.

2017 — British cyclist Chris Froome wins his fourth Tour de France.

2019 — Nike’s Jordan Brand signs 2019 NBA #1 draft pick Zion Williamson to richest multiyear sponsorship deal for a rookie in history; estimated 7 years for $75 million.

2021 — The Opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games takes place after a one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021 — The Cleveland Indians announce the team will be re-named the Guardians.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1925 — Lou Gehrig hit the first of his major league record 23 grand slam homers as the New York Yankees posted an 11-7 triumph over the Washington Senators.

1930 — Pie Traynor won both ends of a doubleheader for the Pittsburgh Pirates with home runs. In the first game, Traynor homered in the ninth and in the second game, he connected in the 13th.

1944 — Bill Nicholson of the Chicago Cubs hit four home runs in a doubleheader split with the New York Giants. Nicholson hit a home run in the opener, which the Cubs won 7-4. He hit three straight in the second game, but the Giants won 12-10. In that game, Nicholson was walked with the bases loaded in the seventh inning.

1955 — Bob Cerv and Elston Howard of the New York Yankess hit consecutive pinch-hit home runs to force extra innings against Kansas City. The Athletics won 8-7 in the 11th inning on Hector Lopez’s RBI-single. Trailing 7-5 entering the top of the ninth, Cerv batted for pitcher Tommy Byrne and homered of Alex Kellner. Tom Gorman replaced Kellner and Howard, hitting for Irv Noren, tied the game.

1964 — Bert Campaneris of Kansas City hit two home runs in his first major league game. He homered on the first pitch off Minnesota’s Jim Kaat, and then connected again in the seventh to lift the Athletics to a 4-3 win.

1974 — Write-in starter Steve Garvey of the Los Angeles Dodgers singled and doubled to lead the NL to a 7-2 victory over the AL in the All-Star game at Pittsburgh.

1985 — Oddibe McDowell became the first player in Texas Rangers history to hit for the cycle in an 8-4 win over the Cleveland Indians.

2000 — Ryan Klesko hit a game-tying solo homer in the ninth inning and a two-run shot in the 10th to lift San Diego over Colorado 6-4.

2009 — Mark Buehrle pitched the 18th perfect game in major league history, a 5-0 win over Tampa Bay. It was the first since Randy Johnson’s on May 18, 2004. Buehrle threw 76 of 116 pitches for strikes and fanned six in his second no-hitter — the first coming on April 18, 2007, against Texas.

2011 — The Red Sox extend Seattle’s losing streak to 14 games, tied for the longest in team history, with a 3 – 1 win at Fenway Park which is also Terry Francona’s 1000th as Sox manager. Josh Beckett is the winner.

2014 — Padres OF Cameron Maybin is handed a 25-game suspension for testing positive for amphetamines; he is the first major leaguer suspended for PED use this season.

2016 — Trevor Story hit two home runs to set an NL rookie record for shortstops and Colorado beat Atlanta 8-4. Story had four hits including his 25th and 26th homers to pass his mentor, Troy Tulowitzki, who had 24 for the Rockies in 2007. Nomar Garciaparra of the Boston Red Sox set the major league record for shortstops with 30 in 1997.

2020 — CommissionerRob Manfred springs a surprise on everyone as he announces a modified postseason format for this year only. There will be eight teams participating from each league: the two teams with the best records in each division, and the ones with the two next best records in the league. The teams will be seeded one to eight. The Wild Card Game will be replaced by a preliminary round with all teams participating, played in best-of-three format, with all games played in the better-ranked team’s ballpark.

2021 — Cleveland baseball team announced the team will be called the Guardians beginning in 2022.

2023 — In Cooperstown, NY, Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen are inducted into the Hall of Fame as the Class of 2023.

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@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Dodgers beat the Phillies

From Maddie Lee: Left-hander Justin Wrobleski plans to give Clayton Kershaw a call.

Wrobleski has long spoken highly of Kershaw’s impact on him as a teammate. But as Wrobleski charts his way past his career high in innings at any level, he needs some extra advice from the three-time Cy Young winner.

“Trying to figure out how he did it for so long, throwing 200 a year,” Wrobleski said after holding the Phillies to one run through 6 ⅓ innings in the Dodgers’ 2-1 win Tuesday. “This is something I’ve been thinking about the past couple days. … I think it’s something that could be helpful moving forward.

Wrobleski’s workload is something manager Dave Roberts is thinking about, too.

Every year, teams across Major League Baseball claim that they have their sights set on the World Series. But the Dodgers have made that pilgrimage through October so routine, and have leveraged their financial might to assemble such a deep roster, that the extra month of play weighs more heavily on their midseason decisions than it does for any other club.

Yes, the Dodgers want to claim the best regular-season record in the majors. But they also know how vital it is to peak in health and performance at the right time. Part of that puzzle is managing workload for young pitchers who are poised to be major postseason contributors.

“[Wrobleski’s] obviously a huge piece of what we’re doing and what we’re going to be doing,” Roberts said before the Dodgers’ win.

The Dodgers pulled out the victory on a game-ending 5-2-6-4 double play when the Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto was thrown out running back to second base — instead of staying on third — after Justin Crawford was caught in a rundown.

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Dodgers box score

MLB standings

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ESPN six-episode podcast to examine Shohei Ohtani-Ippei Mizuhara gambling scandal

Angels extend win streak to three games

Walbert Ureña pitched six innings of one-run ball, Jorge Soler and Jo Adell each drove in two runs in a five-run first inning and the Angels extended their winning streak to three games with a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

The Angels banged out five of their 10 hits in the first inning. Soler hit a two-run double and Adell added a two-run homer for the Angels, who have their longest winning streak since a four-game run from June 9-13.

Ureña (6-7) allowed up six hits, struck out five and walked one while lowering his ERA to 2.78 for the season and 2.49 in 14 starts since May 1. Making his first start since the All-Star break, the rookie right-hander threw 16 pitches of 100 mph or more, including hitting a season-high 101.5-mph sinker to Jordan Walker, in the first. He had thrown 16 pitches of 100 mph or more — total — in 81 1/3 innings of his first 17 games.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

Why are the Warriors on LeBron James’ list?

From Mirjam Swanson: Take all the time you want, LeBron. It’s your life.

Yes, it’s annoying to have to hear about it every day, but it’s your decision when to tell us where you’re going to play your 24th season of pro ball.

So, go ahead, keep NBA schedule-makers on pins and needles. Savor having workers at my local Trader Joe’s discussing your future on a Monday in the middle of July. Enjoy your twilight limelight.

But don’t tell us, on podcasts and in public appearances, that the factors you’re prioritizing are A) whether a team is built to win now; B) the proximity to your home in L.A.; and C) not money, but overall happiness — and then signal it might be the Golden State Warriors.

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Lakers release preseason schedule; opener is Oct. 5

World Cup: Messi returns to Argentina to recover

Lionel Messi arrived back in Argentina on Tuesday for a few days of rest following the World Cup final loss to Spain.

Messi’s private jet landed near his hometown of Rosario from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at 6:27 a.m. Although many fans were waiting with signs and flags, he did not make a public appearance.

“The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal,” he posted on his Instagram account. “I cherish all the good moments, memories that will last forever — and the support of an entire nation which, combined with this group’s hard work and effort, propelled us once again into the ranks of the world’s best.”

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Rodgers appears to have reconciled with family members

From Chuck Schilken: Aaron Rodgers recently shared photos of himself with his parents and one of his brothers on social media.

While that’s something that a lot of people do, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is a very private person who has never even posted a photo of his wife online.

Rodgers also has been estranged from his parents and brothers for quite some time now.

Those relationships appear to be on the mend, however, after the 22-year NFL veteran took to Instagram on Monday and posted several seemingly recent family pictures — including one of him with his arm around his father Ed, another with his arm around his mother Darla and others of him interacting with older brother Luke.

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This day in sports history

1921 — Jim Barnes wins the U.S. Men’s Open golf championship by edging Walter Hagen, Leo Diegel, Jock Hutchinson and Fred McLeod.

1962 — Gary Player of South Africa becomes the first non-resident of the United States to win the PGA championship.

1963 — Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson in 2 minutes, 10 seconds of the first round to retain the world heavyweight title. Liston took the title from Patterson with a first-round knockout in Chicago on Sept. 25, 1962.

1973 — Sue Berning wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf championship for the third time with a five-stroke victory over Gloria Ahret.

1984 — Kathy Whitworth becomes the all-time winner in professional golf tournaments by winning the Rochester Open. Whitworth, with 85 career wins, passes Sam Snead’s total of 84 PGA tournament victories.

1984 — Seve Ballesteros wins the British Open with a four-round 276, breaking the course record set by Ken Nagle in 1960 by two strokes. Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer finish two strokes behind.

1990 — Nick Faldo wins his second British Open crown in four years, defeating Payne Stewart and Mark McNulty by five strokes.

1996 — Naim Suleymanoglu of Turkey becomes first weightlifter in Olympic history to win three gold medals. Suleymanoglu wins the 141-pound division by hoisting 413¼ pounds.

1994 — Former NFL running back, broadcaster and actor O.J. Simpson pleads “Absolutely 100% Not Guilty” of murder.

1998 — Jackie Joyner-Kersee ends her brilliant heptathlon career with a victory at the Goodwill Games. It’s her fourth consecutive Goodwill title. Earlier, the 4×400-meter relay world record of 2:54.29, set by the 1993 U.S. World Championship team, comes crashing down. Michael Johnson, the anchor on that 1993 team, anchors this United States 4×400 team, which finishes in a 2 minutes, 54.20 seconds.

2001 — David Duval shoots a 4-under 67 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes to win the British Open title, his first major championship. He finishes at 10-under 274 for a three-stroke victory over Sweden’s Niclas Fasth.

2005 — Yelena Isinbayeva clears the 5-meter mark at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix in London for her latest world record. The Olympic champion easily clears 16 feet, 4¾ inches on her first attempt, barely nudging the bar.

2007 — Padraig Harrington survives a calamitous finish in regulation and a tense putt for bogey on the final hole of a playoff to win the British Open over Sergio Garcia.

2008 — Candace Parker scores 21 points and DeLisha Milton-Jones adds 19 before both are ejected after a scuffle in the final minute as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Detroit Shock 84-81 at Auburn Hills, Mich. The WNBA game turns ugly in the final seconds as a collision between Parker and Detroit’s Plenette Pierson turns into a shoving match that has players and coaches from both teams leaving the bench.

2012 — Bradley Wiggins becomes the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France by protecting the yellow jersey during the final processional ride into Paris. Fellow Briton and Sky teammate Christopher Froome finishes second, 3 minutes, 21 seconds behind.

2012 — Ernie Els wins his fourth major championship in an astonishing finish, rallying to beat Adam Scott in the British Open when the Aussie bogeys the last four holes. Els, who starts the final round six shots behind, finishes off a flawless back nine with a 15-foot birdie putt for a 2-under 68. Scott was four shots ahead with four holes to play.

2018 — Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird plays in a record 500th WNBA game.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1905 — Weldon Henley of the Philadelphia Athletics pitched a no-hitter, defeating the St. Louis Browns 6-0 in the first game of a doubleheader. It was the highlight of Henley’s 4-11 season.

1906 — Bob Ewing pitched the Cincinnati Reds to a 10-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies without a single assist by teammates.

1923 — Washington’s Walter Johnson struck out opposing pitcher Stan Coveleski for his 3,000th career strikeout. The Big Train, the first player in MLB history to reach 3,000 strikeouts, struck out five and allowed one run to give the Senators a 3-1 win over Cleveland.

1926 — Cincinnati had four triples in an 11-run second inning as the Reds beat the Boston Braves, 13-1. Curt Walker hit two in the inning to tie an NL record for most triples in an inning.

1932 — Philadelphia’s Mickey Cochrane hit for the cycle and drove in four runs to lead the Athletics to an 8-4 win over the Washington Senators.

1962 — Floyd Robinson of the Chicago White Sox had six singles in six at-bats in a 7-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

1964 — Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell hit for the cycle, drove in three runs and scored four times in the Pirates’ 13-2 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals.

1967 — The Atlanta Braves used a major league record five pitchers in the ninth inning of a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The pitchers were Ken Johnson, Ramon Hernandez, Claude Raymond, Dick Kelley and Cecil Upshaw.

1997 — Atlanta’s Greg Maddux turned in a masterful pitching performance, using 76 pitches in a complete game 4-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

2000 — Seattle’s 13-5 win over Texas was interrupted for 54 minutes when a rainstorm drenched fans at Safeco Field and the $517.6 million stadium’s roof wouldn’t close because of a computer problem. The roof finally began closing about 20 minutes later.

2006 — Alfonso Soriano had three doubles, a triple and scored two runs to lead Washington to a 7-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

2012 — Seth Smith hit a tying homer in the ninth inning, Coco Crisp singled home the winning run in the 12th and the surging Oakland Athletics rallied from four runs down to stun the New York Yankees 5-4 and complete a four-game sweep. The Yankees had not been swept in a four-game series since May 2003 against Toronto.

2013 — Ryan Braun, the 2011 National League MVP, was suspended for the rest of the season and the postseason, the start of sanctions involving players reportedly tied to a Florida clinic accused of distributing performance-enhancing drugs. The Milwaukee Brewers star accepted the 65-game ban, 15 games more than the one he avoided last year when an arbitrator overturned his positive test for elevated testosterone because the urine sample had been improperly handled.

2014 — The Minnesota Twins turn a triple play against the Yankees.

2022 — In their first game after the All-Star break, the Blue Jays set a team record for runs in a 28 – 5 beatdown of the Red Sox.

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@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Dodgers lose to the Phillies

From Maddie Lee: Emmet Sheehan backpedaled down the mound, watching the ball fly just over the left-field wall.

His start Monday, much like his season, had its ups and downs. But just when it seemed he’d found a groove, he gave up a momentum-swinging solo home run to Philadelphia’s Brandon Marsh in the sixth inning of the Dodgers’ 10-7 loss to the Phillies.

It was Sheehan’s first start since the All-Star break, pushed back because of a rainout Saturday in New York. He gave up six runs in 5⅓ innings, raising concerns again over his inconsistency. While the Dodgers (63-38) weather the loss of Shohei Ohtani from the rotation, they need steadiness from the rest of their starters.

“Certainly, he’s getting a lot of opportunity,” manager Dave Roberts said of Sheehan. “It’s not the consistency that any of us like or want, Emmet included. Until there’s another alternative, we’re going to keep running him out there.”

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Shaikin: Why Dodgers aren’t panicking over their $60-million bet on Kyle Tucker

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels win in an interesting way

Vaughn Grissom drove in the tying run with a one-out double in the ninth inning and Jo Adell was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Angels a 3-2 comeback win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.

Nolan Schanuel, batting .367 since June 21, sparked the late rally with a one-out single off All-Star closer Riley O’Brien, who is tied for the National League lead with 25 saves.

Jorge Soler was hit by a pitch and Grissom sent a line drive off the right-field wall that eluded a leaping Jordan Walker. Pinch-runner Oswald Peraza scored from second base and pinch-runner Jose Siri reached third.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

Lakers sign Matisse Thybulle

From Broderick Turner: The Lakers have signed forward Matisse Thybulle to a one-year, $3.3-million contract, people familiar with the deal but not authorized to speak publicly told The Times Monday.

Thybulle, who spent last season playing for the Portland Trail Blazers, made the NBA’s all-defensive team twice over his seven-year career. He is a defensive wing player that the Lakers sought to surround Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Thybulle averaged 5.8 points per game last season and shot 43.3% from the field, 39.8% from three-point range, in 30 games.

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World Cup: Team Argentina sullied its reputation

From Kevin Baxter: This summer’s World Cup will be remembered for a lot of things.

It was the first to be played in three countries, the first with 48 teams, and the overall attendance nearly doubled the previous record. Norway’s Erling Haaland and Cape Verde’s Vozinha were captivating while Egypt and Canada both won World Cup games for the first time, advancing to the round of 16.

And Spain, glorious Spain, gave up just one goal in eight games to dethrone the reigning champions and become the first nation in history to own both the men’s and women’s World Cup titles at the same time.

But the tournament will also be remembered for a classless and churlish Argentina, which forever stained itself with a thuggish performance in the game and an ungracious one afterward.

If La Albiceleste had simply kept its composure, it would have secured a place next to Brazil and Germany, the only other countries to reach three finals in four World Cups, as one of the greatest teams of all time. Instead, some of its players turned the postgame handshakes into a brawl, with Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes drawing a red card for grabbing Spain’s Eric Garcia by the throat and shoving him to the turf.

It was believed to be the only red card ever handed out after a World Cup final, and the ignominy it brought was well-deserved. But the childishness was just beginning. When Spain assembled on the podium to accept the World Cup trophy, which had been Argentina’s moments earlier, the South Americans turned their backs.

More than an hour later Lionel Messi, who has cemented his stature as the greatest player in World Cup history, soiled that status by leading the players out of the locker room and through a back exit to the team bus, avoiding the media many had been so eager to speak with during the team’s unbeaten run to the final.

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Despite some irritating flaws, 2026 World Cup a rousing success for FIFA, U.S. and fans

This day in sports history

1876 — Princeton takes the team championship in the first IC4A (Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes Association) track and field meet.

1957 — Lionel Herbert wins the PGA championship with a 2-1 final round victory over Dow Finsterwald.

1957 — Althea Gibson becomes the first Black player to win a major U.S. tennis tournament.

1963 — Jack Nicklaus wins the PGA championship by two strokes over Dave Ragan to become the fourth golfer to win the three major United States titles.

1968 — Arnold Palmer becomes the first PGA golfer to earn $1 million over his career despite losing by one stroke to Julius Boros in the PGA championship.

1974 — Sandra Haynie edges Carol Mann and Beth Stone by one stroke to win the U.S. Women’s Open championship.

1979 — Spain’s Seve Ballesteros captures the British Open by three strokes over Ben Crenshaw and Jack Nicklaus.

1985 — John Henry, the greatest money winner in horse racing history, is retired. The 10-year-old won 39 races in 83 starts and earned $6,597,947 in total purses.

1985 — Sandy Lyle wins the British Open by one stroke over Payne Stewart.

1989 — Mike Tyson knocks down Carl “The Truth” Williams with a left hook and stops him 93 seconds into the first round of his heavyweight title defense. It is the fifth shortest heavyweight title fight in history.

1996 — Tom Lehman shoots a final-round 73 for a 72-hole total of 13-under 271 to win the British Open, two strokes better than Ernie Els and Mark McCumber.

1996 — Wayne Gretzky signs a two-year deal with the New York Rangers.

2002 — Ernie Els squanders a three-stroke lead but outlasts Thomas Levet of France to win a four-man playoff that produces the first sudden-death finish in the 142-year history of the British Open.

2007 — Bernard Hopkins, in the twilight of his fighting days, ends Winky Wright’s 7 1/2-year unbeaten streak with a unanimous decision in their 170-pound bout in Las Vegas.

2009 — China’s Guo Jingjing easily wins her fifth straight world championship in 3-meter springboard. She captured her first springboard world title in 2001, and hasn’t lost since in the every-other-year competition.

2013 — Phil Mickelson wins his first British Open title with a spectacular finish. He birdies four of the last six holes for a 5-under 66 to match the best round of the tournament.

2013 — Britain’s Chris Froome wins the 100th Tour de France, having dominated rivals over three weeks. He rides into Paris wearing the yellow jersey he took in Stage 8 in the Pyrenees and never relinquished.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1921 — The Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees combined for an AL record 16 doubles in the Indians’ 17-8 victory. Cleveland had nine doubles and New York seven.

1945 — The Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Athletics played 24 innings in a 1-1 tie. Les Mueller pitched 19 2-3 innings for the Tigers.

1956 — Brooks Lawrence of the Cincinnati Reds had his 13-game winning streak broken when Roberto Clemente’s three-run homer led the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 victory.

1970 — San Diego’s Clay Kirby held the New York Mets hitless for eight innings but was lifted for a pinch-hitter by manager Preston Gomez. With the Padres trailing 1-0 with two out in the eighth, Gomez elected to go for the win instead of letting Kirby finish. The Padres lost the no-hitter and the game, 3-0.

1973 — Hank Aaron of Atlanta hit his 700th home run in the third inning of an 8-4 Braves loss to Philadelphia. Aaron connected on a 1-1 fastball off Phillies pitcher Ken Brett.

1975 — Joe Torre of the New York Mets grounded into four double plays in a 6-2 loss to the Houston Astros. Felix Millan had four singles but was wiped out each time by Torre.

2001 — In their highest-scoring game in 58 years, the Dodgers routed Colorado 22-7. The 22 runs were the most scored by the Dodgers since Brooklyn beat Pittsburgh 23-6 on July 10, 1943, at Ebbets Field.

2006 — Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player to reach 450 home runs when he homered in the New York Yankees’ 7-3 loss to Toronto. Rodriguez also got his 2,000th hit.

2007 — Jamie Moyer and David Wells face off. The two combine for 88 years and 307 days of age, making it the second-oldest matchup of starting pitchers in major league history. The only older duel was between Don Sutton and Phil Niekro in June of 1987.

2008 — Detroit’s 19-4 victory at Kansas City marked the third time this season the Tigers scored 19 runs. The Boston Red Sox were the last team to accomplish that feat, scoring 19 or more four times in 1950. Detroit beat Texas 19-6 on April 23 and Minnesota 19-3 on May 24.

2015 — Shin-Soo Choo hit for the cycle, leading the Texas Rangers past the Colorado Rockies 9-0. Choo, who had three RBIs, doubled in the second inning, homered in the fourth and singled in the fifth. He completed the cycle with a triple to center to start the ninth.

2019 — The 2019 Hall of Fame Class is inducted in Cooperstown, NY, with six former players being honored: Harold Baines, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith. All are present, save for Halladay, who passed away in a plane crash in 2017 and, who is represented by his wife, Brandy. Rivera, the first player to be elected unanimously to the Hall, gets the honor of speaking last, befitting his status as the greatest closer in history.

2024 — The Hall of Fame inducts its four newest members, constituting the Class of 2024, at its annual ceremony held in Cooperstown, NY. Honored today are 1B Todd Helton, C/1B Joe Mauer, 3B Adrian Beltre and manager Jim Leyland.

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.

Spanish conquest

From Kevin Baxter: This summer’s World Cup was so good, nobody wanted it to end.

So Spain and Argentina played on and on in Sunday’s final, through 90 minutes of regulation time and then through a 15-minute extra period before Ferran Torres gave Spain the only goal it needed to claim the title with a 1-0 victory over the defending champion at a sold-out MetLife Stadium.

It was an epic finish to an epic tournament, one that set records for everything from attendance and TV viewers to games played and goals scored. And it was almost certainly the last World Cup for Argentine captain Lionel Messi, 39, who finished his record-setting sixth tournament as the all-time leader in games (34), assists (12) and goal contributions (33).

His parting gift was a silver medal, a handshake from President Trump and a hug from the King of Spain. But none of those were the prize he wanted most, so when he left the stage after receiving his medal, he broke down in tears.

A swarming Spanish defense made him little more than a spectator for most of the match. So while Argentina came into the final leading the tournament in goals per game, it also became the first team to go 90 minutes without a shot in a World Cup final. It was outshot 20-2 for the game, and Spanish keeper Unai Simón, who gave up just one goal in eight matches, was not forced to make a save in registering his seventh clean sheet.

He was named the outstanding keeper of the tournament.

That allowed Torres, who started just once in the tournament, to become the hero.

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Swanson: LAFC star Son Heung-min proves life after the World Cup can offer hope and redemption

Great day for Eliezer Alfonzo

From Maddie Lee: Eliezer Alfonzo jumped on a first-pitch cutter, keeping his hands inside to send it into shallow center field.

Two weeks after making his major league debut under tragic circumstances, Alfonzo recorded his first hit.

“The guys have been supporting me, pushing me every day,” Alfonzo said. “And they told me, ‘You’re going to get it here at Yankee Stadium, it’s going to be really good.’”

It was a heartwarming moment early in the Dodgers’ 2-1 loss to the New York Yankees in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader. By dropping the series finale after an 8-2 win in the opener, the Dodgers settled for a series win instead of sweep.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s third career complete game was the highlight of the win in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Sunday. It was his first complete game since Game 2 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

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Shaikin: Shohei Ohtani’s knee troubles creating a major pitching dilemma for Dodgers

Dodgers Game 1 box score

Dodgers Game 2 box score

MLB standings

Angels edge the Tigers

Ryan Johnson struck out five and gave up one run in five solid innings, Jorge Soler and Zach Neto delivered RBI hits and the Angels ended a four-game skid with a 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Johnson (2-4) gave up two hits and walked three. The right-hander escaping a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the fifth when he struck out Dillon Dingler with an 82-mph sweeper. Samy Natera Jr., Chase Silseth and Sam Bachman worked scoreless innings of relief.

Ryan Zeferjahn, who gave up just two earned runs in 19 1/3 innings of his previous 18 games since June 1, gave up a homer to Riley Greene in the top of the ninth as Detroit closed within 3-2. But, Zeferjahn retired the next three batters and earned his third save.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

Sparks lose fourth in a row

Paige Bueckers had 25 points before leaving the game following a scary collision, Arike Ogunbowale scored six of her 20 down the stretch and the Dallas Wings beat the Sparks 90-82 on Sunday to extend their winning streak to a franchise-record six games.

Bueckers hit a three-pointer that capped a 14-5 spurt and gave the Wings an eight-point lead with 9:12 left in the game.

Jessica Shepard had 11 points, 14 rebounds and six assists for the Wings (17-8) and Azzi Fudd also scored 11.

The Sparks (10-15) have lost four consecutive games, all on the road.

Nneka Ogwumike made seven of 12 from the field and finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Sparks. Dearica Hamby added 16 points on eight-of-12 shooting, Cameron Brink scored 10 and Erica Wheeler had 10 assists to go with nine points for L.A.

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Sparks box score

WNBA standings

Ryan Fox wins British Open

Ryan Fox of New Zealand survived a wild ride along the back nine of Royal Birkdale and delivered the biggest putt of his life Sunday, making a 12-foot birdie on the final hole to win the British Open for his first major title.

Four players had a share of the lead at some point Sunday. American Cameron Young was atop the leaderboard for two hours because he finished his astonishing six-under 64 when the leaders were on the front nine.

Fox never lost hope, even after a pair of bogeys on the back nine, and the 39-year-old son of an All Blacks rugby player delivered the goods when it counted. He birdied the 16th to tie Young for the lead, and then made birdie on the toughest hole to become the third Kiwi to win a major.

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British Open leaderboard

This day in sports history

1958 — The PGA championship calls for medal play for the first time and Dow Finsterwald beats Billy Casper.

1963 — Mary Mills wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf championship by three strokes over Sandra Palmer and Louise Suggs.

1974 — Carl Rosen’s Chris Evert beats Miss Musket by 50 lengths in the winner-take-all match race at Hollywood Park.

1975 — Sandra Palmer wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf championship by four strokes over Nancy Lopez, Joanne Carner and Sandra Post.

1980 — Tom Watson wins the British Open by four strokes over Lee Trevino. Watson shoots a 13-under 271 at Muirfield Golf Links at Gullane, Scotland. Watson becomes the fourth American to win three Open titles, joining Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus.

1997 — Justin Leonard closes with a 65 to win the British Open at 12-under 272 at Royal Troon. Leonard, whose closing round is one of the best in major championship history, takes the lead from Jesper Parnevik with a birdie on No. 17.

2002 — Tiger Woods, trying to win the third leg of the Grand Slam, shoots his worst round (81) as a pro, knocking himself out of contention.

2008 — Padraig Harrington is the first European in more than a century to win golf’s oldest championship two years in a row. Harrington pulls away from mistake-prone Greg Norman and holds off a late charge by Ian Poulter for a four-shot victory in the British Open.

2009 — Lauren Lappin homers to start a three-run rally in the third inning, and the United States beats Australia 3-1 in the World Cup of Softball championship game at Oklahoma City.

2013 — China’s Wu Minxia and Shi Tingmao wins the first diving gold medal at the world championships in Barcelona, Spain. Wu earns a record sixth world title in the women’s 3-meter synchronized springboard.

2014 — Rory McIlroy completes a wire-to-wire victory in the British Open to capture the third leg of the career Grand Slam. McIlroy closes with a 1-under 71 for a two-shot victory over Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler. McIlroy, winner of the 2011 U.S. Open and the 2012 PGA Championship, joins Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players with three different majors at age 25 or younger.

2015 — Zach Johnson rolls in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and outlasts Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman in a three-man playoff to win the British Open. Jordan Spieth, looking to win his third straight major, falls one shot short of joining the playoff.

2020 — Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first man to score 50 goals in Serie A, La Liga and the Premier League.

2021 — The Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Phoenix Suns 105-95 in game six of the NBA Finals to win their second NBA Championship. It was the fourth win in a row after falling behind 2-0 in the series. The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1906 — Malcolm Eason of Brooklyn pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

1925 — Brooklyn’s Dazzy Vance struck out 17 batters as the Dodgers tripped the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in 10 innings.

1933 — Babe Herman hit three home runs, including a grand slam, to pace the Chicago Cubs in a 10-1 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field.

1941 — New York’s Joe DiMaggio had three doubles and a homer in a 12-6, 17-inning Yankee victory over the Tigers in Detroit.

1958 — Jim Bunning of the Detroit Tigers threw a no-hitter, beating the Boston Red Sox 3-0 in the first game of a doubleheader.

1970 — Bill Singer of the Dodgers pitched a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies for a 5-0 victory in front of 12,454 at Los Angeles.

1973 — Wilbur Wood of the Chicago White Sox lost both ends of a doubleheader to the New York Yankees, 12-2 and 7-0.

1976 — Hank Aaron hit the 755th and final home run of his career to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-2 win over the Angels.

2008 — Francisco Rodriguez became the fastest pitcher to 40 saves in big league history when he closed out the Angels’ 5-3 victory over Boston. Rodriguez, who struck out the side in the ninth inning, reached 40 saves in 98 games — 10 faster than John Smoltz did five years ago.

2009 — Matt Holliday homered twice, including a tying grand slam in the seventh inning, and Jack Cust followed with another shot, helping the Athletics rally from a 10-run deficit — the largest comeback in Oakland history — and beat the Minnesota Twins 14-13.

2013 — The Seattle Mariners manage only one hit but defeat the Astros 4-2.

2015 — Women’s baseball is played in The Pan American Games for the first time.

2017 — Matt Carpenter hits three home runs and two doubles as the Cardinals defeat the Cubs 17-5.

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. I’m Eric Sondheimer. Here’s a look at receivers to watch in 2026.

Lots of pass catchers

Hayden Koo of Tustin makes catch between two St. John Bosco defenders.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

A quarterback is only as good as his receivers catching passes, and there are a lot of competent receivers in Southern California for the 2026 football season.

Juniors DJ Tubbs of St. John Bosco and Hayden Koo of Tustin have been earning rave reviews in summer passing competitions and camps. Their ability to catch passes, run routes and show off quickness is creating excitement.

Quentin Hale, who was very good as a sophomore and junior at Cathedral, has moved over to Corona Centennial and looks confident with his USC scholarship awaiting him. Austin Miller of Bellflower committed to Ohio State before anyone has seen him play his sophmore season, but all signs point toward him leading the class of 2029.

Westlake has the dynamic duo of 6-foot-5 Charles Davis and Palisades transfer Demare Dezeurn, known for his speed. Both are Cal commits. Chaparral’s Eli Woodard was subject of an intense recruiting fight this summer before committing to Miami. Chaparral also has Tycen Johnson (Arizona State) and Michael Farinas (UCLA).

Blake Wong of Norco uses his speed to be a big-play weapon. He had 14 receptions last season against Centennial. Jack Junker of Mission Viejo has among the best hands. Benjamin Harris of Servite is the state sprint champion. Grant Mosley of Santa Margarita has lots of talent but is trying to get healthy after injury issues. Orange Lutheran’s Nico Bland and Chris Flores can be a top duo.

Calabasas’ Kingston Celifie became a track star in the spring and should use that additional speed this fall. Crean Lutheran’s Ty Johnson figures to catch lots of passes.

Laguna Beach has the acrobatic Brady Stringham back at receiver. Emmanuel Pullins of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame is ready for a breakout junior season. Chaminade’s Andrew Cordero has been impressive in summer competitions. Hart’s Matix Frithsmith is one of the most versatile players. San Juan Hills’ Luke Frith is coming off an outstanding junior season. Burbank’s Tyler Hudson had 88 receptions last seson.

Sierra Canyon, which won the Mission Viejo passing tournament Saturday, showed off junior receivers Micah Slade and King Webb. Tustin’s Jeremiah Salvant is another receiver with great hands.

South Gate’s Nicholas Fonseca had 10 touchdown catches. Birmingham’s Paul Turner has speed and big-play skills. Palisades’ Malachi Ross showed potential as a junior.

There are four top tight ends in Santa Margarita’s Luke Gazzaniga, Rancho Cucamonga’s Jaylin Smalls, Mission Viejo’s Max Markofski and Corona del Mar’s JJ Haley.

Book on El Segundo LL

Danny Boehle’s new book about managing the El Segundo League League championship team in the summer of 2023.

(LA TImes)

Danny Boehle, the manager of the 2023 El Segundo Little League championship team, has published a book looking at the experience then.

El Segundo, Calif.’s Louis Lappe (19) celebrates as he rounds second after hitting a walk-off home run off Curacao’s Jay-Dlynn Wiel in 2023.

(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)

Co-written with Dan Coonan, “Second to None” explores the fun, excitement and lessons learned from El Segundo winning in Williamsport, Pa., on a dramatic walk-off home run by Louis Lappe.

Encino Little League is trying to repeat the journey of El Segundo this year. The group of 11- and 12-year-olds begins action in the state tournament July 25 in Laguna Niguel.

Eagle Rock quarterback Nylah Moore Is chased out of the pocket by L.A. Marshall’s Charlie Gibson in the City Section Open Division flag football championship game last season.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Eagle Rock and Franklin have shown promise this summer of becoming strong teams in City Section flag football this fall.

Senior quarterback Nylah Moore is back for Eagle Rock, which lost in last season’s Open Division final to Marshall 20-0. The two-sport standout uses her athleticism and instincts to create chaos for defenses. Zoe Duran is a receiver with speed also back.

The Northern League, with defending champion Marshall, will once again provide lots of top flag football teams.

AGBU coach brings home title

AGBU coach Nareg Kopooshian (second from the right) guided the U16 Armenian national team to gold medal, along with assistant coach Chris Tchamkertenian, incoming freshman Jivan Dorian and junior Ethan Kazanjian.

(Arto Shahinian)

AGBU basketball coach Nareg Kopooshian has come home with a gold medal after guiding the U16 Armenian national team in the C Division to the FIBA Eurobasketball championship.

AGBU was well represented with players Jivan Dorian and Ethan Kazanjian along with assistant coach Chris Tchamkertenian.

Dorian will be a freshman at AGBU in Canoga Park this coming season.

Notes . . .

Former Sierra Canyon standout Ziaire Williams has signed with the Lakers. Let’s not forget he had the last shot of the 2020 high school season before COVID ended it….

The 18U U.S. national baseball team is holding training camp with lots of Southern California players participating. Here’s the roster. …

Justin Maidenberg is the new girls basketball coach at South Pasadena….

Nicole Wise has resigned as softball coach at Mater Dei….

Santa Margarita’s girls golf team won the 2026 Girl’s NHSGA National Invitational at Pinehurst Resort….

After 17 years as volleyball coach at Servite, Matt Marrujo is stepping down to focus on athletic director duties. Assistant Paka Dutro has been promoted to head coach….

Dylan Smith, who was coaching at Upland, is the new baseball coach at Damien….

George Chace is the new baseball coach at Capistrano Valley. He’s a former head coach at Orange and was an assistant at Huntington Beach….

Davis Towne is the new baseball coach at Long Beach Poly. He was pitching coach at Lakewood….

Garfield running back Ceasar Reyes is lifted up by Angel Jimenez. He rushed for school-record 420 yards in win over South Gate.

(Nick Koza)

In a big development for Garfield’s football program, All-City running back Ceasar Reyes has returned to the school after transferring to Salesian in the spring. Reyes would have had to sit out the first part of the football season if he had stayed at Salesian….

Tommy Leach, a veteran football coach around Southern California, is the new head coach at Esperanza….

Defensive back Dorian Franklin of St. John Bosco has committed to Harvard….

Bellflower won the Buena Park passing tourney behind quarterback E’lacion Saxton….

Corona grad Anthony Murphy, previously committed to LSU for baseball, has switched to Miami….

Catcher Taehan Kim from Redondo Union has committed to Loyola Marymount….

From the archives: Paul Knox

Dorsey coach Paul Knox celebrates miracle win in 2001 City championship game at Coliseum.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

City Section Hall of Fame football coach Paul Knox has been organizing a celebration of Dorsey’s prominence in the Los Angeles sports community, with Aug. 8 the day anyone who has been associated with the school is invited to a campus celebration.

With Knox involved, expect the crowd to be large and enthusiastic. His teams won City titles in 1989, 1991, 1995 and 2001. He sent numerous players to college.

Here’s a story from 2019 when he was nearing retirement coaching at Washington Prep.

Here’s a story from 2020 looking back at Dorsey’s amazing comeback win on the final play to beat Taft in the City final at the Coliseum in 2001.

Recommendations

From Sportsjounalisminstitute.org, a story on a former USC football player using what he learned studying journalism to help him in coaching.

From the San Diego Union-Tribune, a story on summer passing tournaments.

From MLB.com, a story on 17-year-old Jared Grindlinger from Huntington Beach signing with the Angels after being a first-round draft choice.

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.

What can derail the Dodgers?

From Maddie Lee: Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior was worried. But how worried? He couldn’t say at first.

The team had taken major steps to address Shohei Ohtani’s lingering left knee condition, presenting him with a plan to skip his last start before the All-Star break and have his knee drained that Sunday. And he’d co-signed it.

The swelling in Ohtani’s knee, however, had been more persistent than the team expected. And pitching seemed to irritate it.

“I would say, moderately concerned,” Prior eventually said in a conversation with The Times last weekend. “But no more concerned than I probably am with anybody else who’s had to deal with aches and pains. Hopefully, this break and this rest will get it to calm down a little bit, and then we’ll see where we’re at next weekend.”

Coming out of the All-Star break, the Dodgers face the most pressing question for their second half: Will they be able to manage Ohtani’s knee condition?

Of course, plenty of other questions loom: What approach will the Dodgers take at the trade deadline? Will the pitchers coming off the injured list in the second half provide enough depth? Can they maintain the best record in the majors?

But naturally, Ohtani’s health is tangled up in all those answers.

Continue reading here

Plaschke: Who says they don’t need him? Dodgers need to trade for Tarik Skubal

World Cup: Spain hopes to recapture 2010 magic

From Kevin Baxter: If something happened once, it can happen again. That’s kind of what Yogi Berra was getting at when he said “it’s like deja vu all over again.”

Berra, the late Yankee catcher and once New Jersey’s unofficial poet laureate, spent most of his life within walking distance of East Rutherford, N.J., where history could repeat itself all over again in Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina. And that makes his words newly relevant.

Argentina and Lionel Messi, the reigning champions, will be seeking to become the first to repeat in 64 years while Spain will be playing in the title game for just the second time ever. And the similarities to its first trip, in 2010, are uncanny.

Sixteen years ago Spain became just the second reigning European champion to win a World Cup. It will enter Sunday’s game as the reigning European champion.

In the run-up to the 2010 World Cup, Spain ran off a 35-game unbeaten streak, which matched the longest in history at the time. La Roja will enter Sunday’s game with a 37-game unbeaten streak, which matches the current longest streak in history.

Continue reading here

World Cup schedule

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Third-place match
France vs. England, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Championship match
Spain vs. Argentina, Sunday, noon

LeBron James remains mum on his next team

If LeBron James knows where he will play this coming season, he’s still not saying.

The NBA’s career scoring king and current free agent spoke publicly for the first time in weeks Thursday afternoon, though stopped short of revealing which team he’ll choose to play for this fall — despite at least one cry from someone in a jam-packed room shouting for him to “pick a team.”

“It’s going to be fun wherever I land,” James said.

The four-time NBA champion was recording an episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast alongside guest co-host Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers in New York on the opening day of Fanatics Fest, a four-day event featuring dozens of athletes, celebrities and sports legends. Single-day general admission tickets were sold out, organizers said, and it’s likely that many of those patrons — there were at least several hundred there, phones out to capture the moment — were hoping to hear James’ next decision.

Not yet, he said.

“There’s no decision,” James said.

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1939 — Henry Picard beats Byron Nelson 1-up in 37 holes to win the PGA championship.

1955 — Beverly Hanson beats Louise Suggs by three strokes in a playoff to capture the first LPGA championship.

1966 — Jim Ryun becomes the first American to hold the record in the mile since 1937. With a time of 3:51.3 at Berkeley, Calif., Ryun shatters Michel Jazy’s mark of 3:53.6 by 2.3 seconds.

1979 — Sebastian Coe breaks the world record in the mile with a time of 3:48.95 in Oslo, Norway. The time is rounded up to 3:49.

1983 — Bobby Hebert passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Michigan Panthers to a 24-22 win over the Philadelphia Stars in the first USFL championship game.

1983 — Tom Watson wins his second straight and fifth career British Open title. Watson shoots a 9-under 275 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England to finish one stroke ahead of Andy Bean and Hale Irwin.

1994 — Brazil wins a record fourth World Cup soccer title, taking the first shootout in championship game history over Italy.

2005 — Tiger Woods records another ruthless performance at St. Andrews, closing with a 2-under 70 to win the British Open for his 10th career major. He wins by five shots, the largest margin in any major since Woods won by eight at St. Andrews five years ago. He joins Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win the career Grand Slam twice.

2006 — Stacey Nuveman and Lovieanne Jung each homer to power the United States to the World Cup of Softball title with a 5-2 victory over Japan.

2011 — Japan stuns the United States in a riveting Women’s World Cup final, winning 3-1 on penalty kicks after coming from behind twice in a 2-2 tie. Goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori makes two brilliant saves in the shootout. Japan, making its first appearance in the final of a major tournament, hadn’t beaten the Americans in their first 25 meetings.

2011 — Darren Clarke gives Northern Ireland another major championship, winning the British Open by three strokes over Americans Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.

2016 — Henrik Stenson shoots an 8-under 63 to beat Phil Mickelson by three strokes, becoming the first man from Sweden to win the British Open.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1924 — Jesse Haines of the St. Louis Cardinals pitched a 5-0 no-hitter against the Boston Braves.

1925 — Tris Speaker is the fifth player to reach 3,000 hits.

1936 — Carl Hubbell’s 24-game winning streak over two years began as he beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0 on five hits.

1941 — Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak of 56 games was stopped by Al Smith and Jim Bagby of the Indians before 67,000 at Cleveland. The Yankees still won, 4-3.

1956 — In the second game of a doubleheader against Kansas City, Ted Williams hit his 400th home run. Williams connected in the sixth inning off Tom Gorman to give the Red Sox a 1-0 win over the A’s.

1966 — Chicago’s Billy Williams hit for the cycle to lead the Cubs to a 7-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the second game of a Sunday doubleheader. Williams singled in the first inning, doubled in the third, had an RBI-triple in the fifth, homered to center in the seventh and popped out to third baseman in foul territory. The Cardinals took the opener 4-3 in 11 innings.

1969 — Jim Kaat, Gold Glove winner for seven straight years, was charged with three errors, leading to three unearned runs against the Chicago White Sox. Nevertheless, he won the game at Minnesota 8-5.

1974 — Bob Gibson struck out Cesar Geronimo of the Reds in the second inning to become the second pitcher in major league history to record 3,000 strikeouts. Cincinnati beat St. Louis, 6-4.

1978 — Doc Medich of the Texas Rangers saved the life of a 61-year-old fan who had a heart attack just before a scheduled game at Baltimore. Medich, a medical student, administered heart massage until help arrived.

1987 — Don Mattingly became the first AL player to hit at least one home run in seven consecutive games as the New York Yankees disposed of the Texas Rangers 8-4.

1990 — Minnesota became the first team in major league history to pull off two triple plays in one game, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Boston as the Red Sox beat the Twins 1-0.

2007 — Ryan Garko hit a tying pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning and singled home the winning run in the 11th to give Cleveland a 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox.

2011 — Dustin Pedroia singled with two out in the top of the 16th inning, snapping a scoreless tie and giving the Red Sox a 1-0 victory over the Rays. It was the longest 1-0 game in the major leagues since the Brewers at Angels on June 8, 2004 went 17 innings.

2016 — Starling Marte hit a solo home run in the 18th inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals 2-1 in a marathon game that lasted almost six hours. Pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy homered with two outs in the ninth inning for Washington.

2022 — Second-generation players take the first two spots in the 2022 amateur draft as SS Jackson Holliday, son of Matt Holliday, goes first overall to the Orioles, while OF Druw Jones, son of Andruw Jones, is selected second by the Diamondbacks.

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.

Argentina advances to World Cup final

From Kevin Baxter: The jury is still out on whether Lionel Messi is the greatest soccer player ever. But there should be no doubt he’s the greatest to ever play in a World Cup.

And you don’t need the records, the wins or the goals to prove that — although he certainly has enough of those. You just need to see Messi at his most magical, as he was Wednesday, setting up a pair of game-changing goals in a seven-minute span to lift Argentina to a 2-1 win over England and into Sunday’s World Cup final with Spain.

“It’s really hard to speak right now, but I’m going to try not to cry,” Lautaro Martínez, who scored the winning goal two minutes into stoppage time, said in Spanish. “I’m already overwhelmed inside. It’s incredible. Everything we’ve achieved is just incredible.”

Like their 13-game World Cup unbeaten streak, dating to the opening game of the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Or back-to-back trips to the final, which gives them a chance to become the first repeat champion in the men’s tournament since Brazil in 1962.

But it hasn’t been easy. Eleven of Argentina’s 19 goals — including both scores in Wednesday’s semifinal — have come after the 75th minute. They trailed in the 80th minute or later in two of their last three knockout games, only to rally both times.

And Messi has either scored or assisted on three of the four goals that rescued Argentina.

Continue reading here

World Cup semifinals schedule, results

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Tuesday
Spain 2, France 0

Wednesday
Argentina 2, England 1

Third-place match

France vs. England, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Championship match

Spain vs. Argentina, Sunday, noon

Nneka Ogwumike ties team record in Sparks’ loss

Nneka Ogwumike scored 23 points for the Sparks on Wednesday. But it was her 15-foot jumper with 1:45 left in the game that put her in the record book.

Ogwumike’s final points tied Lisa Leslie as the franchise’s all-time scorers with 6,263 points in the Sparks’ 96-87 loss to the Minnesota Lynx, who won their fourth in a row.

Candace Parker is third with 5,684 points.

Ogwumike, who played 12 seasons in L.A. before returning this season, added 12 rebounds and five assists for the Sparks, who dropped to 10-13. The inconsistent Sparks have dropped back-to-back games since firing GM Raegan Pebley.

Continue reading here

Sparks box score

WNBA standings

This day in sports history

1920 — The United States sweeps Australia in five matches to win the Davis Cup for the first time since 1913. The U.S. team is made up of Bill Tilden and Bill Johnston.

1938 — Paul Runyan wins the PGA Championship by routing Sam Snead 8 and 7 in the final round.

1947 — Rocky Graziano scores a technical knockout with a barrage of 30 punches against Tony Zale in the sixth round to win the world middleweight boxing title. Held in Chicago Stadium, it’s the largest grossing fight in history.

1950 — Uruguay beats Brazil 2-1 to win soccer’s World Cup in Rio de Janeiro.

1967 — Kathy Whitworth wins the LPGA championship by one stroke over Shirley Englehorn. Whitworth sinks a fifty-foot uphill putt for a birdie on the 18th green at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton Mass.

1989 — Betsy King birdies three of the first four holes of the final round to win her first U.S. Women’s Open championship by four strokes over Nancy Lopez.

1993 — Nick Faldo ties the best single round in 122 years of the British Open with a course-record 63 to give him a one-stroke lead after the second round.

1995 — Annika Sorenstam of Sweden wins the U.S. Women’s Open by one stroke over Meg Mallon, her first victory on the LPGA Tour.

2005 — In Las Vegas, Jermain Taylor beats Bernard Hopkins for the undisputed middleweight title. Hopkins, a winner of a record 20 consecutive defenses, starts slowly and the undefeated challenger builds up a big enough lead on two judges’ scorecards to take the crown.

2006 — J.R. Todd becomes the first Black driver to win an NHRA Top Fuel event, beating Tony Schumacher in the Mopar Mile-High Nationals.

2011 — Kyle Busch wins the Nationwide race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to become the third driver to win 100 races in NASCAR’s three national series. Busch, with 22 Cup victories and 29 Trucks wins, also ties Mark Martin for first place in career Nationwide Series victories with 49. Richard Petty and David Pearson are the other drivers with at least 100 wins.

2012 — Roger Federer surpasses Pete Sampras to set the record for the most weeks at No. 1 in the ATP rankings. After winning Wimbledon a week ago — his 75th career ATP title — Federer returns to the top for the first time since June 2010. Today marks his 287th week at No. 1, one more than Sampras.

2017 — Roger Federer defeated Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4, to claim a record eighth Wimbledon men’s title.

2023 — Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: In a classic final, 20-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz ends Novak Đoković’s 34-match win streak at the All England Club with a 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1897 — Chicago’s Cap Anson became the first major leaguer to reach 3,000 hits when he singled off Baltimore’s George Blackburn.

1902 — John McGraw was named manager of the New York Giants, a post he would hold for 30 years.

1909 — Ed Summers of the Detroit Tigers gave up only seven hits and pitched all 18 innings of a 0-0 tie with the Washington Senators, the longest scoreless game in AL history.

1920 — Babe Ruth broke his own season record of 29 homers with his 30th as the New York Yankees beat the St. Louis Browns, 5-2. Ruth would finish the season with 54.

1933 — Red Lucas of the Cincinnati Reds pitched a 15-inning 1-0 win over Roy Parmelee and the New York Giants in the opener of a doubleheader.

1941 — Joe DiMaggio extended his hitting streak to 56 games with a 3-for-4 day as the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 10-3.

1948 — After 8 1/2 years as Brooklyn manager, Leo Durocher stunned baseball by taking the helm of the archrival Giants in midseason.

1958 – In the nitecap of a doubleheader, Baltimore pitcher Jack Harshman hit two homers in a 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox.

1970 — The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pirates 3-2 before 48,846 in the first game at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium.

1985 — Sparky Anderson became the first manager to lose an All-Star Game in both leagues. The National League won 6-1 for the 21st win in the last 23 games.

1996 — Colorado’s streak of scoring at least seven runs in a game ended at 11. The Rockies beat the Giants 5-3 and tied the 1911 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1938 New York Yankees and 1976 Cincinnati Reds with 11 7-run games.

1997 — Kevin Brown pitched his first career one-hitter to lead Florida to 5-1 win over the Dodgers. Brown, who no-hit San Francisco on June 10th, faced two batters over the minimum and gave up a lead-off single to left by Raul Mondesi in the fifth. He struck out eight and retired his final 15 batters.

1998 — Randy Johnson pitched a one-hitter to lead Seattle to a 3-0 win over Minnesota. Johnson struck out 11 and gave up a single to third baseman Brent Gates.

2006 — Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer in Atlanta’s 10-5 win at San Diego to give him an extra-base hit in 14 straight games, tying a 79-year-old major league record. Jones tied the record set in 1927 by Pittsburgh’s Paul Waner.

2006 — Mariano Rivera earned his 400th save, escaping two jams and getting six outs to preserve the New York Yankees’ 6-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Rivera joined Lee Smith, Trevor Hoffman and John Franco in the 400-save club.

2009 — Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard became the fastest player in major league history to reach 200 home runs, breaking the record previously held by Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner. Howard reached 200 homers in his 658th game, hitting his 23rd of the season in the sixth inning of a 4-0 win over Florida. Kiner hit No. 200 in his 706th game.

2013 — Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect eighth inning in his final All-Star appearance, Jose Bautista, J.J. Hardy and Jason Kipnis drove in runs to back a night of pulsating pitching, and the American League beat the National League 3-0.

2015 — Brock Holt became the first Boston player to hit for the cycle since 1996 and the Red Sox slugged their way out to a 9-4 victory over Atlanta.

2021 — Jake Cronenworth hit for his first career cycle, Wil Myers had a grand slam and a two-run shot and the San Diego Padres set a franchise record for runs in a 24-8 blowout of the Washington Nationals.

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. I’m Eric Sondheimer. Let me say right now what is the strongest football position in Southern California this season: defensive backs.

Talent is overflowing

Standout safety Gavin Williams of Damien.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

When it comes to talent, the group of defensive backs this season are in a class by themselves. There are so many that it’s useless to debate who’s best. The 2026 season will reveal the winner.

For now, let’s look at the overwhelming group. First up is safety Gavin Williams of Damien. He’s a USC commit with speed, power and looks the part of a man among boys. The Long Beach Poly cornerback duo of Donte Wright (Miami commit) and JuJu Johnson (UCLA) is outstanding. Don’t forget Myles Baker, a UCLA commit from Sierra Canyon who’s physical enough to play anywhere on a football field. Jaxson Rex of San Clemente is a Brigham Young commit who’s also a top receiver. He does everything well.

St. John Bosco is going to have a six-man rotation in the secondary because of its outstanding depth. Washington commit Isala Wily-Ava and talented junior Brandon Nash lead the way. Salesian junior Jordan Slye is a playmaker. to watch. Mission Viejo has two top juniors in Jordan Hicks and Orange Lutheran transfer Kiingbaraka Kizzee. Khalil Terry of Tustin is a UCLA commit.

Jalen Flowers of Redondo Union is a junior with terrific coverage skills. Chauncey Washington of Orange Lutheran is part of a strong group of Trinity League players. The Lancers also have junior twins King Rich and Anhor Johnson. Ca’ron Williams of Santa Margarita was All-CIF as a sophomore.

Jaden Walk-Green of Corona Centennial, a Washington commit, is known for his versatility playing safety and led the state with 10 interceptions. Teammate Brett Smith Jr. is a terrific cornerback. Wesley Ace of Gardena Serra moves from safety to cornerback to prepare himself for San Jose State. Ace Leutele and Danny Lang of Mater Dei are experienced and effective. Duvay Williams was a standout at Serra for three years before transferring to Inglewood in the spring. Pakipole Moala of Leuzinger is a UCLA commit with an immense upside. Loyola’s Zion Phelps is ready to show off his 10.31 100 meters speed, along with junior Malique Pollard. Blaise Burwell from Edison isn’t just a good defensive back _ returns kickoffs with the best.

Tahj Skinner of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame is an athletic safety committed to UC Davis. Simi Valley junior Micah Hannah is a 6-foot-2 cornerback starting since freshman season. Rancho Cucamonga has plenty of talent in its secondary, led by Nathaniel Mensah (Oregon State).

Carson’s duo of Bennie Saulter and Michael O’Dell form a dynamic one-two punch. Shane Anderson of Viewpoint had eight interceptions as a junior. Hamilton’s Jacob Riley had seven interceptions.

Robert Garrett leaves Crenshaw

Crenshaw football coach Robert Garrett.

(Robert S. Helfman)

Robert Garrett, the head football coach at Crenshaw since 1988, is officially out. He was on administrative leave throughout the 2025 season and confirmed he was reassigned to teaching at Dodman Middle School in March and won’t be back.

He coached Crenshaw to seven City titles and was the NFL high school coach of the year in 2017.

Here’s a report.

St. John Bosco’s Prentice Jones Jr. knocks down a pass during Saturday’s Battle at the Beach seven on seven passing tournament. The Braves won the championship.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

St. John Bosco went unbeaten and defeated Corona Centennial in the championship game of the Battle at the Beach seven on seven passing tournament at Edison.

Here’s the report.

Defending City Section champion Carson made it to the semifinals of the Ocean View tournament before losing to San Juan Hills. That’s a sign the Colts’ skill-position players are very good.

“Time for real football,” Carson coach William Lowe said.

San Clemente won the championship.

Culver City won its own tournament over Mira Costa.

Challenges in college sports

With dwindling roster sports and rising numbers in the college transfer portal, a new trend that isn’t really new but is accelerating involves coaches telling players they will have little chance to play as motivation for the player to leave and open up a roster spot.

Here’s the report.

Notes . . .

James Tronstein, The Times’ baseball player of the year from Harvard-Westlake, was drafted in the 15th round on Sunday by the Astros. He’s committed to Vanderbilt….

Golden Valley has named 24-year-old Miguel Mayorga its new boys basketball coach. He’s a Hart graduate…

Senior infielder Ricardo Hurtado of Orange Lutheran has committed to UCLA…

Offensive lineman Seth Sullivan from Redondo Union has committed to San Diego State….

Justin Wright is the new girls soccer coach at Campbell Hall….

Pitcher Michael Flink from Bishop Montgomery has committed to Loyola Marymount….

Starting next season, high school baseball coaches can choose to communicate with the catcher and/or pitcher electronically one way for calling pitches. The same rule goes into effect for softball. Previously, communication devices were limited to the coach and catcher. In baseball, starting in 2028, there’s bat changes. Here’s the report. …

There’s a rule change for girls lacrosse. Starting with the 2027 season, state high school associations may establish a 90-second possession clock….

Pitcher Eli Phillips of Orange Lutheran has committed to UC San Diego….

Pitcher Kyle Casey from Simi Valley has committed to UC Riverside….

Carter Athens, a 6-7 basketball player at Riverside Poly, has committed to Cal Baptist….

Woodbridge senior Maddi Haferling won a gold medal in speed climbing.

(Haferling family)

Maddi Haferling, a senior to be at Woodbridge, won a gold medal in speed climbing. Here’s a report…

Joel Hartmann has been named director of athletics at JSerra. He previously worked at Servite and Mater Dei….

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to a partnership to help run St. John Bosco. The Catholic Schools superintendent, Paul Escala, said, “The young men of St. John Bosco HS will continue to compete athletically in the Trinity League. The standard of excellence the school represents in all aspects of formation and education will only improve as a result of this partnership. We are excited to be meaningful partners in this ministry.”…

The Area Code Games are set for next month in Long Beach, and Harvard-Westlake had three players selected for the Brewers’ roster. Here’s the complete roster. …

Robert Morales is the new softball coach at La Habra….

Super Bowl hero Sam Darnold was inducted into the San Clemente Hall of Fame last week….

Luke Pope is the new boys volleyball coach at St. John Bosco….

Recommendations

From MLB.com, a story on former Corona pitcher Seth Hernandez.

From NJ.com, a story on New Jersey becoming concerned about sports holdbacks.

From USAbaseball.com, a story on former Corona outfielder Anthony Murphy.

From AZCentral.com, a story on former Servite quarterback Noah Fifita.

From the archives: Westlake soccer duo

It was 1994. The World Cup was played in the United States and two USA players from Westlake High, Cobi Jones and Eric Wynalda, helped become hometown soccer heroes.

Here’s a story from 1994 how Westlake Village became soccer central.

Here’s a story from 1994 explaining how Wynalda and Jones learned soccer in the neighborhood.

Here’s a story from 2002 when Wynalda and Jones became teammates again for the Galaxy.

Former Harvard-Westlake star Bryce Rainer.

(Craig Weston)

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.

Spain advances to World Cup final

From Kevin Baxter: In a World Cup boasting a galaxy of stars, a lunch-bucket team of blue-collar everymen may wind up outshining them all.

Spain clinched a berth to the final Tuesday by smothering France 2-0 at AT&T Stadium, running its unbeaten streak to 37 games while eliminating a team that had run roughshod through the tournament.

And it wasn’t even close. France came into the game with 16 goals, second only to Argentina in the tournament, then failed to put a shot on goal in the first 81 minutes.

It had Kylian Mbappé, who is tied with Lionel Messi for the scoring lead this summer and was the Golden Boot winner four years ago in Qatar. He was all but invisible until, frustrated, he felled Spanish keeper Unai Simón with a cheap shot in the final minutes, drawing a well-deserved yellow card.

France couldn’t even score into an open net, with Desire Doue lining a low shot right at a rapidly retreating Simón, who had come well off his line and left the goal unattended. For Simón, Tuesday’s clean sheet was his sixth in seven games in this tournament.

Continue reading here

How World Cup senior citizens like Lionel Messi have bio-hacked longer careers

Folarin Balogun says his red card controversy ‘didn’t help’ U.S. at World Cup

Norway star Erling Haaland left the U.S. with seven World Cup goals and a taxidermy raccoon, sparking a run on the item

World Cup semifinals schedule, results

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Tuesday
Spain 2, France 0

Wednesday
England vs. Argentina, noon

Third-place match

France vs. England or Argentina, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Championship match

Spain vs. England or Argentina, Sunday, noon

Cody Bellinger is MVP of AL’s All-Star game victory

Dylan Cease struck out the side in the first inning, combining with 10 relievers on a three-hitter in a show of pitching dominance that led the American League to a 4-0 win over the National League in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.

All-Star most valuable player Cody Bellinger hit a two-run single and Ben Rice followed with an RBI single in the first against Cristopher Sánchez of the host Philadelphia Phillies.

Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox added an eighth-inning home run off the Dodgers’ Justin Wrobleski, who was pitching on his 26th birthday, for the game’s only extra-base hit. Wrobleski struck out five in two innings.

Continue reading here

Shaikin: ‘You never know when it’s your last.’ Mike Trout savors every moment of this All-Star Game

All-Star game box score

MLB standings

USC extends deal with Nike

From Ryan Kartje: The Swoosh is staying at USC for the foreseeable future.

USC and Nike agreed this week to a 10-year extension of their all-sports apparel deal through 2036, the school announced on Tuesday.

Their partnership was already among the longest-running apparel deals in college athletics. Now it’s ensured to carry into its fifth decade.

Continue reading here

What do the Sparks do next?

From Marisa Ingemi: A day after general manager Raegan Pebley was fired, the Sparks were in Atlanta and seemingly still focused on trying to reach the playoffs this year.

The suggestion that Pebley’s removal was a sign that the team is performing poorly didn’t sit well with coach Lynne Roberts.

“I don’t think we underachieved last year and this year is still going,” Roberts said in Atlanta on Monday before the team’s loss to the Dream. “For where we want to get, that’s not where we want to be, but we tripled our win total in my first year — that’s not underachieving. We haven’t hit our stride, we’ve been injured all year. Hopefully we get [Kelsey Plum] and Cam [Brink] back. Our system is designed around KP. I’m not close to thinking we are underachieving.”

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Clippers probe should wrap up this summer

From Broderick Turner: NBA commissioner Adam Silver reiterated Tuesday night after the Board of Governors meeting that the investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented the salary cap by funneling money to Kawhi Leonard for an endorsement deal he allegedly never fulfilled still is not completed.

Silver said his “timeline remains this summer” to make his findings known after high-powered New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz wraps up its investigation and presents the findings to the NBA.

The investigation centers on a $28-million endorsement deal to Leonard from a company called Aspiration that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested $60 million into.

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This day in sports history

1912 — Jim Thorpe wins the decathlon at the Stockholm Olympics and, in the closing ceremony, Sweden’s King Gustav proclaims Thorpe the world’s greatest athlete.

1922 — Gene Sarazen shoots a final-round 68 to beat out Bobby Jones and John Black for the U.S. Open golf championship.

1923 — Amateur Bobby Jones beats Bobby Cruikshank by two strokes in a playoff to win the U.S. Open golf title.

1927 — Bobby Jones wins the British Open shooting a championship record 7-under 285 at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. It’s the second straight Open title for the amateur, who goes wire-to-wire for a six-stroke victory over Aubrey Boomer and Fred Dobson.

1945 — Byron Nelson defeats Sam Byrd in the final round of the PGA golf tournament.

1961 — Arnold Palmer shoots a 284 at Royal Birkdale to win his first British Open title.

1967 — Argentina’s Roberto DeVicenzo wins the British Open by two strokes over defending champion Jack Nicklaus.

1972 — Lee Trevino wins his second consecutive British Open title by beating Jack Nicklaus by one stroke.

1978 — Jack Nicklaus shoots a 281 at St. Andrews to win his third and final British Open.

1984 — Hollis Stacy wins her third U.S. Women’s Open golf title, beating Rosie Jones by one stroke.

1990 — Betsy King overcomes an 11-shot deficit over the final 33 holes to win her second consecutive U.S. Women’s Open as Patty Sheehan blows an eight-shot lead over the final 23 holes.

1991 — Sandhi Ortiz-DelValle becomes the first woman to officiate a men’s pro basketball game, working a United States Basketball League game between the New Haven Skyhawks and the Philadelphia Spirit.

2000 — Lennox Lewis stops Francois Botha at 2:39 of the second round to retain his WBC and IBF heavyweight titles in London.

2007 — BYU star Daniel Summerhays becomes the first amateur winner in Nationwide Tour history. Summerhays scores a two-stroke victory over Chad Collins and Chris Nallen in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational.

2007 — Copa América Final, Maracaibo, Venezuela: Defending champions Brazil win their 8th title with a 3-0 win over Argentina.

2010 — Rory McIlroy, a 21-year-old from Northern Ireland, ties the major championship record by shooting a 9-under 63 in the opening round of the British Open at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.

2010 — Caster Semenya wins her first race since being cleared to return to competition after undergoing gender tests, winning the 800 meters in a modest time against a weak field at a low-key meet in Finland.

2018 — Novak Djokovic wins his fourth Wimbledon title with a 6-2, 6-2 7-6 (3) victory over Kevin Anderson. It’s Djokovic’s 13th major trophy, the fourth-highest total in the history of men’s tennis, trailing only Roger Federer’s 20, Rafael Nadal’s 17 and Pete Sampras’ 14. At No. 21, Djokovic is the lowest-ranked Wimbledon titlist since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001.

2018 — France wins its second World Cup title with a 4-2 win over Croatia in a dramatic final in Moscow.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1901 — Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants pitched his first of two career no-hitters, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0.

1921 — NY Yankees slugger Babe Ruth ties MLB record of 138 career home runs (held by Roger Connor since 1895).

1960 — Baltimore’s Brooks Robinson goes 5-for-5, hitting for the cycle and driving in three runs to lead the Orioles past the Chicago White Sox 5-2.

1969 — Cincinnati’s Lee May hit four home runs in a doubleheader split with the Atlanta Braves. May had two home runs and drove in five runs in both games. The Reds lost the opener 9-8 but won the second game 10-4.

1969 — Rod Carew stole home off Chicago’s Gerry Nyman in the Minnesota Twins’ 6-2 victory. It was Carew’s seventh steal of home for the year and tied Pete Reiser’s 1946 major league mark.

1973 — Nolan Ryan of the Angels struck out 17 batters and threw his second no-hitter of the year, beating Detroit 6-0.

1980 — Johnny Bench broke Yogi Berra’s record for home runs by a catcher, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Montreal Expos 12-7. Bench hit his 314th homer as a catcher off David Palmer. Bench had 33 home runs while playing other positions.

1997 — The San Francisco Giants scored 13 runs to set a modern NL record for runs in a seventh inning en route to a 16-2 rout of the San Diego Padres. The Giants set the NL record for the most runs in a seventh inning since 1900.

1999 — After 22½ years in the dreary Kingdome, Seattle finally played a home game outdoors, moving into a $517.6 million ballpark with a retractable roof. Jose Mesa wasted a ninth-inning lead by walking four batters and the Mariners lost 3-2 to the San Diego Padres in Safeco Field’s opener.

2003 — Garret Anderson of the Angels went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a double, powering the American League past the National League 7-6 in the All-Star Game.

2005 — Baltimore’s Rafael Palmeiro became the 26th player to reach 3,000 hits with an RBI double into the left-field corner off Joel Pineiro in the fifth inning of a 6-3 win over Seattle. Palmeiro joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray as the only players with 3,000 hits and 500 homers.

2007 — The Philadelphia Phillies lost their 10,000th game, 10-2 to St. Louis. The franchise, born in 1883 as the Philadelphia Quakers and later unofficially called the Blue Jays in the mid-1940s, fell to 8,810-10,000.

2008 — Justin Morneau slid home just in time on Michael Young’s sacrifice fly in the 15th inning, giving the American League a 4-3 victory in the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. The AL extended its unbeaten streak to 12.

2014 — With Derek Jeter going out a winner in his last All-Star appearance, Mike Trout drove in two runs with a triple and a double to lead the American League past the National League 5-3. Jeter started his 14th and final midsummer classic and went 2 for 2 before being removed in the top of the fourth inning.

2017 — Cody Bellinger became the first Dodgers rookie to hit for the cycle and Alex Wood became the first Dodgers pitcher in more than a century to win his first 11 decisions in a season, helping Los Angeles beat the Miami Marlins 7-1.

2021 — Tampa Bay catcher Travis d’Arnaud becomes first player in MLB history to hit three homers while catching and batting leadoff in the Rays’ 5-4 win over the NY Yankees.

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.

Austin Reaves discusses the Lakers after LeBron

From Broderick Turner: From the time Austin Reaves joined the Lakers in 2021 as an undrafted prospect, his basketball life centered around playing with a savant in LeBron James.

That no longer will be the case.

Reaves re-signed with the Lakers on a four-year, $180-million deal, but James decided to move on as he prepares to play an unprecedented 24th season.

Reaves was stunned when he heard about James’ decision while playing golf in Lake Tahoe. Nearly two weeks later, Reaves says he still is trying to process the development.

“I kind of was thinking about it last night when I got here,” Reaves said Monday in his first news conference since re-signing. “Starting the season without him being on the team is going to be different for me. He’s kind of all I’ve ever known. Just him being around, joking around, acting like he’s 15. But that’s his decision and like I said in Tahoe, anytime I’ve talked about it, I got nothing but love and respect for him and yeah, let’s play some golf soon.”

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Lakers sign Ziaire Williams to one-year, $3-million deal to bolster their depth

How France became a World Cup power

From Kevin Baxter: Before it could rise in the World Cup, France first had to fall.

And the fall was spectacular.

In 2010, four years after reaching the final for the second time in three World Cups, the players revolted against coach Raymond Domenech during the tournament. In response, the managing director of the country’s soccer federation resigned in disgust, and the team left South Africa winless after scoring just once in three games.

That matched France’s worst World Cup performance in 76 years. The team, outsiders agreed, had become impossible to coach.

Four years later France made the quarterfinals, beginning a streak in which it has reached the final eight in four consecutive World Cups for the first time. If France beats Spain in the semifinals Tuesday it will advance to the final for a third straight time.

Only Brazil and Germany have done that.

The base for that success was laid a generation before the collapse in South Africa, when a series of poor performances led the French Football Federation to create a series of 16 government-subsidized academies known as Centres de Formation.

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World Cup semifinals schedule

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Tuesday
France vs. Spain, noon

Wednesday
England vs. Argentina, noon

Third-place match

Saturday, 2 p.m.

Championship match

Sunday, noon

How Justin Wrobleski became an All-Star

From Maddie Lee: Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski could have been content with his performance the first couple of months this season. After all, he’d come into the year fighting for a rotation spot, and he’d shown in that time that he was ready to be a full-time major-league starter.

That wasn’t enough.

While still holding on to his identity as a pitcher who goes right at hitters, Wrobleski tallied 20 strikeouts over his last two starts of the first half.

“We’re just doing a good job with the plan,” Wrobleski said last week, days before he was named a first-time All-Star. “I feel like I’m continuing to get better at knowing where to go with two strikes, knowing where to go versus a certain hitter with two strikes and just kind of reading the game.”

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Shaikin: Love it or hate it: Would the Dodgers’ NL West rivals call a Tarik Skubal trade overkill?

Shaikin: Inside the Shohei Ohtani Economy driving a wild auction for his worn cleats

Sparks lose to the Dream

Angel Reese had 23 points and 13 rebounds for her WNBA-leading 16th double-double of the season, Allisha Gray added 20 points, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Sparks 101-92 on Monday night.

Gray made Atlanta’s first field goal of the fourth quarter with 4:07 remaining to tie it at 87. Then, Reese got a friendly roll on her third made three-pointer of the season to make it 90-87 and she added two free throws on the next possession for a five-point lead. Jordin Canada capped the 9-0 run for a 94-87 lead.

Canada finished with 16 points and Rhyne Howard added 11 for Atlanta (14-10), which had lost six of its last seven games. Reese, who missed Saturday’s game against Portland, was seven for 11 from the field and made all eight of her free throws in 32 minutes.

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Sparks box score

WNBA standings

This day in sports history

1912 — Kenneth McArthur runs Olympic record marathon (2:36:54.8).

1951 — Citation is the first horse to win $1 million in a career by taking the Hollywood Gold Cup by four lengths in Inglewood. Citation retires after the race with total earnings of $1,085,760. In 45 starts, Citation ran out of the money only once.

1964 — Jacques Anquetil wins his fifth Tour de France. It’s his fourth straight title of the cycling event.

1973 — Tom Weiskopf wins the British Open by three strokes over Johnny Miller and Neil Coles. Weiskopf goes wire-to-wire and his total of 12-under-par 276 matches the Open Championship record set by Arnold Palmer on the same Troon Golf Club course in 1962.

1985 — Kathy Baker beats Judy Clark by three strokes to win the U.S. Women’s Open golf title.

1985 — The Baltimore Stars defeat the Oakland Invaders 28-24 to win the United States Football League championship.

1986 — Jane Geddes beats Sally Little in an 18-hole playoff to take the U.S. Women’s Open championship.

1991 — Meg Mallon shoots a 4-under 67 for a two-stroke victory over Pat Bradley in the 46th U.S. Women’s Open. Mallon finishes with a 1-under 283.

2001 — John Campbell scores an unprecedented sixth victory in the $1 million Meadowlands Pace as Real Desire beats favored Bettor’s Delight in the stretch. Real Desire paces the mile in 1:49.3 in matching the record set by The Panderosa two years ago in the race that gave Campbell his fifth win. Campbell, 46, is a winner of a $1 million race 19 times.

2005 — In Oklahoma City, the United States is beaten in an international softball game for the first time since 2002, losing 2-1 to Canada in the inaugural World Cup of Softball.

2011 — Kaio breaks former grand champion Chiyonofuji career sumo victory record, beating Mongolian Kyokutenho for No. 1,046. The 39-year-old Kaio forces out Kyokutenho in the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.

2011 — Amateur Tom Lewis shoots a record 5-under 65 in the opening round of the British Open. The 20-year-old Lewis posts the lowest round ever by an amateur in golf’s oldest major to pull even with Thomas Bjorn at Royal St. George’s.

2013 — Jordan Spieth becomes the youngest winner on the PGA Tour in 82 years. The 19-year-old outlasts David Hearn and Zach Johnson on the fifth hole of a playoff to win the John Deere Classic. He’s the first teenager to win since Ralph Guldahl took the Santa Monica Open in 1931.

2018 — Angelique Kerber claims her first Wimbledon title with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over seven-time champion Serena Williams.

2019 — Novak Dokovic wins the longest ever Wimbledon title over Roger Federer 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3) in 4 hours 57 minutes.

2019 — English Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wins a record sixth British Formula 1 Grand Prix at Silverstone; moves him one win clear of Jim Clark and Alain Prost (five).

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1916 — St. Louis Browns pitcher Ernie Koob went the distance in a 17-inning 0-0 tie with the Boston Red Sox. Carl Mays went the first 15 innings for the Red Sox and Dutch Leonard finished.

1946 — Cleveland player-manager Lou Boudreau hit four doubles and a home run in the first game of a doubleheader against Boston, but Ted Williams connected for three home runs and drove in eight runs for an 11-10 Red Sox victory.

1956 — Mel Parnell of the Boston Red Sox pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox for a 4-0 victory at Fenway Park.

1967 — Eddie Mathews of the Astros hit his 500th home run off San Francisco’s Juan Marichal at Candlestick Park. Houston beat the Giants 8-6.

1968 — Hank Aaron hit his 500th home run off Mike McCormick as the Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2.

1968 — Don Wilson of the Houston Astros struck out 18 Reds in a 6-1 victory over Cincinnati in the nightcap of a doubleheader.

1969 — Oakland’s Reggie Jackson knocked in 10 runs in a 21-7 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Jackson had five hits in six at-bats, including two two-run homers and a double.

1970 — Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds scored on Jim Hickman’s 12th-inning single after bowling over Cleveland’s Ray Fosse at home plate to give the NL a 5-4 victory over the AL at Riverfront Stadium.

1972 — In a major league first, Bill Haller was the umpire behind the plate while his brother Tom was the catcher for the Detroit Tigers.

1995 — Ramon Martinez threw the first no-hitter of the season as the Dodgers beat the Florida Marlins 7-0. Martinez was perfect for 7 1-3 innings before walking Tommy Gregg.

2006 — The New York Yankees snapped Jose Contreras’ winning streak at 17 decisions with a 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox. Contreras (9-1) hadn’t lost since dropping a 4-2 decision to Minnesota last Aug. 15.

2008 — Josh Hamilton of Texas, with a dazzling display of power, hit a record 28 homers in the first round of the All-Star Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium before he was beaten out by Minnesota’s Justin Morneau in the finals.

2009 — The American League continued its dominance over the National League with a 4-3 win in the All-Star game. The AL is 12-0-1 since its 1996 defeat at Philadelphia — the longest unbeaten streak in All-Star history. Carl Crawford of Tampa, robbed Brad Hawpe of a go-ahead homer in the eighth and took home MVP honors.

2014 — Yoenis Cespedes successfully defends his title as Home Run Derby champion in the annual event held before the All-Star Game at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN. Cespedes defeats Todd Frazier in the final round, 9 long balls to 1, having hit 28 overall. Ken Griffey Jr. was the only other repeat winner in the event, winning in 1998 and 1999.

2015 — Mike Trout became the first player in 38 years to lead off the All-Star Game with a home run, and the American League beat the National League 6-3 to secure home-field advantage in the World Series for the third straight time and 10th in 13 years. Trout also became the first player to be selected the game’s MVP two years in row.

2018 — The Cardinals fire manager Mike Matheny just before the All-Star break, after a loss to the Reds that puts them just one game above .500. Hitting coach John Mabry and assistant hitting coach Bill Mueller are also let go, while bench coach Mike Shildt is named interim manager, with a permanent replacement expected to be named when play resumes after the Mid-Summer Classic in a few days. However, Shildt will do so well that he will be made permanent within a few weeks.

2023 — Brothers Josh Naylor and Bo Naylor both hit two-run homers in the 3rd inning in the Guardians’ 12-4 loss to the Rangers at Globe Life Park. It the first time that brothers hit multi-run homers for the same team in the same inning.

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.

When Gabriela Jaquez checked into Friday’s game against the Sparks, it was so familiar. The aura of the arena, the cheers from her friends and family.

But it was actually Jaquez’s first time playing on that court. Growing up in Camarillo, she spent her childhood watching Lakers and Sparks games, as she said, “back when it was Staples Center.”

At Crypto.com Arena, though, she was a professional. Months after winning a national title with UCLA, Jaquez was facing her hometown WNBA squad as a member of the Chicago Sky.

“All the legends that have played here, all the games that I have attended here,” she said ahead of Friday’s game. “I’m just like, I walked out there, I told Jacy [Sheldon,] my teammate, that I was like, ‘This is so crazy.’ Like I’m just playing in here. I’ve watched so many games.”

In her first WNBA season, Jaquez has averaged 23 minutes, 8.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. She has started 15 games, but came off the bench Friday when she scored a team-leading 15 points with five rebounds and shot six for 12 in front of what she said was two suites full of friends and family.

Jaquez was the Sky’s first-round selection at fifth overall a week after she helped the Bruins to their national title. She was one of six UCLA players taken in that draft and five in the first round, setting a WNBA record for a single program.

“It’s a very quick transition,” Jaquez said. “I don’t think you can fully prepare for that transition just because I don’t think there’s anything like it. But I did know that it was going to be quick and it was going to be fast, but I just try to stay grateful through it all.”

Sparks coach Lynne Roberts faced Jaquez in the Pac-12 while Roberts was at Utah and nearly recruited Jaquez to join the Utes many years ago.

The Chicago Sky’s Gabriela Jaquez drives to the basket under pressure from the Wings’ Azzi Fudd on Sunday in Dallas.

(Sam Hodde / Getty Images)

“[UCLA coach] Cori [Close] and I were joking the other day,” Roberts said. “I was close [with Jaquez] and she just kept saying, ‘Well, I’m just waiting to see what UCLA does.’ So I was texting Cori, like, ‘Would you please cut her loose or offer her?’ I’ve always been a big fan of hers. But I think all those guys, they learned how to play with other stars. I think that’s a key in being a WNBA player. You’ve got to learn you’re not the one anymore. And I think at UCLA with that roster they had, they all had to learn how to, you know, sacrifice something to get the ultimate goal. So they’re coming in as team players.”

Close did not cut Jaquez loose and she went on to become a hometown hero with the Bruins. After three solid seasons, Jaquez became a much stronger scoring threat as a senior, shooting a career-high 53.9% with 13.5 points per game during the NCAA title-winning season.

Already established as a strong rebounder and defender, adding that offensive element raised her draft stock year-over-year higher than any other prospect.

“There’s so much to learn coming into this league,” Jaquez said. “I don’t know if I could really name one [thing], but it’s just a lot of games. That’s kind of like the main one that comes to my mind is just the amount of games that you’re playing.”

UCLA Bruins Angela Dugalic, Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens, Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez pose at the WNBA draft. All five were selected in the first round of the draft.

(Angelina Katsanis / Getty Images)

The seniors and graduate students on the 2025-26 UCLA national championship team remain close. Jaquez has faced off against former teammates Charlisse Leger-Walker, Gianna Kneepkens and Kiki Rice.

“We still keep that senior group chat alive, just kind of updating each other,” Jaquez said. “Obviously, when we play each other I’ll text, ‘I’m coming into town,’ or they’ll text me and we always can get dinner the night before, and so that’s always super special. Especially me being in a new state [and] a new city, as I’ve been in Southern California my whole life until now, it’s great to see familiar faces and I’m really grateful that I could catch up with my [former] teammates.”

Roch Cholowsky headlines Bruins in MLB draft

No. 1 MLB draft pick Roch Cholowsky throws a ceremonial first pitch before the White Sox played the Athletics in Chicago on Sunday.

(Nam Y. Huh / Ap Photo/nam Y. Huh)

After an elite UCLA career, Roch Cholowsky was drafted by the Chicago White Sox with the No. 1 overall pick Saturday.

He became the third Bruin to be selected No. 1, joining Gerrit Cole (2011) and Chris Chambliss (1970).

On Monday, MLB.com reported Cholowsky passed his physical and is set to receive a record-setting signing bonus of $10.35 million. The White Sox have not yet announced the deal.

Cholowsky’s bonus tops the $9.3 million bonuses the Reds gave Chase Burns and the Rockies gave Charlie Condon in 2024, according to MLB.com.

Cholowsky said he was thrilled to be drafted by Chicago, where he enjoyed pre-draft meetings with team officials and mingled in the clubhouse of a team that entered the All-Star break leading the AL Central.

“It really felt like to me like a college clubhouse,” Cholowsky told the Associated Press. “It’s just a different feel in there.”

Cholowsky was one of 10 Bruins selected in the MLB draft.

Logan Reddemann (No. 38, Colorado Rockies), Mulivai Levu (No. 70, Cincinnati Reds) and Roman Martin (No. 111, Athletics) joined Cholowsky getting selected on the first day of the draft.

Bruins Cal Randall (No. 146, St. Louis Cardinals), Will Gasparino (No. 161, Philadelphia Phillies), Dean West (No. 222, Toronto Blue Jays), Cashel Dugger (No. 256, Washington Nationals), Michael Barnett (No. 587, Minnesota Twins) and Justin Lee (No. 609, Philadelphia Phillies) were drafted on the second day.

Walt Hazzard to be inducted into Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

UCLA’s Walt Hazzard carries the NCAA national championship trophy as the team arrives at LAX in 1964.

(Harold Matosian / Associated Press)

Former UCLA player and coach Walt Hazzard will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, a selection committee announced Monday.

Hazzard, who died in 2011 at the age of 69, was a senior co-captain on the 1963-64 UCLA basketball team that won the first national title in the program’s history and posted a 30-0 record. He averaged a career-best 18.6 points for the title-winning team, earning most outstanding playerhonors at the Final Four. He also won national player of the year honors.

The 6-foot-2 point guard who grew up in Philadelphia won an Olympic gold medal in 1964 and was a two-time All-American under the direction of Bruins coach John Wooden.

Hazzard went on to coach at Compton College, Chapman and UCLA, leading the Bruins to an NIT title and Pac-10 regular season tournament titles during his four seasons leading the program. His Hall of Fame induction, however, is solely based on his performance as a player.

The 2026 induction class was selected by a committee comprised of college basketball leaders from around the country. The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is administered by the National Assn. of Basketball Coaches Foundation.

In case you missed it

Chicago White Sox select UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with No. 1 pick in MLB draft

‘I want to have fun with it.’ Katelyn Ohashi chasing joyful L.A. Olympic dream at 29

UCLA basketball lands highly touted Serbian small forward Nikola Kusturica

UCLA Unlocked: Former Bruin Jordin Canada is enjoying a Dream season

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Dodgers swept by Diamondbacks

From Maddie Lee: The Dodgers needed to turn things around Sunday to wrap up the first half on a high note. Manager Dave Roberts said as much the night before.

“When you give teams free bases, extra outs, it’s hard to win a game, regardless of the opponent,” he said. “Emmet [Sheehan] needs to go out there and throw the baseball well tomorrow. We’ve got to find a way to win a game tomorrow to feel somewhat better about going into the break.”

Instead, the Dodgers fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3, swept for the first time this season. It was Arizona’s first sweep at Dodger Stadium since September 2017.

Perhaps the break is coming at a good time.

“I guess,” Roberts said. “Gives guys a reset. … We’ve got some good teams coming up and we’ve got to play good baseball.”

Sheehan at least did his job, holding the Diamondbacks to three runs in 5⅓ innings. It was clear from the first at-bat that his pitch count could limit how deep he pitched into the game. Sheehan won a 14-pitch battle to strike out Ketel Marte.

The right-hander then struck out the side and was efficient enough to pitch into the sixth. He exited after his pitch count reached 101.

Continue reading here

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

World Cup: Seven reasons the U.S team always loses

From Kevin Baxter: Before this summer’s World Cup, FIFA asked the 48 participating teams to provide a list of songs to be played during warmups and goal celebrations and, if appropriate, after victories. On the U.S. list was John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” which quickly became the anthem of the team’s run through the tournament.

A more appropriate choice would have been the Buzzcocks’ “Sixteen Again,” because once again that’s where the Americans’ World Cup ended.

In the round of 16. Again.

This was supposed to be the year the U.S. broke through. With a roster full of players from major European teams and 13 who were World Cup veterans, a lack of quality and experience no longer were valid excuses.

And that should force U.S. Soccer into a major, systemic evaluation of what went wrong and how it can be fixed.

Continue reading here

How VAR, a system designed to correct errors, became this World Cup’s biggest villain

News Analysis: Mexico wins back fans but is still searching for ways to pass familiar World Cup wall

World Cup semifinals schedule

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Tuesday
France vs. Spain, noon

Wednesday
England vs. Argentina, noon

Third-place match

Saturday, 2 p.m.

Championship match

Sunday, noon

Sparks fire their general manager

From Iliana Limón Romero and Marisa Ingemi: The Sparks’ ownership made a major shift in direction on Sunday, firing general manager Raegan Pebley amid a lackluster season that has the team just below the WNBA playoff cutoff line and far from the title-contending form Pebley promised.

Assistant general managers Zach Knowlton and Nate Nielsen will split interim GM duties, the team announced.

“We are grateful to Raegan for her leadership and commitment to the Los Angeles Sparks and women’s basketball,” Sparks managing partner and governor Eric Holoman said in a statement. “Her work on the Sparks roster and player experience will have a lasting positive impact on our organization. We sincerely thank her for all she has invested in the Sparks and wish her success in her next chapter.”

The Sparks (10-11) sit in ninth place in the WNBA standings, one removed from the last playoff spot. The team is coming off back-to-back wins over the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever, which followed a three-game losing streak.

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Dearica Hamby’s relentless effort and loyalty helped her retain key role with Sparks

Angels lose to Rangers

Trevor Larnach homered and drove in two runs, Ryan Jeffers added a two-run double, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Angels 4-2 on Sunday and head into the All-Star break with eight wins in their last nine games.

Larnach’s single in the third inning scored Luke Keaschall, tying the score at 1. Jeffers followed with a double that knocked in Ryan Kreidler and Larnach for a 3-1 lead.

Larnach added a 405-foot homer to right in the eighth inning, his seventh of the season, as the Twins (48-49) won their fifth straight series.

Josh Lowe and Denzer Guzman hit solo home runs for the Angels (38-59), who dropped their fourth straight series. Lowe’s eighth of the season came in the second inning, and Guzman added his fourth in the seventh inning.

Continue reading here

Shaikin: Angels could’ve picked any pitcher in America last year. Their pick Tyler Bremner endures

Angels box score

MLB standings

Jannik Sinner wins Wimbledon men’s title

Jannik Sinner is starting to make a habit of responding to adversity in Paris with titles at Wimbledon.

The top-ranked Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 Sunday for his second consecutive title at the All England Club after his German opponent appeared bothered by a knee injury following a slip to the grass on a key point in the third set.

Sinner’s fifth Grand Slam title came in his first tournament since a second-round meltdown at the French Open, when he wilted in a Paris heat wave.

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This day in sports history

1881 — William Renshaw sets the record for the shortest men’s championship match by time and games by beating John T. Hartley 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 in 37 minutes at Wimbledon.

1941 — The PGA tournament is won by Vic Ghezzi with a 1-up 38-hole victory over Byron Nelson at Cherry Hills CC Denver

1968 — Gary Player wins the British Open by two strokes over Bob Charles and Jack Nicklaus. It’s the second Open championship for Player and his fifth major title.

1972 — Robert Irsay buys the stock of the Rams for $19 million and swaps the franchise for the Baltimore Colts. The players and coaches are not affected.

1980 — Amy Alcott shoots a record score of 280 to win the U.S. Women’s Open by nine strokes over Hollis Stacy.

1994 — Tonya Harding’s ex-husband Jeff Gillooly is sentenced to two years in prison for attack on American Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan.

1996 — Cigar matches Citation’s modern North American record of 16 consecutive wins, pulling away to take the $1.05 million Arlington Citation Challenge by 3½ lengths.

1997 — Alison Nicholas holds off Nancy Lopez for a one-stroke victory in the U.S. Women’s Open. Nicholas shoots a 72-hole total of 10-under 274, the most under par in the 52-year history of the event.

2003 — Beth Daniel becomes the oldest winner in LPGA Tour history, birdying the final two holes to beat Juli Inkster by a stroke in the Canadian Women’s Open. At 46 years, 8 months and 29 days, Daniel breaks the age record set by JoAnne Carner in 1985.

2011 — Abby Wambach breaks a tense tie with a thunderous header in the 79th minute, and the United States earns its first trip to the Women’s World Cup final since winning it in 1999 with a 3-1 victory over France. Japan upsets Sweden 3-1 in the other semifinal.

2014 — Mo Martin hits the best shot of her life to become a major champion in the Women’s British Open. Martin hit a 3-wood that hit the pin on the par-5 closing hole at Royal Birkdale, settling 6 feet for an eagle. Martin closes with an even-par 72 and finishes at 1-under 287 for a one-shot win over Inbee Park and Shanshan Feng.

2014 — Mario Goetze volleys in the winning goal in extra time to give Germany its fourth World Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Argentina.

2017 — Venus Williams reaches her ninth Wimbledon final and first since 2009, turning in her latest display of gutsy serving to beat Johanna Konta 6-4, 6-2. At 37, Williams becomes the oldest finalist at the All England Club since Martina Navratilova was the 1994 runner-up at that age. She also stops Konta’s bid to become the first woman from Britain in 40 years to win Wimbledon. In the opening semifinal, Garbine Muguruza overwhelms Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-1, 6-1 in just over an hour.

2019 — Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Simona Halep beats Serena Williams 6-2, 6-2 in just 55 minutes; first Romanian to win a Wimbledon singles title.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1896 — Philadelphia’s Ed Delahanty hit four home runs in a losing effort, a 9-8 loss to Chicago.

1934 — Babe Ruth hit his 700th home run in a 4-2 victory over Tommy Bridges and the Detroit Tigers. Lou Gehrig left in the first with a severe case of lumbago, the most serious threat to his streak. He returned for one at bat the next day.

1943 — The first night game in All-Star history, at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park, went to the AL, 5-3, despite a single, triple and home run by NL center fielder Vince DiMaggio of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The big blow was a three-run homer by Bobby Doerr of the Boston Red Sox, which gave the AL the lead for good.

1945 — Chicago’s Pat Seerey hit three home runs, a triple and drove in eight runs to lead the White Sox in a 16-4 win over New York at Yankee Stadium.

1954 — Pitcher Dean Stone did not retire a batter but received credit for the AL’s 11-9 All-Star victory at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. Red Schoendienst tried to steal a run for the NL after Stone was summoned in the eighth inning, but the pitcher’s throw to the plate nailed the runner for the third out.

1963 — Early Wynn, at 43, registered his 300th and last victory, pitching the first five innings of Cleveland’s 7-4 triumph over the Kansas City A’s.

1965 — The NL took the lead over the AL for the first time since the All-Star series began, winning 6-5 at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minn.

1971 — Reggie Jackson’s mammoth home run off the power generator on the right-field roof at Tiger Stadium highlighted a barrage of six homers — three by each team — as the AL beat the NL 6-4 in the All-Star game.

1982 — The NL registered its 11th consecutive All-Star victory over the AL with a 4-1 victory at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, the first All-Star game played outside the United States. Dave Concepcion’s two-run homer off Dennis Eckersley in the second inning was the deciding hit.

1993 — Minnesota’s Kirby Puckett homered and doubled to win the MVP award in the AL’s 9-3 victory in the All-Star game at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

1999 — Boston’s Pedro Martinez pitched himself into the All-Star game record book, becoming the first to strike out the first four hitters in an All-Star game, fanning Barry Larkin, Larry Walker and Sammy Sosa in the first inning, and Mark McGwire to start the second. Martinez struck out five in the first two innings — tying an American League record — to lead the AL to a 4-1 victory over the National League.

2010 — Brian McCann’s three-run double in the seventh inning provided the NL all the offense it needed to capture its first Midsummer Classic since 1996 with a 3-1 victory.

2013 — Tim Lincecum threw the second no-hitter in 11 days, a gem saved by a spectacular diving catch by right fielder Hunter Pence in the San Francisco Giants’ 9-0 win against the last-place San Diego Padres. Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, was the loser when Cincinnati’s Homer Bailey no-hit the Giants on July 2.

2014 — Madison Bumgarner became the first pitcher in 48 years to hit two grand slams in a season, and Buster Posey also hit a slam that boosted San Francisco to an 8-4 win over Arizona.

2021 — The American League wins the 91st All-Star game with a 5-2 win over the National League for their eighth straight win.

2022 — The Blue Jays, who had entered the season with sky-high expectations, fire manager Charlie Montoyo after the team has lost eight of its last ten games and is now barely ahead of the fifth-place Orioles. Bench coach John Schneider takes over as manager on an interim basis, and Casey Candaele is promoted from triple-A Buffalo to step into the breach left by Schneider on the coaching staff.

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.

Dodgers should not visit the White House

From Bill Plaschke: Surely they hear the chants. They must hear the wonderful chants.

“Let’s go, Doyers! Let’s go, Doyers!”

Surely they see the faces? They can’t miss the gloriously diverse faces.

All shades, all colors, 4 million faces surrounding them with resounding support and unrequited love.

The Dodgers do know they play in Los Angeles, right?

Then why in the hell do they insist on embracing the person trying to tear this city apart?

This is an old issue, it’s been written before, it’s been debated ad nauseam, but it’s happening again and remains as sickening as ever.

The Dodgers are going to celebrate their 2025 World Series title with President Trump at the White House on July 23, it was confirmed Thursday.

Just like last season.

Seriously.

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Dodgers scheduled to visit White House in late July to celebrate 2025 World Series win

World Cup spurs grass/artificial turf NFL debate

From A.J. Perez: FIFA’s natural grass transformation of SoFi Stadium and six other NFL stadiums with artificial surfaces for this summer’s World Cup reignited the debate over grass versus synthetic turf.

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis long ago took a side in the fight.

“I just always felt that football should be played on grass,” Davis told The Times. “That’s for safety purposes, No. 1. I want it to look like a game was played even if it’s an indoor field. You see grass stains and everything else. I wasn’t going to a stadium without it being grass once I knew that capability was there. Obviously, it added a lot of cost, but it’s worth it.”

FIFA spent millions to lay new grass atop all 11 NFL stadiums and most of the other five stadiums that hosted World Cup games in Mexico and Canada — and some NFL players see this summer’s temporary changeover as the league’s touch-grass moment.

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The world came for soccer. What it discovered about America in 1994 was something else.

Steve Cherundolo will lead U.S. men’s soccer team that will compete in 2028 Olympics

Thursday’s World Cup results

France 2, Morocco 0

Today’s World Cup TV schedule

All times Pacific
Noon, Belgium vs. Spain, Fox, Telemundo

World Cup quarterfinals schedule, results

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

France 2, Morocco 0

Friday
Belgium vs. Spain, noon

Saturday
Norway vs. England, 2 p.m.
Switzerland vs. Argentina, 6 p.m.

Semifinals schedule

Tuesday
France vs. Belgium or Spain, noon

Wednesday
Norway or England vs. Switzerland or Argentina, noon

Third-place match

Saturday, July 18, 2 p.m.

Championship match

Sunday, July 19, noon

Kawhi Leonard trade is put on hold

From Steve Henson: The Toronto Raptors put the brakes on acquiring Kawhi Leonard from the Clippers, announcing Thursday that the trade is on hold until the NBA investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented salary cap rules is complete.

“The NBA league office informed us that as a result of the ongoing investigation involving the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi,” the Raptors said. “In light of this, we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.”

The teams last month finalized a trade to send Leonard to Toronto for forward Brandon Ingram, shooting guard Gradey Dick, two first-round draft picks, a pick swap and two second-round picks. Leonard spent the last seven seasons with the Clippers after leading the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship.

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UCLA lands big name

From Steve Galluzzo: UCLA coach Mick Cronin won a spirited recruiting battle for one of the top European prospects, landing wing player Nikola Kusturica on Thursday.

Kentucky, Michigan and Gonzaga had courted Kusturica, a 6-foot-9 Serbian who is among the top 17-year-old players in Europe. Recruiting websites listed Kusturica as a five-star prospect, and college basketball analysts at Field of 64 and other outlets project Kusturica could be a top-five 2028 NBA draft pick.

UCLA announced it received a signed grant-in-aid agreement from Kusturica, who will join the Bruins for the upcoming season.

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No charges filed against Rams’ Alaric Jackson

From Austin Knoblauch: Rams offensive lineman Alaric Jackson is not facing charges related to his arrest last month on suspicion of domestic violence, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office confirmed.

“Charges are not filed against the respondent at this time, however, the case stays open throughout the length of the statute of limitations. It can be re-evaluated if there are further developments,” said Ivor Pine, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.

Pine said the matter has been assigned for a City Attorney hearing, a pre-filing diversion that is an alternative to misdemeanor prosecution.

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Ducks keep Leo Carlsson

The Ducks have matched the Philadelphia Flyers’ offer sheet for center Leo Carlsson, keeping their rising young star at an extraordinary cost.

The Ducks announced their decision Thursday on the 21-year-old Carlsson, who is now the NHL’s highest-paid player under the five-year, $90-million deal extended by the Flyers one week ago.

“It’s going to be a special feeling, having this pressure,” said Carlsson, who wasn’t told the Ducks were matching the offer sheet until shortly before the decision was made public. “I always wanted to be a Duck. It’s my home, too. I’m just super excited to be back.”

Although he didn’t produce points at a rate commensurate with his new salary during his first three seasons, almost everyone believes Carlsson can become one of the best centers in hockey, so his deal might eventually look downright affordable.

He scored 67 points in 70 games last season despite being limited for a lengthy stretch by a leg injury, and he added 11 points in 12 games during his first postseason experience.

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Angels lose to Rangers

Wyatt Langford lined a shot off the wall in left field to bring home Alejandro Osuna in the ninth inning, lifting Texas to a 7-6 victory over the Angels after the Rangers blew a five-run lead Thursday night.

Langford struck out three of his first four times up as the designated hitter after getting activated from the 10-day injured list in his return from a left hamstring strain.

Osuna led off the ninth with a single and went to second on pinch-hitter Nicky Lopez’s sacrifice bunt. Langford lined a 1-and-1 fastball from former Texas closer Kirby Yates (0-4) over Jose Siri’s head for the winning single.

Jo Adell had a tying, pinch-hit single to cap a five-run seventh a night after homering twice in the Angels’ 13-1 victory.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

This day in sports history

1926 — Bobby Jones wins the U.S. Open golf tournament for the second time with a 293 total.

1951 — Britain’s Randy Turpin defeats Sugar Ray Robinson in 15 rounds to win the world middleweight title and give Robinson his second loss in 135 bouts.

1960 — UEFA European Championship Final, Parc des Princes, Paris, France: Viktor Ponedelnik scores in extra time as Soviet Union beats Yugoslavia, 2-1.

1971 — Lee Trevino rebounds from a double-bogey on the next to last hole with a birdie on the final hole to win the 100th British Open by one stroke over Lu Liang-Huan. Trevino, who won the U.S. Open a month earlier, is the fourth golfer to win both championships in the same year, joining Bobby Jones (1926, 1930), Gene Sarazen (1932), and Ben Hogan (1953).

1976 — Johnny Miller shoots a 66 in the final round to beat 19-year-old Spaniard Seve Ballesteros by six strokes to take the British Open. Ballesteros, who starts the final round two strokes ahead of Miller, shoots a 74 and ends tied for second place with Jack Nicklaus.

1992 — The Major Soccer League, the only major nationwide pro soccer competition in the United States, folds after 14 seasons.

1999 — Team USA wins the Women’s World Cup over China in sudden death. The Americans win 5-4 in penalty kicks, with defender Brandi Chastain kicking in the game winner.

2010 — Paula Creamer wins her first major tournament, never giving up the lead during a steady final round of the U.S. Women’s Open. Creamer shoots a final-round 2-under 69 for a 3-under 281 for the tournament.

2010 — Spain wins soccer’s World Cup after an exhausting 1-0 victory in extra time over the Netherlands. In the end, it’s Andres Iniesta breaking free and scoring a right-footed shot from 8 yards just past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

2011 — The United States advances to the semifinals after one of the most exciting games ever at the Women’s World Cup in Dresden, Germany. The U.S. beat Brazil 5-3 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie. Abby Wambach scores a thrilling goal to tie it in the 122nd minute, and goalkeeper Hope Solo denies the Brazilians again.

2016 — Andy Murray wins his second Wimbledon title by beating Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) on Centre Court.

2016 — Brittany Lang wins her first career major at the U.S. Women’s Open when Anna Nordqvist touches the sand with her club in a bunker for a two-stroke penalty in the three-hole aggregate playoff. The penalty occurs on the second hole of the playoff and is not delivered to the players until they were on the final hole after officials review replays in the latest controversy at a USGA event. Lang seals the win with a short par putt on the final playoff hole, while Nordqvist makes bogey to lose by three shots.

2017 — An independent review of the scoring in Manny Pacquiao’s contentious WBO welterweight world title loss to Jeff Horn confirms the outcome in favor of the Australian. A Philippines government department asked the WBO to review the refereeing and the judging of the so-called “Battle of Brisbane” in Australia on July 2 after Horn, fighting for his first world title, won a unanimous points decision against Pacquiao, an 11-time world champion. The WBO said three of the five independent judges who reviewed the bout awarded it to Horn, one awarded it to Pacquiao and one scored a draw.

2021 — Ashleigh Barty of Australia wins Wimbledon defeating Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.

2022 — Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: Novak Đoković wins 4th straight and record equaling 7th Wimbledon singles title with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 win over Nick Kyrgios of Australia; Đoković now has 21 Grand Slam titles.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1917 — Ray Caldwell of New York pitched 9 2-3 innings of no-hit relief as the Yankees beat the Browns 7-5 in 17 innings in St. Louis.

1932 — The Philadelphia A’s defeated Cleveland 18-17 in an 18-inning game in which John Burnett of the Indians had a record nine hits. Jimmie Foxx collected 16 total bases, and Eddie Rommell of the A’s pitched 17 innings in relief for the win, despite giving up 29 hits and 14 runs.

1934 — Carl Hubbell struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in succession, but the AL came back to win the All-Star game 9-7 at the Polo Grounds as Mel Harder gave up one hit in the last five innings.

1936 — Philadelphia’s Chuck Klein hit four home runs in a 9-6 10-inning victory over the Pirates, and it wasn’t in the cozy Baker Bowl. He hit them in Pittsburgh’s spacious Forbes Field, including the game-winning three-run shot in the 10th off Bill Swift. Klein almost homered in the second inning when he sent Pirates outfielder Paul Waner to the wall in right to haul in a long fly ball.

1947 — Don Black of the Cleveland Indians pitched a 3-0 no-hitter over the Philadelphia A’s in the first game of a twin bill.

1951 — The NL hit four homers en route to an 8-3 triumph at Detroit, giving the league consecutive All-Star victories for the first time.

1968 — The American League and National League agreed to split into two divisions in 1969. The twelve teams in each league will be divided and play a best-of-five games League Championship Series to determine the pennant winner.

1982 — Larry Parrish of the Texas Rangers hit his third grand slam in seven days, off Milt Wilcox in the first game of a doubleheader against Detroit. The Rangers beat the Tigers 6-5. Parrish had hit his first on July 4 and his second on July 7.

2001 — Cal Ripken upstaged every big name in the ballpark, hitting a home run and winning the MVP award in his final All-Star appearance to lead the American League over the Nationals 4-1. Derek Jeter and Magglio Ordonez connected for consecutive home runs as the AL won its fifth in a row.

2007 — Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-3 with an inside-the-park home run to lead the American League to a 5-4 victory over the National League in the All-Star game.

2009 — Jonathan Sanchez pitched the majors’ first no-hitter of the season, recording a career-high 11 strikeouts in San Francisco’s 8-0 win over the San Diego Padres. The only runner the Padres managed came on an error by third baseman Juan Uribe in the eighth.

2012 — San Francisco’s Melky Cabrera and Pablo Sandoval keyed a five-run blitz against Justin Verlander in the first inning that powered the NL to an 8-0 romp over the American League in the All-Star game.

2013 — David Ortiz doubled in his first at-bat to become baseball’s career leader in hits as a designated hitter and hit a two-run homer an inning later, leading Boston Red Sox to an 11-4 victory over Seattle. Ortiz entered the night tied with Harold Baines for the most hits as a DH.

2014 — Derek Jeter, playing his final regular-season game in Cleveland, went 2 for 4 in the 1,000th multi-hit game of his career. Cleveland scored nine runs in its last two innings at bat to rally past New York with a 9-3 win.

2019 — The independent Atlantic League introduces a “robot umpire” to call balls and strikes at its annual all-star game in York, PA.

2022 — In the 8th inning of their game against the White Sox, Tigers outfielder Robbie Grossman drops a routine fly ball hit by Luis Robert and is charged with his first error since June 13, 2018, ending the longest errorless streak by any player at any position in major league history after 440 games. Worse, the error proves costly as Robert later comes around to score in a 4-2 ChiSox win.

2023 — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. wins the annual Home Run Derby, held this year at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, WA, by defeating Randy Arozarena in the final round. His father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, had won the event in 2007, and Vladito had finished runner-up in his first participation as a rookie in 2019.

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.

Dodgers edge the Rockies

From Liana Handler: Mookie Betts’ first hit this series against the Rockies couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. With the crack of the ball against his bat, Tommy Edman scored from third, giving the Dodgers the lead.

And as Betts reached first, he pointed to Freddie Freeman, whose single put Edman in scoring position. It had taken a team effort to overcome another middling start from Roki Sasaki, and Betts, who had little to show before his game-winning hit, took the chance to highlight the joint contribution in the Dodgers’ 4-3 rubber-match win over Colorado (38-56).

It feels great,” Betts said of his nine-pitch battle. “Helping the boys win, that’s really all it is. We play the game to win, and coming through in a big moment is kind of what, when you’re a kid, playing in the backyard, getting that hit is what you always strive to do, and fortunately, I was able to do it.”

Given a three-run lead in the first inning, brought to the Dodgers by a wild pitch and Kyle Tucker’s two-run, line-drive single to left field, Sasaki seemed set up for success.

Still, he gave away the lead as quickly as it came. In the second inning, he left a fastball too far over the plate, and third baseman Kyle Karros drove the ball over the left-center wall. The slider he dealt two batters later to second baseman Edouard Julien also crossed the zone too far over the plate, and Julien rounded the bases with another homer. In the third, a sacrifice fly by Mickey Moniak evened the scored, 3-3

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Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Wednesday’s World Cup results

No matches scheduled

Today’s World Cup TV schedule

All times Pacific
1 p.m., France vs. Morocco, Fox, Telemundo

World Cup quarterfinals schedule, results

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Friday
Belgium vs. Spain, noon

Saturday
Norway vs. England, 2 p.m.
Switzerland vs. Argentina, 6 p.m.

Mike Trout homers in return

Mike Trout hit a two-run homer in his return from the injured list, Jo Adell had two home runs and drove in a career-high five runs and the Angels beat the Texas Rangers 13-1 on Wednesday night.

Trout, who missed 17 games due to a strained right hamstring, hit a 438-foot shot that gave the Angels an 11-0 lead in the eighth. Trout has 48 homers against the Rangers, the most by any player since the franchise moved to Texas in 1972 and the second-most ever against the club. Reggie Jackson hit 54 home runs against the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers.

Adell hit a two-run shot in the fourth inning and a three-run homer in the fifth that made it 7-0.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

Sparks defeat the Fever

From Marisa Ingemi: For the first time in two weeks, the Sparks won a game.

Nneka Ogwumike scored 24 points with eight rebounds and Rae Burrell added 22 points in what felt like a near must-win 106-92 effort against Indiana on Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

The Fever committed 17 turnovers, which the Sparks (9-11) converted into 22 points, and star Caitlin Clark scored her second-fewest point total this season with just nine in limited minutes. Kelsey Mitchell scored 29 points for the Fever, but the Sparks seemed to have an offensive answer each time.

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Sparks box score

WNBA standings

This day in sports history

1922 — Johnny Weissmuller is the first to swim the 100-meter freestyle under 1 minute as he breaks Duke Kahanamoku’s world record with a time of 58.6 seconds.

1932 — The NFL awards a franchise to Boston under the ownership of George Preston Marshall, Vincent Bendix, Jay O’Brien, and Dorland Doyle. The Boston Braves will change their nickname to Redskins in 1933 and move to Washington after the 1936 season.

1954 — Peter Thomson becomes the first Australian to win the British Open. Thomson shoots a 9-under 283 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, edging Bobby Locke, Dai Rees and Syd Scott by one stroke.

1965 — Peter Thomson wins his fifth British Open title by two strokes over Brian Huggett and Christy O’Connor Sr. Thomson shoots a 7-under 285 at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Thomson’s previous Open victory was in 1958. It’s the last to conclude with two rounds on Friday.

1966 — Jack Nicklaus wins the British Open with a 282 at Muirfield to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and Gary Player as the only men to win the four majors.

1967 — Mark Spitz and Catie Ball, both 17, swim to world records, and 14-year-old Debbie Meyer sets two records in one race in the Santa Clara International Invitational swim meet. Spitz sets a 100-meter butterfly record at 56.3 and Ball becomes the first U.S. swimmer to set a world record for the breaststroke with a 2:40.5 time for 200 meters. Meyer breaks the 800-meter freestyle record in 9 minutes, 35.8 seconds on the way to a record 18:11.1 in the 1,500.

1968 — Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first reigning NBA MVP to be traded the next season when he moves from Philadelphia 76ers to the Lakers.

1989 — Boris Becker and Steffi Graf claim a West German sweep of the Wimbledon singles crowns in the first double finals day in 16 years. Becker wins his third Wimbledon title in five years, rolling past defending champion Stefan Edberg 6-0, 7-6 (1), 6-4, while Graf takes her second straight championship over Martina Navratilova 6-2, 6-7 (1), 6-1.

1991 — South Africa is readmitted by the International Olympic Committee to the Olympic movement, ending decades of sports isolation and clearing the way for its participation in the 1992 Games.

1995 — Pete Sampras becomes the first American to win Wimbledon three straight years by beating Boris Becker 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

2000 — Pete Sampras passes Roy Emerson for the most Grand Slam championships and ties Willie Renshaw, a player in the 1880s, for the most Wimbledon titles with a four-set victory over Pat Rafter. Sampras, winner of seven Wimbledon titles, 13 Grand Slam championships, extends his mark at Wimbledon to 53-1 over the past eight years.

2001 — Goran Ivanisevic becomes one of Wimbledon’s most improbable champions, beating Patrick Rafter. Two points away from defeat, Ivanisevic rallies to beat Rafter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7 and becomes the second player to win a Wimbledon singles title without being seeded.

2006 — Roger Federer ends a five-match losing streak to Rafael Nadal, winning 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3 to earn his fourth straight Wimbledon title and eighth Grand Slam championship. Nadal had beaten Federer in four finals this year.

2006 — Italy wins its fourth World Cup title winning the shootout 5-3 against France, after a 1-1 draw. Outplayed for an hour and into extra time, the Italians win it after French captain Zinedine Zidane is ejected in the 107th for a vicious butt to the chest of Marco Materazzi.

2009 — Joe Sakic retires after 21 NHL seasons with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise, finishing with 625 goals and 1,641 points.

2016 — Serena Williams wins her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title by beating Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 in the Wimbledon final. Williams pulls even with Steffi Graf for the most major championships in the Open era, which began in 1968. This is Williams’ seventh singles trophy at the All England Club.

2021 — British road cyclist Mark Cavendish wins Nimes to Carcassonne stage 13 of the Tour de France for his 34th career stage win. The win ties Eddy Merckx for most career stage wins.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1902 — Rube Waddell beat Bill Dineen 4-2 in 17 innings when light-hitting Monte Cross hit a two-run homer for Philadelphia.

1932 — Ben Chapman of the Yankees hit three homers, including two inside-the-park, as New York beat the Detroit Tigers 14-9 at Yankee Stadium.

1937 — Joe DiMaggio hits for the cycle as the Yankees defeat the Senators 16-2.

1940 — The NL recorded the first shutout in All-Star play, with a 4-0 win at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. Five pitchers — Paul Derringer, Bucky Walters, Whit Wyatt, Larry French, and Carl Hubbell — held the AL to three hits. Max West hit a three-run homer.

1946 — After a one-year break due to war travel restrictions, the Americans trounced the Nationals 12-0 at Fenway Park, the most one-sided of the All-Star games. Ted Williams of the Red Sox didn’t disappoint the hometown fans. He hit two homers and two singles for five RBIs.

1968 — Willie McCovey hit into a double play, scoring Willie Mays with the only run of the 39th All-Star game, played at the Houston Astrodome. It was the first game of this series played indoors and the first 1-0 contest in All-Star history.

1976 — Houston’s Larry Dierker pitched a no-hitter as the Astros beat Montreal 6-0. Dierker struck out eight and walked four.

1991 — Cal Ripken hit a three-run homer to lead the AL over the NL 4-2 in the All-Star game for the AL’s fourth straight victory in the contest.

1996 — Mike Piazza launched an upper-deck home run in his first at-bat and lined an RBI double next time up, leading the Nationals to a 6-0 victory in the All-Star game in Philadelphia.

2002 — Despite Barry Bonds hitting a home run and Torii Hunter making a spectacular catch, the All-Star game finished in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings when both teams ran out of pitchers.

2005 — It took 847 regular-season games at Coors Field, the most any stadium needed, before hosting its first 1-0 game. The lowest total runs scored in a game at Coors Field before Colorado’s 1-0 win over San Diego was 2-0.

2011 — Derek Jeter homered for his 3,000th hit, making him the first player to reach the mark with the New York Yankees. Jeter hit the milestone with a drive to left field with one out in the third inning off Tampa Bay’s David Price, his first at Yankee Stadium this season. He tied a career high going 5 for 5 and singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning for a 5-4 win. Jeter became the 28th major leaguer to hit the mark and joined former teammate Wade Boggs as the only players to do it with a home run.

2011 — The Dodgers got their first hit with two out in the ninth inning and still beat the San Diego Padres 1-0 when Dioner Navarro singled in Juan Uribe for the unlikely victory. Uribe was down to his last strike when he drove a pitch from Luke Gregerson over the head of left fielder Chris Denorfia for Los Angeles’ first hit and only the second hit of the game for either team. Navarro then looped a 3-1 pitch into short right-center to give the Dodgers three consecutive shutout victories for the first time since July 1991. San Diego’s Cameron Maybin had the first hit of the game in the fifth, a clean single through the box. It was the Padres’ only hit against rookie right-hander Rubby De La Rosa and three relievers.

2013 — Alex Rios tied an American League record with six hits in a nine-inning game and Adam Dunn hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Justin Verlander in the eighth to lift Chicago over Detroit 11-4.

2015 — Jose Fernandez pitched seven innings and tied the modern record for most consecutive home victories by a starter to begin a career, helping the Miami Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-0.

2019 — The American League defeats the National League 4-3 in the 2019 All-Star Game for their 7th straight win.

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.

Shohei Ohtani hits 300th homer in Dodgers’ loss

From Maddie Lee: In Shohei Ohtani, who on Tuesday became the first Japanese player to hit 300 home runs in MLB, the Dodgers had the first National League All-Star voted in this year.

They still have a chance for a late addition.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has been lobbying for two members of his pitching staff to be named replacement players: left-handed starter Justin Wrobleski and left-handed reliever Tanner Scott.

“There’s going to be some changes and some talks here,” Roberts said before the Dodgers’ 4-3 loss against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. “There’s continual talks about both guys.”

Earlier Tuesday, MLB announced replacements for three NL pitchers who won’t be eligible to appear in the All-Star Game. Pittsburgh’s Braxton Ashcraft, Philadelphia’s Jesús Luzardo and St. Louis’ Riley O’Brien claimed spots as Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski and Miami’s Max Meyer bowed out.

“Obviously it’s disappointing,” Wrobleski said after holding the Rockies to one run through seven innings. “You want to be an All-Star. It’s something that, regardless of the year, whenever, it’s always a big deal. It’s something I wanted to do. It’s frustrating to not get that nod. But like I said before, it’s just more reason to try and keep getting better. Hopefully I can gain the respect of players and everybody else and maybe be in there next year.”

Continue reading here

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

World Cup: U.S. team hopes they inspired future success

From Kevin Baxter: Last fall, in an effort to inspire a national soccer team lacking in confidence and belief, coach Mauricio Pochettino came up with a slogan for this summer’s World Cup, one the U.S. would be playing at home.

“Why not us?” he asked.

Why couldn’t the U.S. make a deep run in the tournament? Why couldn’t the U.S. compete with the best teams in the world? Why not us?

Monday he got his answer: Because the U.S. just isn’t good enough.

A couple of rousing performances in group play and a win over a third-place team in the first elimination game had the U.S. believing, had the U.S. hoping. Maybe Pochettino was right. Maybe it was the Americans’ time.

But it all proved to be a mirage.

Continue reading here

Swanson: Trump’s World Cup meddling only made matters worse for rattled U.S. squad

Paraguayan senator demands apology from Kylian Mbappé for his response to her racist posts

Tuesday’s World Cup results

Round of 16
Argentina 3, Egypt 2
Switzerland 0, Colombia 0 (Switzerland wins on PK’s, 4-3)

Today’s World Cup TV schedule

All times Pacific
No matches today

World Cup round of 16 schedule, results

Round of 16 results
Morocco 3, Canada 0
France 1, Paraguay 0
Norway 2, Brazil 1
England 3, Mexico 2
Spain 1, Portugal 0
Belgium 4, U.S. 1
Argentina 3, Egypt 2
Switzerland 0, Colombia 0 (Switzerland wins on PK’s, 4-3)

Quarterfinals schedule

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Thursday
France vs. Morocco, 1 p.m.

Friday
Belgium vs. Spain, noon

Saturday
Norway vs. England, 2 p.m.
Switzerland vs. Argentina, 6 p.m.

Angels lose seventh in a row

Alejandro Osuna hit a three-run homer during a five-run eighth inning and the Texas Rangers pulled away for an 8-3 win over the Angels on Tuesday night.

Osuna’s first homer of the season followed RBI singles by Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue in the six-hit inning off Sam Bachman (1-2). Foscue also hit a pinch-hit home run in the seventh, tying the score 3-3.

Peyton Gray (4-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win for the Rangers, who pulled within one-half game of first-place Seattle in the AL West.

Continue reading here

Angels box score

MLB standings

Lakers sign center Kevon Looney

From Broderick Turner: The Lakers got their backup big man when Kevon Looney signed a one-year, $3.9-million deal on Tuesday, people not authorized to speak publicly told The Times.

The 6-foot-9 Looney won three championships with the Golden State Warriors, in 2017, 2018 and 2022. He played last season with the New Orleans Pelicans. Looney, 30, is an 11-year veteran who went to UCLA. He’s a strong rebounder, a very good defender and he sets solid screens for teammates.

Looney will be the backup behind starter Walker Kessler, who was acquired in a trade from the Utah Jazz and agreed to a four-year, $130-million deal. The Lakers traded last season’s starting center, Deandre Ayton, and backup Jaxson Hayes signed with the Jazz.

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1889 — John L. Sullivan defeats Jake Kilrain in the 75th round in Richburg, Miss., for the U.S. heavyweight championship. It’s the last bare-knuckle boxing match before the Marquis of Queensbury rules are introduced.

1922 — Suzanne Lenglen beats Molla Bjurstedt Mallory, 6-2, 6-0 for her fourth straight singles title at Wimbledon.

1939 — Bobby Riggs beats Elwood Cooke in five sets to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon.

1955 — Peter Thomson wins his second consecutive British Open finishing two strokes ahead of John Fallon. Thomson shoots a 7-under 281 at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland.

1967 — Billie Jean King sweeps three titles at Wimbledon. King beats Ann Hayden Jones 6-3, 6-4, for the singles title; teams with Rosie Casals for the women’s doubles title, and pairs with Owen Davidson for the mixed doubles title.

1978 — Bjorn Borg beats Jimmy Connors, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 to win his third straight men’s title at Wimbledon.

1984 — John McEnroe whips Jimmy Connors 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 in 100-degree temperatures to take the men’s singles title at Wimbledon.

1990 — West Germany wins the World Cup as Andreas Brehme scores with 6 minutes to go for a 1-0 victory over defending champion Argentina in a foul-marred final.

1991 — Michael Stich upsets three-time champion Boris Becker to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon, 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

1995 — Top-ranked Steffi Graf wins her sixth Wimbledon singles title, beating Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.

1995 — NHL Draft: Detroit Jr. Red Wings (OHL) defenseman Bryan Berard first pick by Ottawa Senators.

1996 — Switzerland’s Martina Hingis becomes the youngest champion in Wimbledon history at 15 years, 282 days, teaming with Helena Sukova to beat Meredith McGrath and Larisa Neiland 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 in women’s doubles.

2000 — Venus Williams beats Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 7-6 (3) for her first Grand Slam title. Williams is the first Black women’s champion at Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in 1958.

2007 — Roger Federer wins his fifth straight Wimbledon championship, beating Rafael Nadal 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2. I’s also Federer’s 11th Grand Slam title overall.

2010 — Paul Goydos becomes the fourth golfer in PGA Tour history to shoot a 59. Goydos puts together his 12-under, bogey-free round on the opening day of the John Deere Classic. Goydos makes the turn at 4-under, then birdies all but one hole on the back nine at the 7,257-yard TPC Deere Run course.

2012 — Roger Federer equals Pete Sampras’ record of seven men’s singles titles at the All England Club, and wins his 17th Grand Slam title overall, by beating Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

2014 — Germany hands Brazil its heaviest World Cup loss ever with an astounding 7-1 rout in the semifinals that stuns the host nation. Miroslav Klose scores a record-setting 16th career World Cup goal in a five-goal spurt in the first half and Germany goes on to score the most goals in a World Cup semifinal.

2016 — Roger Federer loses in the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time in his career, falling to Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Centre Court. The 34-year-old Federer had been 10-0 in Wimbledon semifinals, winning seven of his finals.

2018 — South Korean golfer Sei Young Ki breaks the LPGA 72-hole scoring record with a 31-under par 257 in winning the Thornberry Creek Classic.

2022 — Gymnast Simone Biles aged 25, becomes the youngest person to receive the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Joe Biden.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1912 — Rube Marquard’s 19-game winning streak was stopped as the New York Giants lost 7-2 to the Chicago Cubs.

1918 — Boston’s Babe Ruth lost a home run at Fenway Park when prevailing rules reduce his shot over the fence to a triple. Amos Strunk scored on Ruth’s hit for a 1-0 win over Cleveland. Ruth, who played 95 games in the season, finished tied for the American League title with 11 homers.

1935 — The AL extended its All-Star winning streak to three with a 4-1 victory at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. New York Yankee Lefty Gomez went six innings, which prompted the NL to have the rules changed so that no pitcher could throw more than three innings, unless extra innings.

1941 — Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox hit a three-run, two-out homer in the ninth to give the AL a dramatic 7-5 victory in the All-Star game at Detroit’s Briggs Stadium. Up to that point Arky Vaughan of the Pittsburgh Pirates was the NL hero with two home runs, the first player to do so in All-Star play. Joe and Dom DiMaggio played for the AL, marking the first time that brothers appeared in the same All-Star game.

1947 — Frank Shea became the first winning rookie pitcher in the first 14 years of All-Star play as the AL nipped the NL 2-1 at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

1952 — The NL edged the AL 3-2 in the first rain-shortened All-Star game. The five-inning contest, at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park, featured home runs by Jackie Robinson and Hank Sauer of the Nationals.

1957 — Baseball owners re-elected commissioner Ford Frick to another seven-year term when his contract is up in 1958.

1958 — The 25th anniversary All-Star game, at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, went to the AL, 4-3 in a game that only produced 13 singles. This was the first All-Star game in which neither team got an extra-base hit.

1970 — Jim Ray Hart of San Francisco hit for the cycle and became the first NL player in 59 years to drive in six runs in one inning as the Giants beat Atlanta, 13-0.

1974 — New York shortstop Jim Mason tied a major-league record when he doubled four times in the Yankees’ 12-5 win over Texas.

1982 — Billy Martin records his 1,000 career win as a manager as the A’s beat the Yankees 6-3.

1994 — Shortstop John Valentin made the 10th unassisted triple play in baseball history in the sixth inning and then led off the bottom of the inning with a homer to lead Boston to a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

1997 — Cleveland Indians catcher Sandy Alomar hit a two-run homer to give the American League a 3-1 victory over the National League in the All-Star game. Alomar, the first player to win the All-Star MVP in his own ballpark, broke the tie in the seventh inning off San Francisco’s Shawn Estes.

2000 — Dwight Gooden and Roger Clemens teamed up to shut down the Mets, giving the Yankees identical 4-2 victories in the first double-ballpark doubleheader in the majors since 1903. After the opener, many in the sellout crowd of 54,165 at Shea Stadium immediately headed for Game 2, which drew 55,821 at Yankee Stadium.

2008 — Ryan Braun of Milwaukee hit his 56th home run in his 200th major league game, a 7-3 win over Colorado. Only Mark McGwire and Rudy York (both 59) had hit more in their first 200 games in the majors.

2014 — The Mets record the 4,000th win in franchise history by defeating the Braves 8-3.

2015 — Tampa Bay hits two inside-the park home runs in a 9-7 loss to the Royals. It is the first time the feat has been done since 1997.

2021 — San Diego Padres relief pitcher Daniel Camarena records his first MLB hit, a grand slam, in his second at bat against the Washington Nationals’ Max Scherzer.

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.

Four former Kings elected to our Hall of Fame

The next ballot we sent out for the L.A. Times Sports Report Hall of Fame was the Kings/Ducks ballot, with 20 names appearing. People were able to vote for up to 10 candidates.

Reminder: Whoever is named on at least 75% of the ballots will be elected. The five people receiving the fewest votes will be dropped from future ballots for at least the next two years. A person must be retired to appear on the ballot.

There were 4,183 ballots cast in the Kings/Ducks voting, and four candidates received at least 75% of the vote.

Inductees

Wayne Gretzky, 90.4%

Marcel Dionne, 87.5%

Luc Robitaille, 83.7%

Anze Kopitar, 76.1%

Didn’t make it, but will remain on ballot

Jonathan Quick, 70.2%
Rogie Vachon, 69.7%
Bob Miller, 66.5%
Teemu Selanne, 53.3%
Dave Taylor, 50.2%
Rob Blake, 48.2%
Paul Kariya, 41.4%
Dustin Brown, 39.9%
Ryan Getzlaf, 21%
Bernie Nicholls, 19.7%
Darryl Sutter, 18.4%

Bottom five, dropped from ballot for two years

Scott Niedermayer, 15.4%
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, 13.1%
Charlie Simmer, 12.9%
Nick Nickson, 12.8%
Randy Carlyle, 1.8%

Thanks to everyone who voted! There is still time to vote in our other active categories.

To vote in the other colleges ballot, click here.

To vote in the other sports/teams ballot, click here.

Inductees so far

Dodgers/Angels
Don Drysdale
Clayton Kershaw
Sandy Koufax
Vin Scully
Fernando Valenzuela

Lakers/Clippers
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Elgin Baylor
Kobe Bryant
Chick Hearn
Magic Johnson
Jerry West

Rams/Chargers/Raiders
Eric Dickerson
Deacon Jones
Merlin Olsen

UCLA
Lew Alcindor
Arthur Ashe
Ann Meyers
Jackie Robinson
Bill Walton
John Wooden

USC
Marcus Allen
Cheryl Miller

Kings/Ducks
Marcel Dionne
Wayne Gretzky
Anze Kopitar
Luc Robitaille

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.

World Cup: U.S. loses to Belgium

From Kevin Baxter: For three weeks, it was the best World Cup ever for the U.S.

The Americans scored more goals, won more games and generated more interest than any U.S. team in history. But all that glory gave way to grief Monday when a 4-1 loss to Belgium brought the U.S. crashing back to Earth.

Belgium never trailed, getting two first-half goals from Charles De Ketelaere and two in the second half from Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku to clinch a spot in the tournament quarterfinals, where it will face Spain on Friday at SoFi Stadium. For the U.S., whose lone goal came from Malik Tillman, its World Cup ended in the round of 16 for a fourth straight time.

“Today,” midfielder Tyler Adams said, “wasn’t a good day.”

The U.S. did win a knockout round game in the tournament for just the second time, but that came in a round of 32 necessitated by the World Cup’s expansion to 48 teams. All three tournament hosts, the U.S., Canada and Mexico, were eliminated in the round of 16.

“You get knocked out of a tournament, it doesn’t feel great,” Adams continued. “You start to think about what you could have done better. The best players in the world go through it. You put yourself in those situations to try to break through at this moment.

“It sucks.”

Continue reading here

Kylian Mbappé calls out Paraguayan senator for ‘brazen racism’ after France’s World Cup knockout win

Monday’s World Cup results

Round of 16
Spain 1, Portugal 0
Belgium 4, U.S. 1

Today’s World Cup TV schedule

All times Pacific
9 a.m., Argentina vs. Egypt, Fox, Telemundo
1 p.m., Switzerland vs. Colombia, Fox, Telemundo

World Cup round of 16 schedule, results

Round of 16 results
Morocco 3, Canada 0
France 1, Paraguay 0
Norway 2, Brazil 1
England 3, Mexico 2
Spain 1, Portugal 0
Belgium 4, U.S. 1

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Tuesday
Argentina vs. Egypt, 9 a.m.
Switzerland vs. Colombia, 1 p.m.

Quarterfinals schedule

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Thursday
France vs. Morocco, 1 p.m.

Friday
Belgium vs. Spain, noon

Saturday
Norway vs. England, 2 p.m.
Switzerland or Colombia vs. Argentina or Egypt, 6 p.m.

From Maddie Lee: Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing spun to face home plate umpire Dan Iassogna, holding up his mitt with the ball secure inside.

When that didn’t change the safe call, he immediately pointed to the Dodgers dugout, mask in hand urging manager Dave Roberts to challenge the call.

Roberts’ hands flew up to his ears, asking for a replay review.

The tension in Dodger Stadium broke with the announcement: “The catcher touched the runner’s hand before he reached the plate…”

The crowd’s applause drowned out the rest.

The go-ahead run had been on the line with that ninth-inning review, in the Dodgers’ eventual 8-7 win against the Rockies in 11 innings. And the sequence started a wild end to the Dodgers’ first extra-innings game of the season.

Continue reading here

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Are the Angels ready for change?

From Bill Shaikin: In 2012, when Mark Walter and his partners bought the Dodgers, team president Stan Kasten declared mediocrity would no longer be acceptable.

Would the Dodgers improve their minor league system? Yes. Would the Dodgers improve their major league roster? Also yes. Would spending in one area preclude spending in another? Absolutely not.

“These fans expect and deserve a team that can win,” Kasten said then.

So do Angels fans. For the first time this decade, with the arrival of John Mozeliak as interim general manager, they have legitimate hope.

Mozeliak, whose St. Louis Cardinals teams reached the playoffs more often than not in his 18 years running baseball operations there, is here to end baseball’s longest postseason drought, or at least steer the Angels in that direction.

Continue reading here

Rui Hachimura signs with Clippers

From Broderick Turner: Rui Hachimura became the latest Lakers player to move on, agreeing to a two-year, $28-million deal with the Clippers on Monday, people familiar with the deal but not authorized to speak publicly on the matter confirmed to The Times.

Hachimura played at a high level for the Lakers in the playoffs, averaging 17.5 points per game in 10 postseason games, the third-highest average on the team.

He was a lights-out shooter, making 54.9% of his field goals and a sizzling 56.9% of his three-pointers, which ranked him fifth in three-point shooting during the NBA playoffs.

Continue reading here

Adou Thiero sidelined by wrist injury before Lakers win summer league game with Spurs

Sparks are routed by the Storm

From Liana Handler: Forty-nine seconds. That’s all it took for the Seattle Storm’s Flau’jae Johnson to fire off a 27-foot three-point jumper to take the lead. In less than a minute, she sank the Sparks’ hopes of beating one of the worst teams in the WNBA, leaving 39 more minutes for the Sparks to consider just how the team got there.

Johnson, already the main act in Seattle, bolstered her WNBA Rookie of the Year case by scoring 23 points as the Storm defeated the Sparks 82-64 Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Each time the Storm drove down the court, there was Johnson, her ponytail fluttering as she skirted around the arc before driving into the paint, nonchalantly tossing up layups as if it was still shootaround. Not even the relentless defense chants summoned from the Sparks’ MCs stopped her.

Continue reading here

Sparks box score

WNBA standings

This day in sports history

1911 — Dorothea Lambert Chambers sets the record for the shortest championship match at Wimbledon — 25 minutes — by disposing of Dora Boothby 6-0, 6-0 in the women’s finals.

1912 — American athlete Jim Thorpe wins 4 of 5 events to win the Pentathlon gold medal at the Stockholm Olympics, medal stripped 1913 (played pro baseball), reinstated 1982.

1934 — Elizabeth Ryan teams with Simone Mathiau and wins her record 12th women’s doubles title at Wimbledon, defeating Dorothy Andrus and Sylvia Henrotin 6-3, 6-3.

1953 — Walter Burkemo beats Felice Torza to win the PGA Championship at Birmingham (Mich.) Country Club.

1973 — In the first all-U.S. women’s Wimbledon final, Billie Jean King beats Chris Evert, 6-0, 7-5.

1974 — In Munich, West Germany beats the Netherlands 2-1 to win soccer’s World Cup.

1978 — NBA approves franchise swap; Buffalo Braves owner John Y. Brown and Harry Mangurian acquire Boston Celtics, while the Celtics owner Irv Levin gets Braves, later moved to San Diego to become the Clippers.

1980 — Larry Holmes retains his WBC heavyweight title with a seventh-round TKO of Scott LeDoux in Bloomington, Minn.

1982 — Steve Scott of the Sub 4 Club sets a United States record in the mile with a time of 3:47.69 in a track meet at Oslo, Norway.

1985 — West Germany’s Boris Becker, 17, becomes the youngest champion and first unseeded player in the history of the men’s singles at Wimbledon with a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Kevin Curren.

1986 — American athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee sets world heptathlon record of 7,148 points in the inaugural Goodwill Games at Moscow.

1990 — Martina Navratilova wins her ninth Wimbledon women’s singles championship, beating Zina Garrison 6-4, 6-1, to break the record she shared with Helen Wills Moody.

1991 — Steffi Graf beats Gabriela Sabatini 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 to capture her third Wimbledon women’s title.

1992 — South Africa beats Cameroon 1-0 in Durban in first FIFA sanctioned match after nearly 20 years international isolation, apartheid.

1993 — Tom Burgess tosses three touchdown passes, and Wayne Walker scores twice as Ottawa spoils the debut of the CFL’s first American-based team by beating Sacramento 32-23.

2002 — Juli Inkster matches the lowest final-round score by an Open champion with a 4-under 66 for a two-stroke victory over Annika Sorenstam in the U.S. Women’s Open. It’s her seventh major.

2007 — Venus Williams claims her fourth Wimbledon title with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Marion Bartoli.

2007 — Wladimir Klitschko beats Raymond Brewster with a technical knockout after six rounds, to successfully defend his IBF and IBO heavyweight titles in Cologne, Germany.

2012 — Serena Williams dominates from start to finish, beating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to win a fifth championship at the All England Club and 14th major title overall.

2013 — Andy Murray becomes the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon title, beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the final. The last British man to win the Wimbledon title before was Fred Perry in 1936.

2018 — Kristi Toliver scores 18 points to help the Washington Mystics beat the Sparks 83-74 for coach Mike Thibault’s 300th career regular-season win. Thibault becomes the first WNBA coach to reach that milestone.

2019 — U.S. Women’s National Team win their record 4th FIFA Women’s World Cup title with a 2-0 win over the Netherlands.

2021 — The Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in game five of the Stanley Cup Finals to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup and third overall. Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is named Finals MVP.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1923 — Lefty O’Doul, pitching for the Boston Red Sox, gave up 13 runs in the sixth inning to the Cleveland Indians, who won 27-3. In 1928, he was to return to the majors as a great hitting outfielder.

1936 — The NL won its first All-Star game 4-3 at Braves Field in Boston.

1937 — Lou Gehrig drove in four runs with a home run and a double to pace the AL to an 8-3 victory over the NL in the All-Star game at Washington’s Griffith Stadium. In attendance was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1959 — At Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, the first of two All-Star games played that season went to the NL, 5-4. The NL scored the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the eighth when Hank Aaron singled in a run and scored on a triple by Willie Mays.

1964 — The NL beat the AL 7-4 in the All-Star game on Johnny Callison’s two-out, three-run homer off Dick Radatz in the bottom of the ninth inning at New York’s Shea Stadium. The win pulled the NL even with its rivals (17-17-1) for the first time since the series began.

1998 — Coors Field lived up to its billing as a hitter’s haven as the American League beat the Nationals 13-8 at Coors Field in the highest-scoring All-Star game in major league history. The 21 runs broke the record set in the AL’s 11-9 win in 1954.

2006 — Cleveland Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner became the first player in major league history to hit five grand slams before the All-Star break when he connected in the second inning of a 9-0 win over Baltimore.

2009 — Alan Embree earned the win in Colorado’s 5-4 victory over Washington without throwing a pitch. He entered with two out in the eighth and picked off Austin Kearns, who had singled off Joel Peralta. It was the first time a major leaguer had gotten a win without throwing a pitch since B.J Ryan for Baltimore at Detroit on May 1, 2003.

2011 — Dustin Pedroia hit a three-run shot and Boston added three consecutive home runs in the seventh in a 10-4 win over Baltimore. Six Boston players homered, including the three straight by David Ortiz, Josh Reddick and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

2011 — A Texas Rangers fan died after falling about 20 feet onto concrete reaching out for a baseball tossed his way by All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton during a game. Shannon Stone, 39, was at the game with his young son, who watched as his dad tumbled over the outfield railing after catching the ball. The accident happened in the second inning after Oakland’s Conor Jackson hit a foul ball. Hamilton retrieved the ball and tossed it into the stands as players routinely do.

2016 — Colorado’s Trevor Story tied an NL rookie record for most home runs before the All-Star break, homering twice and boosting his total to 21 as the Rockies beat Philadelphia 11-2.

2018 — Mark Reynolds homered twice and drove in a career-high 10 runs and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 18-4. Reynolds (5 for 5) tied his career high for hits and equaled the Nationals’ RBI record.

2021 — In what has clearly been the “Year of the No-Hitter,″ five Rays pitchers combine to pitch one against the Indians in the second game of a doubleheader that goes seven innings.

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. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It’s time to begin a weekly look at players to watch by position in Southern California high school football. First up is quarterback.

QBs to watch

Junior quarterback Chase Curren of Crespi.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

The Class of 2029 might be the best class to get excited about for this coming season, though there’s plenty of quarterbacks from every class to single out.

Seniors already committed include Huntington Beach’s Brady Edmunds (Ohio State), Corona Centennial’s Jaden Jefferson (Hawaii), Palos Verdes’ Ryan Rakowski (Nevada), Oxnard Pacifica’s Taylor Lee (Portland State), Chaparral’s Dane Weber (Cal) and Carson’s Chris Fields III (Georgetown). Laguna Beach’s Jack Hurst is coming off a season in which he threw for 45 touchdowns. Matthew Smith transferred from Villa Park to Santa Margarita and is committed to Vanderbilt. Caden Jones of Crean Lutheran is committed to Arizona.

DJ Mitchell from La Habra is a dual threat quarterback. Michael Gonzalez of South Gate passed for 3,842 yards and 41 touchdowns last season.

Among the juniors with great resumes are St. John Bosco’s Koa Malau’ulu, Mater Dei’s Russell Sekona, a transfer from Leuzinger, Crespi’s Chase Curren, St. Bonaventure’s Jaxson Carper, Star Thomas of Orange, Ayden Edwards of Tustin and Vista del Lago’s Josiah Dupree-Boyd. Talon Spencer of Capistrano Valley had 21 touchdown passes and 11 touchdown runs as a sophomore. Treyvone Towns of Rancho Cucamoga gets a restart after leaving Oaks Christian last season.

Quarterback Evan McCalister of Valencia is part of an outstanding class of 2029 quarterbacks.

(Craig Weston / For The Times)

Then there’s the sophomores who made memorable first impressions as freshmen. Let’s see how much they develop. The group is led by Thaddeus Breaux of Hamilton, Ford Green of Westlake, Marcus Washington of Cajon, Ezrah Brown of Orange Lutheran, Steven Moore of La Sierra, Levi Dean of Vista Murrieta, Jonah Tuaniga of Long Beach Millikan, Evan McCalister of Valencia and Jeremy Melialieu of Chaminade.

Edison passing tournament

The Edison Battle at the Beach passing tournament is set for Saturday at Edison High. It’s like a who’s who of top players and teams. Five of the six Trinity League teams are participating, with only Mater Dei not entered.

Also competing is Cathedral Catholic, which might be the best team in San Diego.

Here’s a tournament preview.

MLB Futures Game

The All-Star Futures game is set for Sunday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and Corona High fans will get to see pitcher Seth Hernandez represent the Pirates.

Also selected were Ralphy Velazquez from Huntington Beach, Mason McGwire from Capistrano Valley, Josiah Hartshorn from Orange Lutheran, Anthony Eyanson from Lakewood. Here’s the complete roster.

Pete Crow-Armstrong (Harvard-Westlake), Freddie Freeman (El Modena) and Paul Skenes (El Toro) were chosen for the MLB All-Star game.

Notes . . .

Tim Cunningham, a character actor from the 1980s hit TV series “Cheers,” still makes them laugh coaching baseball at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Tim Cunningham, a much beloved former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame assistant baseball coach who spent 11 years acting as a bar patron on the 1980s hit sitcom “Cheers,” died Friday in South Carolina. He was 80. He had humor, loved to read and loved baseball. His earliest coaching was serving as an assistant for the Northridge Little League team that included son Matt and finished second at the 1994 World Series.

In 2003, as head coach at Harvard-Westlake, he was The Times’ coach of the year, guiding his team to runner-up in Division 3. The Wolverines lost to Crespi 1-0. Future major leaguer Trevor Plouffe pitched for Crespi. Harvad-Westlake had a pitcher, Jason Gluson, who barely hit 80 mph. Glushon went on to become a sports agent.

Notre Dame will hold a celebration of his life at a later date, coach Tom Dill said. He is survived by his wife, Pat, son Matt, daughter Elizabeth and several grandchildren.

Former Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly has joined the coaching staff at Corona High. Here’s the report.…

Orange Lutheran grad CJ Weinstein, a standout second baseman, has changed his commitment from LSU to UCLA….

Jardiel Ochoa is the new baseball coach at Sun Valley Poly….

Defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou of Sierra Canyon has committed to Ohio State….

Former San Juan Hills linebacker Weston Port has committed to Michigan. He previously was committed to UCLA, went on his two-year Mormon Mission and will return next year to enroll at Michigan….

Receiver Eli Woodard of Chaparral has committed to Miami….

Defensive back Myles Baker of Sierra Canyon has changed his commitment from Cal to UCLA….

DeAnthony Wiley has resigned as girls basketball coach at Buena Park….

The new baseball coach at UC Riverside is Greg Wallis, a Chatsworth High graduate….

Brandon Granger of St. Bernard has committed to UC San Diego for basketball….

Vince Nolasco is returning to Salesian as athletic director. He previously was at St. Anthony….

From the archives: Kurt Stillwell

Kurt Stillwell was the No. 2 player taken in the 1983 MLB amateur draft out of Thousand Oaks High by the Cincinnati Reds as a shortstop. His father, Ron, was Thousand Oaks’ head coach. Kurt had a nine-year MLB career.

Now he works for agent Scott Boras, who was his agent in 1983 when he signed for $135,000, tops in the draft. Roger Clemens was taken No. 4 by the Red Sox and signed for $121,000. After his playing days, Stillwell became a fishing guide before joining the Boras Corporation.

Here’s a story from 1992 explaining Stillwell’s easy-going personality.

Recommendations

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on the return of JuJu Watkins to USC basketball practice.

From Burlinson on basketball, a story on the competition in Nevada and Rocklin.

From Texashsfootball.com, a story on transfers in high school football.

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.

FIFA rescinds Folarin Balogun’s red card punishment

From Kevin Baxter: FIFA made a dramatic discipline change for just the second time in its history, clearing the way for U.S. striker Folarin Balogun to play in Monday’s elimination game with Belgium.

The rare move drew celebration from the U.S. players who felt Balogun’s red card was unjust and drew outrage from the Belgium team and others protective of the integrity of the laws of soccer.

FIFA, the global governing body for soccer and the organizer of the World Cup, announced Sunday morning that the one-game suspension given to Balogun for a dangerous challenge that could have injured an opponent in last week’s win over Bosnia-Herzegovina would be held in abeyance, making him eligible to play in what is arguably the team’s most important game in at least a generation.

It was the first time FIFA has rescinded a red-card suspension during a World Cup in 64 years.

The Belgium team immediately protested the decision, with the country’s soccer federation saying it was “astonished” by the ruling and was “investigating all potential options” to block it and “safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair in our sport.”

It was unclear what those options might be.

Continue reading here

Mexico eliminated by England

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane carried England to the World Cup quarterfinals, overcoming a raucous crowd, the elevation of Estadio Azteca and a man disadvantage in the second half to beat Mexico in a 3-2 thriller on Sunday night.

Bellingham scored two goals 98 seconds apart in the first half, and six minutes after Jarell Quansah was sent off, Kane converted a penalty to restore England’s two-goal lead.

England moves on to face Norway on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Fla., for a spot in the semifinals.

Continue reading here

Monday’s World Cup results

Round of 16
Norway 2, Brazil 1
England 3, Mexico 2

Today’s World Cup TV schedule

All times Pacific
Noon, Spain vs. Portugal, Fox, Telemundo
5 p.m., U.S. vs. Belgium, Fox, Telemundo

World Cup round of 16 schedule, results

Round of 16 results
Morocco 3, Canada 0
France 1, Paraguay 0
Norway 2, Brazil 1
England 3, Mexico 2

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Monday
Portugal vs. Spain, noon
U.S. vs. Belgium, 5 p.m.

Tuesday
Argentina vs. Egypt, 9 a.m.
Switzerland vs. Colombia, 1 p.m.

Quarterfinals schedule

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Thursday
France vs. Morocco, 1 p.m.

Friday
U.S. or Belgium vs. Portugal or Spain, noon

Saturday
Norway vs. England, 2 p.m.
Switzerland or Colombia vs. Argentina or Egypt, 6 p.m.

Emotional day for Dodgers’ Eliezer Alfonzo

From Liana Handler: As the announcer called out his name in the lineup, Eliezer Alfonzo hugged fellow Venezuelan Miguel Rojas before the catcher walked down the dugout to greet his teammates and coaches. The two had written messages on their caps in silver ink: On Alfonzo’s, “EyP, RIP,” the initials of his stepmother Patricia and his younger sister Eliana. On Rojas’, a cross was drawn next to “Alfonzo” and below “Fuerza Matatan.” In other words, stay strong, Matatan, the nickname given to Alfonzo’s father, the former major league catcher Eliezer “El Matatán” Alfonzo.

An unimaginable weight rested on his shoulders when Alfonzo stepped into the batter’s box to a standing ovation. Alfonzo’s stepmother and sister were reportedly found dead after the earthquakes in Venezuela last month.

Alfonzo went 0-for-2 in an otherwise quiet Dodgers 5-2 loss to the Padres, though even in that performance, he found moments to reflect. His sister, he said after the game, had a dream that she refused to tell him until it came true.

“I’m pretty sure the dream was something about this. I wish she was alive to watch me play in the big leagues,” Alfonzo said. “But I know she’s in God’s side now, and she’s gonna protect me, and she’s gonna enjoy every moment that I’m gonna have.”

Continue reading here

Dodgers’ Edwin Díaz pushes back against alleged links to illegal cockfighting

Dodgers’ Eliezer Alfonzo to start after his sister and stepmother died in Venezuela

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels lose sixth in a row

Jarren Duran and Willson Contreras homered, and five Boston pitchers combined to give up two runs over 6⅓ innings in relief of injured starter Ranger Suarez to lead the Red Sox to a 7-5 win over the Angels on Sunday night.

Boston’s eighth victory in 10 games completed a three-game sweep of the Angels, who have lost six straight and 12 of 19 since June 14.

Suarez, named to the American League All-Star team Saturday, exited with two outs in the third because of left adductor tightness, an injury he sustained when he jumped for Jo Adell’s chopper over the mound.

The left-hander was followed by Greg Weissert (1-2), Tyron Guerrero and Garrett Whitlock, who combined for 4⅓ hitless innings. Justin Slaten gave up a run in the eighth, and Aroldis Chapman gave up a solo homer to Zach Neto in the ninth before earning his 18th save.

Continue reading here

Pikachu magic: how a tiny Pokémon powered Zach Neto and the Angels in June

Angels box score

MLB standings

Adou Thiero and Cameron Carr are a good team

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: At 22 years old, Adou Thiero can barely believe he’s fielding the questions meant for veterans. This is still the Lakers forward’s first summer league after all.

The former second-round pick is suddenly one of the Lakers’ primary summer league players and hopes to use the experience as an important stepping stone, building up his game while also establishing a leadership voice.

Thiero, who missed last year’s summer league because of a knee injury, had 13 points in the Lakers’ thrilling, 93-91 double-overtime win over the Miami Heat on Sunday at Chase Center. Instead of his NBA role as a defensive spark plug who adds a jolt of athleticism off the bench, Thiero showed his unselfish playmaking Sunday while working with rookie Cameron Carr, who had 26 points and eight rebounds on four-of-nine three-point shooting.

Thiero, a 6-foot-7 forward, ignited the offense down the stretch Sunday. He is a threat to drive to the rim, and when combined with Carr’s shooting ability, the two-man game creates confusion for defenses, Lakers summer league coach Ty Abbott said.

Continue reading here

Pavel Mintyukov signs contract extension with Ducks

Defenseman Pavel Mintyukov has agreed to five-year contract extension worth $36 million with the Ducks, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told the Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because the Ducks didn’t announce the financial terms of their deal through the 2030-31 season with the 22-year-old Mintyukov. The promising Russian blueliner was a restricted free agent this summer after recording 17 goals and 52 assists over 204 games in his first three NHL seasons.

The Ducks belatedly got this pricier-than-expected deal done with one of their most important young players only two days after they blundered into a precarious situation with their cornerstone center.

Leo Carlsson signed a five-year, $90-million offer sheet with Philadelphia last Friday, which means the 21-year-old Swede is likely to be the NHL’s highest-paid player next season for the Flyers or for the Ducks, who can match the offer or receive four first-round draft picks as compensation. Anaheim must decide by Friday.

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1887 — Lottie Dod of Britain, 15, becomes the youngest woman to win the women’s singles championship at Wimbledon, defeating Blanch Bingley 6-2, 6-0.

1957 — Althea Gibson becomes the first Black person to win a title at the All England Lawn Tennis Club by beating Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2 in the women’s singles title match.

1968 — Billie Jean King wins her third consecutive women’s singles title at Wimbledon by beating Australia’s Judy Tegart 9-7, 7-5.

1975 — Ruffian, an undefeated filly, and Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure compete in a match race. Ruffian, racing on the lead, sustains a severe leg injury and is pulled up by jockey Jacinto Vasquez. She is humanely destroyed the following day.

1994 — Leroy Burrell breaks the world record in the 100 meters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Burrell’s time of 9.85 seconds betters Carl Lewis’ 9.86 clocking set in the 1991 World Championships.

1996 — Steffi Graf beats Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 6-3, 7-5 in the Wimbledon final for the German star’s 20th Grand Slam title and 100th tournament victory.

1997 — Pete Sampras wins the fourth Wimbledon title and 10th Grand Slam title of his career, easily defeating Frenchmen Cedric Pioline 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.

1998 — Twenty-year-old Se Ri Pak becomes the youngest U.S. Women’s Open champion after hitting an 18-foot birdie on the 20th extra hole to beat amateur Jenny Chuasiriporn in the longest Women’s Open in history.

2000 — Venus Williams beats her younger sister Serena 6-2, 7-6 (3) to reach the Wimbledon final. Their singles match is the first between sisters in a Grand Slam semifinal.

2003 — Martina Navratilova claims her 20th all-time Wimbledon title as she and Leander Paes beat Andy Ram and Anastassia Rodionova 6-3, 6-3 in the mixed doubles final.

2008 — Rafael Nadal ends Roger Federer’s bid to become the first man since the 1880s to win a sixth consecutive championship at the All England Club. Two points from victory, the No. 1-ranked Federer succumbs to No. 2 Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 in a 4-hour, 48-minute test of wills that’s the longest men’s final in Wimbledon history — and quite possibly the greatest.

2013 — Twin brothers Mike and Bob Bryan capture their fourth straight major with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo at Wimbledon. The Americans become the first men’s team in Open-era tennis to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time.

2013 — Jimmie Johnson becomes the first driver in 31 years to sweep Daytona International Speedway. The Daytona 500 winner is the first driver since Bobby Allison in 1982, and the fifth overall, to win both races in a season at Daytona.

2014 — Novak Djokovic wins his second Wimbledon title and denies Roger Federer his record eighth by holding off the Swiss star in five sets. Djokovic wastes a 5-2 lead in the fourth set but holds on for a 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4 victory.

2014 — Florida teen Kaylin Whitney breaks the world junior record by running the 200 meters in 22.49 seconds at the U.S. junior national track and field championships in Eugene, Ore. The 16-year-old Whitney broke the world 17-and-under mark of 22.58 set by Marion Jones in 1992.

2015 — Floyd Mayweather Jr. is stripped of his WBO welterweight boxing title after failing to pay $200,000 sanctioning fee and vacate his two junior middleweight titles.

2016 — Roger Federer’s bid for a record eighth Wimbledon title remains alive after he comes from two sets down and saves three match points before overcoming Marin Cilic in five sets, advancing to the semifinals at the All England Club for the 11th time. It’s the 10th time in Federer’s career he erases a two-set deficit to win in five sets. This is also his 80th match win at Wimbledon, equaling Jimmy Connors’ record.

2019 — Jorge Masvidal sets a UFC record with a KO of Ben Askren five seconds into their bout in Las Vegas.

2019 — The Clippers acquire two NBA megastars in one day; Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard from Toronto in free agency, and Paul George from Oklahoma City for an unprecedented trade bounty of players and picks.

2020 — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes agrees to the largest contract for an athlete in sports history, inking a 12-year deal that could end up being worth $503 million.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1929 — The St. Louis Cardinals scored 10 runs in the first and fifth innings in beating the Philadelphia Phillies, 28-6, in the second game of a doubleheader. The Cardinals had 28 hits and set an NL record with the 28 runs.

1933 — The first major league All-Star game was played at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The AL, managed by Connie Mack, defeated the NL, managed by John McGraw, 4-2 on Babe Ruth’s two-run homer.

1938 — Johnny Vander Meer, Bill Lee and Mace Brown combined to limit the AL to one run and seven hits as the NL won the All-Star game 4-1 at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field. Lefty Gomez of the New York Yankees suffered his first defeat in four All-Star starts.

1942 — The AL beat the NL 3-1 in the All-Star game at the Polo Grounds in New York on first-inning home runs by Lou Boudreau of the Cleveland Indians and Rudy York of the Detroit Tigers. York’s shot came with a man on base.

1949 — Walker Cooper of Cincinnati went 6-for-7, including three home runs and drove in 10 runs, against Chicago at Crosley Field. Cooper also had three singles and scored five times to lead the Reds to a 23-4 rout of the Cubs.

1966 — Boog Powell of the Baltimore Orioles knocked in 11 runs in a doubleheader against the Kansas City A’s to tie an AL record. In the first game, Powell hit two home runs, including a grand slam, two doubles and a sacrifice fly to drive in seven runs as the Orioles won 11-0. Powell had four RBIs in the nightcap.

1983 — On the 50th anniversary of the All-Star game, Fred Lynn’s grand slam off Atlee Hammaker, the first in All-Star competition, capped a record seven-run third inning. The AL also set a record for runs scored in a 13-3 victory that ended an 11-game NL winning streak. Chicago’s Comiskey Park was the site, as it was for the first All-Star game in 1933.

1986 — Atlanta’s Bob Horner became the 11th player in major league history to hit four home runs in a game and it still wasn’t enough to win. The Montreal Expos pounded the Braves’ pitching staff for an 11-8 victory.

2000 — Keith McDonald of the St. Louis Cardinals became the second player in major league history to homer in his first two at-bats, connecting in the second inning of a 12-6 loss to Cincinnati.

2005 — Florida pitchers retired 28 consecutive batters from the third inning on and set a team record with 22 strikeouts in a 12-inning, 5-4 victory over Milwaukee. A.J. Burnett matched his career high and the club record with 14 strikeouts in six innings.

2007 — Justin Morneau homered three times in the second game of a doubleheader to help Minnesota sweep Chicago 20-14 and 12-0. The Twins won the opener behind Jason Kubel’s seven RBIs.

2009 — Chase Utley hit a three-run homer and Shane Victorino and Greg Dobbs each had two-run shots during a 10-run first inning, helping the Philadelphia Phillies rout the Cincinnati Reds 22-1.

2010 — Alex Rodriguez hit the 21st grand slam of his career and adds a solo home run to bring his career total to 597.

2016 — The Orioles and the Dodgers combine for 36 strikeouts in a 14 inning game at Dodger Stadium.

2017 — With two hits in a 4-3 loss to the Cardinals, Florida Marlins Ichiro Suzuki become the all-time leader for hits by a player born outside the United States with 3,054, passing Rod Carew.

2022 — Aaron Judge hits his 30th homer of the year, a grand slam, in the Yankees’ 16-0 demolition of the Pirates. He is the fourth Yankees hitter to reach the mark before the All-Star Game, following Roger Maris in 1961, Alex Rodriguez in 2007 and himself in 2017.

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.

SAN FRANCISCO — Jordin Canada is the only person in the world with a UCLA-inspired pair of Air Jordan 4028 PEs, and she was excited to use them to represent her Bruins when the Atlanta Dream came to California last week.

“That’s my alma mater,” she said with a smile. “Any chance I get to support them and rep them, I will.”

Canada, who was an All-American in four years at UCLA, was rocking the blue-and-yellow shoes in shootaround before her Dream took on the Golden State Valkyries. The Los Angeles native had a quiet first outing against the Valkyries but bounced back with a season-high 23 points in their next matchup, then had 10 assists against the Seattle Storm on Saturday.

She is averaging 11.5 points and a career-high 7.0 assists as the leader of the third-best offense in the WNBA. Her 30.5 minutes per game are a step up from last season.

That’s because she’s done so much to facilitate the Dream offense and run it through Atlanta’s bigs.

“She’s made my job easy,” Dream star Angel Reese said. “I mean, when you have a point guard that can score and also facilitate to me… Her and I had a talk a little bit before the season started about how I can be better for her than pick and roll, but also like coming down on the rebound, I can get the ball and push and flip, flip it to her, and she can start the offense… So she’s made it a lot easier, really easy, and she’s just a great player, she’s a great leader for us offensively and defensively.”

Canada’s 3.6 rebounds per game also are a career high as teams lock in defending Reese and the other versatile Atlanta players such as Naz Hillmon and Rhyne Howard.

Shooting 46.7% from the field, Canada has capitalized on her minutes by being the most efficient possible this season and being enough of a threat that teams have to guard her, while she also can send the ball to one of Atlanta’s top scorers.

“Being aggressive on the offensive end and trying to be more efficient, talking to Cam [Brown], who’s my position coach, and [head coach Karl Smesko], just seeing ways I could be more effective and more efficient in my position,” Canada said. “So just watching a lot of film, watching the areas where I need to improve, and just trying to make sure that I do that consistently, day in and day out, every game, and skin to my spots, and making the right decisions.

Atlanta Dream guard Jordin Canada attempts a pass against the Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday in Seattle.

(Jack Compton / Getty Images)

The Dream are fourth in the WNBA standings behind their consistent starters. With that group, Canada has become one of the most dynamic point guards in the WNBA in her ninth season.

“Her speed is pretty level,” Valkyries coach and former UCLA player Natalie Nakase said. “At UCLA, she was fast. I think now she’s like, for some reason, she looks a lot stronger, I think, from her college years, and I think she really has bought into a system under Karl of what she is doing.”

Tyler Bilodeau drafted by Nets

Former UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau was selected by the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA draft.

(William Liang / Associated Press)

Former UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau was selected by the Brooklyn Nets in the second round of the NBA draft with the No. 43 overall pick.

Bilodeau, a 6-foot-9 transfer from Oregon State, averaged 15.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 64 games at UCLA. The Kennewick, Wash., nativeled UCLA in scoring in his junior and senior seasons, averaging a team-best 17.6 points in 2025-26 and finishing second on the team in rebounding (5.6). Bilodeau earned third-team All-Big Ten Conference honors both seasons. He ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten in three-point shooting as a senior, knocking down 46.4% of his attempts.

“We’re all so thrilled for Tyler to get drafted by Brooklyn,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said in a statement released by the athletic department. “He is a tremendous young man and a tireless worker who really excelled in our program. He’s come a long way since his days at Kamiakin High School, and it’s simply a testament to the work ethic that Tyler and his family have embodied. He’s a versatile player who really improved his three-point stroke during his two years in Westwood. I can’t wait to see him take that next step with Brooklyn. All of us at UCLA are so proud of him.”

Zoey Molomo, Katelyn Ohashi Shine at American Classic

Zoey Molomo, competing at the United States Gymnastics Olympic trials in 2024, placed second on vault and floor and third in the all-around and bars at the 2026 American Classic.

(Abbie Parr / Associated Press)

Zoey Molomo, who is joining UCLA’s gymnastics program for the 2027 season, placed second on vault and floor and third in the all-around and on bars at the American Classic.

Molomo qualified for the U.S. Gymnastics Championships with an all-around total of 52.700.

UCLA alum Katelyn Ohashi, who returned to competitive gymnastics after a seven-year absence at age 29, tied for third on balance beam. In her first competition since the 2019 NCAA championships and her first elite competition since winning the 2013 American Cup, Ohashi scored 13.150 on balance beam to earn bronze.

In case you missed it

Former viral UCLA star Katelyn Ohashi returns to gymnastics at age 29

Swanson: She broke baseball’s glass ceiling. Now Kim Ng is taking softball to the next level

UCLA Unlocked: Inside Bob Chesney’s football recruiting revival

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.