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Mulivai Levu helped UCLA remain the comeback kings of college baseball, hitting a walk-off, three-run home run to seal a 7-5 win over rival USC on Saturday and a spot in the Big Ten tournament championship game.

It was No. 1 seed UCLA’s 27th comeback win of the season and the second consecutive game Levu’s hit sealed a victory during the Big Ten tournament played in Omaha, Neb.

On Saturday night, Levu hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to seal UCLA’s comeback 4-3 win over Purdue in the conference tournament quarterfinals.

UCLA improved to 50-6, a record that Levu said gives the team confidence it will find a way to win.

“It’s the power of friendship right there. We’re all well connected,” Levu said during an interview Saturday on the Big Ten Network. “… We just don’t give up. We’re never out of it, we’re never doubting ourselves. We know what kind of lineup we’ve got, we’ve just got to use it.”

USC’s Augie Lopez hit a double and the rest of the Trojans were active early, building a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Levu hit an RBI single in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit. Dominic Cadiz had an RBI single in the fourth before pitchers held both teams scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings.

Dean West hit a two-run home run in the seventh to give UCLA its first lead at 4-3, and both teams were scoreless in the eighth.

In the ninth, Adrian Lopez and Augie Lopez managed to score runs for USC, taking a 5-4 lead. Top Trojans reliever Adam Troy got No. 1 MLB draft prospect Roch Cholowsky to fly out.

Then Levu entered the batter’s box with two outs and hit the home run that sent USC (43-15) back to Los Angeles for a break before the NCAA tournament brackets are revealed Sunday night.

“They’re rivals on the field, but those are our boys off the field,” Levu said of the Trojans. “They’re good guys and they’re good team. We’ll probably see them again later on in the playoff run. Props to them, it was a great game, they made it very interesting. I’m just glad we won.”

What do we have here? Some of my very favorite actors — Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Clarke Peters and Geena Davis — starring in an eight-episode, B-grade sci-fi comedy-drama, “The Boroughs,” now streaming on Netflix.

Molina plays Sam Cooper, a retired engineer — that will be important — being brought grumbling to the Boroughs, a posh, city-sized retirement community plopped down in the middle of the Southwestern desert. Sam’s late wife, Lily (Jane Kaczmarek, in flashbacks and dreams), had planned the move, but she died suddenly, while they were dancing to Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road,” which will become a kind of trigger and motif going forth. Still, fate — in the form of daughter Claire (Jena Malone) and son-in-law Neil (Rafael Casal) — has pushed him solo to the Boroughs and a house on a cul-de-sac. (Seen from above, the town is laid out in a series of concentric circles, as EPCOT was meant to be when Walt Disney was alive and it stood for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. That has no relation to this show; I’m just throwing it out to the fans.)

Before this happens, however, we get a preamble. Is that Dee Wallace, the mother from “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial,” as Grace, a former occupant of Sam’s new home? (Why, yes it is.) Grabbed one night by something clearly not human, she’ll leave the show before the first credit rolls; but we’ll know from the start that there’s a monster on the loose. And even before Sam has settled in, he’ll be attacked by her now-widowed husband, Edward (Ed Begley Jr.), who has escaped to his old house from the Manor — a memory care unit more reminiscent of something out of “Squid Game” than anywhere you’d want to park a beloved fading parent — muttering “The key is in the light, the owl is in the wall,” and thereby turning Sam detective.

The joint is run by young Blaine Shaw (Seth Numrich), who supposedly took it over from his father, who took it over from his father before him, with Hollywood-blond wife Anneliese (Alice Kremelberg) by his side. (It is perhaps no accident that we’re also served a background clip from “Double Indemnity,” featuring a blond Barbara Stanwyck.) They radiate a kind of vampiric smoothness, and it will take you no longer to realize that something’s up with these two than it takes to say “Something’s up with these two.”

Mired in grief, Sam is initially reluctant to interact with his new neighbors, until former weatherman Jack (Bill Pullman) breaks down his defenses. Judy Daniels (Woodard) used to be a reporter, her husband Art (Peters) is a pot-smoking old hippie who pretends to go golfing but heads off to a ghost town where he grows mushrooms, “searching for proof that there’s more to life than just knockin’ about and hangin’ out.” Wally Baker (Denis O’Hare) used to be a doctor, but now needs one. (It’s cancer, and terminal, though it doesn’t show.) They have complicated relationships, but there’s nothing better for ironing things out than creeping together through dark tunnels by flashlight, hoping that nothing jumps out at you, engaging in weightless banter as you go.

Davis plays Renee Joyce, a former music manager who came to the Boroughs to stay with her mother after Renee’s husband stole her money, and stuck around; I think she’s meant to be younger than the rest, but if you want to look up Davis’ age, I will wait here while you gasp in astonishment. She’ll hook up with friendly young security guard Paz Navarro (Carlos Miranda); he played drums in a band once, and they were both at Glastonbury in 2010 and love Barbra Streisand. (What are the odds?) He’ll have a lot to do when a Scooby Gang — that old, invaluable, incredibly satisfying trope — finally comes together.

The series was created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, who were co-writers on the 2018 Henson Co. puppet epic “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” from which they have imported a central plot device regarding vital essences and a magical matriarchal figure. (Called “Mother” there and here.) Their 2020 dying girlfriend film “Life in a Year,” directed by Mitja Okorn, has some thematic mirroring here, as well — death hovers over the story — and it seems probable that somewhere in the series’ gestation, they discussed Ron Howard’s 1985 science-fiction flick “Cocoon,” with its retirement home setting and senior-citizen heroes.

Sewn together from these and other scraps of previous paranormal adventure stories, “The Boroughs” is almost entirely predictable — not a criticism, in this context, since surprises in such a story are liable to bring bad news, and our affection for its heroes ought not to be sacrificed in the name of dramatic effect. That is not the kind of sacrifice the age needs, and this is not that kind of series. Nor is B-grade a pejorative, but rather an honorable tradition, especially when it comes to sci-fi and horror. (We’ll get a glimpse of Roger Corman’s original “Little Shop of Horrors” playing on a TV — cathode ray, of course.) Once you get on its wavering wavelength — sentimental, sincere, sweet, a little silly, not overly concerned with making perfect sense — and realize the show is not out to hurt you, it’s a very enjoyable watch.

Jeff McNeil hit a tying homer in the ninth inning and Tyler Soderstrom had an RBI single in the 10th to rally the Athletics past the Angels 6-5 on Wednesday night.

The Angels loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 10th but left-hander Hogan Harris got Jorge Soler to ground out, sending the Angels to their 23rd loss in 29 games.

A’s reliever Scott Barlow (1-0) threw a scoreless ninth for the win. Angels right-hander Chase Silseth (1-1) took the loss after giving up an unearned run in the 10th.

The teams combined for eight runs in the first two innings, with the Angels taking a 5-3 lead on Soler’s two-run homer in the first and Jo Adell’s solo shot and Josh Lowe’s two-run drive off A’s starter Aaron Civale in the second.

Soderstrom hit a two-run single in the first, and Henry Bolte scored when Lowe misplayed Carlos Cortes’ single to left field in the second.

Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz walked four and hit a batter with a pitch in the first two innings, but the right-hander retired 12 straight batters — six by strikeout — from the third through the sixth before handing the ball to the bullpen.

Mike Trout rounds second during the first inning Wednesday.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Angels reliever Ryan Zeferjahn plunked two batters in the seventh, and Sam Bachman gave up an RBI single to Nick Kurtz, trimming the Angels’ lead to 5-4.

Bachman retired the side in order in the eighth, but Kirby Yates couldn’t convert his first save opportunity for the Angels, as McNeil led off the ninth by curling his second homer inside the right-field foul pole, tying the score at 5.

Cortes walked with two outs and Shea Langeliers was hit by a pitch, but Angels left-hander Tayler Saucedo, called up from triple-A earlier Wednesday, got Kurtz to tap back to the mound to end the inning.

Cristiano Ronaldo will embark on a sixth World Cup at the age of 41 after Portugal coach Roberto Martinez named him in a 27-man squad for the tournament, with a symbolic “plus one” in memory of the late Diogo Jota.

Speaking at Cidade do Futebol before a packed auditorium on Tuesday, Martinez confirmed that fourth-choice goalkeeper Ricardo Velho, of Genclerbirligi Ankara, will travel with the squad, but can only be added to the official 26-man list in the event of an injury to one of the three registered keepers.

Portugal, the reigning Nations League champions, open their Group K campaign at the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada against the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 17 in Houston.

They then face Uzbekistan at the same venue on June 23 and conclude the group stage against Colombia in Miami on June 27. The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19.

Martinez said his selection comprised “27 players plus one”, a reference to Liverpool forward Jota, who died in a car accident in July last year, aged 28.

“He is our strength, our joy,” Martinez said. “Losing Diogo was an unforgettable and very difficult moment, but the very next day, it was up to all of us to fight for Diogo’s dream and for the example he always set in our national team. Diogo Jota’s spirit, strength and example are the +1 and will always be the +1.”

The coach defended his decision to name four goalkeepers and five fullbacks, while leaving out players including Mateus Fernandes, Ricardo Horta and Pedro Goncalves.

“The complexity of the tournament is very important – the demands of the weather, the time zone, everything we already experienced in March,” Martinez said. “There are positions where we need to have more than two players per position. And we need five fullbacks.”

He highlighted the versatility of Diogo Dalot, Joao Cancelo and Matheus Nunes, and pointed to attacking options such as Joao Felix, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Francisco Trincao operating between the lines, with Rafael Leao, Pedro Neto and Francisco Conceicao providing width.

Martinez added that Velho understood his role as a training goalkeeper, noting that FIFA rules only permit replacement in the event of injury during the tournament.

Portugal warm up against Chile in Oeiras on June 6 and Nigeria in Leiria on June 10. FIFA has stipulated that the squad must be in their Palm Beach, Florida training camp at least five days before their opening match.

Portugal World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Jose Sa (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Rui Silva (Sporting CP); Ricardo Velho (Genclerbirligi Ankara);

Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United); Matheus Nunes (Manchester City), Nelson Semedo (Fenerbahce SK), Joao Cancelo (FC Barcelona), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting CP), Renato Veiga (Villarreal); Ruben Dias (Manchester City); Tomas Araujo (SL Benfica)

Midfielders: Ruben Neves (Al Hilal), Samuel Costa (Mallorca), Joao Neves (PSG), Vitinha (PSG), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

Forwards: Joao Felix (Al Nassr), Francisco Trincao (Sporting CP), Francisco Conceicao (Juventus), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Goncalo Guedes (Real Sociedad), Goncalo Ramos (PSG); Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr)

SAN DIEGO — The Dodgers entered the late innings Monday in an unenviable position: trailing the Padres, whose biggest strength is their bullpen.

“When they have a lead they don’t relinquish it too often,” manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 1-0 loss Monday. “You know the numbers — when they’re ahead in the seventh inning they don’t lose. You do have to be a little more aggressive and capitalize when you do get those chances.”

Including Monday, the Padres are 20-2 when leading after six innings, 21-1 when leading after seven, and they have a perfect 22-0 record when leading after eight.

Even when Padres closer Mason Miller got off to an uncharacteristically wild start in the ninth inning Monday, the Dodgers failed to capitalize.

He walked Freddie Freeman and Kyle Tucker on nine pitches. And the next three batters — Will Smith, Max Muncy and Andy Pages — all have proven their ability to do damage in clutch moments.

But it was Miller on the mound, a rare reliever who could actually challenge for the Cy Young Award.

“In this kind of series, you know you’re going to have close games,” Freeman said after the game. “And we just couldn’t get it done.”

Miller got out of the jam with a fly out, strikeout and ground ball, and notched his league-leading 15th save.

Shohei Ohtani dives back to first base in the fourth inning.

(Tony Ding / Ap Photo/tony Ding)

“We still had really good at-bats,” Freeman said. “There’s a silver lining to it. Scoring off Mason is going to be really hard to do. It’s going to take one of those kinds of innings where you can maybe walk a couple of guys and get a bloop. Not much squaring up going on against him.

“But we had an opportunity, maybe with him throwing a lot of pitches might make him be down next game. You just try to have little wins.”

The Dodgers could also avoid him by claiming a lead. On Monday, Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto held the Padres to three hits and one run — Miguel Andujar’s first-inning homer.

But the Dodgers’ offense, which scored 31 runs in a three-game series against the Angels, only managed four hits off Padres starting pitcher Michael King, and only one in the first five innings.

“You’re trying to cover realistically 30 inches,” Freeman said. “Because you have ball-to-strike pitches — you’ve got backdoor sliders that are starting as balls coming back, you’ve got front-door sinkers for lefties. So it’s not just the whole plate you’re worried about; you’re going to worry about a whole lot of different things. … He had all of it working tonight.”

The Dodgers finally strung some hits together in the sixth. With two outs and Hyeseong Kim on first, Shohei Ohtani beat out a swinging bunt, and the throw from Padres catcher Rodolfo Duran zipped past first base.

Kim, who took off from first on contact, rounded third hard but slammed on the brakes when third base coach Dino Ebel held up the stop sign.

“It’s kind of the timing of it, where [Fernando] Tatis [Jr.] came up with the ball, and Dino’s got to make the decision,” Roberts said. “You don’t know that he’s not going to come up with it clean. At that point in time, to be quite honest, Dino had the best view of the runner coming in, Kim, and where they were at on the field. So it’s one of those things, I’m definitely not going to second guess it.”

Kim was stranded there.

Then in the eighth, he again made it to third on a single from Ohtani with two outs. And again, he got stuck 90 feet away from tying the score.

The Sparks were determined to end a season-opening four-game homestand with their second straight win against Toronto. Instead, the expansion Tempo avenged a four-point defeat two days earlier with a 106-96 victory Sunday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena.

Guard Kelsey Plum, who started the day tied for the WNBA lead in scoring at 26.3 points per game, paced the Sparks with 28, Dearica Hamby scored 21 and Nneka Ogwumike added 17 points and seven rebounds.

Trailing by 13 at one point in the fourth quarter, the Sparks cut the deficit to six on Plum’s two free throws with 4:27 left, but they got no closer. The Sparks fell to 1-3 (tied with Seattle for last place in the Western Conference) while Toronto improved to 2-2.

“We’re four games in so it would be immature to panic,” coach Lynne Roberts said. “It’s a long season but we do need to have urgency out there.”

The Tempo outscored the Sparks 9-3 in the last three minutes of the first quarter to take a 27-21 lead and widened the gap to 14 points on Laura Juskaite’s jumper with 4:28 left in the second. A Hamby three-point shot at the halftime buzzer rimmed out and the Sparks headed to the locker room down 49-40.

Rae Burrell committed her fifth personal with 4:33 left in the third and Kia Nurse made both free throws to give the Tempo their largest lead, 65-49. The margin grew to 17 before the Sparks closed the quarter with a 13-8 run.

After a 27-point performance in the first game, Brittney Sykes had 14 points by halftime in the rematch and finished with a career-high 38. Guard Kiki Rice, who led UCLA to the national championship in early April, added 19.

Toronto won the game at the foul line, making 39 of 42 attempts (92.9%) compared to 23 of 30 for the Sparks, who held a 26-25 edge in rebounding, a 48-38 advantage in points in the paint and outscored the visitors 20-12 on second-chance points.

“That was ugly… hard to watch,” Roberts said of the free throw discrepancy. “Seventy-two [total] free throws? I get it, they’re trying to clean it up but it’s painful. I’m not saying we weren’t fouling just that it’s challenging.”

The Sparks are still missing offseason acquisition Ariel Atkins (concussion protocol) and forward Sania Feagin has been out with a left leg strain since Wednesday. Atkins, a two-time All-Star, was traded from Chicago for Rickea Jackson on April 12.

“We’re going to have to have resilience,” said Plum, who had 27 points, nine assists and three steals in Friday’s win. “This league is tough. You’re going to get punched but you have to take it and punch back.”

Guard Erica Wheeler made her second start, contributing four points and seven assists and Hamby grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

“It felt good… my teammates made it an easy transition,” said guard Kate Martin, who joined the Sparks one week prior after being cut by Golden State and got her first points with her new team, netting 11 in 18 minutes of action. “I don’t care how many points I score, I just want to win.”

Kelsey Plum drives to the basket during the game against Toronto on Sunday.

(Juan Ocampo / Getty Images)

In their first year under Roberts the Sparks finished 21-23 last season — a 13-game improvement from 2024 — but they missed the playoffs for a fifth straight time, marking the longest postseason drought in franchise history. Plum averaged 19.5 points and 5.7 assists per game.

“The beauty of this is that it’s a process,” Roberts added. “We opened up with four games at home and we didn’t take care of business. We can feel sorry for ourselves or we can fix it.”

The Sparks begin a four-game trip Thursday in Phoenix, then travel to Las Vegas on May 23, Washington on May 29 and Connecticut on May 30 before returning home to host Las Vegas on June 2.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Aaron Rai shifted into high gear Sunday and pulled away from a world-class field with one amazing shot after another until he became the first English-born player in more than a century to capture the PGA Championship.

Rai, who dreamed of being a Formula 1 driver until he turned to golf as a boy, was three shots behind and approaching the turn at Aronimink Golf Club when he delivered a performance worthy of a major champion.

He made a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-5 ninth during a stretch when he one-putted seven straight greens to take the lead.

And on the closing holes when the contenders needed him to stumble, Rai holed a birdie putt of some 70 feet across the 17th green for the clincher.

The 31-year-old Rai, the first player of Indian heritage to win a major, closed with a 5-under 65.

Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Justin Rose, they all had their chances and until they were undone by untimely mistakes or failure to get good looks at birdie. McIlroy, who closed with a 69, played the par fives in even for the week and he chopped up the reachable par-4 13th for a bogey.

Rai, who finished at nine-under 271, is the first player from England with his name on the Wanamaker Trophy since Jim Barnes in 1919, the second edition of this major and the first after World War I.

He wound up winning by three shots over 54-hole leader Alex Smalley and Rahm, who had his best finish in a major since defecting to LIV Golf at the end of 2023. Rahm was slowed by a pair of bogeys on the front nine, and managed only one birdie on the back nine for a 68.

Aaron Rai and wife Gaurika Bishnoi hold the Wanamaker Trophy.

(Frank Franklin II / AP)

Smalley lost the lead with a messy double bogey on the sixth hole, and his best golf was too late. Rai already had his eye on the Wanamaker Trophy.

Justin Thomas made a 16-foot par putt on the final hole for a 65 and pulled him within one shot of the lead as the final group was in the second fairway. For the longest time, as Aronimink got tougher and the pressure got tighter, it looked like Thomas might have a chance.

Like everything else on this final day, Rai ended those hopes, too.

So ended a most remarkable week in the Philadelphia suburbs, where no one could separate themselves on Aronimink. The 22 players within four shots of the lead going into the final round was a PGA Championship record.

From that pack emerged the 31-year-old Rai, with one PGA Tour title, three on the European tour, and no finishes inside the top 15 at any of the majors.

He might not be well known among casual observers, but he is a star in the eyes of his peers for his humility and gracious personality.

“You won’t find one person on property who’s not happy for him,” McIlroy said.

“Super pumped for him and his team,” Schauffele said. “All-world gentleman, no doubt.”

Rory McIlroy hits from the bunker on the 16th green.

(Carolyn Kaster / AP)

He wears two gloves, a habit he started as a kid in England to battle the cold winters when he was practicing — and he was always practicing. Even more unusual for Rai is the plastic covers on each iron, a reminder of his roots.

He once said his father sacrificed to buy the nicest golf clubs and then would clean the grooves with baby oil after his son was done playing. Rai has left the iron covers on since then “to remember where I cam from and to respect what I have.”

Now he has his name on the Wanamaker Trophy and his place in history.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been tense since the Taliban took power in 2021.

On Monday, Pakistan summoned a senior Afghan diplomat after an attack claimed by the Pakistan Taliban, known by the acronym TPP. The group said it carried out two more attacks since, mostly against security forces.

Islamabad accuses Kabul of backing the fighters, which it denies.

The latest violence started with a major border skirmish in February. Mediation efforts by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkiye and China led to a pause in the fighting.

But the two sides have continued to target each other. This includes a Pakistani strike on a drug rehabilitation centre that killed more than 250 people.

Will these breaches lead to a resumption of hostilities? And is lasting peace possible between the neighbours?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:

Masood Khan – Former permanent representative of Pakistan, United Nations

Michael Kugelman – Senior fellow, Atlantic Council

Obaidullah Baheer – Adjunct lecturer, American University of Afghanistan

The Bruin Bombers struck again Friday night, capping an epic rally during the opening round of the Los Angeles NCAA Regional.

The No. 7 UCLA softball team has been dubbed the Bruin Bombers because of the record-setting home runs they’ve been hitting this season. That clutch hitting helped the Bruins avoid a painful loss to open postseason play.

Shortstop Aleena Garcia became the hero on Friday night at Easton Stadium, hitting a sacrifice fly to right field with one out to in the seventh inning bring in Rylee Slimp and seal a 12-11 win over California Baptist (43-18). The Lancers held an 11-7 lead going into the sixth inning before UCLA mounted a comeback.

“It’s a credit to [associate head] coach Lisa [Fernandez,]” first baseman Jordan Woolery said when asked about the team’s nickname. “Her offensive coaching style has changed how we’ve all played this year, and you can see it [batters] one through nine.”

The fifth inning was a disaster for UCLA, nearly costing the Bruins the win.

UCLA gave up 10 runs, with a combination of defensive errors and starting pitcher Taylor Tinsley miscues allowing California Baptist to score eight runs. Brynne Nally replaced Tinsley on the mound and gave up a two-run home run before the Bruins finally stopped the Lancers’ onslaught.

“That was not a typical Taylor Tinsley game, and I know she will bounce back,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said.

The Bruins scored two runs in the sixth before Joylna Lamar hit a two-run home run in the seventh.

Slimp hit a single and California Baptist walked UCLA batting stars Megan Grant and Woolery to set up the game-winning fly ball Garcia hit to right field.

Inouye-Perez said she doesn’t like talking about Woolery and Grant much because she gets emotional, but she noted they bring calm to the Bruins’ lineup and help every player contribute to game-changing rallies.

“We already had our senior banquet and had a lot of tears,” Inouye-Perez said. “But taking the responsibility to be the ones to carry the team and come through in big moments, these two have done it together.”

The Bruins (48-8) will play South Carolina on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Easton Stadium. UCLA played the Gamecocks in February and won 5-4 on a walk-off. California Baptist will play Cal State Fullerton at 4:30 p.m.

Inouye-Perez said Friday night she had not yet decided who would pitch against the Gamecocks.

UCLA’s Rylee Slimp, right, and Bri Alejandre react after scoring the winning run against California Baptist on Friday at Easton Stadium.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Fullerton falls in opener

Cal State Fullerton held a one-run lead during the top of the the fifth inning, but South Carolina surged ahead and earned a 7-4 win on Friday to open NCAA regional play at UCLA’s Easton Stadium.

Left fielder Quincee Lilio hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to give the Gamecocks a lead they didn’t surrender.

The Titans pulled ahead a 2-0 at the top of the second before the Gamecocks splashed a two-run home run in the bottom of the second to tie 2-2. Both teams scored on fielding errors and Cal State Fullerton scored off a single before South Carolina’s game-sealing home run.

Going into the tournament there was a lot of talk centering on how Aronimink could prove too easy for the world’s best.

The last men’s tournament held here, a PGA Tour event in 2018, was won by Keegan Bradley who defeated Justin Rose in a play-off after they finished on 20 under par – although rain helped soften the greens and contribute to low scoring.

And this week, even if bombed drives missed wide fairways, the belief was that players would be able to gouge wedges out of the thick rough onto greens and lead to a putt-off.

The PGA of America has responded by setting up the course in a manner which aimed to disprove that.

The rough has largely been penal for those who have been unable to keep the ball on the fairways, while the severity of the slopes on the greens have generally caused havoc, with more three-putts after two rounds than during the whole of the Masters.

McIlroy suffered on Thursday when his wayward driving was heavily punished, but spending extra time on the range after his opening round to “find feeling” paid off on Friday.

Hitting more fairways set up more birdie chances and eliminated mistakes in one of only two bogey-free rounds.

“I saw that no-one was really getting away so I thought if I could get back to even par for the tournament I’d be right in there,” McIlroy told BBC Sport NI.

“I didn’t quite get there but I still think at one over I’ve got a great chance over the last couple days.”

Missing fairways did not hamper McNealy too much, however.

The 30-year-old former world number one amateur ranks tied 143rd – out of a 156-man field – with his driving accuracy – but has used his short irons superbly to launch a challenge.

“I think this is one of the few courses I can compete on without hitting enough fairways, I think the missed fairways penalty isn’t as bad as other places,” he said.

“Fairways are definitely easier to control the ball and I hope to hit more this weekend.”

The carriage has turned back into a pumpkin, the ballgown is once again just tattered clothing and all the horses have gone back to being mice.

The Ducks’ Cinderella run through the NHL playoffs came to an end Thursday in a 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series. And the end came well before midnight, with goals by Mitch Marner and Brett Howden in the first 8½ minutes giving Vegas a commanding lead before many in the late-arriving weeknight crowd had made it to their seats at the Honda Center.

The Golden Knights will move on to the Western Conference final with the Colorado Avalanche next week while the Ducks will move on to summer. But it’s the team’s latest start on the offseason since 2017, the last time the Ducks made it to the second round of the playoffs. So even if the glass slipper didn’t fit this time, the Ducks have reason to celebrate.

“I think our team, we learned, myself included, just how to play in those games,” said winger Troy Terry, the only remaining link to the Ducks’ last playoff team. “That’s kind of the difference in some of these games, a team like Vegas, learning how to manage those close games. It stings right now, but I think I speak for everyone that we’ll be hungry going into the summer.

“It was fun to play in this. It’s been a long time.”

Ducks center Leo Carlsson passes the puck as Vegas’ Shea Theodore defends during the second period.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

This team, after all, wasn’t supposed to be at the ball this long. Fourteen players on its roster had never been to the postseason before; most of them had never even played for a winning team in the NHL before. But the team’s youth and inexperience proved to be a strength, not a weakness.

They didn’t know they weren’t supposed to win in the playoffs, so they did, dispatching the Edmonton Oilers — who made the last two Stanley Cup finals — in the first round and outplaying the veteran Golden Knights, a playoff team in eight of the franchise’s nine seasons, throughout much of the second round.

Rookie Beckett Sennecke, just 20, had four goals and an assist in the six games with Vegas. Winger Cutter Gauthier, just 22, led the team with 12 points in his first trip to the playoffs. Defenseman Olen Zellwenger, also 22, had a goal and assist in his first two playoff games and Olympic gold medalist Jackson LaCombe, 25, led the team in ice time — and was third in points with 10 — in his first postseason.

That’s the core of the team going forward and the playoff experience they got this spring will be invaluable.

“We’ve got a super young core here,” Sennecke said. “We’re a fast team and we play with a lot of skill, a lot of pace. … The next few years are exciting.”

Ducks left wing Alex Killorn moves the puck ahead of Vegas right wing Keegan Kolesar in the first period.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“It doesn’t make this any easier,” added center Mikael Granlund, at 34 the second-oldest Duck to play Thursday. “Tonight was kind of the story of the season. In the first period we’re down three goals. In the regular season, we were able to come back. But in playoffs, it’s not easy.

“So yeah, there’s a lot of good signs in this team, but at the same time, it’s never easy.”

However, the fairy godmother’s spell wore off early in Game 6, which was just 62 seconds old when Vegas went ahead to stay.

Marner opened the scoring with a spectacular breakaway goal, skating on to William Karlssson’s two-line pass as he entered the offensive zone and beating LaCombe up the center of the ice to the crease. When he got there, he pulled up, turned his back to goalie Lukas Dostal, then shoved the puck just inside the right post for his seventh goal of the playoffs.

Howden doubled the lead with a shorthanded goal 7½ minutes later, finding miles of space just to the right of the goal and banging in a pass from Marner that split LaCombe and Alex Killorn. The goal was Howden’s eighth of the playoffs, temporarily giving him the NHL postseason lead, while the assist gave Marner 18 postseason points, also best in the league.

“I thought we had a really good vibe going in and felt good about guys being excited,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “Couple of quick goals, and we certainly lost a lot of our excitement. That was tough.”

When Shea Theodore scored off a faceoff seconds into a power play late in the period, it gave the Golden Knights a 3-0 lead at the intermission with the goals coming on a power play, the penalty kill and with the teams at even strength.

The Ducks led the NHL with 26 comeback wins during the regular season, but against the poised and patient Golden Knights the deficit was too big. The Ducks left the ice to a chorus of boos after the period, though they came back to dominate the second period, getting the only score at 12:46 when Mikael Granlund notched his fifth goal of the playoffs on a power play, lining a snap shot into the side netting from the middle the left circle.

But the Ducks would get no closer, with Vegas icing the game on two third-period goals from Pavel Dorofeyev, who had four goals in the final two games. The first came off a turnover from the Ducks’ John Carlson deep in his defensive end 2:52 into the final period and the second on a shot from a difficult angle to the right of the goal that ricocheted in off Dostal with 6:28 left in the Ducks’ season.

The two goals gave Dorofeyev nine for the playoffs, passing Howden for the league lead.

“They worked for what they got,” Quenneville said of the Golden Knights. “They deserve to move on.”

Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Robin Risser (Lens), Brice Samba (Rennes)

Defenders: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas Hernandez (Paris St-Germain), Theo Hernandez (Al Hilal), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamenaco (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders: N’Golo Kante (Fenerbache), Manu Kone (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris St-Germain)

Forwards: Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco), Bradley Barcola (Paris St-Germain), Rayan Cherki (Man City), Ousmane Dembele (Paris St-Germain), Desire Doue (Paris St-Germain), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Jean-Phillipe Mateta (Crystal Palace), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan)

SAN DIEGO — President Trump nominated Cameron Hamilton on Monday to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a surprising comeback for the former Navy SEAL who was fired from his role as FEMA’s temporary leader last year after he defended its existence.

His nomination comes as the Trump administration has increasingly signaled it is backing away from promises to dismantle FEMA, an agency that has faced withering criticism by the president. The nomination of Hamilton, who argued abolishing FEMA was not in the country’s best interests, is the latest indication of that change.

If confirmed, Hamilton would be the principal advisor to Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on emergency management and FEMA’s first permanent administrator in Trump’s second term. The agency has gone through three temporary leaders, including Hamilton’s brief tenure from January to May 2025.

He would take over an embattled agency still reeling from Kristi Noem’s turbulent leadership of the Department of Homeland Security, of which FEMA is part. FEMA’s workforce has been worn down by mass staff departures, policies that hamstrung operations and a 75-day-long Homeland Security shutdown that ended April 30.

Hamilton will need to ensure the agency is prepared for summer disaster season, just weeks away, while answering to Trump, who is likely to expect major reforms after a council he appointed recommended sweeping changes on Friday.

“Now is the opportunity to stabilize FEMA,” said Michael Coen, the agency’s chief of staff in the Obama and Biden administrations.

Fired after defending FEMA

Hamilton, who had never been a state or local emergency management director and who had publicly criticized FEMA in the past, was a controversial choice when Trump named him temporary leader in January 2025, just days before the president floated the idea of “getting rid” of FEMA.

His rupture with Homeland Security officials began as he defended a federal role in supporting disaster-affected states, tribes and territories.

“Once the conversation shifted to, ‘Now we’re going to abolish,’ I immediately expressed concern,” he said in September on the “Disaster Tough” podcast with John Scardena, a former FEMA incident management team leader.

Homeland Security officials even subjected him to a polygraph test, accusing him and other officials of leaking details of a private meeting. He passed but said he knew his dismissal was inevitable.

At a May 7, 2025, appearance before a House Appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, asked Hamilton if he believed FEMA should be abolished.

“I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” he replied. The next day, he was fired.

Hamilton will have to rebuild trust

Defending FEMA despite knowing it would probably cost him his job generated respect and trust among people whose job it is to lead communities through crisis, said Scardena, now president of the consultancy Doberman Emergency Management Group, which trains emergency managers.

“He won myself over and I think a lot of people by what he did,” Scardena said.

But multiple current FEMA employees who requested anonymity for fear of retribution for speaking publicly told the Associated Press they had concerns over some of the actions taken under Hamilton.

In 2024, Hamilton shared posts on X promoting misinformation about FEMA spending during Hurricane Helene.

During his temporary leadership, FEMA ceased door-to-door canvassing to reach survivors after disasters, and canceled a multibillion-dollar resilience grant program, since restored by a federal judge. The Department of Government Efficiency gained access to internal FEMA networks containing survivors’ private information. FEMA staff were fired for fulfilling a reimbursement payment to New York City for housing undocumented immigrants as part of FEMA’s Shelter and Services program.

Hamilton has said he believes FEMA needs major reform. He has said that he wants FEMA to move faster, that the agency is saddled with responsibilities he sees as outside its remit, and that some states have become too dependent on the agency. A Trump-appointed council last week urged sweeping changes to FEMA, which would require congressional action.

“I think he’s going to need to rebuild trust across the agency,” said Deanne Criswell, FEMA administrator under former President Biden, adding that she believes Hamilton cares about FEMA and she appreciated his outreach to emergency management directors and former officials during and after his tenure.

Senate confirmation process could raise questions of experience

Hamilton could face pushback in the Senate confirmation process over never having led an emergency management agency, a common stepping stone to becoming administrator of an agency with over 21,000 employees.

Federal law requires the FEMA administrator to have “a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security” and at least five years of “executive leadership and management experience.”

Hamilton trained as a Navy hospital corpsman before spending a decade as a Navy SEAL on SEAL Team Eight. He then became a U.S. State Department emergency management specialist handling overseas crisis response, then directed emergency medical services at the Department of Homeland Security.

Angueira writes for the Associated Press.

The Ducks’ second-round playoff showdown with the Vegas Golden Knights has become a best-of-three series.

With a 4-3 victory Sunday before a raucous sold-out crowd at the Honda Center, the Ducks evened the series 2-2 as it heads back to Las Vegas for Game 5 on Tuesday. But it wasn’t easy, with the Golden Knights twice rallying from one-goal deficits, only to see the Ducks answer each time.

And the Ducks’ power play, so lethal in the team’s first-round win over Edmonton and so ineffective in the first three games of this series, finally found a spark, scoring goals in each of the first two periods.

The Ducks’ goals came from Beckett Sennecke, Mikael Granlund, Alex Killorn and Ian Moore. Pavel Dorofeyev, Brett Howden and Tomas Hertl scored for Vegas.

The Ducks were fast and physical in the early going, playing with an urgency they lacked in their Game 3 loss. They also did a better job protecting the puck and that paid off with the team’s first power-play goal of the series 8:43 into the first period.

Vegas had killed 11 penalties against the Ducks and 21 in a row dating back to Game 3 in their first-round series against Utah. But after Dylan Coghlan went off for interference, Sennecke teed up a slap shot from the top of the right circle for his fourth goal of the playoffs, putting the Ducks up 1-0.

The lead didn’t last long, however, with Dorofeyev evening things with a power-play goal of his own about a minute and half later. The goal, on a tip-in, was Dorofeyev’s fifth of the postseason.

Ducks defenseman Ian Moore celebrates with teammates after scoring in the third period of a 4-3 win over the Golden Knights in Game 4 on Sunday at Honda Center.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Granlund put the Ducks back on top less than five minutes before the first intermission, taking a pass from Jeffrey Viel along the left-side boards and getting off a shot as he battled Vegas forward Cole Smith. The puck appeared to strike the blade of Smith’s stick as Viel let it go and that proved fortunate for the Ducks since the deflection fooled defenseman Noah Hanifin and goalie Carter Hart, who both let the bouncing puck tumble through them and into the goal.

That lead didn’t last long, either, with Howden tying things again for Vegas 4:04 into the second period. The goal, on the Golden Knights’ ninth shot, was Howden’s seventh of the playoffs, giving him a share of the NHL lead. Mitch Marner assisted on the first two Vegas goals, giving him a league-best 15 points in 10 postseason games.

However, Killorn scored the Ducks’ second power-play less than two minutes before the second intermission, putting the Ducks in front to stay. Moore doubled the lead 3:43 into the third, lining in a slap shot from well above the right circle.

The two-goal lead matched the largest of the series for the Ducks. Hertl cut that in half with 64 seconds to play after Vegas pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. But the Golden Knights got no closer.

Both teams have split their two games at home. The Golden Knights will have the home-ice advantage — if there is one — over the last three games since two are scheduled in Las Vegas.

Sunday’s win marked the sixth consecutive time the Ducks evened a playoff series it trailed 2-1 after three games.

Vegas played without winger Mark Stone, whose 28 goals were second-most on the team during the regular season. Stone, who had a goal and an assist in the first three games against the Ducks, is the team’s all-time playoff scoring leader with 79 points (39 goals, 40 assists) in 94 games. He sustained an undisclosed injury in the first period of Game 3 and his status for the rest of the series is unclear.

Jack McGlynn scored a goal in each half and the Houston Dynamo thumped LAFC 4-1 on Sunday night at BMO Stadium.

McGlynn used an assist from Lawrence Ennali in the 25th minute to score on a shot from well outside the box, giving Houston a 1-0 lead. It was McGlynn’s first goal after scoring a career-high six times last season.

Guilherme Santos scored off a free kick in the 34th minute for a two-goal lead. The first-year midfielder has six goals in 11 matches.

McGlynn had a shot from nearly the same spot hit the far post, also in the 42nd, and Nathan Ordaz answered for LAFC three minutes later to cut it to 2-1 at halftime. McGlynn was booked for a yellow card in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Stephen Eustáquio notched his third assist in seven appearances on Ordaz’s second goal, and Jacob Shaffelburg picked up his second in five outings this season and his 15th in 134 appearances. Ordaz has found the net eight times in 67 matches.

Mateusz Bogusz got a second chance to score in the 51st minute, using his left foot to find the net for the second time for a 3-1 lead. Bogusz scored 18 goals in 60 appearances with LAFC from 2023-24.

McGlynn gave the Dynamo a three-goal lead in the 55th with assists from Ennali and Santos, who already has five helpers. Ennali collected his first two assists of the campaign.

Jonathan Bond finished with five saves for Houston (6-5-0), which improved to 2-3-1 on the road.

Hugo Lloris saved two shots for LAFC (6-3-3), which drops to 4-2-1 at home. Lloris entered with eight shutouts through his first 10 starts, posting three more clean sheets than any other keeper in the league.

The Dynamo have gone 5-2-1 in the last eight matchups, holding LAFC scoreless in five of them.

LAFC beat the Dynamo 2-0 in Houston to close out February.

LAFC’s Sergi Palencia left with an apparent injury in the 42nd minute.

Up next for LAFC: visits St. Louis City on Wednesday.

One rebound got away. Another went to the Oklahoma City Thunder on a foul by Deandre Ayton. When a third opportunity glanced past Ayton’s nonchalantly extended arm, JJ Redick had seen enough.

The Lakers coach couldn’t even sub fast enough before Ayton’s two-handed frustration shove of Oklahoma City guard Ajay Mitchell put a disappointing punctuation mark on a disastrous 19-second stretch for the Lakers starting center.

Ayton, a key part of the Lakers’ first-round series win, has been largely absent in the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. With the Lakers behind 3-0 in the best-of-seven series after Saturday’s 131-108 loss at Crypto.com Arena, Ayton has averaged 7.7 points per game and 9.3 rebounds against the Thunder.

Desperate to avoid the dreaded 3-0 hole, Ayton was limited to 10 points and six rebounds and just one defensive board. He was held to one-of-seven shooting in Game 2 for just three points, although he had 22 rebounds over the first two games.

After an up-and-down regular season, it appeared that the former No. 1 overall pick was ready to live up to the hype. He was a quiet star in the Lakers’ first-round series win against the Houston Rockets, often guarding All-Star Alperen Sengun one-on-one and dominating the paint. He averaged 11 points and 10.8 rebounds against the Rockets.

Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault took note. He called Ayton a “priority” for the Thunder defense in this series. Redick said Ayton raises the Lakers’ ceiling more than any other player.

The Lakers tried to spark their X-factor in the third quarter. They built a two-point halftime lead off the stellar shot-making of Rui Hachimura (21 points) and Luke Kennard (18 points) but funneled the ball toward Ayton after the break.

Lakers center Deandre Ayton dunks against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Hachimura, who made all four of his three-point attempts in the first half, had a chance at a three on the Lakers’ first possession but instead passed to Ayton, who was fouled on the floor. Marcus Smart tried a lob to Ayton, but the center couldn’t corral the pass. The Lakers went back to him on each of the next two offensive possessions and he scored on both.

He scored six of his 10 points during a three-and-a-half-minute stretch of the third quarter.

“DA is a hell of a player,” said Smart, one of Ayton’s closest teammates. “We all know it. We just want to get him the touches and get him the feel early, just to give them a different look. … All the guards are doing their thing. So we’re just trying to get the big fella involved.”

Ayton’s signature soft touch around the basket has suddenly escaped him. After shooting 60.4% from the field during the first round and a career-best 67.1% during the regular season, Ayton is shooting 39.3% (11 for 28) against the Thunder. He made just three of 11 shots in the restricted area during the first two games.

The Lakers needed Ayton to thrive during this series against the double-big lineup of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. Some of Ayton’s shooting struggles have depended on where the lanky 7-foot-1 Holmgren has been on the court, Redick said. The Lakers have tried to draw Holmgren out of the paint more to free up Ayton.

Holmgren has still been a force in this series with 21.3 points and 10 rebounds per game. Hartenstein has made 14 of 16 shots from the field in the three games.

Ayton’s backup Jaxson Hayes was also neutralized in Saturday’s blowout, not returning to the game after just eight minutes and 30 seconds of mostly ineffective play. When Redick had seen enough from Ayton in the fourth quarter after he gave up two offensive rebounds and fouled twice in 19 seconds, the coach opted for rookie Adou Thiero.

Thiero, a 22-year-old who tries to make up for his lack of experience with pure motor and athleticism, had a team-high eight rebounds with four points in 13 minutes and 12 seconds.

But the Lakers gave up an offensive rebound off a free throw immediately after Thiero replaced Ayton. Hayes, sitting at the end of the bench with his arms folded across his chest, stared blankly ahead and shook his head slowly.

No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series. Ayton has been quiet in this series, but he doesn’t plan to be silenced much longer with the season on the line.

“We ain’t gonna give up,” Ayton said on his way out of the arena. “We will be back to fight on Monday.”

Staff writer Broderick Turner contributed to this report.

Hawaii brought a taste of the rainbow on Saturday to the Pauley Pavilion.

The Hawaii men’s volleyball team defeated Long Beach State in five sets to reach the NCAA men’s volleyball national championship for the first time since winning it all in 2022.

The team will face UC Irvine, which continued its hot streak with a win over No. 4 seeded Ball State Saturday. The unseeded Anteaters upset No. 1 UCLA earlier in tournament, denying the Bruins a chance to play for a title on their home floor.

Long Beach played a semifinal close to home, but the Rainbow Warriors were determined not to stumble after falling to UCLA in a national semifinal last season.

“We all learned a lot from the loss last season,” Hawaii sophomore Justin Todd said. “We learned that we have to stay healthy, going to the end of the year and getting better at practice overall.”

After the win, Hawaii veteran head coach Charlie Wade said the Rainbow Warriors, UC Irvine and Long Beach have all represented the Big West Conference well.

“Since the inception of the Big West Conference, it’s been the strongest conference for volleyball,” Wade said. “This is the third time two Big West teams will be playing each other in the championship.”

Hawaii rallied to take an early 11-7 lead in the first set against Long Beach Saturday night. The Rainbow Warriors continued to pile on points in the first set, leading14-9 lead before the Beach called its first timeout.

The Rainbow Warriors kept up pressure, winning the first set 25-15. Long Beach held off a Hawaii rally to win the second set 25-18. The teams traded leads in the third set before Hawaii pulled away for a 25-21 win.

After trailing nearly all of the fourth set, Hawaii earned back-to-back kills that gave it a 21-20 lead. The Rainbow Warriors held on for a 25-22 win to punch their ticket to the national title match.

In the other semifinal played Saturday, UC Irvine defeated Ball State 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 27-25, 25-19). The Anteaters got a big boost from middle block Trevor Clark, who tied his career high with 14 kills and led the team with six blocks (one solo). Redshirt freshman setter Cameron Kosty had 53 set assists and nine digs.

UC Irvine (21-8) and Hawaii (29-5) play Monday at 4 p.m. at Pauley Pavillion for the NCAA championship. The match will air on ESPN2.

TOP British telly talent turned out in force on the glam Red Carpet ahead of this year’s Baftas.

The annual The British Academy Film Awards ceremony, which celebrates the best British and international contributions to TV, will be held in London tonight.

Yet ahead of the prestigious gongs being dished out by host, comedian and actor Greg Davies, the cream of the on-screen crop dressed to impress.

We previously reported how Netflix show Adolescence is leading the way in the nominations.

Some of the other biggest shows and stars have also been nominated this year across the 29 categories.

This Morning‘s Ashley James, 39, led the way in a stunning pearl shimmer bandeau gown with corset detail.

STAYING AWAY

Stacey Solomon snubs BAFTA Awards after backlash over her reaction to losing

leading the charge

TV Bafta nominees – list in full as Adolescence leads the way

The Made In Chelsea alum and parenting influencer showcased her new copper-coloured locks which she brushed into an elegant up-do.

Love Island‘s Tasha Ghouri, 27, also favoured a pastel coloured strapless gown with a semi-sheer skirt.

She struck a sassy pose with her hands on her hips before flashing a smile for the waiting cameras.

The Strictly alum was then joined by boyfriend Cam Whitnall as the pair cut a cute display on the Red Carpet.

Childrens’ TV favourite Angellica Bell, 50, looked elegant in a black long-sleeve gown with semi sheer detailing and a polka dot print.

Celebrity Big Brother‘s Marisha Wallace, 40, couldn’t be missed as she hit the Red Carpet in her glam gold attire.

EastEnders alum Shona McGarty, 34, proved you can never go wrong with a classic LBD as she opted for a black ballgown.

She pulled her dark hair back into a fuss-free up-to to allow her outfit to command all the attention.

Strictly’s Lewis Cope, 31, opted for monochrome styling with a white blazer and black trousers.

Love Island continued to be well-represented on the Red Carpet, with Shakira Khan, 23, oozing summer vibes in a yellow dress adorned with sparkles.

New mum Georgia Harrison, 31, donned a form-fitting blue velvet dress with gold detailing, pulling her hair into a chic bun.

Gogglebox and I’m A Celeb alum Scarlett Moffatt, 35, opted for a long-sleeve outfit in an on-trend chocolate brown shade.

She was seen flashing a smile as she cradled her baby bump while posing for pictures.

Broadcaster and podcast anchor Laura Whitmore, 41, who is also pregnant, looked elegant in a floor length lemon dress which clung to her baby bump.

She posed for a few solo images before being joined by her Love Island narrator hubby Iain Stirling.

Hollyoaks actress Jorgie Porter, 38, was the undisputed sequin queen as she hit the Red Carpet in a shimmering semi-sheer frock.

Silver diamante detail covered her modesty while the hemline featured applique petals.

The Theresa McQueen star posed for a few solo snaps before she was joined by fiance Ollie Piotrowski.

Loose Women panelist Frankie Bridge, 37, chose a daring cut-out dress which flashed her abs, in a stylish magenta shade.

Meanwhile, magician and ITV host Stephen Mulhern, 49, looked smart in a classic tux.

Newlywed Emily Blackwell, 29 – who found fame on reality series Made In Chelsea – went for a classy burgundy bodycon.

Pregnant Vogue Williams, 40, chose a white lace gown and was all smiles as she arrived with husband Spencer Matthews, 37.

Strictly winner Rose Ayling-Ellis, 31, chose a bright yellow halterneck to bring a splash of colour to proceedings.

BBC Radio 2 anchor and former Coronation Street star Angela Griffin, 49, picked a pretty brown dress with lace panel detail for her special evening.

As previously mentioned, Adolescence leads the way in terms of nominations, with lead star Stephen Graham being put forward for Best Actor.

Steven Knight’s A Thousand Blows follows closely behind the Netflix drama, picking up an impressive seven nominations.

And in joint third are highly rated Star Wars spin off Andor and Channel 4 drama Trespasses, who both sit on six nominations.

The Television Awards will be broadcast at 7pm.

It will be available to watch live on BBC One and on the iPlayer.

Dudinha had a goal and an assist to lead the San Diego Wave to a 2-1 victory over rival Angel City on Saturday at BMO Stadium.

Dudinha beat multiple Angel City defenders before firing a shot that was deflected off defender Sarah Gorden for the opening goal in the 49th minute.

Angel City’s Emily Sams scored in the 54th minute to even the score.

San Diego (6-0-3) took the lead for good when Dudinha’s cross found the head of rookie defender Mimi Van Zanten in the 81st minute. Dudinha’s fourth assist tied her for the league lead with Portland’s Olivia Moultrie.

Angel City (3-0-4) started the 2026 season with three straight wins but it has lost its last four games.

Former Angel City head coach and current Wave assistant Becki Tweed led the club with Jonas Eidevall suspended because of a red card in last week’s 1-0 home loss to Bay FC.

The Lakers are one playoff defeat from their season being over and from the conversation turning to LeBron James’ future.

They are in a hole no team has climbed out of in the history of the NBA, the Lakers’ 131-108 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 putting L.A. down 3-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

James and his teammates gave a gallant effort Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, but the defending champion proved to be more than the Lakers could handle.

James finished his night with 19 points on seven-for-19 shooting, eight assists and six rebounds. Rui Hachimura had 21 points and Austin Reaves finished with 17 points and nine assists.

Even so, the Lakers have now lost all three games by double digits.

And the Lakers are fully aware that no NBA team has successfully come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs, with those teams holding a 161-0 record. Only four teams have forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-0, all of which ultimately lost the series, including the Boston Celtics in 2023.

Lakers forward LeBron James shows frustration as Thunder center Chet Holmgren slam dunks during Game 3 on Saturday night.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Game 4 is Monday night, when the Lakers will try to stave off elimination and a night that will determine how the conversations go with James if they lose.

James has been frequently asked this season about retirement, but he has not given any indication of what the future holds for him.

He’s 41 years old and playing in an NBA-record 23rd season.

James is in the final year of his contract that pays him $52 million, making him a free agent this offseason. He can retire, join another team or perhaps return to the Lakers next season.

That will be the conversation if the Lakers can’t win Game 4.

They will see the same Thunder team that had seven players score in double figures, led by Ajay Mitchell’s 24 points and 10 assists and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 23 points and nine assists.

The Lakers went down 13 in the third quarter and had to play catchup the rest of the way. They never did, going down by 112-94 with 6 minutes and 12 seconds left, forcing Lakers coach JJ Redick to call a timeout.

The deficit just kept growing, topping out at 27 points in the fourth.

They were outscored 33-20 in the third quarter. The Lakers didn’t take care of the basketball in the third, turning it over six times, and they didn’t play good defense, allowing the Thunder to shoot 59.1% from the field and 55.6 percent from three-point range,

The Lakers did not give an inch to the Thunder in the first half, even when they fell behind by 10 points.

They just kept grinding until they led 59-57 at halftime.

Hachimura had 16 points in the first half, continuing his hot three-point shooting by making all four of his threes. Luke Kennard came off the bench to give the Lakers 13 points, shooting five for six from the field and three for four from three-point range.

The Lakers kept the pressure defense on Gilgeous-Alexander. Though he had 14 points in the first half, he shot only four-for-14 from the field and one for five from three-point range.

The Lakers shot 55% from three-point range in the first half, which went a long way in helping them.

The Lakers lost the first two games by identical margins of 18 points and each loss was magnified because Gilgeous-Alexander was kept under wraps for the most part by L.A.’s defense.

When Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth foul with 10:34 left in the third quarter of Game 2 and went to the bench, the Thunder turned a five-point lead into a 13-point advantage at the end of the quarter.

So, when he wasn’t on the court, the Lakers failed to take advantage.

“Well, you know, again, I’ll repeat what I said after the game: we’ve got to be better in the non-Shai minutes,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.

Role players like Mitchell and Jared McCain hurt the Lakers in the second game. Chet Holmgren also was hard to deal with.

“Mitchell and McCain have hurt us in those non-Shai minutes, and then Chet [Holmgren] has hurt us the whole game,” Redick said. “I think you’ve got to be willing to live with something. Shai playing one-on-one, thus far in the series, we haven’t been willing to live with, so you’re going to be in rotation. That can lead to smalls on bigs at the hole, and the offensive rebounding from Chet has really hurt us.”

OKLAHOMA CITY — Austin Reaves has officially entered the Lakers’ postseason chat. It might still be too little, too late.

The Lakers guard responded to his worst playoff performance with his best, recording a playoff career-high 31 points Thursday in the Lakers’ 125-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center.

But against the powerful Thunder, Reaves didn’t get a chance to punctuate his comeback night with any emphatic celebration. He instead ended the game in a heated conversation with officials, surrounded by almost all of his teammates as the Lakers felt they were battling the referees and the Thunder in equal measure.

Reaves’ game-high scoring effort wasn’t enough to fend off the relentless defending champions that had six players score in double figures, including three with 20 or more points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each had 22 points for the Thunder, who take a 2-0 lead as the best-of-seven series turns to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Saturday.

With Luka Doncic sidelined because of a hamstring injury that is expected to keep him out for three more weeks, the Lakers are still outmanned in the Western Conference semifinals despite Reaves’ recent return. He rushed back from a Grade 2 left oblique strain in time to play in the Lakers’ first-round series but has struggled to find his rhythm after a month-long absence.

He shot a dreadful three for 16 from the field in Game 1 against the Thunder, finished with only eight points and missed all five of his three-point shots. Including his two first-round games, Reaves had missed 14 consecutive three-pointers entering Game 2.

Criticism of Reaves dominated social media after Game 1. The 27-year-old guard is due for a new contract this summer that would solidify his status as one of the sport’s star players. A slow start to these playoffs and last year’s postseason struggles made Reaves an online punching bag for fan frustrations.

But the low-key Reaves is “one of the least chronically online NBA players there is,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game. The extent of Reaves’ social media usage is his long-time friend Trent Swaim posting golfing videos on the duo’s “Hillbilly Bogey” accounts and Reaves asking his representatives to post sponsored content for his endorsement deals.

He doesn’t need to troll internet comments to fuel his game. Reaves can do that on his own.

Lakers guard Austin Reaves, center right, talks with referee John Goble, center left, after the team’s loss in Game 2 on Thursday night in Oklahoma City.

(Nate Billings / Associated Press)

“He’s got a great sense of self-accountability to where he’s his own worst critic,” Redick said before the game, “and he’s going to hold himself to a standard of how he wants to play.”

Reaves drove aggressively into the paint early Thursday, tying the score 16-16 in the first quarter on a three-point play after the Lakers erased an early seven-point deficit. He had 13 points in the first half as the Lakers took a one-point lead into the locker room. He scored or assisted on the Lakers’ first 11 points of the third quarter as the team built a five-point lead with 8:35 to go in the third.

“That’s what we need Austin to be,” guard Luke Kennard said. “Even though he missed some shots last game, he was aggressive and he just got back into it. … I know a lot of people can think it’s easy to just come back and play a basketball game but at this level, what he’s done last series and now, it’s impressive. We need him to continue to be aggressive. He’s such a good teammate, easy to play with. It’s good to see him have a really good game and, hopefully gives him confidence going into the next one.”

The Lakers need to play near-perfect basketball to have a chance to knock off the defending champions. The Thunder took a 2-0 series lead against the Lakers despite relatively quiet performances from Gilgeous-Alexander. The reigning most valuable player had 18 points in Game 1 and was limited to less than 28 minutes Thursday because of foul trouble.

When Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth foul with 10:34 remaining in the third quarter Thursday, the Thunder trailed 66-61. They didn’t need their star to rip off a 27-19 run to finish the quarter and take a commanding 13-point lead into the fourth.

The Lakers had seven turnovers during the decisive stretch. Reaves had five of the Lakers’ 21 total giveaways and the miscues turned into 26 points for the Thunder, who led the league in points off turnovers during the regular season.

“It starts with the turnovers,” Reaves said. “I think you’re not going to be perfect; you’re going to have turnovers. Just trying to eliminate the live-ball turnovers where they get easy fast-break layups or threes or dunks.”