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Josh Lowe, Denzer Guzman homer, but Angels lose to Twins

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.

Minnesota starter Taj Bradley (9-3) worked seven innings, giving up six hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts and a pair of walks. Andrew Morris struck out two over the last two innings and earned his third save.

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.

José Soriano (8-6) gave up five hits, three earned runs and two walks in five innings.

Up next for Angels: Host the Detroit Tigers for a three-game series starting Friday.

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Dodgers lose to Diamondbacks, are swept for first time in 2026

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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.

Max Muncy swings at a pitch in the seventh inning.

Max Muncy swings at a pitch in the seventh inning.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Shohei Ohtani sparked the offense with his ninth leadoff home run of the season — and 22nd overall — on a two-hit day. But he’ll get treatment this week instead of playing in the All-Star Game.

It wasn’t a clean defensive game for the Dodgers. In the midst of the Diamondbacks’ two-run fifth, All-Star center fielder Andy Pages tracked a long fly back to the wall but missed the catch as the ball bounced off his glove for an error.

In the sixth, the tying run scored when All-Star third baseman Max Muncy’s throw to the plate hit Geraldo Perdomo in the back as he ran home for another error.

“Just a slump,” Muncy said. “You go through slumps both offensively and defensively, mentally. It’s just one of those stretches for us right now, and I think everyone’s ready for the break.”

Regardless of some sloppiness, the Dodgers have had a successful season going into the break.

“Just flush it,” Roberts said. “We’re still in a really good spot. Don’t let it carry over to the second half.”

They have the best record in the majors (61-36) and an 11½-game lead in the National League West. They also had six players selected as All-Stars.

So, as Major League Baseball pauses play and honors some of the best performers in each league, now’s a good time to hand out our first-half awards.

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto has rough start as Dodgers lose to Arizona

The Dodgers’ 9-2 loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday wasn’t enough to prevent them from going into the All-Star break with the best record in the majors — that much is ensured. But the uninspired all-around performance sealed a series loss on the final weekend of the season’s first half.

The Dodgers (61-35) put little pressure on the Diamondbacks pitching staff. And Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto wrapped up his first-half campaign with his highest-scoring start of the season; he surrendered six runs in six innings.

Over the All-Star break, Yamamoto (2.85 ERA) will get the week to rest. Before the game Saturday, manager Dave Roberts confirmed Yamamoto, an All-Star for the second consecutive year, will not pitch in the game.

The timing of his start Saturday, three days before the Midsummer Classic, suggested as much. Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to have his left knee drained coming out of the All-Star break and will not travel to Philadelphia. So Justin Wrobleski, who was added to the National League roster Saturday, is the only Dodger set to pitch in the All-Star Game.

Yamamoto held the Diamondbacks to one run through the first five innings. But his final inning quickly unraveled. It started with a leadoff walk and peaked with a three-run home run from James McCann.

The Dodgers finally rallied for two runs in the sixth and then fell quiet again. The Diamondbacks then scored three runs against Landon Knack in his three-inning season debut coming off the injured list.

Yamamoto’s uncharacteristic sixth inning ended his streak of quality starts at five, including two that lasted eight innings or more. He leads the team with 110⅔ innings pitched.

“His delivery is so consistent, repeatable,” Roberts said before the game. “He uses his body so efficiently. I just see how he takes care of himself, and the tax wasn’t going to be a problem for him.”

Yamamoto’s workload, along with Wrobleski’s emergence, have helped the Dodgers weather injuries to pitchers who were expected to be major contributors.

In a promising sign for closer Edwin Díaz’s recovery timeline, he started a rehab assignment with single-A Ontario on Saturday. Díaz made just seven appearances for the Dodgers before undergoing an operation to remove loose bodies from his right elbow in late April.

“He’s been throwing pretty effortlessly, free, maybe a week after he started throwing,” pitching coach Mark Prior said.

He estimated that Díaz would return in about three to four weeks if his progression goes smoothly.

Blake Snell — who also had loose bodies removed from his pitching elbow, undergoing a NanoNeedle Scope procedure on May 19 — threw two simulated innings to batters Saturday.

Snell is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab assignment next weekend, Roberts said. Prior believes Snell will need at least four to five outings, likening it to a spring training buildup.

“The goal would be to get him fully built up to 90ish pitches before he comes back,” Prior said.

Tyler Glasnow, who had been sidelined for more than two months with a lingering back injury, threw a bullpen session Friday.

“It was like 95, 96 [mph] in his ‘pen, but he does that rolling out of bed when he’s healthy,” Prior said. “But it’s a good sign.”

Glasnow has had plenty of back and forth in his rehab, however. Twice he started playing catch only to be shut down when back spasms returned.

“The schedule is starting to move with a little bit more consistency than it had been,” Prior said. “So he’s in a good spot.”

Glasnow is scheduled for another bullpen session on Monday.

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World Cup 2026: Belgium lose to Spain and exit World Cup

The Belgian side that beat Algeria 2-1 in their opening group stage game of the 2014 World Cup read like an all-star fantasy team of players in their prime.

Courtois, De Bruyne, Witsel and Lukaku all started, as did Eden Hazard, Mousa Dembele and Vincent Kompany, with Dries Mertens and Marouane Fellaini coming off the bench.

Belgium topped their group in their first World Cup since 2002 and reached the quarter-finals, before going one better and reaching the final four in 2018 and winning the third-place play-off.

The same group of players reached the quarter-finals of both Euro 2016 and 2020, before crashing out of the group stages of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Critics say such a talented group should have achieved more, but for a nation of less than 12 million people, was international success ever a realistic aim?

“To be a golden generation you have to win some gold and then you can be called that,” said Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague.

“It’s put the expectations very high in Belgium and it’s interesting that people look back at that group of players because with Lukaku, De Bruyne, Tielemans, Trossard they have actually had a good run.

“They were third in the last World Cup and that seems to have been forgotten with Roberto Martinez as their manager. I’m not sure how much more you could ask for.

“In the context of other teams like an England side that had the golden age, with an Italy that have had such experience and managed to get a wonderful Euros, with Spain on the up as well, to demand Belgium to win is a maybe a little bit too much.”

Along with those celebrated names, Leandro Trossard (31), Brandon Mechele (33), Timothy Castagne (33), Hans Vanaken (33), and Thomas Meunier (34) have likely played their last World Cup minutes.

“I’m disappointed for those that maybe might not come back with the national team,” manager Rudi Garcia said after the match.

“I took a team that I wanted to take as far as possible. My veteran players, who are maybe on their way out, that they could have one last hurrah.

“It is a shame because I think everyone deserves to go far in this World Cup.”

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Angels rally but can’t turn back Rangers in ninth, lose on walk-off

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.

Cole Winn (4-2) got Adell on a sharp liner to center field to end the ninth with the potential go-ahead run at third after replacing All-Star closer Jacob Latz, who went 1⅔ innings in his first outing in nine days.

Nathan Eovaldi struck out a season-high 10 for Texas but failed to get his 10th win for the fifth consecutive start. He exited with no outs in the seventh after Dezner Guzman reached on catcher’s interference, Logan O’Hoppe walked and Wade Meckler’s single scored Guzman.

Peyton Gray replaced Eovaldi and gave up a two-run single to Nolan Schanuel, who had four hits, and an RBI single to Jorge Soler.

Brandon Nimmo, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue homered for Texas in the first four innings against Reid Detmers. The left-hander hadn’t given up more than one long ball in any of his first 18 starts.

Up next: Neither team announced the rotation for its final series before the All-Star break. Indications are the Angels will go with RHP Grayson Rodriguez (2-2, 8.06 ERA) on Friday at Minnesota. He has been on the injured list since mid-June because of lower back tightness. Texas is home against Houston.

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What The U.S. Military Could Lose If Trump Cuts Off Trade With NATO Ally Spain

In his latest spat with a fellow NATO member, U.S. President Donald Trump condemned Spain as a “wasted cause” and “terrible partner” in the alliance. Speaking at the NATO Summit in Ankara, as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte looked on, Trump said he wanted to cut off all trade relations with Spain. While Spanish officials have stressed that relations won’t be affected, it does raise questions about the long-term status of the U.S. military presence in Spain, should the situation deteriorate further.

“We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore… I’d like you to cut it off,” Trump said. “Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate; they don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits. Watch them, watch them come running back; oh, they’ll come running back.”

He continued: “We don’t have to trade with them. I don’t want to do any more trade with them… Don’t even talk to them; they’re hopeless, bad people, because you know they have everybody else going and paying and working… They’re open about it, they’re hostile about it, and let’s see how hostile they remain when they call up, and they ‘please, please, we want to trade with you, sir. We want to trade with you, sir.’ They make so much money with us, and we’re going to see that they make a lot less. I want no business with them.”

According to U.S. Congress figures, mutual trade between the two countries was worth $75 billion in 2025, and the United States made $3 billion more from the relationship than Spain.

In an effort to heal the rift, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez later insisted that relations with the United States were “very positive,” and that he had spoken to Trump.

“We talked about the World Cup… there was no tension whatsoever, on the contrary it was all very friendly,” said Sánchez.

The BBC reported that government sources in Madrid said that Spain had no plan to change their “excellent social, cultural, and economic relationship.”

The background to this is Trump’s unhappiness with the Sánchez government refusing the U.S. military permission to use its bases at Morón and Rota in Spain for missions during the war against Iran.

Another point of conflict is Sánchez’s refusal to increase defense spending to five percent of GDP, in line with NATO targets.

This is not Trump’s first threat to cut off trade relations with Spain. The same had happened back in March, in response to Sánchez’s stance on the Iran war.

While there was no change to trade between the two countries after that, were relations between the United States and Spain to worsen, the continued access to Morón and Rota would become a question.

The approximate location of Morón and Rota in southern Spain. Google Earth

Of the two, Naval Station Rota, in the province of Cádiz, is the most critical. It sits in a strategic position at the mouth of the Mediterranean, which is one of the world’s most important naval control points.

Described by the U.S. Navy as “the gateway to the Mediterranean,” Rota is one of the most strategically important U.S. military hubs in Europe, critical to supporting U.S. and allied naval operations across multiple theaters. The installation is central for Naval Forces Europe-Africa/Central (EURAFCENT) and the U.S. Sixth Fleet.

Located on a 6,100-acre Spanish Navy facility in southern Spain, Rota functions as a major logistical gateway linking North America with Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, and the Middle East.

Naval Station Rota. Google Earth

The base supports the movement of personnel, equipment, fuel, and supplies through its three operational piers, a 670-acre airfield capable of supporting U.S. Navy and Air Force aviation operations, and some of the largest weapons and fuel storage facilities in Europe.

Perhaps the highest-profile resident unit at Rota is Destroyer Squadron 60 (DESRON 60), one of three U.S. Navy destroyer squadrons permanently based outside the continental United States and the only one of these to call Europe home.

In 2024, the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Oscar Austin arrived at Rota, as the first of two additional destroyers to join the Forward Deployed Naval Force-Europe, which will have an eventual total of six. These warships are notably modified with special defenses tailored to the European theater, as you can read about here.

The USS Oscar Austin arrives at its new homeport of Naval Station Rota, Oct. 15, 2024, as the first of two additional DDGs to join the Forward Deployed Naval Force-Europe. U.S. Navy
160303-N-YN258-001 ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 3, 2016) SeaRAM, a new system for guided-missile destroyers, awaits testing aboard USS Porter (DDG 78), March 3, 2016. Porter, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, is preparing for deployment in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt.j.g Laura Adams/Released)
A SeaRAM defense system awaits testing aboard USS Porter, March 3, 2016. Porter, a destroyer forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, was preparing for deployment in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations. U.S. Navy photo by Lt.j.g Laura Adams/Released U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/

Other key Navy units at Rota include Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Seven Nine (HSM-79), the “Griffins,” flying the sub-hunting MH-60R Seahawk, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Eight.

NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (April 28, 2026) MH-60R Seahawk helicopters assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 79 land on the flight deck of the Spanish Armada Galicia-class landing platform dock SPS Castilla (L-52) during a bilateral flight operations exercise, April 28, 2026. NAVSTA Rota is a force multiplier, capable of promptly deploying and supporting combat-ready forces through land, air and sea, enabling warfighters and their families, sustaining the fleet and fostering the U.S. and Spanish partnership. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Drace Wilson)
MH-60R Seahawk helicopters assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 79 land on the flight deck of the Spanish Galicia class landing platform dock Castilla during a bilateral flight operations exercise at Rota, April 28, 2026. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Drace Wilson Petty Officer 1st Class Drace Wilson

Turning to Morón, this airbase is located southeast of the city of Seville in southern Spain. While Naval Station Rota is a springboard for U.S. maritime forces, Morón provides a similar role for the Air Force. Its strategic position means it plays a key role as a forward operating location for air operations, rapid response missions, and contingency support across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Morón Air Base. Google Earth

The base’s capabilities include airfield operations, aircraft support, logistics, maintenance, communications, security, and host-nation support, all of which are geared toward rapid deployment and sustainment of U.S. forces when and where they are needed.

U.S. Marines with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa (SPMAGTF-CR-AF) 19.1, Marine Forces Europe and Africa, prepare to conduct a helicopter support team training event using a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey at Morón Air Base, Spain, March 13, 2019. SPMAGTF-CR-AF is deployed to conduct crisis-response and theater-security operations in Africa and promote regional stability by conducting military-to-military training exercises throughout Europe and Africa. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Katelyn Hunter)
U.S. Marines with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa (SPMAGTF-CR-AF) 19.1, Marine Forces Europe and Africa, prepare to conduct a helicopter support team training event using a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey at Morón Air Base, Spain, March 13, 2019. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Katelyn Hunter Staff Sgt. Katelyn Hunter

Resident U.S. Air Force units at Morón, under the Third Air Force, include the 496th Air Base Squadron, a geographically separated unit (GSU) that comes under the command of the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The 86th Airlift Wing flies C-130J airlifters as well as C-21A and C-37A staff transports.

Morón also serves as a critical node in the transatlantic and transeuropean tanker bridges, making it a key logistical gateway for the massive movements that are critical to buildups in Europe and the Middle East, as well as for more routine transatlantic deployments.

A KC-10, KC-46 and three KC-135s sit on the flight line at Morón Air Base, Spain on Thursday, April 14, 2022. The three airframes represent the entire might of the U.S. Air Force’s refueling arsenal and have a combined 110 years of service between them. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Nathan Eckert)
A KC-10, KC-46, and three KC-135s sit on the flight line at Morón Air Base on April 14, 2022. At the time, the three airframes represented the entire might of the U.S. Air Force’s refueling arsenal. The KC-10 has since been retired. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Nathan Eckert Tech. Sgt. Nathan Eckert

As well as other U.S. Air Force assets that temporarily deploy to Morón, including from the Bomber Task Force, the base also regularly hosts deployments of U.S. Marine Corps aircraft.

Two B-1B Lancers with the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, are prepared for takeoff in support of Bomber Task Force Europe at Morón Air Base, Spain, April 4, 2024. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Zachary Wright Staff Sgt. Zachary Wright

Both Morón and Rota operate under the U.S.-Spain Agreement on Defense Cooperation, which allows the United States and Spain to operate alongside one another and share critical infrastructure.

Morón Air Base and Naval Station Rota remain key nodes in the U.S. military’s global posture, providing a strategically positioned bridge between Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Their combined capabilities allow U.S. forces to rapidly move, stage, and sustain aircraft, ships, personnel, and equipment across multiple theaters.

A Spanish Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon with the 11th Wing flies next to a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa 20.1, Marine Forces Europe and Africa, as part of a tactical recovery of air-craft and personnel (TRAP) exercise near Morón Air Base, Spain, May 6, 2020. The aviation combat element rehearses TRAP to maintain proficiency and increase the operational reach of supported aircraft. SPMAGTF-CR-AF is deployed to conduct crisis-response and theater-security operations in Africa and promote regional stability by conducting military-to-military training exercises throughout Europe and Africa. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Kenny Gomez)
A Spanish Air Force Eurofighter flies next to a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa 20.1, Marine Forces Europe and Africa, as part of a tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel (TRAP) exercise near Morón Air Base, Spain, May 6, 2020. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Kenny Gomez Sgt. Kenny Gomez

A loss of access to Morón and Rota would extend far beyond a bilateral dispute between Washington and Madrid. While the United States could maintain operations through other European and regional locations, replacing the unique combination of air, maritime, and logistical capabilities provided by the two installations would take time and impose additional strain on U.S. forces. Loss of access to these bases, especially Rota, could be one of Spain’s most powerful cards to play if Trump’s rhetoric turns into action.

More importantly, any decision by a NATO member to restrict access to critical allied infrastructure would have broader implications for the alliance, raising questions about the reliability of defense commitments and the political cohesion that underpins collective security.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Thomas Newdick is a staff writer at TWZ, where he covers military aviation, defense technology, weapons systems, and international security. Based in Berlin, Germany, he reports on conflicts, military modernization efforts, and emerging aerospace technologies around the world, with a particular interest in airpower and its role in contemporary warfare. His reporting is informed by deep expertise in modern and historical airpower, particularly in Europe, with a focus on military aviation, air campaigns, and aerospace developments across the continent and beyond.




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Wimbledon 2026 results: Cameron Norrie among nine Britons to lose on first day

Norrie had played just one match on grass before this year’s Wimbledon after retiring injured in the French Open first round with a rib injury.

And the former world number eight looked rusty as he broke Zheng, ranked 144th, just once in the entire match.

Zheng hit 21 aces to Norrie’s four, while the 22-year-old committed just four double faults to Norrie’s 10.

Harriet Dart came close to completing a gritty comeback win but ultimately fell 6-3 3-6 6-4 to former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

The pair were scheduled to play on Court 17 on Monday, but Raducanu’s withdrawal saw their match moved to Court One.

Wildcard Dart made sure fans with tickets for the show court were not disappointed as she forced a deciding set against the world number 31 in an entertaining two-and-a-half hour display.

Ostapenko will face either Antonia Ruzic of Croatia or compatriot Darja Semenistaja – the lucky loser who replaced Raducanu in the draw.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old British wildcard Mika Stojsavljevic lost 6-2 6-1 to 2021 Olympic champion and 11th seed Belinda Bencic.

Felix Gill and Max Basing were beaten on their Grand Slam main-draw debuts, losing to 23rd seed Rafael Jodar and qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki respectively.

Alicia Dudeney, who was also making her main-draw major bow, lost 6-3 6-3 to American Alycia Parks.

Mimi Xu and Hannah Klugman, both navigating the step up to senior tennis, lost to Daria Kasatkina and 2024 Wimbledon singles champion Barbora Krejcikova respectively, while Oliver Tarvet was beaten by 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech in four sets.

There are 19 home players across the two singles draws – although 17 are playing opponents ranked inside the world’s top 55.

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World Cup 2026: ‘Mixed emotions’ as Canada qualify from group but lose home advantage

Losing their final group game to Switzerland on Wednesday means co-hosts Canada will play no further matches in their home country at this year’s World Cup.

Had Canada avoided defeat to finish top of Group B, they would have stayed in Vancouver for their last-32 tie and potentially a last-16 fixture.

However, a 2-1 loss at BC Place meant Canada finished second behind Switzerland and so Jesse Marsch’s side will travel to Los Angeles to play South Africa on Sunday (20:00 BST).

The former Leeds boss, who has guided Canada out of the group stage at a World Cup for the first time, said: “We wanted to be here in Vancouver, but we still have a massive opportunity ahead of us to find a way to push for the next match and find a way to still electrify the nation, even though it’ll be from Los Angeles.

“We came up a little short and that’s unfortunate. But we’re in the knockout round and we’re going to make sure that we’re up for it better.”

After drawing their opening game against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto, Canada thrashed Qatar 6-0 in Vancouver, where they ended the group stage with a first loss of the tournament.

Striker Jonathan David told Sports Illustrated:, external “It was nice to have a pro-Canada crowd that pushed us on every game.

“We’re a bit disappointed and it’s mixed emotions. Obviously, we wanted to stay in Vancouver, so not getting that is a blow for everyone, but we’ll talk about it and get ready for the next one.”

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Angels can’t hold on to seven-run lead, lose to A’s in the 10th

Pinch-hitter Jonah Heim launched a tying homer with two outs in the ninth and the Athletics surrendered 11 straight runs before rallying from seven down to defeat the Angels 12-11 in 10 innings Friday night.

Zack Gelof started the comeback with an RBI single in the sixth, and the A’s got two-run homers from Jacob Wilson in the seventh, Max Muncy in the eighth and Heim in the ninth to tie it 11-11.

Nick Kurtz walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th to force home the winning run. It was the largest comeback win for the A’s (38-38) this season.

Gelof extended his hitting streak to 23 games — the longest active run in the majors.

Denzer Guzman, Jose Siri, Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe and Nolan Schanuel all went deep for the Angels (30-47), matching their season high for homers in a game.

Tyler Soderstrom hit a one-out double in the ninth before Heim connected for his second career-tying pinch-hit homer. The first came earlier this month in a 15-14 loss to Milwaukee in Las Vegas.

Henry Bolte drew a leadoff walk from Kirby Yates (0-3) in the 10th. Following a double steal, Muncy flied out and Gelof was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Samy Natera Jr. entered and walked Kurtz on five pitches, scoring automatic runner Lawrence Butler.

A’s starter Jeffrey Springs gave up six runs on four hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings. Elvis Alvarado (3-1) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win.

José Soriano struck out six in five innings. He permitted six hits, four runs and four walks.

Up next: RHP J.T. Ginn (5-3, 2.91 ERA) pitches Saturday for the A’s in the third game of the four-game series. The Angels had not announced their starter.

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Drug users don’t lose their gun rights, Supreme Court rules

A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Thursday for gun rights and against drug laws.

In a 9-0 ruling, the justices struck down part of the longstanding federal gun control law that makes it a crime for an “unlawful user” of illegal drugs to possess a gun.

The Trump administration had urged the court to uphold the conviction of a Texas man who was investigated for alleged terrorist ties and admitted to being a regular user of marijuana.

Rejecting that claim, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, speaking for the court, said the law was far too broad and overly harsh.

“The law automatically bans an individual from possessing a gun from the moment he becomes an unlawful user of any controlled substance until he ceases being one,” he wrote. “It doesn’t matter what controlled substance an individual uses, in what amounts he does so, or whether his drug use has ever made him a danger to himself or others.”

And it can lead to a 15-year prison term, he added.

He noted, however, the court was not ruling on “addicts” or people who were under the influence of drugs when they were arrested.

The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the ruling.

“Today’s unanimous 9-0 decision makes it clear that the government cannot make it crime for people to own a gun, which the Supreme Court has held is a fundamental constitutional right, simply because they use marijuana,” said Cecillia Wang, legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union. “With nearly half of Americans reporting marijuana use at some point in their lives, this ruling protects the rights of millions and curbs the government’s ability to impose arbitrary and discriminatory penalties.”

Since 1968, federal law has prohibited gun possession by felons, fugitives and other persons deemed to be dangerous. Included was anyone who is “an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.”

But the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a Texas case this restriction on guns violated the 2nd Amendment. It said “there is no historical justification for disarming a sober citizen not presently under an impairing influence.”

Appealing to the Supreme Court, the Trump administration urged the justices to uphold the law.

“Habitual illegal drug users with firearms present unique dangers to society—especially because they pose a grave risk of armed, hostile encounters with police officers while impaired,” said Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer.

He asked the court to rule in the case of a Pakistani native who was investigated by the FBI for his suspected ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In 2020, Ali Danial Hemani and his parents “traveled to Iran to participate in a celebration of the life of Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian general and terrorist who had been killed by an American drone strike the month before,” the administration told the court last year.

The FBI obtained a warrant to search Hemani’s family home.

Agents found a Glock 9mm pistol, 60 grams of marijuana and 4.7 grams of cocaine.

Hemani said he used marijuana about every other day.

A federal grand jury in Texas charged him with possessing a firearm as an unlawful habitual user of marijuana.

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World Cup qualifying: ‘We have nothing to lose’ against France – Barrett

Republic of Ireland striker Amber Barrett said the side “are going to give everything we have” in Tuesday’s match against France when they have the chance to secure automatic qualification for the World Cup.

Barrett came off the bench in the 76th minute and scored the winner against the Netherlands in the closing stages of the match in Cork in front of a crowd of more than 12,000.

Now, Carla Ward’s side have the opportunity to secure a spot in back-to-back World Cups when they travel to Grenoble to face France, who are top of the group.

Even if they draw or lose, they will have the fallback of a seeded play-off spot, but Barrett insists they are going out to get the job done on Tuesday.

“We do not have anything to lose,” Barrett told RTE after the game.

“When we started the group, what everyone was looking at was not finishing fourth. We avoided that tonight and we have nothing to lose on Tuesday, we are going to give everything we have.

“Whatever happens, we still have the play-offs in October and December.”

Laurent Bonadei’s side were the 2-1 victors against the Republic of Ireland at Tallaght Stadium in March.

Barrett added that despite the side coming into the “cup final” unbeaten in three matches, they will not underestimate the French.

“Before, if you were 2-2 against the Netherlands, you would probably be rubbing your hands together and saying’ we will take this’, but Carla [Ward] said from the start of the week, let everyone know we will be going to win the game.

“Tuesday is a cup final. Against the Netherlands, we were for it and we were trying to win that game, there was no doubt about it.

“It is a massive game on Tuesday, we will enjoy tonight but we are not taking for granted the French, they are an unbelievable side. Recover, get ready and let’s go again.”

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City attorney likely to be first incumbent to lose primary since 1933

The last time Angelenos sacked an incumbent city attorney in the primaries, almost 30% of them were unemployed.

That was May 2, 1933, the nadir of the Great Depression, when sprawling encampments blanketed downtown, King Kong ruled movie theaters and violent crime reached a fever pitch not seen again for almost half a century.

Incumbent City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto’s near-certain defeat on Tuesday may have little in common with Erwin P. Werner’s primary loss 93 years ago, but themes of Depression-era Los Angeles echo through the contest.

Marissa Roy, a deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice who leads the race with ballots still being counted, wooed voters with shoe-leather and social media savvy, promising to use the office to fight for wage workers and tenants. But it was the city’s powerful unions and its increasingly democratic socialist bloc that propelled her to the top spot, mirroring the coalition that drove California’s sharp left turn in the early 1930s.

Meanwhile, county prosecutor John McKinney tapped into voter frustration with homeless encampments, a blighted downtown and general distrust of City Hall to pull off a last-minute heist of the second runoff spot. McKinney only started campaigning in earnest five weeks ago, but managed to win votes with a tough-on-crime campaign — even as some categories of city crime have dipped to historic lows.

Karen Bass, left, shares a laugh with Hydee Feldstein Soto

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, left, shares a laugh with L.A. City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, right, at Avance Democratic Club’s politics and tacos event on May 16.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

As of Thursday morning, Roy had nearly double the number of votes of Feldstein Soto. McKinney led the incumbent by 13 percentage points for the second runoff slot. The race has not yet been called, but Feldstein Soto issued a statement effectively conceding the race Wednesday morning. She acknowledged that “the voters had spoken” and referenced “her successor’s administration.”

Her campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

The ouster of Feldstein Soto would be nearly unprecedented. Werner’s 1933 loss is the only similar instance since the city adopted its current primary ballot process in 1917, according to the City Clerk’s office. No other incumbent city council member or mayor has ever failed to advance out of the primary when facing two or more opponents.

“This is not something that has happened in the lifetimes of most people who follow city government,” said Mike Bonin, former City Council member and executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State L.A.

McKinney’s sudden emergence in the race in May saw him hijack the incumbent’s support from law enforcement. His campaign received $3 million worth of independent expenditures. An official with a group supporting McKinney — who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media — said an internal poll showed Feldstein Soto falling nearly 10 points outside the runoff a week before election day.

Since Roy had already captured the support of the county Democratic Party and energized left-leaning voters, that put Feldstein Soto in the center, analysts said, which left her vulnerable in a race that most people casting ballots hadn’t closely followed.

“To the extent that people had any information, they knew that one of them basically wanted to be tougher and somebody on the other side wanted to be kinder, that left her with very little room to maneuver,” said Roy Behr, a longtime consultant to veteran politicians in the city.

Roy “micro-targeted” likely progressive voters in social media spots, experts said, presenting as an affable presence in her ever-present purple blazer while sharing her vision of serving as the “people’s lawyer.”

 Marissa Roy

Marissa Roy, a deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice, appears poised to finish first in the June 2 primary race for L.A. city attorney.

(Gary Coronado / For The Times)

Boosted by a massive influx of cash from rental giant Airbnb, some of McKinney’s ads played up his hard-luck upbringing in one of New Jersey’s most violent cities. His campaign also sent out texts that painted his opponents as “George Gascón”-style Democrats, invoking the former progressive district attorney as a bogeyman for voters anxious about crime.

AI-generated videos depicted McKinney as a stoic, suit-clad crime fighter walking through a dystopian version of L.A.’s Metro system.

“The debate isn’t necessarily two candidates on one stage appealing to one person, it’s for attention and information in the same sphere,” said Spencer Slovic of Mycorrhiza Digital, who ran Roy’s digital advertising. “That battle of information will play out almost in different realms.”

Without a compelling story for her powerful but poorly understood role, Feldstein Soto often struggled to explain her achievements in office.

In a recent interview with The Times, she said she delivered on “public safety, public integrity and public services.” She went on to discuss granular improvements she made to the office, such as limiting access to law enforcement databases by former employees, modernizing internal systems and improving the rapport between the city attorney’s office and LAPD. By her own admission, she doesn’t often publicly celebrate her accomplishments.

“I didn’t hold some big press conference and hop up on a white horse and declare myself Joan of Arc and the savior of all things Los Angeles,” she said. “Which I could have done.”

Tumult during Feldstein Soto’s lone term in office was easier for voters to identify. The cost of litigation exploded. A high-ranking city lawyer accused her of abusing her power, prosecuting political enemies, mistreating employees and engaging in “inappropriate alcohol consumption.” Feldstein Soto claimed she improved her office’s rapport with the LAPD, but the police union’s decision to rescind its endorsement of her and instead back McKinney cost her a key voting bloc.

Feldstein Soto’s messaging was at times muddled and lacked the flair of her challengers, political observers said. Campaign finance records show she paid for 80 email blasts, mailers and other messages that sought to influence voters.

John McKinney

John McKinney, a Los Angeles County prosecutor, appears set to advance to a run-off against Marissa Roy in the race for L.A. city attorney.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

In one video, she stood in front of a static background and talked for three minutes straight about her record while describing her opponents as representing the “extreme left” and “extreme right.” She attacked both for receiving large sums of money from “special interests,” especially McKinney for accepting Airbnb’s largesse. Feldstein Soto sued the rental giant for price gouging in the wake of the 2025 wildfires.

Roy’s campaign sent out 180 communications, records show, the bulk of them ads for Instagram and Facebook, where her team said they saw instantly which stories resonated with likely voters and which were duds.

Slovic said a “clip of Hydee talking about how she wasn’t going to prosecute the Trump administration” seemed to touch a nerve with voters.

“That was by far our best performing ad,” he said, adding, “What Democrats really want in primaries is someone who will fight and have some sort of backbone.”

McKinney had just 23 communications, campaign records show, plus 19 more made by independent groups. He often leaned into the same gritty visuals that defined mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt’s viral AI spots.

In a race for a position most voters don’t understand, McKinney’s and Roy’s ability to play a consistent character may have proved critical, political analysts said.

The vast majority of voters started off with no strong feelings about the race,” Behr said. “Nobody had any votes locked down other than their friends and neighbors.”

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Angels blow lead to Rockies in eighth inning, lose in ninth

TJ Rumfield hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth inning and the Colorado Rockies used a five-run eighth to rally past the Angels 9-8 on Monday night.

Hunter Goodman put Colorado ahead 8-6 with a three-run homer in the eighth. Jake McCarthy homered earlier for the Rockies, who have won more games this season (23) than they did before the All-Star break last year.

Jorge Soler’s two-run triple for the Angels tied it 8-8 in the bottom of the eighth.

McCarthy doubled in the ninth to move Kyle Karros to third before Rumfield drove him home with a sac fly to right field for a 9-8 lead. McCarthy finished two for four at the plate, including a solo homer in the third for a 2-0 lead.

Troy Johnston plated Colorado’s first run with an RBI single in the first, and Sterlin Thompson added an RBI single in the fifth to pull the Rockies to 5-3.

Karros’ RBI double in the eighth sparked the five-run rally. Tyler Freeman tacked on an RBI single and Goodman capped the outburst with his 14th homer — a three-run drive over the left-field wall.

Antonio Senzatela (5-0) threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win. Kyle Freeland gave up six runs, five earned, and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Kirby Yates (0-1) gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth.

José Soriano pitched the first 4 2/3 innings for the Angels, giving up three runs on three hits and striking out seven. He also hit two batters with pitches and walked seven — a career high. He became the first Angels pitcher to issue seven free passes in a game since Garrett Richards on Sept. 2, 2013.

Jo Adell hit an RBI single in the third before Jose Siri drilled his second career grand slam to put the Angels up 5-2 in the third. Vaughn Grissom scored on a throwing error by Goodman in the fifth for a 6-3 lead.

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Spygate appeal: Southampton lose appeal against expulsion from play-offs

Southampton’s appeal against being thrown out of the Championship play-off final for spying has been rejected.

The match will now go ahead on Saturday between Hull City and Middlesbrough (15:30 BST kick-off), with a place in the Premier League on the line.

An EFL independent disciplinary commission on Tuesday evening expelled Southampton from the play-offs and reinstated Middlesbrough, who had lost 2-1 to the Saints on aggregate in the semi-finals.

Southampton appealed against their removal, calling it “manifestly disproportionate to every previous sanction in the history of the English game”. However, the EPL has rejected Saints’ appeal and upheld the punishment.

“A league arbitration panel has tonight dismissed Southampton Football Club’s appeal against the independent disciplinary commission’s sanction following the admittance of multiple breaches of EFL regulations,” the EFL said on Wednesday.

“The determination means that the original sanction of expulsion from the Championship play-offs remains in place, as does the four-point deduction to be applied to the 2026-27 Championship table and the reprimand in respect of all charges.”

The decision is final and there is no further right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Southampton issued a statement calling the decision “an extremely disappointing outcome”.

It added: “While we fully acknowledge the seriousness of this matter and the scrutiny that has followed, the club has consistently believed the original sporting sanction was disproportionate, a view that has been widely shared by many in the football community over the last 24 hours.

“While tonight is a painful moment, this football club will respond with humility, accountability and determination to put things right.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Southampton chief executive Phil Parsons said the club could not “accept a sanction which bears no proportion to the offence”.

Parsons pointed to a £200,000 fine issued to Leeds United in 2019 for spying on Derby as evidence of precedent.

However, when Leeds were punished seven years ago, regulation 127 – which expressly forbids observing an opponent within 72 hours of a game – did not exist. It was introduced as a result of Leeds’ wrongdoing.

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Angels pitching can’t solve Nick Kurtz or the A’s and lose in a rout

Nick Kurtz had three hits and five RBIs, Brent Rooker and Zack Gelof homered and drove in three runs apiece as the Athletics beat the Angels 14-6 on Tuesday night.

The Athletics scored 12 of their runs with two out.

Kurtz, the reigning American League rookie of the year, sparked a six-run third inning with an RBI single, keyed a two-run sixth with a two-run single and added a two-run double in a four-run eighth.

Reliever Justin Sterner (2-3) escaped a first-and-third, two-out jam in the fourth and earned the win for the AL West-leading A’s, who snapped a three-game skid.

Mike Trout hit his 12th homer of the season, a solo shot, and finished with two RBIs for the last-place Angels, who have lost 22 of 28 games since an 11-10 start.

Angels starter Reid Detmers (1-5) was tagged for eight runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. The left-hander retired seven straight batters to open the game, five by strikeout, before Jeff McNeil and Darell Hernaiz singled in the third.

Shea Langeliers flied out before Kurtz punched an RBI single to center to extend his on-base streak 42 games, the sixth-longest in franchise history. Colby Thomas followed with a two-run double, Rooker added an RBI single, Henry Bolte hit a ground-rule double, and Gelof had a two-run single for a 6-0 lead.

Trout led off the bottom of the third with his 43rd career homer against the A’s. That tied him with Rafael Palmeiro and Alex Rodriguez for the most since the A’s moved to California in 1968. Trout also scored his 600th Angel Stadium run on the play, the most in franchise history.

The Angels pulled within 6-4 in the fourth on Trout’s bases-loaded walk and Vaughn Grissom’s two-run single, which knocked A’s starter Jacob Lopez out of the game. But Sterner got Jorge Soler to fly out, ending the inning.

The A’s, who pounded out 15 hits, pulled away with eight runs over the final four innings, with Kurtz driving in four, Gelof hitting a solo homer in the seventh and Rooker a two-run shot in the eighth.

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Kelsey Plum scores 28 points, but Sparks lose to Tempo

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.

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.

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UCLA senior Megan Grant breaks NCAA home-run record, but Bruins lose

UCLA senior Megan Grant continues to etch her name into NCAA record books.

Grant hit her 38th home run of the season during a Big Ten tournament title game loss to Nebraska on Saturday, breaking the NCAA Division I record set in 1995 by Arizona’s Lauren Espinoza.

As a team, UCLA pushed its NCAA record single-season team home run total to 182.

After Grant’s historic bomb in the third inning off Big Ten pitcher of the year Jordy Frahm gave UCLA a 2-0 lead, the Bruins’ (47-8) offense sputtered and Nebraska (46-6) rolled to a 7-2 victory.

UCLA will learn its NCAA tournament matchup when the the softball bracket is revealed at 4 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2. The Bruins are expected to host an NCAA Regional and Super Regional should they advance.

Grant and Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells have hit homers at a blistering pace and are battling to close the season with the NCAA home run title. Wells has 36 home runs, two behind Grant. Her team was eliminated from the Southeastern Conference tournament Friday, but she can add to her tally when the loaded Sooners compete in the NCAA tournament.

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Lakers get Austin Reaves back, but still lose Game 5 to Rockets

Lakers lose to Rockets

From Broderick Turner: An hour before tip-off of Game 5 of the first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, the word came down that Austin Reaves was available to play for the Lakers, his wait over, his time away with a Grade 2 left oblique strain no longer an issue for him.

Reaves missed the first four games of the series against Houston and the last five regular-season games after sustaining the injury in Oklahoma
City on April 2. He checked into the game off the bench with 5 minutes and 39 seconds left in the first quarter to a standing ovation.

Reaves proceeded to give the Lakers a lift, but the Rockets received even more elevated play , their five starters scoring in double figures and their defense on point during Houston’s 99-93 win over Los Angeles on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Even with Reaves scoring 22 points and handing out six assists and LeBron James producing 25 points and seven assists, the Lakers couldn’t close out this best-of-seven series they once had total command of just a few days ago.

The Lakers have lost the last two games and their once 3-0 lead heading to Houston with their lead down to 3-2.

“I mean, we don’t have a lot of time to dwell on it,” James said. “I mean, you can give yourself tonight, a little bit tomorrow. But … once we get on that plane and head down to Houston we got to forget about it and understand what we are going for and it’s going to be even harder.

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Lakers box score

NBA playoffs schedule

Go beyond the scoreboard

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Lakers playoff schedule

First round
All times Pacific

at Lakers 107, Houston 98 (box score)
at Lakers 101, Houston 94 (box score)
Lakers 112, at Houston 108 (box score)
at Houston 115, Lakers 96 (box score)
Houston 99, at Lakers 93 (box score)
Friday: Lakers at Houston, 6:30 p.m., Prime Video
*Sunday: Houston at Lakers, TBD

*-if necessary

Dodgers lose to Marlins again

From Kevin Baxter: Wednesday was getaway day for Dodgers, the final game of a six-game homestand ahead of a weeklong trip to St. Louis and Houston. And that’s a good thing, first baseman Freddie Freeman said, because there are a number of players on the team that really could use a getaway, Freeman chief among them.

With Wednesday’s 3-2 matinee loss to the Miami Marlins, the Dodgers (20-11) have lost two in a row at home for the first time this season. In those two games the Dodgers scored just three runs, went four for 18 with men in scoring position and left 16 runners on base.

And the final outs Wednesday came when Freeman, batting with the bases loaded and one out, grounded into a bizarre, unassisted double play with Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards fielding the ball, tagging Shohei Ohtani as he ran him back to first, then dragging his foot across the bag to retire Freeman.

“I hit it right at the second baseman. He tagged Ohtani and tagged first,” Freeman offered in an accurate, if hardly revelatory explanation.

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Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels lose to White Sox again

Rookie Sam Antonacci hit a tying triple with two outs in the ninth inning and Colson Montgomery had a winning single in the 10th, lifting the Chicago White Sox to a 3-2 victory Wednesday for a three-game sweep that extended the Angels’ losing streak to six.

Mike Trout hit his 10th home run of the season for the Angels, who have lost 10 of 11 and dropped to 12-20. Additionally, Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi left after two innings with left shoulder tightness.

Kikuchi gave up no runs on two hits and a walk with one strikeout before exiting. His average fastball velocity dropped from 94.9 mph in the first inning to 92.8 mph in the second.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

Who is the Kentucky Derby favorite?

From Jay Posner: This year’s Kentucky Derby field does not appear to have a true standout. But it could have a star.

If that sounds illogical, trainer Chad Brown, who will start Emerging Market in a bid to win his first Derby, can explain.

“There’s clearly a couple horses that are deserving favorites in the race, but there’s by no means an American Pharoah in here, at least up to this point going into the race,” Brown said, referencing the 2015 Triple Crown champion. “Now, you know, whoever wins the race and goes on, maybe one emerges and turns into one of the best 3-year-olds in the last few years.”

That’s what happened last year, when Sovereignty, the third betting choice in the race, progressed from a Derby win to victories in the Belmont and Travers and was voted Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year.

This year’s field is so deep, Brown said, that an argument could be made “for maybe half the horses in the field, if they ran their very, very best race and had a good trip, could win this race.”

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Sparks to retire a number

From Marisa Ingemi: The Sparks will retire former player DeLisha Milton-Jones’ No. 8 jersey on July 28 when the team hosts the New York Liberty as a part of the WNBA’s 30th anniversary celebration.

A three-time All-Star, Milton-Jones played 11 years for the Sparks, helping lead them to back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002.

“It’s like one of those moments where it’s Christmas, and you’re anticipating getting a gift and when the day finally is here, that feeling you can’t even describe is rather euphoric and nostalgic all at the same time, and it brings a peace about you in a way that you can’t explain,” Milton-Jones said. “Because you put so much time, energy and effort into everything that you did in that moment in your life, and now to be rewarded in this manner is just pretty big.”

Milton-Jones will be the fourth Sparks player to have her number retired after Lisa Leslie (No. 9), Penny Toler (No. 11) and Candace Parker (No. 3).

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NCAA men’s tournament could expand

From Steve Henson: Ever-growing power conferences are the driving force behind an impending expansion of the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, which ESPN reported could be formalized within weeks and begin next season.

The field would grow from 68 teams to 76 that would include eight additional at-large teams in each tournament. The current First Four — eight teams playing four games — would expand to 12 games played by 24 teams at two sites on the first Tuesday and Wednesday of the tournament. The traditional 64-team bracket would begin Thursday as usual.

Mid-majors likely are tempering any celebration. The change might not mean more invitations to the Big Dance for underdogs because the NCAA and its media partners favor large, established schools with large, established fan bases for viewership and revenue.

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Ducks playoffs schedule

All times Pacific

at Edmonton 4, Ducks 3 (summary)
Ducks 6, at Edmonton 4 (summary)
at Ducks 7, Edmonton 4 (summary)
at Ducks 4, Edmonton 3 (OT) (summary)
at Edmonton 4, Ducks 1 (summary)
Thursday: Edmonton at Ducks, 7 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max, KCOP-13
*Saturday: Ducks at Edmonton, TBD

*-if necessary

This day in sports history

1961 — LPGA Titleholders Championship Women’s Golf, Augusta CC: Mickey Wright wins her 5th major title by 1 stroke from Patty Berg & Louise Suggs.

1962 — LPGA Titleholders Championship Women’s Golf, Augusta CC: Mickey Wright wins her 8th major title in a playoff with Ruth Jessen.

1971 — The Milwaukee Bucks become the second team to register a four-game sweep in the NBA championship, beating the Baltimore Bullets 118-106.

1975 — Larry O’Brien is named the NBA’s third commissioner, following J. Walter Kennedy (1963-75) and Maurice Podoloff (1946-63). O’Brien holds the position until 1984.

1976 — Muhammad Ali wins a unanimous 15-round decision over Jimmy Young in Landover, Md., to retain his world heavyweight title.

1985 — NFL Draft: Virginia Tech defensive end Bruce Smith first pick by Buffalo Bills.

1987 — NY Islander Mike Bossy plays his final game.

1992 — The Red Wings and Canucks become the ninth and 10th teams in NHL history to rebound from 3-1 deficits to win playoff series. Detroit beats the Minnesota North Stars 5-2 in the Norris Division, while Vancouver defeats the Winnipeg Jets 5-0 in the Smythe Division.

1993 — Top-ranked Monica Seles is stabbed during a changeover in Hamburg, Germany. Guenter Parche, 38, reaches over a courtside railing and knifes Seles in the back. She has an inch-deep slit between her shoulder blades and missed the remainder of the 1993 season.

2005 — James Toney outpoints John Ruiz to win the WBA heavyweight title in New York. Toney, a former champion at three other weights, wins his third heavyweight bout, becoming the third one-time middleweight champion to take boxing’s top crown.

2010 — Tiger Woods matches the worst nine-hole score of his PGA Tour career and winds up with a 7-over 79 to miss the cut at the Quail Hollow Championship. Woods finishes at 9-over 153, the highest 36-hole total of his career. It’s the sixth time in his 14-year career he misses a cut.

2012 — Manchester City defeat Manchester United 1-0 in what is claimed to be the biggest match in the English Premier League’s history.

2014 — Anze Kopitar scores the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and Jonathan Quick makes 39 saves to cap the Kings’ comeback from three games down with a 5-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 of the first round. This is the fourth time an NHL team won a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games.

2015 — For the first time in 51 years, the NFL draft returns to Chicago. Florida State’s Jameis Winston is selected by Tampa Bay as the first selection.

2023 — Seattle Kraken become first NHL franchise to earn its first-ever playoff series win against reigning Stanley Cup champion, eliminating the Colorado Avalanche in seven games.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1903 — The New York Highlanders won their home opener at Hilltop Park, 6-2 over Washington.

1919 — Philadelphia’s Joe Oeschger and Brooklyn’s Burleigh Grimes pitched complete games in a 9-9, 20-inning tie. Both teams scored three runs in the 19th inning. Oeschger gave up 22 hits and walked five, while Grimes allowed 15 hits and walked five.

1922 — Charlie Robertson of the Chicago White Sox pitched a 2-0 perfect game against the Detroit Tigers. Johnny Mostil, playing left field for the only time, made two outstanding catches.

1923 — The New York Yankees sign 20-year-old prospect Lou Gehrig to a contract paying him a salary of $2,000 and a bonus of $1,500.

1940 — James “Tex” Carleton of the Brooklyn Dodgers threw a 3-0 no-hitter at Cincinnati.

1944 — In the first game of a doubleheader split, New York first baseman Phil Weintraub drove in 11 runs and player-manager Mel Ott scored six runs as the Giants beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 26-8. Brooklyn won the nightcap 5-4.

1946 — Bob Feller struck out 11 New York Yankees en route to his second of three career no-hitters, a 1-0 victory at Yankee Stadium.

1952 — Ted Williams plays his final game before leaving for military duty in Korea.

1958 —Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox became the 10th major leaguer to reach 1,000 extra-base hits in a 10-4 loss to the Kansas City Athletics at Fenway Park.

1961 — Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants hit four home runs and drove in eight runs in a 14-4 victory over the Braves in Milwaukee. Hank Aaron hit two homers for the Braves.

1967 — Steve Barber and Stu Miller of the Baltimore Orioles combined on a no-hitter in a 2-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers in the first game of a doubleheader.

1969 — Jim Maloney of the Cincinnati Reds struck out 13 en route to a 10-0 no-hitter over the Houston Astros, the third of his career.

1986 — The Seattle Mariners strike out 16 more times in a 9-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox, to set a major league record of 36 strikeouts in two consecutive games.

1988 — New York and Cincinnati hooked up in a wild game at Riverfront Stadium, with the Mets winning 6-5 on a delayed call by first base umpire Dave Pallone. The call resulted in a $10,000 fine and 30-day suspension of Reds manager Pete Rose when Pallone accidentally poked Rose in the cheek and Rose shoved Pallone twice.

1994 — Toronto’s Joe Carter finished April with 31 RBIs to set a major league record for the month. Colorado’s Andres Galarraga finished with 30 to set a National League record.

1996 — Jeff King of the Pittsburgh Pirates becomes the third major leaguer to hit two home runs in one inning twice in his career.

2000 — Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks defeats the Chicago Cubs, 6-0, as he becomes only the third pitcher in major league history to win six games in April.

2002 — Al Leiter cruised through seven three-hit innings in the New York Mets’ 10-1 rout of Arizona to become the first pitcher to beat all 30 teams in the majors.

2005 — Major league players are asked by Commissioner Bud Selig to agree to a 50-game suspension for the first offense, a 100-game suspension for the second offense and a lifelong ban after the third offense for the use of steroids.

2008 — Julio Franco announces his retirement as a player at age 49.

2012 — Ryan Braun hit three homers and a two-run triple in Milwaukee’s 8-3 win over San Diego. No player had hit three homers and a triple in a game since Fred Lynn in 1975.

2017 — Anthony Rendon had 10 RBIs, three home runs and six hits, powering the Washington Nationals past the New York Mets 23-5. Rendon went a career-best 6 for 6 and scored five times.

2019 — CC Sabathia becomes the 17th pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts.

2020 — The latest event to be cancelled due to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic is the annual Little League World Series.

2022 — Clayton Kershaw becomes the Dodgers’ all-time franchise leader for strikeouts when he fans Spencer Torkelson of the Tigers in the 4th inning. With 2,697 strikeouts, he moves past Hall of Famer Don Sutton.

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.

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José Soriano’s scoreless innings streak ends as Angels lose to White Sox

Drew Romo hit the first two home runs of his career as the Chicago White Sox beat the Angels 5-2 on Tuesday night. It was the fifth loss in a row for the Angels.

Colson Montgomery homered in the second off Angels starter José Soriano (5-1), ending his shutout streak at 25 2/3 innings. The right-hander gave up three runs and six hits over five innings, raising his major league-leading ERA from 0.24 to 0.84.

Davis Martin (4-1) outpitched Soriano, giving up one run and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Martin struck out seven and walked one.

Sean Newcomb fanned three in 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Seranthony Domínguez worked a hitless ninth for his seventh save.

Josh Lowe homered for the Angels, and Jo Adell had an RBI single.

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Angels can’t hang on to lead again and lose fourth in a row

Munetaka Murakami hit a three-run homer in a big seventh-inning rally, and the Chicago White Sox held off the slumping Angels for an 8-7 win Monday night.

Andrew Benintendi had three RBIs as Chicago improved to 6-4 in its last 10 games. Former Dodger Miguel Vargas hit a solo drive, and Tristan Peters had two hits and scored two runs.

Jorge Soler hit a solo homer for the Angels in the rain-delayed opener of a three-game series. Mike Trout had two hits and scored twice.

The Angels blew a 5-1 lead in their fourth consecutive loss and eighth in nine games overall. They had a 6-0 lead Sunday at Kansas City and lost 11-9 when Lane Thomas hit a three-run homer for the Royals in the 10th inning.

The White Sox sent 10 batters to the plate while scoring seven times in the seventh. It was their biggest inning of the season.

Benintendi’s two-run double off Nick Sandlin (0-1) trimmed the Angels’ lead to one. Murakami then greeted Drew Pomeranz with a drive to right-center for his major league-best 12th homer. Vargas followed Murakami with another homer for an 8-5 lead.

The 26-year-old Murakami, a rookie slugger from Japan, is batting .349 (15 for 43) with seven homers and 14 RBIs in his past 10 games.

Osvaldo Bido (2-0) pitched three innings of one-run ball for the win.

Soler and Nolan Schanuel each drove in a run in the ninth against Grant Taylor before Bryan Hudson retired Adam Frazier on a bouncer to second, stranding runners at second and third. It was Hudson’s first career save.

The start was delayed three hours as rain and thunderstorms rolled over Rate Field.

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Premier League in Europe: Could a club lose their European place once again?

Last year, Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis placed the club into a blind trust in case they qualified for the Champions League.

That could have presented a conflict with his other club, Olympiakos.

With Forest in the semi-finals of the Europa League, once again they have a chance of being in the Champions League. And Olympiakos look like being in it too.

In a blind trust, relevant parties transfer their shares to independent trustees, whereby all the decision-making of the club will rest solely under the control of the third party.

The club are controlled through a company called NF Football Investments.

Until 28 February, Marinakis was the only person with significant control.

He was removed and it was passed to another company, Pittville Four Limited, controlled by Janet Lucy Gibson, Henry Peter Hickman and Eleanor Catherine Walsh.

Those three independent trustees were also added to the football club’s board, replacing Mighael Dugher, Simon Forster and Jonathan Owen.

Forest’s problem could be that the new additions had to pass the Premier League’s owners and directors test.

It was not until 17 April that Companies House was updated.

The Premier League’s register of directors, last updated on 2 April, still lists Marinakis, Dugher, Forster and Owen.

Will the lodging of the blind trust on 28 February be enough? Or would Uefa consider 17 April to be date the club were compliant?

Forest are adamant that control was officially relinquished by Marinakis on 28 February and they will have no issue with Uefa.

Two years ago, the CFCB accepted a blind trust to admit Manchester City and Girona to the Champions League, and Manchester United and Nice to the Europa League, satisfied that multi-cub ownership issues had been resolved.

However, at the time it stated that it “will not be bound by this alternative in subsequent seasons”.

Until the CFCB makes another ruling on a blind trust, there is no absolute certainty it would be accepted.

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Kings lose again to Avalanche, who take commanding 3-0 series lead

The Colorado Avalanche rode swagger, poise and the league’s stingiest goaltender to the best record in the NHL this season. And nothing about that formula has changed in the postseason, with goals from Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar, Artturi Lehkonen and Brock Nelson giving Colorado a 4-2 win Thursday over the Kings and a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

The Kings, who have lost their last six first-round playoff series, need a victory at home Sunday to extend their season. Their goals in Game 3 came from Trevor Moore in the second period and Adrian Kempe on a third-period power play.

“They’re best team in the league for a reason. But we’re right there,” forward Quinton Byfield said. “We’re a confident group.”

“One game at home. Must-win game,” defenseman Drew Doughty added. “Everyone’s going to give everything they’ve got. We’ve got to win that one, and then hopefully get to go back to Denver.”

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews celebrates a goal by defenseman Cale Makar.

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews celebrates a goal by defenseman Cale Makar on Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg during the second period of Game 3 Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The difference in the series has been Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood, who was nearly perfect again, making 24 saves to place the Kings 60 minutes away from the offseason.

Anton Forsberg, playing in the postseason for the first time, has been almost as good in goal for the Kings, though he was victimized by two fluke goals and an empty-netter.

“Both goalies in the series have been unbelievable,” Kings coach D.J. Smith said. “Give Wedgewood credit. This guy looks like he’s putting his name on the circuit as a big-time goalie.”

The Avalanche, who certainly haven’t needed many lucky breaks in this series, got one early in the first period when Landeskog spun and launched a wild wrister from the blue line that went well wide of the net, only to have the puck carom off the end boards and into the net off Forsberg’s right skate blade.

The goal was the second in as many games for the Colorado captain.

The Kings then got their own break six minutes into the second period when Alex Laferriere jumped Brett Kulak’s clearing pass in the neutral jump and fed Byfield, whose pass into the crease struck Moore’s leg and ricocheted past Wedgewood to tie the score.

Colorado defenseman Devon Toews reaches for the puck against Kings right wing Quinton Byfield in the first period.

Colorado defenseman Devon Toews reaches for the puck against Kings right wing Quinton Byfield in the first period.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Colorado needed less than seven minutes to get the lead back, with Makar getting the puck along the boards on the left wing, skating into space at the point, then zipping a wrist shot through heavy traffic and just under the crossbar.

The Avalanche then increased the advantage 7:39 in the final period after Kempe fanned a shot from the point. Lehkonen collected the loose puck and took it the length of the ice before deflecting a centering pass off Kempe’s skate and by Forsberg for a short-handed goal, his second score of the series.

That appeared to put the game away, but after the Kings pulled Forsberg for an extra attacker, Kempe halved the deficit on a tip-in with 4:02 to play. But then Nelson forced a turnover and scored into the empty net with 2:18 left.

The six goals combined matched the total number from the first two games in Colorado.

“We’ve got to keep doing a lot of the things that we are doing,” Doughty said. “Obviously, we got to clean up giving up some of these chances that we’re giving up.”

Kings goalie Anton Forsberg covers the puck as Colorado left wing Gabriel Landeskog battles for it in the second period.

Kings goalie Anton Forsberg covers the puck as Colorado left wing Gabriel Landeskog battles for it in the second period.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Kings’ penalty kill, which ranked 30th in the 32-team league during the regular season, has been brilliant against the Avalanche, turning back all nine Colorado power plays. That, plus stellar play for Forsberg in goal, has frustrated the NHL’s top-scoring team.

But against Wedgewood, the Kings have mustered little offense, scoring just four goals in the series — three times on the power play and once off Moore’s leg.

“We’d like to get more than two goals. Against this team, I don’t think it’s enough,” Doughty said. “I don’t think we’re creating enough grade-A chances on Wedgewood. He has played well, so for us to beat them, we’ve got to wear them down in the D-zone, make them tired and score goals that way. And we haven’t done that enough.”

They’re guaranteed just one more chance to turn that around.

“There’s no quit in there,” Smith said of the Kings’ locker room. “And I think you’ll see our best game. To a man, we want to give them a real good outing and push this series back to Colorado.”

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