loss

The Rams have lost four games this season, three resulting in part from special teams breakdowns.

In the aftermath of their defeat by the Seattle Seahawks, coach Sean McVay made a significant move.

Chase Blackburn, the Rams’ special teams coordinator for the last three seasons, has been fired, a team official said Saturday.

Assistant Ben Kotwica remains on the staff.

Earlier this month, Blackburn said, “The job of a special teams coach is to be able to adapt and overcome on all things.”

That proved a challenge for a team that features a high-powered offense, and an at-times dominating defense.

On Thursday night in Seattle, the Rams led by 16 points in the fourth quarter when they allowed Rashid Shaheed to return a punt 58 yards for a touchdown. The play sparked the Seahawks’ comeback that sent the Rams to a 38-37 overtime defeat.

The loss dropped the Rams’ record to 11-4, and knocked them out of the No. 1 seed in the NFC and first place in the NFC West.

The breakdown was the latest in a series of special teams issues that have plagued the Rams.

In September at Philadelphia, the Eagles blocked two field-goal attempts by Joshua Karty, returning the second for a winning touchdown on the final play of regulation.

Two weeks later, in a 26-23 overtime defeat by the San Francisco 49ers, Karty missed a long field-goal attempt and had an extra-point attempt blocked. Karty’s kickoff in overtime did not reach the landing zone, giving the 49ers the ball at the 40-yard line.

Before their Week 10 game against the 49ers, the Rams signed kicker Harrison Mevis to replace Karty and signed veteran snapper Jake McQuaide to replace Alex Ward.

The kicking game solidified. Mevis made all eight of his field-goal attempts, including three against the Seahawks, before he missed a 48-yard attempt with just over two minutes left in regulation.

The Rams, who clinched a playoff spot, play the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 29 in Atlanta and then conclude the regular season at home against the Arizona Cardinals.

Jason Robertson had two goals and an assist and the Dallas Stars beat the Ducks 8-3 on Friday night for their third straight win.

Roope Hintz and Thomas Harley each had a goal and an assist, and Oskar Bäck, Sam Steel, Ilya Lybushkin and Adam Erne also scored for the Stars. who are an NHL-best 13-2-4 on the road. Mikko Rantanen and Miro Heiskanen each had two assists, and Casey DeSmith had 23 saves.

Ryan Poehling, Beckett Sennecke and Mikael Granlund scored for the Ducks, who have lost four of five. Lukas Dostal gave up four goals on seven shots before he was pulled with 5:41 left in the first period. Petr Mrazek came on and stopped 14 of the 18 shots he faced the rest of the way.

The Stars’ eight-goal output tied a season high, matching their 8-3 win at Edmonton on Nov. 25, and was the most the Ducks have given up this season.

Bäck gave the Stars a 1-0 lead with a shorthanded goal 2:37 into the game after the Ducks turned the puck over behind their net.

Poehling tied it 55 seconds later, scoring in close on the rebound of a point shot by Radko Gudas.

Hintz put Dallas back ahead at 4:42, getting a pass from Robertson in the slot, sliding backward and firing a shot past Dostal for his 11th.

Steel pushed the Stars’ lead to 3-1 with 7:19 left in the first, scoring past Dostal while crashing into the net and dislodging it. The goal was confirmed after a review.

Harley made it a three-goal lead 1:38 later as he got a pass from Rantanen and scored from the right circle.

Robertson scored in front on a power play with 8:50 remaining in the second, and then put a backhander past Mrazek from the right circle four minutes later to make it 6-1. It gave Robertson a team-leading 22 goals.

Erne made it a six-goal lead with 1:30 left in the middle period.

After Sennecke pulled the Ducks back within five 1:01 into the third, Lybushkin got his first of the season 41 seconds later to extend the Stars’ lead to 8-2. Granlund capped the scoring with 5:38 remaining.

A coalition of Eaton fire survivors and community groups called on Southern California Edison on Tuesday to provide immediate housing assistance to the thousands of people who lost their homes in the Jan. 7 wildfire.

The coalition says an increasing number of Altadena residents are running out of insurance coverage that had been paying for their housing since they were displaced by the fire. Thousands of other residents had no insurance.

“When a company’s fire destroys or contaminates homes, that company has a responsibility to keep families housed until they can get back home,” said Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network, one of the coalition members asking Edison for emergency assistance of up to $200,000 for each family.

At the coalition’s press conference, Altadena residents spoke of trying to find a place to live after the Jan. 7 fire that killed at least 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 homes, apartments and other structures. Thousands of other homes were damaged by smoke and ash.

Gabriel Gonzalez, center, an Eaton Fire survivor, shown with Joy Chen, Executive Director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network (EFSN), left, and other survivors at a press conference in Altadena. They urged Southern California Edison to provide urgent housing relief to keep Eaton Fire families housed this winter.

(Gary Coronado/For The Times)

Gabriel Gonzalez said he had been living in his car for most of the last year.

Before the fire, Gonzalez had a successful plumbing company with six employees, he said. He had moved into an apartment in Altadena just a month before the fire and lost $80,000 worth of tools when the building was destroyed.

His insurance did not cover the loss, Gonzalez said, and he lost his business.

Edison is now offering to directly pay fire victims for their losses if they give up their right to file a lawsuit against the utility.

But members of the coalition say Edison’s program is forcing victims who are most desperate for financial support to give up their legal right to fair compensation.

Andrew Wessels, Strategy Director for the Eaton Fire Survivors Network, speaks about Edison’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Plan (WRCP).

(Gary Coronado/For The Times)

“If families are pushed to give up what they are owed just to survive, the recovery will never have the funds required to rebuild homes, restore livelihoods or stabilize the community,” said Andrew Wessels. He said he and his family had lived in 12 different places since the fire left ash contaminated with lead on and in their home.

In an interview Tuesday, Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, the utility’s parent company, said the company would not provide money to victims without them agreeing to drop any litigation against the company for the fire.

“I can’t even pretend to understand the challenges victims are going through,” Pizarro said.

He said the company created its Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program to get money to victims much faster than if they filed a lawsuit and waited for a settlement.

“We want to help the community rebuild as quickly as possible,” he said.

Pizarro said Edison made its first payment to a victim within 45 days of the compensation program launching on Oct. 29. So far, he said, the company has received more than 1,500 claims.

Edison created the compensation program even though the official investigation into the cause of the fire hasn’t been released.

The company has said a leading theory is that its century-old transmission line in Eaton Canyon, which it last used in 1971, briefly became energized from the live lines running parallel to it, sparking the fire.

The program offers to reimburse victims for their losses and provides additional sums for pain and suffering. It also gives victims a bonus for agreeing to settle their claim outside of court.

Pizarro said the program is voluntary and if victims don’t like the offer they receive from Edison, they can continue their claims in court.

Edison has told its investors that it believes it will be reimbursed for all of its payments to victims and lawsuit settlements by $1 billion in customer-paid insurance and a $21 billion state wildfire fund.

Zaire Calvin, of Altadena, a survivor who has lost his home and other properties, speaks.

(Gary Coronado/For The Times)

Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers created the wildfire fund in 2019 to protect utilities from bankruptcy if their electric wires cause a disastrous wildfire.

State officials say the fund could be wiped out by Eaton fire damages. While the first $21 billion was contributed half by customers of the state’s three biggest for-profit utilities and half by the companies’ shareholders, any additional damage claims from the Jan. 7 fire will be paid by Edison customers, according to legislation passed in September.

Some Altadena residents say Edison’s compensation program doesn’t pay them fully for their losses.

Damon Blount said that he and his wife had just renovated their home before it was destroyed in the fire. They don’t believe Edison’s offer would be enough to cover that work.

Blount said he “felt betrayed” by the utility.

“They literally took everything away from us,” Blount said. “Do the right thing, Edison. We want to be home.”

At the press conference, fire victims pointed out that Edison reported nearly $1.3 billion in profits last year, up from $1.2 billion in 2023.

Last week, Edison International said it was increasing the dividend it pays to its shareholders by 6% because of its strong financial performance.

“Their stock is rising,” said Zaire Calvin, one of the Altadena residents calling on Edison for emergency relief. Calvin lost his home and his sister died in the fire. “They will not pay a penny when this is over.”

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

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

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

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

On Sunday night, USC women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb, who is a Brown alumnus, got emotional addressing the shooting after her team’s loss to No. 1 Connecticut.

Gottlieb said that a former teammate of hers had a daughter still hiding from the gunman in the basement of a library at the time of Sunday afternoon’s game.

“It doesn’t need to be this way,” she said. “Sending thoughts and prayers to my teammates who have kids there. To the parents that have to worry about their children, I’m just going to end it with that, but just to say we’re the only country that lives this way.”

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

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

DeSmith made 27 saves and is 8-0-3 after losing his first start of the season, matching Ed Belfour’s 8-0-3 run during the 1998-99 season.

Andrei Kuzmenko scored an unassisted five-on-three goal for the Kings, who have lost their last three games and five of seven.

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

L.A. was also without Quinton Byfield and Phillip Danault because of illness.

Duchene’s redirection at the net tied the score 1-1 late in the second period and was his first point in five games since missing 24 games following a concussion in mid-October.

Duchene’s goal came about four minutes after Kuzmenko opened the scoring.

Rantanen skated with the puck from Dallas’ defensive zone and gave Dallas a 3-1 lead with 3:49 to play. Johnston added an empty-netter in the final minute.

Kuemper left after the hit from Rantanen, who skated into the crease with the puck while manned by Brian Dumoulin. Johnston scored seconds after the collision, but the play was ruled goalie interference. Kuemper was soon led off the ice, having made five saves.

Four of Kuzmenko’s five goals this season are power-play goals on a team whose power play ranks last in the NHL at 14.7%.

An MRI has confirmed that Green Bay Packers star edge rusher Micah Parsons suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a non-contact play Sunday against the Denver Broncos, according to multiple media sources.

Parsons, a four-time Pro Bowl selection who was acquired from the Dallas Cowboys in August, will miss the rest of the season.

“I may be sidelined, but I am not defeated,” Parsons wrote Monday on X. “This injury is my greatest test—a moment God allowed to strengthen my testimony. I believe He walks with me through this storm and chose me for this fight because He knew my heart could carry it.

“I’m deeply grateful to the Packers organization and my teammates for their unwavering support, love, and belief in me during this season. I trust His timing, His plan, and His purpose. I will rise again.”

During the third quarter of Green Bay’s 34-26 loss to the Broncos, Parsons was chasing Denver quarterback Bo Nix when he suddenly pulled up and fell down. Asked after the game about the possibility that Parsons tore an ACL, coach Matt LaFleur simply said: “It doesn’t look good. I’ll leave it at that.”

The loss dropped Green Bay (9-4-1) from the top of the NFC West to the No. 7 spot in the NFC playoff standings. The Packers have a key divisional matchup with the Chicago Bears (10-4) on Saturday.

Parsons spent his first four seasons with the Cowboys but requested a trade during a contract dispute. The Packers acquired him on Aug. 28, sending Dallas their first-round picks for 2026 and 2027 as well as veteran defensive lineman Kenny Clark.

He finishes the season with 12.5 sacks.

Parsons was the second major NFL star to tear an ACL on Sunday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered the same injury to the same knee during a 16-13 loss to the Chargers.

Cameron Menzies angrily punched a drinks table after a five-set defeat by highly rated Charlie Manby in the first round of the PDC World Championship.

The 26th seed from Scotland hit the underside of the table three times before holding his hand up in apology to the Alexandra Palace crowd as he left the stage.

Menzies, 36, was pictured with blood pouring from a gash on his right hand.

He had led 1-0 and 2-1 in sets before 20-year-old English debutant Manby fought back and clinched victory with his seventh match dart.

Former Premier League champion Glen Durrant – commentating on the subsequent match for Sky Sports – said: “Charlie Manby is a superstar in the making. Sometimes you can build a player up at 20 years old. We thought it was going to be the match of the afternoon and it delivered.

“But it wasn’t the ending we all want to see. For Cameron Menzies, I think he will regret that for the rest of his life. It was not a good watch.”

Co-commentator Stuart Pyke added: “I agree, [it was] an extraordinary reaction but we saw him walking off stage and he did put up his hand in apology. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing.

Players can be sanctioned under Darts Regulation Authority rules for aggressive, disruptive or abusive behaviour.

It is the second year running that Menzies has been knocked out in the first round after he broke down in tears during and following his exit to Leonard Gates last December.

Menzies later revealed his father Ricky had been ill in hospital at the time, and spoke before this tournament, external about the recent death of his uncle.

EXCLUSIVE: Countryfile and Good Morning Britain presenter Sean Fletcher got emotional as he opened up about losing his mum to bowel cancer eight years ago and running the London Marathon in her memory

Sean Fletcher, known for his roles on Countryfile and Good Morning Britain, has candidly discussed the loss of his mother to cancer and his ongoing efforts to raise awareness about the devastating disease. Besides being a TV presenter and father, Sean is also an avid outdoorsman and runner.

The Countryfile host has recently partnered with GO Outdoors and is now the face of their AW collection. Discussing the new range and the positive impact of outdoor activities on his mental health, Sean said, “So I suppose quite a few of the programmes I do are outdoors, so that’s the first thing, and so, it is either you’re doing some activity outdoors, or meeting people who work and live outdoors.”

He added, “So, it’s a real dream job, because you’re meeting people who are doing something on the land. They do something outside. It might be a farmer, it might be some activities, a person who jumps off cliffs, or something like that, and they’re really passionate about something they do outdoors.”

Sean continued, “I came to this conclusion a long time ago, but it’s just so nourishing. It’s really great for your mental well-being, and personally, I feel that going out recharges my batteries. Whether you’re in a London park or in a place like that, in the middle of nowhere, and you’re being battered by the weather. I just feel really nourished, and I feel better, and I always feel better about being outdoors.

“So, yeah, working with GO Outdoors really makes sense, and then we talk about the growing mental health crisis, and obviously, there are serious mental health issues, but there are people who are struggling on a lower level and going out to these things that are all of ours. It’s all of our countryside,” reports the Express.

The BBC presenter continued, “I just feel really passionate about whether you’re the pensioner who lives in a nice village in the Cotswolds, or you’re a kid from a disadvantaged background in Manchester, it’s all of ours, and it should be accessible to all of us. And part of that is clothing, making it accessible so you can participate in those things.

“They all sort of tie in and kind of by accident, you know, I’ve got into doing some of these things in my work, and I realised that the outdoors was good for me, and then I thought, ‘Oh, actually, it’s good for everyone’, and then I’m working with GO Outdoors because clothing is an important part of that.”

Sean discussed some of his go-to pieces from the range, highlighting a Peter Storm 3-in-1 jacket, whilst emphasising that “layers are important”.

The journalist, who is also an avid runner, spoke candidly about losing his mother to cancer and completing the London Marathon in her honour. The GO Outdoors ambassador revealed he was approached by a GMB producer to participate in the London Marathon for the programme, and despite initial hesitation, Sean described it as the best thing he had ever done.

He revealed: “So my mum had died of bowel cancer eight years before, and so I was an ambassador for Bowel Cancer UK, and it’s emotional, it’s hard, it’s really hard. But I remember I was crying, and what’s so good about the London Marathon is that there are just so many people supporting you.

“Everybody you look at, they’re running for someone who’s died, or someone’s struggling, or a charity that they’re raising money for. It’s just such a feel-good event, and it was amazing, so I ran around four in a row.”

Reflecting on the moment she died, Sean said, “It was all quite quick. It was eight years before, but she kind of kept it from me, and didn’t tell me that she had bowel cancer. And I lived in Wales, and she lived in East Essex, so quite a long way to get to. It took five hours, so I’d have to arrange trips to come and see her.

“She masked it quite well and made sure she was in the hospital, and then I remember visiting her once when she was ill, and she was in the hospital. I went to the ward, and I remember just looking around, thinking, like, ‘gosh, everybody looks very ill’.

“You know, it looked like everybody was very close to death, and so I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ I mean, I’m a journalist. I was like, ‘Well, I’ve got to ask some questions. ‘ So I asked the doctor, and they said, ‘Well, you need to ask your mum, she needs to be the one to tell you’.

“So anyway, I thought, oh, there’s something wrong here. So I quizzed them all, and managed to find out, and three and a half weeks later, she was dead.”

Sean started to become emotional as he recalled, “It was just horrific, and for two of those weeks, I mean, it actually gets me now, those weeks she didn’t talk, so I literally had a week and a half with her because she just spiralled really quickly. It was heartbreaking.”

Sean is a proud ambassador for GO Outdoors, the UK’s largest outdoor retailer. You can shop his autumn-winter collection online or in-store now.

Morgan Frost scored in overtime and Blake Coleman had a short-handed goal in the Calgary Flames’ 2-1 victory over the Kings on Saturday night.

Dustin Wolf made 20 saves for the surging Flames, who have won eight of their last 12 games, with Wolf winning his last four starts.

Frost finished off a three-on-one break from Jonathan Huberdeau at 1:06 of overtime for his eighth goal of the season, and Calgary took advantage of its reprieve after Anze Kopitar’s apparent winner 33 seconds into the extra session was overturned for a kicking motion following a video review.

Adrian Kempe scored for the Kings, and Darcy Kuemper made 36 saves. The Kings played their 14th game decided in overtime or a shootout out of 21 total one-goal contests this season.

The Kings got off to a strong start with Kempe netting his fourth goal in seven games on a one-timer midway through the first period. He has two goals and five points during a four-game streak.

But the Flames responded with a dominant second period, posting a 17-3 advantage in shots and finally breaking through when Coleman picked off Kevin Fiala’s pass and raced the other way on a breakaway before burying a wrist shot from the slot. It was Coleman’s third shorthanded goal of the season and Calgary’s fifth.

Up Next

Kings: At Dallas on Monday night. Flames: At San José on Tuesday night.

SEATTLE — They tried a zone defense. They tried moving Tyler Bilodeau back to center. They double- and triple-teamed in the post. They showed one defense to start a possession, only to shift into another.

Nothing the UCLA Bruins did to combat their lack of rim protection worked for more than a couple of possessions at a time.

And so a coach known for defense had to watch his team get bludgeoned inside once again while giving up an unusually frightening number of easy baskets.

“We just couldn’t get the job done defensively,” Bruins coach Mick Cronin said.

UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau looks to shoot under pressure from Gonzaga guard Adam Miller (23) and center Graham Ike (15) Saturday in Seattle.

(Jason Redmond / Associated Press)

There doesn’t appear to be a quick defensive fix in sight for No. 25 UCLA after it suffered an 82-72 setback against No. 8 Gonzaga on Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena in the West Coast Hoops Showdown, the Bruins faltering late in their final bid to secure a signature nonconference triumph.

UCLA was overmatched inside, the Bulldogs frontcourt tandem of Graham Ike (25 points) and Braden Huff (21 points) finding success at the rim far too often as a result of being able to make left-handed moves that should have come as no surprise.

“Our problem,” Cronin said, “is we can’t follow the scouting report, we don’t play smart.”

It also didn’t help that UCLA’s late-game execution was once again pitiful, point guard Donovan Dent doing too little once he reached the rim thanks to a flurry of missed shots and bad passes.

“I had a couple of silly turnovers that I just can’t have happen,” said Dent, whose 12 points and 10 assists were partially offset by his four turnovers. “Two [turnovers] for layups; we said turnovers for touchdowns are going to kill us.”

UCLA (7-3) lost despite shooting 49% and making seven of 15 three-pointers because the Bulldogs (10-1) shot 50%, took 13 more free throws and grabbed seven more rebounds. Cronin said the free-throw discrepancy came as a result of his team being out of position defensively.

Bilodeau’s 24 points were nothing more than a footnote after his teammates failed to get him the ball in enough favorable positions, particularly when he was being guarded by a smaller defender. UCLA forward Eric Dailey Jr. also developed an overreliance on jump shots while finishing with a quiet six points and five rebounds in 34 minutes.

Early in the second half, one stretch portended a different ending.

UCLA guard Donovan Dent (2) dribbles in front of Gonzaga center Graham Ike, right, and guard Mario Saint-Supéry (17) Saturday in Seattle.

(Jason Redmond / Associated Press)

A faint “U-C-L-A!” chant broke out among the heavily pro-Gonzaga crowd after the Bruins went on a 9-0 run sparked by defense.

A Dent steal led to a Brandon Williams layup in transition, a Dailey steal allowed him to throw down a reverse dunk on the fast break and then a Bilodeau block resulted in a Dent layup.

The Bruins were suddenly up by a point and their defensive woes from earlier in the game were momentarily forgotten.

But soon Bilodeau picked up his third foul and departed, leading to a Gonzaga push in which the Bulldogs outscored the Bruins 10-4 to retake control. Dent said the Bulldogs’ switching into a zone for about three minutes baffled the Bruins’ offense.

Cronin also lamented that Williams — who had been playing some strong post defense off the bench — sprained his ankle and had to depart after only five minutes.

This was a game that UCLA needed to win as an NCAA tournament resume builder given a previous lack of meaningful victories and a relatively bad loss to California. The Bruins’ remaining nonconference games — against Arizona State, Cal Poly and UC Riverside — can do little to boost their prospects, meaning they will need an elite showing in Big Ten play to earn a good seeding come March.

Gonzaga center Graham Ike shoots the ball as UCLA forward Steven Jamerson II defends Saturday in Seattle.

(Jason Redmond / Associated Press)

UCLA went back to an old look in the last few possessions before halftime, putting Bilodeau at center. There seemed like little choice given starting center Xavier Booker’s inability to protect the rim and backup Steven Jamerson’s three fouls that sent him back to the bench.

Bilodeau compounded matters by committing a silly foul near midcourt with only four seconds left before halftime, sending Gonzaga’s Mario Saint-Supery to the free throw line for the points that gave the Bulldogs a 45-40 lead at the game’s midpoint.

“We showed zone, we went man, they’ve got no clue, there’s four seconds, just back up and the guy takes a desperation shot,” Cronin said of what should have transpired on the play. “What are you jumping him for? Like, it’s just basic basketball and we were struggling with it. We’ve got good kids and they’re trying, we’ve just got to play smarter.”

How does Cronin’s team go about doing that?

“Teach, watch film, keep teaching, stay relentless — we’ve got to stay relentless,” he said.

Gonzaga guard Jalen Warley, right, drives as UCLA forward Xavier Booker defends him during the first half Saturday.

(Jason Redmond / Associated Press)

Cronin said it was essential to build a culture of players knowing why they win, something that’s become far more difficult in an era of free agency with constant player movement.

“It’s hard,” Cronin said of forging that culture. “It’s a lot easier if you’ve got more money.”

The Bruins’ bad habits kept them from enjoying more success against Gonzaga after finally breaking through last year, a three-point victory at the Intuit Dome momentarily pushing aside memories of heartbreaking heaves in the NCAA tournament that were part of four consecutive victories by the Bulldogs.

Cronin said he hoped the series would get extended, though that’s probably low on his list of concerns at the moment. At the top is getting back to playing some competent defense.

NEWARK, N.J. — Stefan Noesen, Paul Cotter and Cody Glass each scored to help the New Jersey Devils beat the Ducks 4-1 on Saturday and snap a five-game home losing streak.

New Jersey started the season 9-0-1 on its home ice before losing five straight at the Prudential Center. The Devils’ third line of Cotter, Juho Lammikko and Noesen combined for five points (two goals, three assists).

Troy Terry scored his 10th goal for the Ducks and third in as many games on a breakaway in the first period on an assist from Leo Carlsson for a 1-0 lead. Noesen tied it later in the period with his first goal in 22 games.

Cotter scored in his third straight game, giving New Jersey a 2-1 lead at the 5:52 mark of the second period, assisted by Lammikko and Noesen.
Glass increased the lead to 3-1 late in the period with assists from from Ondrej Palat and Colton White. Connor Brown scored on an empty net late in the game for his seventh goal.

Jake Allen stopped 30 shots for New Jersey for his first win since Nov. 28. Allen had lost three straight.

Lukas Dostal had 18 saves for the Ducks, who failed to convert on four power-play opportunities.

The Devils were without Timo Meier, their top goal-scorer who missed his second straight game because of a family health matter. “We will give him all the time he needs,” coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The Ducks were playing their third game in five nights as part of a five-game road trip.

Up next

Ducks: Visit the New York Rangers on Monday night. Devils: Host Vancouver on Sunday.

Never stop fighting.

That was the Ventura football team’s mindset Friday night at Fullerton High.

The Cougars drove 99 yards in eight plays and scored on a 12-yard pass from Derek Garcia to Tristan Phillips on fourth and goal to pull within a touchdown with 2:40 left, but San Francisco St. Ignatius College Prep recovered the ensuing onside kick and gained a first down to run out the clock and hang on for a 42-35 victory in the CIF state Division 3-AA bowl game.

“You are true competitors,” Derek’s father and head coach Tim Garcia told his dejected players minutes later. “We fought, kept fighting, just came up a little short, but let’s not forget what you guys accomplished. You won the Channel League, you won CIF, you won regionals and are state runner-up.”

Ventura defenders Nathan Radwich and Tristan Phillips tackle San Francisco St. Ignatius College Prep receiver Ty Hicks in the first half Friday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Garcia, who is headed for Nevada Las Vegas, entered the game having thrown for 3,369 yards, 36 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He added to that impressive total by completing 15 of 26 passes for 208 yards and two scores.

James Watson had 10 carries for 152 yards and two touchdowns and Western Colorado-bound receiver Jack Cunningham, who entered with a Ventura Country record 116 catches for 2,041 yards and 26 touchdowns, had seven catches for 67 yards.

St. Ignatius (9-6) finished the season on a seven-game winning streak thanks in large part to senior quarterback Caedon Afsharipour, who threw a touchdown pass and ran for the winning score.

The Cougars (13-3) had their 10-game winning streak snapped. The lead changed hands five times in the first half.

Ventura quarterback Derek Garcia passes against St. Ignatius College Prep on Friday night.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

James Watson scored on runs of 13 and 31 yards on consecutive drives to give Ventura its first lead, 14-7, with 2:33 left in the first quarter.

Steve Malone broke loose for a 44-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter and scored on a 27-yard run to put the Wildcats up 20-14, but the extra point was blocked.

Tristan Savage’s one-yard run capped an eight-play, 69-yard drive that put Ventura back on top, 21-20, but St. Ignatius answered on a 61-yard touchdown run by Luke Tribolet and a two-point pass from Afsharipour to Hawkes Packard to take a 28-21 lead into halftime.

Packard caught a 65-yard touchdown pass to extend the North region winners’ lead to 35-21 on the first play of the second half.

Garcia hit Cunningham in stride for a 31-yard touchdown to pull the Cougars within 35-28 at the 3:49 mark of the third quarter. However, Afsharipour’s 27-yard touchdown scamper pushed the Wildcats’ lead back to two scores early in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve done it before a couple times this season … we’ve battled back and come out on top,” Derek Garcia said as reality set in that his high school career was over. “I tried to stay in the present. I’m done being a Ventura Cougar, but now I look forward to the next chapter.”

England women conceded a late goal to lose 2-1 to Belgium and continue their poor start to the Pro League.

This was England’s third match in this season’s competition and they took a 14th-minute lead with a goal from Darcy Bourne in the match played at the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin.

But they could not hold on to their advantage.

Charlotte Englebert, on her 100th international appearance for Belgium, made it 1-1 in the 42nd minute, before Stephanie Vanden Borre struck a 59th-minute winner.

Belgium are top of the nine-nation competition with three wins out of three. England lost 3-0 to the same side on Tuesday and were then beaten 4-3 in a shootout by Ireland after their encounter had finished 1-1 on Thursday.

England’s next match is on Sunday with a second encounter against Ireland.

In the men’s competition, England did not play on Friday and face Germany on Saturday and Belgium on Sunday.

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

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

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

The Rockets (16-6) outrebounded the Clippers 51-28 and avoided losing back-to-back games for the first time since Oct. 24.

The Clippers had two possessions with a chance to tie the game, but Kawhi Leonard was called for an offensive foul, and Nicolas Batum committed a violation on an inbounds pass.

Sengun led the Rockets with 22 points and 15 rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Jabari Smith Jr. added 18 points.

Kevin Durant scored 13 of his 16 points in the third quarter. He started the game one for seven from the field but knocked down his next four shots.

Ivica Zubac matched a season high with 33 points for the Clippers. He shot 13 for 14 and added seven rebounds.

Leonard scored 24 points in a season-high 41 minutes, and James Harden chipped in 22 points against the team he starred with for more than eight seasons.

For the Clippers (6-19), it’s the third loss in a row and eighth in nine games.

Up next for the Clippers: host Memphis on Monday.

KATIE Price has vowed to give up vaping, despite previously admitting she was addicted to the handheld smoking devices.

The former glamour model, 47, promised to make it her New Year’s resolution after the health scare.

Katie made the revelation on her eponymous podcast after she had shared an x-ray image of damaged lungs to her Instagram stories and the caption, “I have to stop.”

The x-ray of the diseased lungs was accompanied by research findings that showed, “vaping has officially been linked to rare and irreversible lung disease.”

“I saw it [the x-ray]. It’s so bad the vaping, it’s so bad for people,” Katie said on Thursday’s edition of her podcast.

She also revealed she’d made the promise to her mum, Amy, 73, who has terminal Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) and underwent a lung transplant in 2022.

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“I had a word with mum and Paul and said my new year’s resolution is to give up vapes,” Katie said.

“I’m lucky I’ve had my lungs checked so there’s no damage to my lungs.”

Katie’s family, including boyfriend JJ Slater, have reportedly voiced their concerns over her vaping.

“Katie needs to stop for health reasons and, obviously, her family members have been very worried,” an unnamed source told The Mirror.

Katie came under fire last year for vaping on a train, despite e-cigs being banned on transport, and also risked being fined after using her vape backstage at panto before Christmas the year before.

In 2023, Katie revealed she was addicted to vaping – claiming it made one of her teeth fall out.

At the time, Katie had also said she was determined to stop and claimed she only does it because vapes “smell nice”.

Katie’s vow to drop the vapes comes after she was put on medication following concerning weight loss.

The star previously said she didn’t know why she was losing weight and doctors had began tests to investigate.

Katie has drastically lost weight over the past 12 months amid ongoing fears for her frail frame.

She’s now revealed she’s been placed on HRT (hormone replacement therapy) – the traditional treatment for perimenopause.

PERRIE Edwards’ fiance Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has broken his silence on their devastating miscarriage and ‘difficult’ loss.

The couple have been together since 2017 and became engaged in June 2022, almost a year after they welcomed son Axel.

However, Little Mix star Perrie, 32, recently revealed they had suffered a devastating miscarriage before they had Axel, and lost another baby at 24 weeks in 2022.

Now footballer Alex, also 32, has broken his silence on their devastating losses.

He said: “When you start a family, that’s when you start to learn it’s not easy to have a child, that things can go wrong.

“It’s so difficult — especially for women when they are literally growing another human being inside them, the connection they feel to that, and then can things go wrong and they can lose the baby.

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“And it’s so difficult, especially losing the baby so late into the pregnancy.”

Alex admitted he felt that as a man, he had to “put on a brave face and try to hold the fort”, but found it difficult to do so.

He added during his interview with The Athletic: “It definitely helped that we had Axel to focus on, but it was obviously difficult.

“It took a while for us to get to the place where we felt, ‘OK, should we try this again?’

“And it’s been nice to be at home with Perrie for the past few months and to have this time with Axel as well.

“He’s excited (about his new brother or sister). We all are.”

Perrie confirmed she was pregnant again in September, just weeks after opening up about her two miscarriages.

Speaking on the We Need To Talk podcast with Paul C Brunson, she said: “It’s weird, because the first time it happened, I think because it was so early, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s hard’.

“But I think when you’re 24 weeks and you’ve planned out that room and all these things, it’s really hard. And nobody knows other than immediate friends and family.

“I remember shortly after, friends would message and be like, ‘How’s the bump?’ And I’d be like, ‘There is no bump’.”

Perrie was also full of praise for Alex during the interview, saying: “He’s very mature. He’s very laid back. He’s very level-headed.

“He’s not the type to get mad or get angry or get funny about things. It might sound boring to some, but it’s so unproblematic.”

The start that Real made seemed like they had turned the corner, taking the game to City and going in front courtesy of Rodrygo’s low drilled effort.

But they conceded twice in the final 10 minutes of the first half through Nico O’Reilly poking in from close range and Erling Haaland’s penalty.

The Real ultras dressed all in white behind the goal had been chanting and clapping until that point, but when the Norwegian’s spot-kick rippled the net in front of them they were silenced.

There was, though, a period of unrest between minutes 65 and 71 when supporters whistled at the players in disappointment three times – the message was to say ‘give us more’.

They pushed and created chances thereafter but will it be enough to save Alonso? The impression has been given that they have another gear and it gives him a bit of credit.

There is a general feeling from fans that the manager is not to blame, it is the players that are not following his instructions – they are the ones that need to listen more and start applying what has been asked.

Ex-Bayer Leverkusen boss Alonso took over before the Club World Cup in the summer and started this season by winning 13 of his first 14 games, but it started to go wrong after the loss at Liverpool on 4 November.

Real have won just twice in eight games since and there has been an apparent clash of cultures at the club with players seemingly not buying into his strict methods and wanting to adopt a pressing style of play.

Asked if his players had played for him, Alonso said: “The performance has been intense. A professional Champions League level game. They have given their best, so from my side no complaints for anything.

“It is hard to take another defeat but we tried until the end.”

England international Jude Bellingham told TNT Sport that the squad were “100%” behind their manager.

“I personally have a great relationship with him, a lot of the lads do as well,” he added. “After the first run of games we had some really great conversations internally and we felt we were on the back side of that form.

“In the past couple of games we let ourselves down again. No-one’s downing tools, no-one’s complaining and moaning thinking the season is over.”

AN A-list star’s sibling has revealed her incredible nine stone weight loss, which she has achieved using injection Ozempic.

The star is the sister of a very famous British comedian, who is known both at home and across the pond. Can you guess who it is?

Ruth Corden, the younger sister of Gavin & Stacey legend James Corden, is the one who has shared her staggering weight loss.

Sharing a side-by-side comparison of her weight loss, Ruth, 43, took to Instagram to share that she not only looks different physically, but has had a mental shift.

She wrote: “The girl on the left learned to walk into every room like she had to be dazzling, loud, magnetic, unforgettable, because being fat taught her that if she didn’t take control of the space, the space would take control of her.

“She believed that if all eyes were on her for anything other than her body, the judgement wouldn’t land as hard.

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“She believed being larger than life could quieten the voices in her head. So she smiled. She entertained. She insisted she was “fine.” All the while, she was exhausted from performing just to feel safe.”

Ruth continued: “The girl on the right walks in as she is, softer, quieter, more herself.

“And this kind of truth is the bravest thing I’ve ever worn, terrifying in its exposure, freeing in its weightlessness.”

Friends, fans and celebrities took to the comment section of the post, including Jamie Oliver’s wife Jools.

“Smashing it you look wonderful,” wrote Jools.

While Ruth has been documenting her journey using Ozempic, which is a medication for diabetes that can be used for weight loss, her brother had the opposite experience.

Last year, James revealed that he turned to weight loss jabs in an attempt to shed some pounds before the hotly-anticipated Gavin & Stacey reboot.

James, who admitted he has previously been bullied over his weight, said: “I tried Ozempic, and it won’t be surprising to you when you look at me now, that it didn’t really work.

“I tried it for a bit and then what I realised was I was like, ‘Oh no, nothing about my eating has anything to do with being hungry.’

“All it does is make you feel not hungry. But I am very rarely eating [just because I’m hungry].”

He added: “You are looking at someone who’s eaten a king size, and when I say king size Dairy Mil – one you give someone for Christmas – in a carwash.

“None of that was like, oh, I’m so hungry. It is not that, it’s something else.”

 NHS doctors have also warned of “dangerous” complications that come when the drug is “abused”.

Kate Winslet has opened up about the painful experience of reliving her mother’s 2017 death while making her directorial debut Goodbye June, which stars Helen Mirren

Kate Winslet has opened up about the emotionally challenging experience of “reliving” her mother’s death whilst working on her latest film, Goodbye June.

The Titanic star has stepped behind the camera for her directorial debut with this feature-length drama, offering a poignant portrayal of a family coming together around their dying mother over the Christmas period. The script was penned by her son, Joe Anders.

Arriving on Netflix on 24th December, Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren takes on the role of matriarch June, whilst the ensemble cast features Toni Collette, Johnny Flynn, Andrea Riseborough and Timothy Spall.

Ahead of the film’s limited cinema release this Friday (12th December), Winslet discussed the loss of her own mother in 2017, admitting it “still feels like yesterday”.

During an appearance on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast, the actress explained she’d initially hoped to “keep that private experience separate” from the project, before recognising this wouldn’t be feasible, reports the Express.

“It wasn’t necessarily cathartic, but there were days when I was literally reliving what happened when I lost my own mum, even though our film is fictional. And I would find myself strangely trying to almost hide in a funny way.”

Winslet told Cotton she frequently found herself “sitting quietly” behind Max, the production’s focus puller, during particularly intimate moments featuring Mirren and Spall.

“I would just sit with him quietly watching his monitor and sort of crying on his back,” she recalled. The star described the crew member as a “great spirit” to lean on during the more demanding moments of filming.

Winslet also expressed her hope that the film will ignite family discussions about the harsh realities of loss, reflecting on several enlightening conversations that took place among the cast and crew during production.

“Actually in this country, I don’t think we’re very good at talking about loss. I don’t think we’re very good at processing grief,” she elaborated.

“And in an interesting way it did bring up a lot of those conversations and people were quite grateful to be able to have them, not just the cast, but sometimes the crew as well.”

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Discussing her shift from actress to director, Winslet noted that she has observed her male peers make the same transition “without any judgment or scrutiny”, a luxury not often extended to women in the industry.

“It feels like for you personally, not only is this an amazing challenge for you to make that switch, but also you’re doing it on behalf of women to help this cultural shift in the very male-dominated Hollywood directing scene,” she stated.

Goodbye June is in limited UK cinemas from Friday, 12th December and on Netflix from 24th December.