Still, Robinson had some positive takeaways from that portion of his career to share during a video he posted to Instagram on Monday announcing his retirement from the NFL after 11 seasons.
“I learned a lot about football from Coach [Sean] McVay and Cooper Kupp and the guys I was around to be able to then use for the rest of my career,” Robinson said.
The video, titled “No More Sundays,” was posted on Robinson’s 33rd birthday. It shows Robinson watching film from every stop during his football career — from his days as “a kid in Detroit trying to be like Randy Moss” to his final NFL season with his hometown Lions in 2024. It and ends with him turning off the projector and literally hanging up his cleats.
Robinson played three seasons at Penn State and led the Big Ten Conference in receptions and receiving yards in 2012 and 2013 and receiving touchdowns in 2012. The 6-foot-3 player was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2014 draft and made the Pro Bowl in his second season.
During the first game of his fourth year with Jacksonville, Robinson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and missed the rest of the season. He signed with the Chicago Bears before the 2018 season and had four productive years there, which led to his contract with the Rams.
Robinson was expected to be an upgrade over veteran receiver Robert Woods, who was subsequently traded to the Tennessee Titans soon after the Robinson deal, but wasn’t able to achieve his previous levels of success. He wasn’t able to establish a rapport with veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, who did not throw passes during offseason workouts or part of training camp because of a right elbow condition.
A foot injury caused Robinson to miss the final seven games of the season. He finished the year with 33 catches for 339 yards and three touchdowns. During the offseason, the Rams traded Robinson and a seventh-round draft pick (No. 251 overall) to the Pittsburgh Steelers for that team’s seventh-round pick (No. 234 overall). The Rams were on the hook for about $10 million of Robinson’s salary.
“I did get injured, so I didn’t have a full season in L.A.,” Robinson said. “But I think I learned a lot about myself, being able to just kind of persevere, go through adversity and being able to mentally grow up. I can say that my career wouldn’t be what it was if I didn’t have a lot of those learning moments.”
Robinson finishes his career with 565 receptions for 7,058 yards and 43 touchdowns. He and former NFL cornerback Prince Amukamara started the “Press Release” football podcast last year. In addition, Robinson has hosted several youth football programs over the years.
“Football gave me more than I ever could’ve imagined,” Robinson wrote on Instagram. “It challenged me, shaped me, humbled me, and rewarded me in ways I’ll carry for the rest of my life. I came, I saw, I conquered and I leave with nothing but gratitude.
“The memories, the relationships, the victories, the lessons, they’ll stay with me forever! Thank you for every moment, every cheer, every lesson, and every opportunity.”
Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where I am thrilled to announce that the start of the USC football season is here. And a week before the rest of college football, no less!
We’ve reminded you enough by now that this is a make-or-break season for USC and for its head coach, Lincoln Riley. With a new defensive coordinator who’s in the College Football Hall of Fame, a new, state-of-the-art football facility and the nation’s top recruiting class in tow, USC has given Riley everything he needs to succeed.
So what if … he actually does?
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Last week, we walked you through the worst-case scenario for USC’s 2026 slate. So this week, let’s put on our cardinal-and-gold colored glasses and consider what this season might look like if everything actually goes right. Because there’s certainly a world in which USC earns a place in the College Football Playoff. Maybe even wins a game or two (or three?).
That picture-perfect scenario, however, hinges in my mind on how fast USC’s stellar freshman class rounds into form.
Imagine for a minute a Trojans defense with Luke Wafle, the nation’s top prospect in 2026, screaming off the edge a la the Bosa Bros at Ohio State. Or what about “Boobie” Feaster, the Trojans’ 17-year-old stud wideout, taking a tunnel screen to the house through the teeth of Oregon’s defense?
USC hasn’t had this much talent on the roster since I started covering the team in 2019. And while it’s fair to be hesitant about relying on so many freshmen, what if, when push comes to shove, they’re just the best players on the team?
It’s not hard to envision that being the case at wide receiver, at tight end and even along the defensive line. Freshmen could even be starting, at some point, on the offensive line, at linebacker and in the defensive backfield. (OK, this might not sound like a best-case yet, but bear with me here …)
USC has the first three weeks of its season to let the freshmen figure it out, followed by a trip across the country to Rutgers, and with no redshirts to worry about, I’d venture to say we’ll see the full breadth of freshmen Trojan talent over those four games. If USC can emerge from that stretch with the confidence of its young players soaring, then it should have a shot when Oregon comes to town.
If there’s one game that could decide the direction of USC’s season, it’s this one. It’s a critical moment for quarterback Jayden Maiava, who had his worst game of the year a season ago in Eugene. Any world in which USC makes a playoff run must include a major leap from Maiava. This is his time to prove that he’s taken that last step in his game, the one that could truly separate him as a first-round NFL draft pick. He has the talent, and in this case, he’ll have to show every bit of it.
Meanwhile, USC’s defense could cast some doubt on the potential of the Ducks’ own quarterback with a promising performance here. Dante Moore has yet to face a ranked team in a true road environment as Oregon’s starter. And the Coliseum is going to be rocking that night. I could see him slipping up on the road.
If Maiava can play to his potential and the defense can rise to the occasion, USC can beat Oregon for the first time in a decade. And if it does, a world of possibilities open up for USC.
With the confidence of its fabulous freshmen soaring, USC rolls through Washington at home. A trip to Penn State, during what’s sure to be a White Out game, marks the second moment in which the Trojans’ young stars could be seriously tested. But who’s to say that the Nittany Lions, under Matt Campbell, have anywhere close to the talent the Trojans will bring to State College. And without its usual pass rush, I could see Maiava picking Penn State apart.
Wins over Maryland and on the road at Wisconsin are locks in this scenario, as is a stomping of crosstown rival UCLA and new coach Bob Chesney.
So what about Ohio State and Indiana, our last two national title winners? The more winnable of those two, in my opinion, is the Halloween home game with Ohio State, considering the questions on the Buckeyes’ defense. But Ohio State is still the deeper, more talented team, and by that point in the season, injuries will have surely affected USC’s roster.
As for Indiana, well, not only have the Hoosiers not lost at home under Curt Cignetti, but they’ve allowed just 10 points per game over Cignetti’s 15 home games as coach. USC has to slip up somewhere in the schedule, and my bet would be Bloomington.
Ten wins would surely secure USC its first-ever Playoff spot, delivering the statement that Riley so desperately needed in his fifth season. And if by this point, its fleet of freshmen just happen to be peaking, then there’s no telling how far this team could go from there.
Thanos down
Jahkeem Stewart (4) reacts against the Michigan State Spartans last season.
(Luke Hales / Getty Images)
In a brutal twist of fate for USC, just ahead of its Week 0 opener, defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart is now likely to miss the nonconference slate with a foot injury.
It’s terrible news for the sophomore standout and for USC, which needs all the talent it can get along the defensive line. Stewart’s participation throughout camp had been a bit inconsistent already, presumably in an effort to keep him fresh for the season.
The fact that he’s likely to miss the first three games isn’t so much the main concern here. It’s that foot injuries are notoriously tricky. We don’t have much information on whether this was a aggravation or an entirely new problem, but a source downplayed the current injury’s severity. Still, it’s not a great sign for a player that was expected, at least by me, to be all-conference caliber this season.
Does Riley have any interest in adding old Trojans to the roster?
A court ruling bafflingly cleared the way last week for players who have already signed with NFL teams to gain some added college eligibility. And while no one has been added to the mix yet, USC’s coach said this week he wasn’t against adding under the right circumstances.
“Addition doesn’t always mean necessarily making you better, right?” Riley said. “And we feel very strongly about the group that we’ve put together, we feel very strongly about the kind of culture and attitude and vibe of this team right now, and so first and foremost, we’re going to protect that.”
Other than at linebacker, where USC would have to add someone new from the transfer portal midseason, or because of injuries, I don’t see a scenario in which it would really make sense. Anthony Lucas or Lake McRee just don’t move the needle at this point.
Class of ‘26 power rankings: Week 0
USC signed the top-ranked class last recruiting cycle, so as they finally hit the field, the Times of Troy will keep tabs on their progress by doing what we do best: Ranking their performance! In this case, we’ll rank them based on the freshmen we most expect to make a difference when USC kicks off against San José State.
Trent Mosley at USC spring football practice.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
1. Luke Wafle, DE … the No. 1 overall prospect in 2026 should get plenty of run coming off the edge in these first few games. I wouldn’t be surprised if, over that stretch, he makes it impossible to keep him on the bench.
2. Trent Mosley, WR. Seemingly locked into a starting job since the spring, Mosley is 20 years old and much further along than most freshmen when it comes to football IQ. He could lead the team in targets if all breaks right.
3. Mark Bowman, TE. Bowman was in and out of practice through camp, which might be the only thing keeping him from the No. 1 spot on this list. Don’t be surprised if the breakout doesn’t come right away as he gets into the swing of things.
4. Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, WR. A standout of camp with Tanook Hines sidelined, Dixon-Wyatt should be thrust into a big role right away. He’s a big play waiting to happen, and of all the freshmen position players, he’s the one I’d expect to wow us first.
5. Elbert “Rock” Hill, CB. Another standout of camp, Hill is behind two surefire starters in Jontez Williams and Chasen Johnson. But from what we’ve seen and heard, the freshman cornerback is way ahead of schedule.
6. Boobie Feaster, WR. Feaster is so young — just turned 17 — but his talent is undeniable. He has the potential to be the No. 1 guy on this list by season’s end.
7. Tomuhini “Tom Tom” Topui, DT. Stewart’s injury could open the door for more young guys on the interior, including Topui, who really impressed me in the scrimmage and has been receiving rave reviews from teammates.
8. Talanoa Ili, LB. In a linebacker room with shallow depth, don’t be surprised if Ili emerges early. I like what I’ve seen.
9. Madden Riordan, S. One of the bigger surprises in the class, Riordan added critical weight and now should play a part in the defensive back rotation. Being 20 already helps.
10. Breck Kolojay, OG. Kolojay was a major standout of spring, then cooled in camp while dealing with injuries. He’s likely a next-man-up option on the offensive interior.
11. Tron Baker, WR. Baker has a lot of other freshman wideouts ahead of him on this list, but we’ve heard his name a lot listed among young players who impressed.
12. Deshonne Redeaux, RB/KR. I really like Redeaux’s smooth, effortless running style, and while he’s down the depth chart at running back, he could right away be the kick returner.
Poll results
We asked, “What is the fewest number of wins you’d accept from Riley and USC without calling for a change?” After 1,507 votes, the results:
Nine wins, 35.6% 10 wins/playoff appearance, 27.9% Eight wins, 24.6% Seven wins, 8.8% Six wins, 3.1%
Olympic sports spotlight
Jane Alukonis was named the Big Ten women’s soccer coach of the year in 2024, but the Trojans trudged their way to a 7-7-3 finish in 2025 and have a lot to prove as their 2026 season begins.
Lucky for Alukonis, she brings in the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the nation according to Prep Soccer, a class highlighted by forward Jordan Hill, the No. 3 overall prospect, and defender Rhiannon Mahon, the No. 5 overall prospect.
But the Trojans were still picked in the preseason to finish seventh in the Big Ten. And with losses to Duke and Brigham Young already, USC is already facing an uphill climb to start the season.
What I’m Watching This Week
Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs in “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”
(Macall Polay / 20th Century Studios)
No one told me before I watched “TheDevil Wears Prada 2” on a plane last weekend that it was a journalism movie! But even aside from commiserating about the state of journalism through the screen with Anne Hathaway, I enjoyed this second go-round.
So what if it was a blatant cash grab? Put Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci in a room, and I’d probably watch whatever they come up. Tucci, in particular, was a standout for me in this sequel.
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
To become a powerhouse in a new sport takes good coaching and good players. JSerra has pulled it off in girls’ flag football.
The Lions have won 36 consecutive games dating to last season, when they went 28-0 and won the Southern Section Division 1 championship.
Lots of credit goes to coach Brian Ong, who started the program in 2023.
Despite losing the Division 1 player of the year, Ava Irwin, to Sierra Canyon, the Lions keep rolling with an 8-0 record this season. Quarterback Kate Meier, who was pretty good last season, is even better this season, and so are her receivers.
The JSerra Girls Flag Football team stretched its season-opening winning streak to eight straight games with a resounding 41-6 triumph over the Edison Chargers in a nonleague battle on Thursday at JSerra Catholic High School.
Grammy-winning singer Jill Scott brought her “To Whom This May Concern” album — her first in more than a decade — to life at Inglewood’s YouTube Theater last week. Backed by a razor-sharp 11-piece all-male band (including background singers fittingly dubbed “Freeman”), Scott moved effortlessly through a two-hour set filled with songs from the genre-expansive album along with several fan favorites like “He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat)” and “Gettin’ in the Way.”
Enforcing a phone-free policy at her personal request, the North Philadelphia native kept the audience intensely locked in — hanging onto her every word and every seemingly impossible note she struck with ease. Before long, it was easy to forget that we didn’t have our devices. Smiles filled the intimate room. Couples danced together. Strangers sang to each other in joyful unison, while others closed their eyes or held their hands on their chest in complete awe of witnessing a veteran artist in her element.
Jill Scott is on tour for “To Whom This May Concern,” her first album in over a decade.
(Jada Imani M)
In her only interview during the tour thus far, we caught up with Scott backstage to talk why she never performs a song the same way twice, how removing devices makes concerts better and why she thinks “To Whom This May Concern” deserves several accolades.
I’m still coming down from all of the energy from the show. How are you feeling post-show?
I am hot from the inside, and it’s gonna take me hours to calm down. [Laughs]
You’ve always described music as an intimate, two-way conversation between you and the audience. For this tour, you created a strictly phone-free space. Why did you decide to do that and how did this shift the experience for you as a performer?
In a couple of ways. One part is that it’s terrifying because there’s no buffer between me and them, so that’s actually scary, but I embrace it. The other part of it is that it’s wonderful because people initially come in kind of nervous about not having a buffer between myself and the space or themselves and space. Then I watch them gradually release, and I get a kick out of that every night. That’s my favorite part.
I’m surprised to hear that it’s scary for someone like you who’s been performing at such a high level for so many years.
Because I care. It matters to me. I really want them to have a good time. I really want them to release some things, allow themselves to be. If you want to make out, if you want to dance, if you want to cry, if you want to shout, or put up your hands in the air, or sit still, I want them to be able to do that. I think it’s important. That’s the relationship. That’s the real relationship between artist and fans of the music. It’s the connection between the music. I’m here to [be of] service. I’m here to push the ship along, but it’s really their relationship with the music and I’m a conduit. That part is probably one of my other favorites. You have to relinquish your id and allow the thing to be the thing. I think sometimes you can practice the joy and the life out of a thing. We practice a lot, but then we forget everything we practice so that it’s alive. My musicians’ freedom is mandatory. It’s a part of the job. So if they show up and play the exact same thing in the exact same way every night, they’re probably not going to be around very long. I need them to be wide open and to rediscover the music every night from their perspective. It’s their 11 perspectives on stage, and then of course there’s the lighting designer. I need him to be free. Don’t give me the same light at the same time every night. Even front-of-the-house sound engineer as well as our in-ear monitors, everybody is playing a part. “What does she need? Let’s read her. Let’s, you know, pay attention. What does she want?” It’s a lot of fun.
You could see really feel that from you and your entire band.
Tonight was a different audience. They were very attentive. Last night they danced all night long from the very beginning. I couldn’t even see the floor. Tonight they were listening. I know it’s a Wednesday night. Everybody’s got to go to work [the next morning], but they were beautiful. The listening audience is probably my favorite. They get quiet and I’m like “Oh, it’s so scary. Am I doing the right thing?” [Laughs] But that means they’re listening. Who doesn’t want to be heard?
Your son came out with you tonight. How was that experience for you?
It’s beautiful to see. He told me Tierra Whack is not traveling with us because she has a new album out, “Whack’s Museum,” so she’s a little busy. He was like, “Mom, how do you feel about me doing the second verse?” and I was like “Be at sound check tomorrow with a mic in your hand.”
He looked so comfortable on stage.
He does. It’s kind of scary. Super exciting. I don’t know what he’ll want to do, but he’s working our set, so he’s a part of the crew. So after he does his performance, he puts back on his blacks and he does his job, and I love that for him, to have that sense of responsibility. He’s exceeding anybody’s and everybody’s expectations. He’s so good at this. All the clothes you see, he steamed up.
He’s really working his way up.
Yes, you must earn your way.
Your album “To Whom This May Concern” released in February, and it feels like a love letter from your favorite auntie. There’s lessons about learning from your mistakes, honoring your ancestors and loving yourself. Now that your fans have been living with these songs for several months, I’m curious if performing them live has shifted your relationship with them at all?
No. On a great night, I like telling the stories that I’ve read. I like embodying them in front of other people. I like watching them experience them in a new way. I’m a fan of that. It just makes it more and more true. Then I see how many people are singing along and how many people are looking at me, and I’m like “Yesss.” It’s reaching the people and I know it’s going to be different because there’s a different audience every night. So I’m thrilled about the project and how it’s touching people. You hope you don’t work this hard at a thing for it to fall on deaf ears, and I know how microwavable music has been, but I believe the cream rises to the top. It’s been a beautiful 26 years. I look forward to 26 more — in my way.
Your album has been receiving a lot of praise from fans and critics. There’s still a few months before the Grammy nominations are announced, but at this point in your career, how important is that recognition to you? Is it as important as it was when you first started your career?
I think I deserve it. That’s all. [Flashes a smile]
I mean everything about this project from beginning to end is blood, sweat and tears. I stayed up many nights just to write, a hunger in my belly and a savage appetite. And I mean it. Everything is true and I love that for me. That’s the kind of thing that takes time and I think musically, it’s incredible. I think the stories are awesome and intentional, and everything about it, from the planning of it to the marketing, has been from my soul, and I think it deserves several.
Nico Iamaleava became a household name among college football fans.
Not because of his five-star, blue-chip status, leaving Warren High as the second-ranked prospect in the 2023 class and top-ranked recruit out of California.
Not for leading Tennessee to its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance and a 10-3 record — tying for the Volunteers’ second-best finish since 2001.
Instead, Iamaleava is remembered for his tumultuous exit from Knoxville, a parting characterized by head coach Josh Heupel that the program would move on without its starting signal-caller, leading the Long Beach product to UCLA.
More than one year removed after his departure, Iamaleava reflected at preseason media day on his time with the Volunteers, the effect last season had on his mental health and his mindset heading into 2026.
“In Tennessee, I was in a rough mental state as far as being far from home, but that’s what came with me growing and maturing,” Iamaleava said Wednesday. “So coming back home has been a great transition, and I can’t wait to play this year.”
While returning to Southern California brought the Bruins’ starting quarterback closer to his roots and family, the social media ridicule chased him cross-country, targeting not just him, but his parents too.
To combat the animosity centered on his family, Iamaleava focused on his support system, leaning on those around him and strengthening relationships with the people that he loved.
“Mental health is huge, and having a great support system with you definitely helps. I’ve had that with my parents, going to them whenever I need something,” Iamaleava said. “I have brothers that I can go and rely on, and coming back home to my family has been easy. I don’t really focus on the outside noise.”
While the majority of Iamaleava’s criticism stemmed from his departure from Knoxville, it reignited after UCLA started out the season 0-4 and finished the 2025 campaign 3-9 — a program worst since 2018.
Iamaleava could have allowed the disparagement to compound, but the starting signal-caller is using it as fuel for a 2026 season where many have the Bruins painted as a potential dark horse.
“Everybody counted us out. Last year wasn’t a great year for us, so we’re not on anybody’s radar,” Iamaleava said. “That fuels us, and really playing for each other is going to be the main thing.”
Being one of the few returning starters, Iamaleava has embraced a “vet” role, and has subsequently taken the mantle and burden of being the team’s leader.
And despite all of the negative sentiment surrounding Iamaleava and his time at Tennessee, it was with the Volunteers when he learned how to effectively lead and cultivate camaraderie.
“I learned a lot of that in Tennessee. I had a great vet in Joe Milton. He was a great quarterback,” Iamaleava said. “He’s at the Cowboys now, so learning under him, and then my whole O-line from Tennessee, I love them boys, and they helped me a lot too.”
Iamaleava is building on everything — the good and the bad — he learned from his time in Knoxville and his first year in Westwood entering the new season.
And as he enters his senior season with professional football aspirations on the horizon, Iamaleava has learned to not let external voices interfere with his internal confidence.
“I like to let people assume. Not a lot of people know me on a personal level, so it’s kind of hard to really focus on what they have to say,” Iamaleava said. “Those who know me in this locker room, those who know me in the building, those are the people I care about.”
Ninth and final in a series of stories profiling top high school football players by position. Today, Gabriel Goroyan, Westlake kicker.
Gabriel Goroyan, a senior kicker at Westlake High with a 4.77 grade-point average, revealed stunning news during an interview.
“I’m OK with being normal,” he said.
That goes against everything previously known about kickers. They’re almost always surfer dudes with the fearless spirit of a pole vaulter and the willingness to experiment. If anyone were going to volunteer for a mission to Mars, it would be a kicker.
“I would like to think I’m not one of the weirder personalities,” Goroyan said.
He is like most kickers — a former soccer player. He began in eighth grade when he was still playing soccer but beginning to like kicking.
For the first time I have found a kicker who says he’s normal. Gabriel Goroyan of Westlake. But he does use his left foot to kick. Starts summer No. 1. pic.twitter.com/wz0d6CB9YF
At a camp, when he made a 54-yard field goal in a competition, that’s the moment he realized, “I can do this.”
“I started taking it more serious,” he said. “I was hungry for that No. 1 spot.”
He enters his senior season as No. 1 at his position in the Southland and committed to Stanford. The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder makes booming kickoffs, was 50 of 51 on PATs last season and made seven field goals. He also averaged 40.3 yards on punts. He kicks balls with his left foot, which requires long snappers to make an adjustment and change blocking schemes because most kickers use their right foot.
He’s never received a grade other than A on his report card at Westlake. His father is Armenian and his mother Bulgarian. He has an 8 handicap in golf and can drive a ball 300 yards from the tee, so if you need a ringer for a charity tournament, Goroyan will play the role.
He has figured out the mental requirements needed to deal with the highs and lows of being a kicker.
“A lot of it is staying calm and not getting too hyped up and too energized,” he said. “l feel a good kicker is able to come back from a miss and a lot of it is being yourself. You have to know not to overthink things and be able to go back to your normal mental state and not get trapped in a cycle of you’re not good enough. A lot of it is trusting yourself.”
He stands on the sideline waiting for his moment. You’ll never see him asking coach Rick Clausen to put him in for a field goal.
“I let them tell me,” he said.
It’s all about preparation and routine. His soccer background has provided him the tools to succeed.
“Train like a sprinter,” he said. ”That’s where the leg speed comes from. It’s not about having to squat 500 pounds but more being able to run and have fast legs. That’s where the power comes.”
As for dealing with pressure, Goroyan said camp competitions such as “last man standing,” where you have to make a kick to stay in the competition, provides preparation for a game-winning field-goal attempt that he has yet to experience.
He’s already demonstrated that he’s different — otherwise known as normal. When he made that 54-yard field goal, the longest of his career, in eighth grade, he did not scream.
“I gave a quiet clap and ran to get my ball,” he said.
Kickers to watch
Noah Ahari, Chino Hills, 6-2, 155, Sr. Made nine of 10 field goals last season
Peter Batsaras, Cypress, 5-10, 170, Sr. A summer of success sets the stage for big senior season
Ayden Brannum, Fontana, 6-3, 190, Sr. Averaged 48 yards on punts and made 47-yard field goal
Colin Elia, Temecula Valley, 6-0, 160, Sr. Made 10 of 11 field goals as a junior
Gabriel Goroyan, Westlake, 5-11, 180, Sr. Stanford commit has worked relentlessly on mastering his technique
Jackson Hauducoeur, Upland, 5-6, 140, Sr. All-CIF kicker made eight of 10 field goals
Ethan Miller, San Clemente, 6-2, 175, Jr. Made nine fields, cool under pressure
Jerry Shifman, Mater Dei, 5-10, 165, Jr. Had nine field goals, with a long of 43 yards
Carter Sobel, Sierra Canyon, 5-9, 160, Sr. Strong on kickoffs and made nine field goals
Caleb Sylvia, Mission Viejo, 5-10, 190, Sr. Had 49-yard field goal last season
Her Honor just needed to do more of the same: hail her own accomplishments, deliver well-timed zingers and keep as cool as a cucumber while baiting Raman into self-immolation.
Bass did none of that, while Raman stepped up the way she needed to.
This time, the challenger offered concrete answers instead of word salads. She mostly stuck to the allotted time limits while Bass repeatedly whined that she wasn’t given enough time. Raman effortlessly turned the mayor’s rhetorical traps around like Bugs Bunny twisting Elmer Fudd’s rifle right in his face.
Take the moment when Bass pointed out that Raman had missed the second-most votes among councilmembers during her six years in office. Raman responded that she missed many meetings while representing the city on the South Coast Air Quality Management District and other governmental boards. Bass’ clap-back — that Raman’s colleagues also had other official responsibilities yet “they find their way to work” — drew “ooohs” from the audience at the debate, put on by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.
If this were still the primary, Raman would have flustered her way to a non-answer. This time, she calmly said that she must not be such a bad councilmember, since Bass had appointed her to those boards.
“Well, we really need to look at that,” Bass stammered before asking Raman if she was “getting ready to resign” from them.
“I’m sorry?” Raman asked off mic as Bass challenged her to step down from all her boards. “No,” Raman then said firmly before shrugging and letting the moderator move on to the next question.
The moment was par for the mayor’s night.
Again and again, Bass went after Raman in the pettiest, most personal ways. She kept mocking the MIT graduate as a clueless egghead with no idea what’s going on in the city, stating twice that Raman governed as if L.A. were “an academic institution” — a line that sounded like a MAGA talking point and that was originally trotted out by Councilmember Imelda Padilla.
Bass tried to paint Raman as a member of an ineffectual city establishment, not a newcomer, which fell flat, considering that Bass has held one elected office or another for 22 years while Raman has been in politics only since 2020.
Bass frequently resorted to her trademark nervous laughter and repeated obviously crafted lines with all the enthusiasm of someone gulping down cod oil. Her furrowed brow and exasperated looks, which she had effectively used in previous debates, made her come off as embittered, tired and unable to defend the indefensible mess that has been her first term.
At one point, the mayor even compared street taco vendors to homeless encampments, with both supposedly disrupting the fabric of a well-run city.
Somewhere, Jonathan Gold is shaking his head in disgust.
“You have lots of plans and lots of ideas but have done very little,” Bass told Raman at another point.
And what have you done, Mayor Bass?
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass speaks with a woman after the end of a mayoral debate against challenger Nithya Raman in Sherman Oaks.
(David Butow/For the Times)
I’ve really tried to like Bass. Her trajectory from South L.A. activist to nonprofit founder to Sacramento, Washington and City Hall is impressive and important. Yet when Angelenos needed her to rise and succeed as their city faced one crisis after another during these past four years, Bass stumbled and stumbled again. Her flop of a debate performance left her sounding like someone with no vision or kindness — career suicide for someone who has made her reputation on both traits.
At this point, the architects of Bass’ campaign need to burn sage to drive out bad spirits or just bow out altogether. Any time something could go wrong, it has.
Bass placed first in the primary with 34% of the vote — an abysmal number for a Democratic incumbent in a deep blue city. Her campaign’s cynical gambit to boost washed-up reality TV star Spencer Pratt into the general election, because he’d be an easier opponent than Raman, failed. The Lineage fire in Boyle Heights brought back memories of the deadly Palisades inferno, angering a voting bloc Bass desperately needs — Latinos.
Then came news this week that a poll the Bass campaign had promoted, claiming that she held a commanding lead over Raman, turned out to be fake. Bass came out looking like someone incapable of overseeing paint dry, let alone running America’s second-largest city.
And now, this debate.
The audience, which was heavily pro-Bass, eventually started applauding more and more of Raman’s responses. Bass, desperate to trip up her opponent, talked over her so much that the councilmember responded with the line of the night and possibly the race:
“You gotta let me answer, Mayor Bass. This is my time.”
Raman still faces an uphill battle. Nearly all of the city’s power structure — elected officials, labor unions, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, business owners and even the three other democratic socialist councilmembers — has endorsed Bass. The mayor has outpaced Raman in fundraising. Raman has to win over voters who supported Pratt’s conservative stances while not alienating her progressive base. She did herself no favors with the Democratic Socialist of America’s local chapter, which didn’t endorse her in the primary and will decide next week whether to endorse her in the general election, by stating that the city needs to maintain the current size of its police force.
But in Wednesday night’s debate, she offered voters a distinct choice between how she would run L.A. and how Bass has.
Councilmember Nithya Raman speaks with staff and supporters after a mayoral debate with incumbent Karen Bass in Sherman Oaks.
(David Butow/For the Times)
All the mayor could sputter in her closing remarks was that Raman “does not have the support of [any] of her colleagues” — yet another line she had repeated ad nauseum.
When it was her turn, Raman said she keeps hearing from residents “that this city feels rudderless.”
“I have news for you, Angelenos. You’re right,” she continued. “No one is in charge right now.”
Then, instead of launching another fusillade against Bass, Raman went for something few people associate with L.A. nowadays:
Hope.
“You have every right to expect more from your city,” Raman proclaimed, her voice strong and clear. She urged Angelenos to “raise our expectations” of what’s possible and strive for a city that’s “affordable, functional, safe, joyful, ambitious.”
A few months ago, that would have sounded like the delusional ramblings of someone with no chance at winning. After tonight’s debate, Raman seems like L.A.’s final, best chance.
Nearly every week, I pass a colleague in the office who taunts me with four words: “Count of Monte Cristo, Count of Monte Cristo,” as he shakes his head. He’s disappointed his favorite book didn’t make the cut of our 101 best book club picks list, which served as the 2026 LA Times Festival of Books curtain-raiser. I don’t mind the barb. There’s nothing more exciting than an impassioned reader — even when they’re wrong. I’m all for rallying around a book or author and debating their merits like it’s a sporting match. Our book lists, after all, aren’t meant to be final verdicts. They’re invitations to read more (and, maybe, better).
Reading List
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To compile our expansive list we surveyed more than 200 bookish luminaries — along with a few zealous book club members. Our readers had their own ideas for their top book club picks, many of which we deeply considered. Here you’ll find some of our worthy Los Angeles Times reader selections.
“A favorite book my book group read and discussed is ‘Farenheit 451.’ It was fascinating to see what the past thought the future might bring,” reader Margaret Hardy writes of the 20th century classic. “In terms of technology and control by the government we are seeing today what Bradbury was thinking about in 1953. We felt that the future was found in the past. It was a chilling read.” Equally chilling is that the book often shows up on banned books lists — not unlike in its narrative.
“You missed ‘Homegoing’ by Yaa Gyasi!” reader Melanie H. writes of the critically acclaimed Ghanian historical fiction novel. “My book club read it and I was enthralled. I can’t stop thinking about it ever since. The amount of research and empathy into every single character and era Gyasi put into this story is incredible. It altered my brain and to this day I tell everyone about this book.”
Reader Roxanne Yahner writes, “It is beautifully written, elegant and eloquent, and there is no preparing anyone for the sheer inexorable force of Baldwin’s language. This novel expresses the personal — and historical — grief of two gay, perhaps bisexual, men as they explore their sexuality at a time and place where such behavior was dangerous. The reader aches for these men and feels their grief. Some in our book club were disturbed by this novel, but all agreed they were deeply moved by it.”
Several readers wrote to us recommending Rushdie’s magical realist epic. “It’s such a complex, yet entertaining novel. We learned a lot about the tenets of Islam as woven into the story,” Ellyn Moscowitz shares about their book club pick. “It provoked great discussions about death, afterlife, religion in general and great character studies.”
Reader Francesca Smithwick-Driver chose this as a book club pick in the ‘90s for her group and the 1989 National Book Award fiction finalist remains a favorite.
“[It’s] about a family who runs a carnival of ‘freaks.’ The story is told by an albino dwarf. There are strong themes about what it is to be normal, falling in and out of love with yourself — your family — and the world around you. Wonderfully written scenes about horrible things and beautiful things. I still remember the discussion of my book club — from ‘why in the world did you recommend this disgusting book’ to ‘what a book’ … I couldn’t wait to get back to it each time I put it down.”
Reader Kate Karp, who has a cat who resembles a key character in this Russian classic, writes: “[It] turned out, no surprise, to have been the inspiration for the Stones’ ‘Sympathy for the Devil.’” She notes it also requires multiple readings to grasp all the subplots — but it’s worth it.
“I am terrible at book clubs because I have found that I am a very picky reader who simply will not read a book that I do not enjoy,” reader Mike Gascoigne writes. “That said, in a book club I did very much enjoy Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘Klara and the Sun’ and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s ‘Chain Gang All-Stars.’ There was a lot to discuss about both titles including AI/robots, intellectual enhancements, climate change, reality television, prison reform/abolition and human nature.”
“‘All the King’s Men’ is a powerful summer read — a Pulitzer-winning novel that feels strikingly current,” reader Ken Muche writes. “Set in the 1930s South, Willie Stark’s political rise echoes modern demagogues, reminding us how easily power can blur truth. Even more important, the novel invites reflection on our own bad life choices — showing that taking accountability for one’s actions is the first step toward forgiveness, peace, and ultimately, a more grounded kind of happiness.”
Reader Seth Kivnick’s pick is this work of fiction that co-won the Booker Prize in 2019, he notes that the compelling book describes the Black women in the British Isles who came from all walks of life and different countries. “[It] appealed to male and female club members.”
“It’s good-humored without being comedy or satire but opens serious friendly discussions about contemporary problems,” reader Christine Almeida writes of the novel that won the 2021 National Book Award for fiction. “Our library-based book club talked about it for a solid 90 minutes without straying from what the book itself had to offer its readers.”
In 2007, the actor Felicia Day debuted “The Guild,” one of the first works, maybe the first, to demonstrate that the web could be a legitimate platform for full-blown, character-driven, narrative comedy. (YouTube was only two years old at the time.)
Online since there was a line to be on, Day — also known also for “Supernatural,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Eureka,” “Mystery Science Theater 3000” and as the female lead in Joss Whedon’s “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” alongside Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion — played Cyd, a.k.a. Codex, a young woman at loose ends who finds community with a group of gamers whose quirkiness puts her own into perspective. The series, which she created and wrote, from experience, grew more ambitious and technically impressive across its six seasons, with cameos by the likes of Fillion, Zachary Levi, Stan Lee, Brent Spiner, late Mythbuster Grant Imahara and Wil Wheaton. There was a cultural specificity to the setting and storytelling — lots of gaming jargon and jokes — but the humor in the characters was universal, and the show, for all its well-proportioned silliness, felt very alive.
Now, as the series’ 20th anniversary approaches, Day is reviving “The Guild” as a feature, “The Guild: Ren Faire’d,” through a Kickstarter campaign due to end Friday. By the time I pledged, early on the first day of fundraising, the campaign had already met its initial $1.5-million goal — the minimum required, Day calculated, to pull off a version of her script. As of this writing, with just a few days to go, the campaign has raised more than $5 million. Everything over $4.5 million will go to making the film even better, but also support “Conludo,” a new game-playing series with Wheaton along the lines of their “Table Top,” created in 2012 for the Day-founded YouTube channel Geek & Sundry.
Day is also the author of a charming memoir, “You’re Never Weird on the Internet,” and a mental exercise book, “Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity.” Earlier this year, Simon & Schuster published “The Lost Daughter of Sparta,” her graphic novel (with illustrator Rowan MacColl) about Philonoe, Helen of Troy’s lesser-known fourth sister, an on-brand tale of self-determination and embrace of one’s difference.
I interviewed Day by email as she traveled the convention circuit.
Day’s Kickstarter surpassed $5 million, allowing her to make not only “The Guild: Ren Faire’d” but also a new game-playing series.(Parker Burr / For The Times)
How does it feel to be back wearing, or about to wear, the character of Codex?
It’s so empowering to go back to this world that I crafted and this character that means so much to me and my fans. She and I have diverged a lot over the years, but her voice is still strong and clear in my ear, and I’ve had so much fun writing for her again. I haven’t been in charge of my own stories on this scale in a long time, so this all definitely feels like coming home.
It was an offer to turn “The Guild” into a television show that prompted you to get the film going. Had you thought of the possibility of bringing it back before then?
Early in 2025, I’d been thinking about the 20th anniversary of the show and how to celebrate it, but a movie is a huge project, one I was wary of committing to. A phone call with a very nice Hollywood executive wanting me to reboot the show with younger actors was the kick in the pants I needed. The business has been so hard on me, and a lot of people, especially these last five or so years. To even think about having the one project I held dear taken away from me? That got my fire lit.
How did you know to hang on to your IP?
I had met a few people in the early web days who’d sold their show to producers and networks, only to have them buried in development hell and never be seen again. My audience meant, and still means, so much to me, that I didn’t see the point in losing control of the show when it felt like we were doing all the right things on our own. The fans’ support gave me that confidence, and thank goodness for it, or I wouldn’t be able to make a movie today.
How did you cast the original show? Were any of the actors already gamers?
I wrote two of the main parts for improv friends, Zaboo (Sandeep Parikh) and Vork (Jeff Lewis), and I found the rest of the actors from a Backstage casting call. Several of them were already gamers, but a few were anything but (namely, Amy Okuda, who played Tinkerballa — she took some arm twisting). Over the years, though, they’ve all turned into gamers. We’ve enjoyed many a Fortnite session together, especially during COVID times.
Felicia Day as Codex. Other characters returning for “The Guild: Ren Faire’d” are Zaboo (Sandeep Parikh) and Vork (Jeff Lewis).
How has your reunion been going?
I had to make sure the script was good enough before I asked my fans to support it, so in February I had a table read with the main cast. Truly, it felt like no time had passed. We were all laughing so hard, ribbing each other on any little mistakes. It was so much fun to rediscover our characters together again. What we have together as a group is magic, and I can’t wait to get the band back together on set again.
You have a “no AI” sign on the Kickstarter page. What are your thoughts about artificial intelligence versus human creativity?
I look at AI as a great robber of humanity. Not only in the sheer existence of the AI itself, which is comprised of literal stolen material, but in robbing creators of their process. Because process is everything. It’s the whole point, in my opinion. That challenging struggle to write a first draft is how you discover who you are as an artist. But if you don’t do the work, you’ll never truly find out what you want to say to the world. You can’t create anything truly unique to yourself. It just makes me sad. To use a tool filled with other people’s stolen ideas in order to fast forward to an end result for attention, well, that isn’t art. That’s a cheap dopamine hit. And you’re no better a creator for having done it. Please don’t rob yourself like that.
The movie will be set at a Renaissance Faire. What’s your own history with them? Do you go in costume?
I’ve gone to Ren Faires for over a decade. We have a few great ones in SoCal I encourage everyone to explore. The costumes, the vendors, the food — all of it transports you to another world in such a magical way. I want to celebrate everything I love about the setting in our movie. I often go in costume, now with my 9-year-old daughter. It’s actually our Mother’s Day tradition and very dear to my heart.
Day on her work and motherhood: “I’ve learned that, especially as an artist, you have to be your own protector, own advocate, and give yourself unconditional love to be able to tap into what makes your art your own.”
(Parker Burr / For The Times)
Has motherhood changed how you work?
Absolutely. I had no idea how to parent myself before I parented another person. I’ve learned that, especially as an artist, you have to be your own protector, own advocate, and give yourself unconditional love to be able to tap into what makes your art your own. My experience writing this movie has been entirely different from in the past, when I let fear and outside pressure take the fun out of creating. This time, I allowed myself room to play and to make mistakes, just like I encourage my daughter to do. I think my work has benefited greatly from that gentle parenting.
The original “Guild” and the way you’ve mounted this campaign feels like the work of friends, like Mickey and Judy getting the gang together in a someone’s uncle’s barn to put on a show. (Which isn’t to say “amateur.”)
The heart of everything I do is this: I just want to play with my friends and my fans. I want to delight them with new ideas. I want to surprise them with laughs. The industry often divorces us from what got us into the business in the first place: making believe. Creating together. I like my work to embody the kind of spirit you can’t have in more mainstream media where there are levels of approvals over everything and the budgets are so high that the pressure takes the fun out of it. Yes, it’s challenging to make anything with fewer resources, but the community can see the ins and outs of my process and I hope that empowers them, in turn, to create their own things with their own friends one day.
What inspired your new graphic novel?
Being cut off from Hollywood over COVID made me brave enough to write a story I knew wouldn’t be anything an executive would care about if I pitched it. For many years, I didn’t allow myself to develop ideas like that. What was the use if they didn’t find it useful? But in allowing myself the space to write this story set in the world of Greek mythology, I’ve found new confidence as a writer. I want to keep telling stories only I can tell, in whatever format I can. I never want to discard them again because other people won’t find them useful. I hope that anyone reading the book feels the same encouragement to follow their inner muse. Because everyone deserves to be loved for exactly who they are, even our stories.
Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where we’re dedicating the next two editions of Times of Troy to determining a range of outcomes for this make-or-break season of USC football. We’ll save the rose-colored takes for next week, when the Trojans will be on the doorstep of their season opener against San José State. But for today, as we did at this time last year, let’s consider the other, darker side of that same coin — and talk about how it could all go wrong.
Because, rest assured, there will be plenty of landmines to navigate through a gauntlet schedule that includes all three of the top three teams in opponent adjusted efficiency (FEI) from last season (Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State), plus the 14th-ranked team in the same category (Washington). Then there’s a trip to one of the hardest places to play in America (Penn State) to boot.
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USC will need to win at least three of those five games to make the Playoff. Which is borderline cruel to ask.
For the purposes of this exercise, let’s assume that USC opens its season 3-0, with wins over San José State, Fresno State and Louisiana. Anything less, it’s fair to say, would be an unmitigated disaster.
How those three weeks go, though, will be important for the progress of USC’s young players, who need to find their bearings fast in order for USC to fulfill its potential.
It would be an especially unfortunate twist of fate for that process to be interrupted or for the team’s depth to take a hit through that easy, early stretch. But barring injury, those first three weeks should give USC time to get some of its young stars — such as receivers Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and Boobie Feaster, tight end Mark Bowman, cornerback Rock Hill and defensive end Luke Wafle, especially — up to speed.
The slate really begins Sept. 19, when USC opens conference play with its furthest possible trip east, at Rutgers. With Oregon awaiting the next week and the added dynamic of cross-country travel, you could certainly convince me the Trojans could be caught flat-footed in this game, leaving things a bit too close for comfort. But if USC somehow loses to Rutgers in its Big Ten opener, coach Lincoln Riley might not make it much past Halloween.
So let’s say the Trojans are 4-0 when Oregon comes to the Coliseum in late September. Really, it’s this game that will tell us where USC is actually headed this season.
Because the stage will have never been bigger for quarterback Jayden Maiava, who had his worst game of 2025 in Eugene last fall. That performance, according to Pro Football Focus, featured double the turnover-worthy throws (six) of any other game Maiava has started at USC. Any worst-case for USC probably includes some form of unraveling from the quarterback.
But even with Maiava at his best, Oregon is still the deeper and more well-rounded team. The front seven should be as formidable as it’s ever been under coach Dan Lanning. The quarterback might be the NFL’s No. 1 overall pick next spring, and his weapons on offense are as good as any in college football. That firepower proves too much for USC, which gets beat at home for the first time since November 2024.
Losing to Oregon would be a bitter pill for a young team to swallow. And it would also be a particularly bad time to start spiraling. Because the next three weeks are all losable games. Washington has a mobile quarterback (Demond Williams) capable of wreaking havoc on USC’s defense if its front seven can’t keep him contained. And while we don’t know what to expect from new coach Matt Campbell and Penn State, the White Out at Beaver Stadium a week later will be no joke. Even Wisconsin shouldn’t be overlooked two weeks after that. Especially at Camp Randall.
There’s a world in which USC has lost three of four, we’ll spot them a win at Wisconsin, after starting the season 3-0. That slump could be an absolute back-breaker. Because guess who looms after that?
Oh, just Ohio State and Indiana.
Pretty bleak, right?
Suddenly, in this most demoralizing scenario, USC is out of the Playoff picture at the halfway point of the season. The positive vibes around Gary Patterson’s hire are gone, and a significant segment of the fanbase will have resigned themselves to never seeing a good USC defense again in their lifetimes.
The conversation around Riley’s future will have reached a fevered pitch. The seat will have gotten scorching hot. The Trojans would now be playing for their coach’s job. The pressure, on a particularly young team, would be immense.
And then, Ohio State comes to town. The Buckeyes have lost three times on the road in the last two seasons, compared to just once at home. But those three road losses were either in the postseason to a top-two team, at Oregon or the inexplicable 2024 loss to a far inferior Michigan team in The Game. Chalk this up to a loss, as Ohio State tramples over both of USC’s fronts.
Indiana, meanwhile, has yet to lose a home game in two years under Curt Cignetti. I don’t expect that to change this year, either.
So with losses to Ohio State and Indiana — and a presumably smooth win at Maryland — USC would be 6-5 heading into the crosstown rivalry. And I think we can all agree that no scenario would be more of a worse case for USC than UCLA emerging from its first season under Bob Chesney as the better-trending program between the two.
I don’t think that’s where this season is headed. This is an absolute worst-case scenario, after all. The schedule does give USC serious spiral potential. And stranger things have happened in the crosstown rivalry.
But if USC were to end this season at 6-6, with a baffling loss to the Bruins, I think I can say pretty confidently that the whole program will be headed in a new direction after that.
Will Ryon Sayeri remain USC’s kicker this season?
(Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)
—Is USC’s starting offensive line already set? It’s starting to feel that way. The season-ending injury to center Kilian O’Connor limited USC’s options, with Tobias Raymond now almost assuredly set to step in there. But from what we’ve seen in open periods, there hasn’t been much movement elsewhere. Hayden Treter has been the preferred option at left guard, while Alani Noa has primarily been at right guard. Elijah Paige and Justin Tauanuu have once again been the bookends at tackle. Whether that’ll be the case by the midway point of the season, we’ll see, but USC seems confident with Treter and Noa flanking Raymond on the interior.
—Could USC make a change at kicker? Riley would like us to believe that it’s definitely a possibility, despite the fact that last season’s All-Big Ten third-team kicker Ryon Sayeri has returned. Sayeri wasn’t going to get the job last year until former Nevada Las Vegas kicker and freshman All-American Caden Chittenden got injured and relinquished it with Sayeri’s strong play. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been in a situation as a coach where you have like two guys that you believe in as much as I believe in them,” Riley said. Still, it would be bold to replace a guy who was as consistent as Sayeri was for most of last season.
—USC football got its Class of 2028 quarterback. Trey Wright is currently just the 25th-ranked passer in the class, according to 247 Sports. But Riley, who prefers to offer just one quarterback in each class, clearly sees something in the Frisco, Texas, signal-caller. Wright certainly piled up stats as a sophomore, throwing for over 4,000 yards and 38 touchdowns while rushing for nearly 1,800 yards and 16 touchdowns. The comparisons with Kyler Murray were natural even before the Vikings quarterback, who won a Heisman with Riley, sent Wright a video that he posted on social media. Wright is just 5 feet 10 and 175 pounds. But he looks like a heck of an athlete.
—Most of USC’s starting lineup for next hoops season is injured right now. Which is not exactly … ideal. But only center Eric Reibe is expected to miss real time into the season. Georgetown transfer KJ Lewis’ ankle should be healed by the start of the season in November. He’s expected to start playing live five-on-five in October. Rodney Rice (shoulder) should be good to go before that, while other key contributors have battled through bumps and bruises this summer. Reibe’s situation is especially odd. He sought a second opinion on his foot injury, according to a person familiar with the decision, and was told to sit out the summer to try to avoid surgery. Well, he ended up getting the surgery anyway, losing seven weeks of potential recovery time.
Polling the people
This is obviously a critical season for Riley’s future, and everyone seems to have a number in mind of what it’ll take for Riley to keep his job.
So, what is the fewest number of wins you’d accept from Riley and USC without calling for a change?
You don’t see many female serial killers — estimates historically range around just 8% to 12% — but that premise is a thrilling starting point for Hulu’s new cat-and-mouse crime thriller, “Furious.” Emmy Rossum stars as Alice Black, a female FBI agent who’s tasked with tracking down a sex trafficking survivor who has taken to murdering the men who abused her.
But the show gets much deeper than that, as lines start to blur between what’s right and wrong and who’s the actual villain in the story. Only a few episodes are out so far, but what I’ve seen so far suggests we might be looking back on this show as one of the best of 2026.
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
It’s no secret that Hollywood has dealt with a significant production downturn since the end of the streaming content boom three years ago. But the programs that have stuck to the Southland have reaped the benefits. And that goes for a slew of major-category Emmy nominees such as “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which has filmed on stages all over L.A. County since its inception.
“First and foremost, it’s the people. I love the local people, but the people that come to Hollywood with a dream, with a drive, and their dreams sometimes get all twisted and turned, but they still have that ambition,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race” executive producer Tom Campbell says. “That’s why I love working with L.A. crews, and I love L.A. We’ve got 19 seasons in the can right now, and we’re about to start our 20th in not too long. To be with people that get to go home to their pets, or wives, or husbands, or children, makes for a different vibe on set. That’s kind of an incredible [bonus]. It’s a quality-of-life thing.”
Other iterations of the franchise have filmed all over the globe, from Colombia to Portugal to the Philippines, but Campbell doesn’t see how a hub in South America would allow guest judges such as Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Teyana Taylor or Cardi B to appear in person. He notes, “The celebrities don’t make or break the show, but the stars have to align that they have a day off when we’re shooting. And I think that kind of access and availability could only happen in L.A. I don’t think we’d get Cardi B for a day if she had to leave L.A.”
For “Drag Race” production designer Jen Chu, the ability to acquire raw materials in a short period of time is game-changing. She bluntly observes, “Sometimes you just need the assurance that you can go down the street and get that unusual prop or get that super-specific acrylic Plexi or anything that we could possibly need. It is somewhere in the city.”
Michelle Visage, left, RuPaul, Jamal Sims and Carson Kressley in “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
(Jordin Althaus / World of Wonder)
Chu’s 15-person team also has an encyclopedic knowledge about where to get what they need and whom to ask at a moment’s notice. “It’s very, very common for somebody to be like, ‘Can you make a giant six-foot-tall pill bottle by tomorrow?’” she adds. “I think in those situations, we’re definitely calling on our resources and our friends and colleagues that we’ve known for so long. So, it could be anything from calling your laminate dealer that you’ve had in your phone for 20 years, or it’s literally like calling another dresser because you know that they have a life-size teapot in their backyard for some weird reason. It’s not uncommon for somebody to be like, ‘I know a guy that has a giant pickle or a huge frying pan’ or something like that.”
Veteran “Abbott Elementary” producer Patrick Schumacker is about to shoot a new Netflix series in L.A. and says it’s where to find the “most skilled, most experienced and best of the best” in all aspects of production. A lot of the onscreen talent happen to be pretty darn funny too.
“Honestly, so many hysterical actors are based out of here, and it makes it so much easier with regard to guest cast in a comedy,” Schumacker admits. “Casting becomes infinitely easier versus trying to get people to fly in from L.A. to a production elsewhere.”
Quinta Brunson’s landmark series is set in Philadelphia, but Schumacker credits location manager David Lyons for finding “outstanding places” that double for the city. He recalls, “We had a whole mall arc when the school had to relocate, and that was based on Franklin Mills, which is a real mall in Philadelphia that has the giant Ben Franklin head in it. The other part of the two-pronged attack is Michael Whetstone, Suzan Wexler and our entire art department, who have transformed the back lot at Warner Brothers into West Philly. They keep building out more and more of it every year.”
Sheryl Lee Ralph, right, in “Abbott Elementary.”
(Gilles Mingasson / Disney)
It’s also incredibly difficult to fake another city for Los Angeles. Can you imagine the L.A. romance “Nobody Wants This” trying to duplicate Silver Lake, Los Feliz or Koreatown in Atlanta?
“A real location helps the dialogue sound better. It looks better. It helps the actors know they’re in a real place. It helps the audience feel like they’re watching a real scene,” series creator and executive producer Erin Foster says. “When you think about ‘Sex and the City’ in its heyday, you would recognize the places that they’re at. You would recognize that they are actually authentic, real places that are cool. And it mattered. It made you take the characters seriously.”
Executive producer Jenni Konner adds, “And it sometimes informs story. We shot at Max & Helen’s, a notoriously difficult-to-get-into restaurant, and we had a story point where they weren’t able to get in because they didn’t realize how competitive it was. That was really fun to be able to highlight that truth of L.A.”
And not to take shots at Hollywood’s East Coast rival, but after the Netflix show recently shot scenes in New York for its upcoming third season, executive producer Bruce Eric Kaplan observed that the Big Apple presents drawbacks L.A. doesn’t. “It feels like the Los Angeles crew is a lot more concerned about our safety,” says the onetime “Girls” producer, lightheartedly. “I don’t remember ever having this many safety conversations, but you could shoot in the middle of anything in New York, and no one’s telling you to be safe.”
“Might be a sign of the times,” Foster wonders.
“Erin, I think you’re right,” Konner replies. “At first, I was like, ‘Oh, but it’s 10 or 15 years later, so safety rules have changed.’ But the truth is we shot in New York, and it did feel scary again. We were in the middle of the street in SoHo …”
Foster adds, laughing, “And they were just like, ‘We’ll just figure it out.’”
Lots of broken-up bands reconvene for a tour, as the Black Crowes did in 2019, half a decade after brothers Chris and Rich Robinson dissolved the Southern rock group they’d formed in Atlanta in the mid-1980s. Some even stay together long enough to make a new record, as the Crowes managed to do with 2024’s well-received “Happiness Bastards.” What’s relatively rare in music is for a reunited band to quickly follow up a comeback album with a second one. Yet that’s what the Robinsons did this year when they dropped “A Pound of Feathers,” the Crowes’ 10th studio LP, behind which they’ll touch down Monday night at the Hollywood Bowl. Ahead of the show, Chris Robinson, 59, called from the road to tell the stories behind five of the band’s songs.
‘Hard to Handle’ (1990)
The Black Crowes broke out with a frisky cover of this Otis Redding tune just as hair metal was giving way to grunge. A hit on MTV, the song drove sales of the band’s debut, “Shake Your Money Maker,” to sales of more than 5 million copies.
There are some songs of Otis’ that I couldn’t do justice. As a 21-year-old kid starting my career — well, we didn’t even know we were gonna have careers — but what am I gonna sing? “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”? “Hard to Handle,” it’s cheeky, it’s lighthearted. And I loved the break: “Pretty little thing, let me light your candle…” So I took it to George Drakoulias, our producer, and I said, “I think we could do this.” George is the one who turned it into “Walk This Way” — he put it in the same rhythmic space. Otis’ version swings, but we really couldn’t swing at the time.
So “Hard to Handle” wasn’t something you were playing live early on? No, we brought it in for the record. Being from Georgia and Otis being from Georgia, it was important to us that people knew this is where we’re coming from. Two autumns ago, Zelma Redding and her family invited us to their big old ranch outside Macon, and we had an afternoon in the great man’s study. They have all his awards and guitars and stuff and the velvet slippers he had on when the plane crashed. At certain times in our career, we’ve been like, “F—, do we have to play ‘Hard to Handle’ again?’” We’d jam at the end or try all these things to make it sound different. But as the years have gone by, we just play it the way it’s supposed to be.
George’s engineer, Brendan O’Brien, played the guitar solo in “Hard to Handle.” Why? We had Jeff Cease, but he’d split and gone back to Nashville. And Rich didn’t play solos back then. That changed, but at the time he was the rhythm guitar player. So it was out of necessity. We needed that meat-and-potatoes solo, and Brendan could rip it. I saw him on some podcast saying we were in L.A. and we were gonna call Slash. I’m like, “No we weren’t — you did the solo in Atlanta on Rich’s Les Paul.”
“Shake Your Money Maker” came out on Rick Rubin’s Def American label, and he’s credited as executive producer. Did Rick do anything on the album? No.
All righty. I’m just being honest. George and I lived in Rick’s house — I was in the basement — but the most I saw of him at the time was him leaving to go get lunch at Canter’s with Glenn Danzig. He did come to a session once with Andrew Dice Clay. We were called Mr. Crowe’s Garden at the time — we weren’t yet the Black Crowes. Rick and George were like, “You guys probably need to change your name,” and Andrew Dice Clay goes, “You should change it to Sticky Paste.” I said, “Why don’t you stick to the cigarette over your head, and I’ll handle this?”
‘She Talks to Angels’ (1990)
For “Money Maker’s” fourth single, the band released this darkly poetic ballad about a woman struggling with a drug addiction.
Were you nervous to reveal a softer side? The only trepidation would’ve been because this was the power-ballad era of all the hair-metal bands.
Poison with “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and so on. Every band had one. There were hair-metal bands that only had power ballads — Firehouse or some band with 17th century French aristocrat hair.
Everything but the lace cravat. Everything but sincere songwriting. Look, they’re people too — I get it. But we wrote a ballad out of the sincerity of how we were feeling, you know? We were reaching for “Wild Horses” or “Dark End of the Street” or “Astral Weeks.” The power ballad was a device for rock bands, but we didn’t use it as that. We used it as pure expression.
Tell me about the story the song tells. My interest in writing and literature revolved around darker themes, whether it was the Beats or Paul Bowles or whatever. There’s drugs and madness and pain but also glory and redemption and the true heartbeat of life. So the song is a sad story but it’s romantic. There’s no moral gotcha — no resentment toward the character or the predicament they find themselves in.
How’d you come by that approach? Reading. My mother, who just passed away a few weeks ago, she gave me a great gift: I’m dyslexic, and my mom in the early ’70s in the Deep South, she knew something was up with me. I went to school three times a week after school for years to learn how to read. And when that clicked, that was everything. My life now, it’s horribly boring. Rick Rubin with Danzig at Canter’s sounds exciting compared to Chris Robinson and the used bookstores of my life.
“Angels” is full of vivid details: the lock of hair in the woman’s pocket, for instance. Who were the songwriters that taught you how to create an image? It all starts with Bob: “Jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule” — like, what?! But I’m a funny Dylan fan because I like the weird lyrics he does, like “Clothes Line Saga” from “The Basement Tapes.” Alex Chilton was really big. The first Big Star record I could get my hands on in the early ’80s was “3rd.” As a matter of fact, the first show we ever did, Rich and I played “Nightime” from that record.
On the strength of “Money Maker,” the Crowes were nominated for best new artist at the Grammys in 1991. You didn’t win — A theme that continues today.
You remember who did? It was Mariah Carey, I think.
Correct. Good for her. Rich and I flew in from some tour date for one night, and I remember MC Hammer winning and doing something with Pepsi. I met MC Hammer a couple years ago. Amazingly cool guy.
What put you and Hammer in the same room? I’m not allowed to talk about that.
Sure. No, I’m serious — I can’t talk about it.
‘Remedy’ (1992)
The Crowes’ sophomore album, “The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion,” was led by this swaggering soul-rock jam, which Robinson opened with a memorable couplet: “Baby, baby, why can’t you sit still? / Who killed that bird out on your windowsill?”
I was in Philly a few weeks ago, in Rittenhouse Square, and I said to my friend, “That’s the hotel that I opened my window one gray day on tour, and there was a dead bird.” The room was on the 15th floor or something, and I guess the bird had flown into the glass. I was in a series of early failed rock and roll relationships, so my imagination was: Who killed that bird? Oh, she did it. The rest of it’s made up, but I had to see the dead bird that morning to kick off the thought.
There’s some great interplay here between you and your background singers — really draws out the R&B in the band’s sound. For us, it’s instinctive. I’ve ingested a lot of Funkadelic, a lot of Prince, a lot of the Gap Band. One of my first concerts was Cameo on the “Alligator Woman” tour — mind-blowing. My singing is far more rhythmic than it is melodic a lot of the time. When I was playing with Joe Perry last summer, Steven Tyler came down to the Hollywood Bowl to do “Train Kept A-Rollin’.” He was like, “What key’s it in?” I said, “I don’t know.” He’s like, “You’ve been out with Joe for three weeks, and you don’t know what key the song’s in?” I said, “Steven, are you ready? I’ve never known what key a song is in.”
“Remedy” spent 11 straight weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s rock radio chart. One of the songs stuck behind it was the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge.” And just think — I never took my shirt off.
‘Sting Me’ (1992)
The tune that eventually knocked “Remedy” from the top spot? The Crowes’ second single from “Southern Harmony.”
It’s as close to a protest song as we ever got. Concerts in the ’90s were wild, man — we were seeing security guards beating on kids. But we were also seeing this blind patriotism toward ideals and philosophies that you’ve never even really looked at with any depth. So: “If you feel like a riot / Then don’t you deny it.”
There’s something slippery about the riff — it takes a second to figure out where the one is. It fights itself — it’s funky in there. “Shake Your Money Maker” was very straight — click tracks to put the drum track together, now play the bass over that, blah blah blah. We just weren’t great at that point. By the time we’re in the studio with “Sting Me,” though, that’s one take live on the floor. We made “Southern Harmony” in eight days.
You can hear the effect of having played a few hundred gigs. I’m glad you say that. Now bands are like, “I don’t want to go on the road — I’m gonna take a mental health break.” Can you imagine in 1992, you’re in one of the biggest bands in the world, and you’re like, “Hey man, I gotta chill out”? Get the f— out of here.
The “Sting Me” video was filmed at the Great Atlanta Pot Festival in 1992, which the band played as part of your activism around legalizing weed. What’s it been like to see those efforts succeed to some degree? My main victory within that, if my voice was a part of it, is that we’re in a more gentle place — that it won’t ruin your life now if the police pull you over and there’s a roach in your ashtray. You have to realize: Being arrested isn’t just about the inconvenience of being incarcerated — it’s that now you’re in the system. I mean, ask any marginalized community — those drug laws were put on the books to keep you down.
‘Pharmacy Chronicles’ (2026)
Over a shuffling country-blues groove, Robinson sings about “perfume, Champagne and sin” in this standout from “A Pound of Feathers.”
Would you have foreseen that, after you got back together, you and Rich would release two albums in less than two years? I don’t know about that. But leave Rich and I to our own devices, and that’s what we do. Our whole entrée into this world wasn’t because I could sing or he was a great guitarist — we wanted to write songs. I’ve written a lot of songs by myself, and probably out of those songs, there’s a few that I’m proud of. And I think Rich would say the same thing for himself. But there’s just something about the inspiration I get from Rich’s playing that makes us a successful songwriting team.
“Pharmacy Chronicles” has some bedraggled wisdom to it. I’m not sure you could have written it as a younger man. I wasn’t that cynical then. It’s making fun of yourself in a way — like some old Victorian actor in the bowels of the theater taking his makeup off and wondering what it all means.
Do you think your voice has changed along with your perspective? Of course my voice has changed — through age and, in the ’90s, through abuse. I can’t hit the super-highest notes I could as a young person. But we still sing the old songs in the original keys. Not that I know what those keys are.
Fresh off a two-month stint filming the eighth season of Peacock’s “Love Island USA” in Fiji, Ariana Madix is happy to be back in her own space.
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
“I’ve been back and forth and all over the place so much lately,” says Madix from her Los Angeles home. “I’m very excited about all the things that I’m doing with my house. Just little things like I got a new front door. I’m in a nesting phase, I guess, because I’ve been gone for so long.”
The television personality and actor, who made her Broadway debut in “Chicago” in 2024 after capturing attention on Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules,” recently scored her first Emmy for hosting the wildly popular dating competition show “Love Island USA.” She finds that her summers in Fiji, the show’s filming location, always leave her with a fresh perspective.
“Going back multiple seasons, I see people who are so much younger than me be able to be so honest and forthright with how they feel and what they want,” says Madix. “I just think about back when I was their age, how scared I was all the time to make people mad. I admire them so much for that because it’s hard. I think that they are really brave and it inspires me to be brave.”
With the “Love Island USA” reunion set to air Aug. 31 on Peacock, Madix is enjoying every minute of her downtime. Back in Los Angeles where she’s lived for nearly two decades, her perfect Sunday involves a trip to the barn to ride horses, strolling through the neighborhood she first called home and hitting a club where people actually dance.
10 a.m.: Make a quick breakfast at home
I’m a sleepy person. I can sleep forever, so I have to set a time and be like, we’re going to do something. So I’m getting up at 10 a.m. I feel like that still gives me time to sleep in and feel like I’m still having a relaxing day, but it’s still early enough to do stuff. My breakfast is pretty boring. I just make egg whites at the house. I enjoy breakfast food a lot, but if I want to have an eventful fun day, I need to just get the breakfast out of the way and get some caffeine in me. Because if I dillydally for too long, I’m here all day. I’ll either make an iced Americano with a little bit of almond milk or a cold brew. I don’t do anything hot. It’s against my religion that I made up [laughs].
11 a.m.: Head to the barn to ride horses
I’d get out to the barn in Burbank to go horseback riding. Doing something outdoors, whether it’s riding, going on a hike or literally just touching grass, is a good way to start your day, I feel. Especially in L.A. where we’re spoiled with beautiful weather all the time. I’ve been riding since I was 6 years old. When I lived in New York, it wasn’t something that I really had access to or the funds for, so there was a period of time where I wasn’t riding and I felt like I was really missing that part of myself.
We’re really blessed to have access to riding in L.A. I had my own horse, but he recently retired so he lives in the mountains now, living his best life. So if my trainer has horses that need to be ridden for their own exercise, they’ll put me on one of those.
1 p.m.: Visit my old stomping grounds in Los Feliz
After that, I gotta go home, shower, change and then I gotta eat. I’d go to Los Feliz for some tacos and go for a walk. This is going to sound corny, but I recently tried Guac Daddy with my boyfriend, Dan. We each got like two or three tacos, so we could try a bunch and it was good. Afterward, we’re definitely going to Skylight [Books]. I love the section of the store that has all of the big photography books. I could flip through so many of them, so that’s where I’m going to post up for a little bit, hopefully with an iced coffee in hand. I saw something on TikTok where someone said our need for a walk-around beverage is emotionally regulating, so I think that’s a key part of this whole experience.
5 p.m.: Take a power nap before grabbing drinks at a rooftop
I think this is about the time where I need a nap, especially if I’m going to continue doing other things. If I can get a good power nap in, I’m ready to transition into more nighttime vibes. I want to try to be out of the house having a little sunset drink and I want to be somewhere with a good view of the sunset. There are some really cute rooftop spots in the Beverly Hills area. Gemma at the Waldorf Astoriahas a really cute rooftop. That’s a good place to have a nice mezcal margarita and watch the sunset. My best friend, Logan, and I like to go somewhere where we say we’re gonna “eat with a fork.” There’s different levels to this. We might get an order of Parmesan fries or have a fish moment like crudo or a fish taco. Something that feels fresh that goes along with the vibe. I’d be here for a couple of hours with Dan and my friends Logan [Cochran], Dayna [Kathan] and Katie [Maloney].
7:30 p.m.: Play old-school games at the Neon Retro Arcade
Dan and I recently had a Sunday Funday in Pasadena. We went to this arcade bar called Neon Retro. I love a good pinball machine. They have all these old-school games like the old NBA game and old shooting games. Now that we’re adults and we can get unlimited [tokens], you actually can play long enough to beat some of these games. [Laughs] It’s a lot more satisfying than when we were kids and you’d play once, you’d die and then that’s it. We might get some candy to really feel the arcade vibes. It’s definitely a beer moment though.
10 p.m.: Dance at Club Tee Gee ‘til they kick us out
This is where things diverge because I’d maybe go catch a movie at CityWalk. Or if we’re feeling freaky, we could go to Club Tee Gee in Atwater for some dancing, to really have fun and feel like tomorrow’s not Monday. They always have really good music. I actually celebrated my birthday there a few years ago, which was really fun. They have glitter on the ceiling, which sets the tone immediately, and a lot of big-name DJs who will do secret sets there. It’s a place where people actually go to dance, which I enjoy. It’s not just standing around and looking at people.
2:30 a.m.: Order food off Postmates, then pass out
We’re staying at Club Tee Gee till close, till they kick us out. Then we’re catching a Lyft home and potentially ordering some food off Postmates. I’ve said tacos throughout the day, but I still want them [again] regardless. I think we’re spoiled in L.A. and there’s so many good ones, so I don’t have a favorite. I kind of just go everywhere. If not tacos, I’ll maybe be craving some Thai food. Then I’m passing out right afterward.
In the private home studio left behind by his father, Shane Hawkins is hitting the drums hard. The teenager behind the kit is locked into “Driven to Tears,” the Police’s reggae-charged protest song, channeling its sharp, syncopated beats with controlled fury.
His long blond hair swings across his face as Hawkins loses himself in the moment, tapping into a brisk echo of ’80s rock. He then shifts into the thundering blues of Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard,” driving into the heavier groove while surrounded by the instruments, gear and treasured memorabilia of his late father, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died in 2022.
Joining him in this rehearsal are bassist Wiley Hodgden and guitarist Brent Woods, who played hard-rocking cover songs in Taylor’s side project Chevy Metal for more than two decades. After Taylor’s death, the Foo Fighters carried on, but Chevy Metal were certain they could not. Shane changed that.
“Wiley and I were in agreement, like, it’s done,” says Woods. “Shane was the one that said, ‘I want to do Chevy.’”
For Taylor’s son, the band was one more thing he didn’t want to let go.
“It was a part of my childhood and it’s like, my dad was gone and these people that I’ve watched my whole childhood, they’re still there,” says Shane, 19. “Why not keep something going? And it’s just honoring my dad, you know?”
Most of the music world first saw Shane behind the drums during Foo Fighters’ performance of “My Hero” at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert at Wembley Stadium on Sept. 3, 2022. He was 16 and already obsessed with drums, but he says it wasn’t until that moment that he knew he wanted to devote his life making music.
“It was a gnarly time,” Shane recalls. “You had to pull that off. You can’t really f— that up.
“I played for a lot of people, and there’s only one feeling like that — especially playing the drums. Once you do that, you never want to do anything else.”
With Chevy Metal, Shane is in a band committed to playing songs mostly created before he was born, with a typical setlist including songs by Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Queen, the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, Rush and the Doors. His presence now means leaning more often into classic punk rock. During their live sets, Shane will usually take the mic to growl through the Bad Brains’ speedy “Big Takeover,” pacing the stage and banging his head.
“We’re playing the Germs now,” says Woods. “We’re playing Black Flag, which we never did before.”
Shane Hawkins plays drums with Chevy Metal at the Viper Room.
(Steve Appleford)
Chevy Metal shows routinely feature surprise guests. Dave Grohl and other Foos have frequently appeared. So have Mick Jagger and players from Queen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns ‘N Roses and more. Even tennis star John McEnroe once joined the band on guitar at a Malibu gig, alongside his wife, singer Patty Smyth.
One regular guest is Lee Ving, singer for the pioneering L.A. punk band Fear. “Lee is like the elder statesman, and then we got Shane, who is so young,” Hodgden says of the age range. “You never see that unless it’s maybe a church band or something.”
Another regular is Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, a family friend whose son Revel also plays music with Shane.
“He’s a great dude and he is a monster drummer,” Scott says of Shane. “I sit and I watch him and Revel play together. It’s so great to see, especially in a world where a lot of younger kids don’t pick up instruments anymore. They live, eat, sleep, breathe, bleed, rock music.”
Until this month, the resurrected Chevy Metal could only perform during Shane’s breaks from his boarding school on the East Coast, but he is newly graduated and ready to play. The trio performs Saturday at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach as part of a series of shows that will take the band to the U.K. Shane is also working with other young players on new material.
“He’s already jamming with kids his own age and friends that he’s had for years, and starting his own project,” says Woods. “But this is good for him to learn, just to play in different venues and travel around and get his feet wet playing covers.”
Chevy Metal once served a similar purpose for Taylor, a favorite pastime alongside his Foo Fighters work. Hodgden has been part of the Foo Fighters crew for 24 years, both on the road and at their studio 606, starting as Taylor’s drum tech. Before that, he was a bartender newly arrived from Oklahoma that the drummer befriended.
In 2002, Hodgden and original guitarist Achim “Dange” St. Dangerfield started the band as an acoustic duo doing cover songs. Taylor was a regular, Hodgden says, turning to Shane. “There’d be two drunks at the bar, and then your dad sitting there heckling us,” Hodgden says with a laugh. “We go into ‘Hotel California,’ and he’s like, ‘Oh, great song choice, guys.’”
The Foos drummer soon wanted in.
“Taylor was trying to come up with names and he’s like, ‘How about Chevy Metal?’ And I said, ‘Well, you can’t really name the band. You’re not in it,’” Hodgden adds. “But we jammed all the time up at his house, and then one day we’re playing and it sounded good. And Taylor stood up and said, ‘I’m gonna be your drummer and we’re gonna call it Chevy Metal.’ And I was like, that’s a rad name.”
“He got to be the boss in this band and steer the ship and do whatever he wanted,” says Hodgden. “But also it was low pressure and it was all about fun.”
Taylor filled much of his downtime making more music. Aside from Chevy Metal, he recorded new songs with the Coattail Riders (which included Woods) and, earlier, the Birds of Satan (including Hodgden).
“He never stopped,” Woods recalls. “He would call me at 7 a.m. and go, ‘What are you doin? Get up here!’ He’d go to bed probably at midnight, one o’clock, and he’s up taking the kids to school, he’s mountain biking, and he’s ready to roll. I was still sleeping, but he would be up every day wanting to create and work.”
Woods saw Chevy Metal’s first show with Taylor at Abuelitas in Topanga Canyon in 2002. After Dange moved up north to work as a teacher, Woods eventually became Chevy Metal’s new guitarist. Woods grew up in Burbank and took guitar lessons from Randy Rhoads, best known for his work on Ozzy Osbourne’s early solo albums.
“He was such a great lead player, but he was adamant that if you can’t play rhythm, it doesn’t matter how great of a lead player you are,” Woods says of Rhoads, who emphasized “rhythm and feel.”
“I wouldn’t be sitting here right now if it wasn’t for Randy teaching me.”
Growing up initially in Topanga Canyon, the first beat Shane learned to play was the thunderous drum fill from Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” Then came Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” and the Rolling Stones’ “Miss You.” By 13, he was spending hours each day practicing alone in the basement at his boarding school.
“There were no other kids that really played at the school, so I’d just sit down and play,” he says.
Shane grew up watching both Foo Fighters and Chevy Metal shows. “I’d sit behind my dad and watch him play and watch people just go crazy,” says Shane. “And as a kid, you think that’s the coolest thing in the world, because it is. It’s the best feeling.”
The band Chevy Metal — bassist Wiley Hodgden, left, drummer Shane Hawkins and guitarist Brent Woods — gestures downstairs at the Viper Room on the Sunset Strip.
(Steve Appleford)
Taylor’s home studio was built in a guest house behind his family’s home in Hidden Hills, a gated community on the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley. Inside, the walls are still covered with his guitars, posters, photographs and other relics from his favorite artists: Aerosmith, Rush, Bowie, Jane’s Addiction and Soundgarden.
The reborn Chevy Metal still rehearses in what Woods describes as Taylor’s “man cave.”
“He put a lot of work into making this room what it is right now,” says Shane. “I remember him precisely making sure every picture was hung up in the exact place. And every banner was hung perfectly and every speaker was placed perfectly for your ear.”
The band recorded a lot of songs here with Taylor, and they hope to release some of that material from the vault. They plan on more recording with his son.
Before Shane graduated high school, the last time Chevy Metal played a hometown show was at the Viper Room on New Year’s Eve. It was also a gathering of rock ’n’ roll families, as second-generation musicians took turns onstage with Chevy Metal, representing the offspring of Guns ‘N Roses, Jane’s Addiction and Anthrax.
During the sound check, the band ran through songs by U2 and Foreigner, and Shane hammered the drums at full volume. Afterward, he was chatting with Scott Ian, who advised him: “You never want to be great at dress rehearsal. You want to be good at dress rehearsal, and then be great at the show.”
Shane nodded, but for now, he says he can only play at one level: loud.
As Shane sat in the dressing room before Chevy Metal’s set, Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins walked in, asking, “Where’s the drummer?” Then he spotted Shane, smiled, grabbed his hand and said, “There he is!”
Coach Jim Harbaugh said roughly 15 starters won’t play in the Chargers’ preseason opener against the Houston Texans, and there are several spots on the depth chart that still need to be decided.
“The preseason games will give us a window of insight into where everybody is,” Harbaugh said.
Here are five position groups to monitor when the Chargers face the Texans on Thursday at 5 p.m. PDT (CBS, NFL+).
Left guard battle
Chargers offensive lineman Trey Pipkins (79) works out with his teammates during drills in June.
(Alex Gallardo / Associated Press)
Who will line up to the left of center Tyler Biadasz remains to be determined.
Slaughter appears to be in the lead, with Awosika and Taylor behind.
“Jake Slaughter had a great weekend,” Harbaugh said Tuesday. “If we were right up to the minute right now, [I] really liked [Slaughter’s] tape from the weekend — and his confidence. Like, he’s getting it.”
It’s a given that Biadasz will start at center, Cole Strange at right guard, Joe Alt at right tackle and Rashawn Slater at left tackle.
But the Chargers need someone to seize control of the left guard spot sooner rather than later.
“No one has eliminated themselves from the tournament,” offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel said.
The list might be narrowed by Friday morning.
Tight end trio?
Chargers tight end Charlie Kolar takes part in drills at minicamp in June.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Unlike the left guard competition, the Chargers believe they have a three-headed monster at tight end with Charlie Kolar, David Njoku and Oronde Gadsden.
“They’re all great dudes,” Njoku said of the tight end room. “Everyone has their own thing … I think we complement each other and push each other to strive for greatness.”
Each has seen a good amount of reps in various packages throughout training camp, and all should see the field quite a bit during the regular season.
Perhaps the Chargers’ first preseason game — and who plays first, most or not at all during it — will indicate a pecking order.
Third safety
Chargers safety Genesis Smith goes through drills during rookie minicamp in May.
(William Liang / Associated Press)
Derwin James Jr. and Elijah Molden have their starting safety spots locked up. However, James is a Swiss Army Knife who often plays nickel, meaning the Chargers need a solidified third safety.
Who will be that guy?
“The standard is the standard,” James said of the defensive backs. “I feel like everyone’s going out there competing. We got a lot of depth. We got a lot of guys who can make a lot of plays. When their numbers [are] called, guys are stepping up. So, it’s good to see.”
It appears to be a three-way race between rookie Genesis Smith, Tony Jefferson and RJ Mickens.
Cutting corners
Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. (3) and cornerback Rodney Shelley run a drill during training camp on Aug. 1.
(William Liang / Associated Press)
Tarheeb Still is the Chargers’ No. 1 outside cornerback with Donte Jackson and Cam Hart following.
“I feel very comfortable and very confident,” Still said. “I think that’s just a credit to my coaches [and] my teammates. … I feel really good about where I’m at personally, and where the team and the defense is.”
But after that trio is a deep mix of options competing for spots on the 53-man roster.
Avery Smith and Rodney Shelley have impressed as undrafted rookies like Nikko Reed and Eric Rogers did in 2025. And Deane Leonard is probably a lock to stay in L.A. as a special-teamer.
So Thursday’s game will be pivotal, as teams rarely keep eight-plus cornerbacks; the Chargers kept seven last season.
“We always encourage each other,” Jackson said of the room. “No selfish demeanors on this team.”
Herbert insurance
Chargers quarterback Trey Lance throws during offseason workouts in May.
(William Liang / Associated Press)
Harbaugh said backup signal-callers DJ Uiagalelei and Trey Lance will each play one half against the Texans as they battle to be Justin Herbert’s primary replacement.
“Both have really acquitted themselves well,” Harbaugh said. “From what I’ve seen in practice, it’s going to be pretty close. They’re both good.”
Uiagalelei and Lance, once a pair of big-named prospects, have had their share of highs and lows throughout training camp. Each could use a good, live outing.
With the blink of an eye, years go by so fast covering high school athletes. It seems like only yesterday Jake Bauers was a senior at Marina High collecting 48 hits with a .571 batting average. Thirteen years later, Bauers has a beard, tattoos and is in his seventh major league season as the first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers.
The last time I saw him was the Division 1 championship game at Dodger Stadium. His team lost 1-0 to Harvard-Westlake and Jack Flaherty at Dodger Stadium.
Fast-forward to Tuesday afternoon. He’s in the visiting clubhouse at Petco Park preparing to face the San Diego Padres, the team that drafted him in the seventh round in 2017. He’s as levelheaded and as comfortable as he was living in Huntington Beach. He has 21 home runs this season. Not bad for someone who didn’t get to play varsity baseball until his junior season.
Not playing varsity until junior year is now considered a little unusual for top players, but Bauers said it’s nothing to think deeply about.
“We had a good team,” he said. “Maybe it was frustrating at the time. In hindsight, it doesn’t really matter. If you’re a good player, you’ll keep playing.”
The Brewers can call themselves the best team with the most Southern California natives. Trevor Megill, a high school teammate of Bauers, joins Joey Ortiz (Garden Grove Pacifica), Brice Turang (Corona Santiago), Garrett Mitchell (Orange Lutheran) and Christian Yelich (Westlake) as the SoCal group.
“We got a lot of guys from Southern California,” Turang said. “It’s cool. A lot of guys played against each other in high school.”
Trewley-Precious opened up about the pressure she felt to stay in her marriage because of her culture, admitting she was left feeling ashamed after walking away
22:10, 10 Aug 2026Updated 22:19, 10 Aug 2026
Trewley-Precious has let cameras into her family life(Image: Channel 4)
A Channel 4 star has opened up about her love life.
The Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives star broke down in tears as she said that she felt like a “failure” after leaving her marriage. Trewley-Precious made a return to our TV screens tonight (August 10) for another episode of her Channel 4 reality show, as she yet again allows cameras into her family life.
She attempts to forge a career online, while balancing the expectations of her traditional Traveller family. During a heartfelt moment, the reality star revealed she married at just 19 and left her husband three years later, admitting she felt a huge amount of shame because of the expectations placed on her within her culture.
In some Traveller communities, traditional expectations can place a strong emphasis on women marrying young, settling down and having children.
Trewley was discussing her life with a friend when she was asked how her family felt about her being a “rule breaker”, with her friend pointing out that, “realistically”, she should probably have been married with three children by now.
Speaking to the camera, Trewley explained: “Yeah, I’ve done one of those things. I was in a relationship for four years, I was a wife. To be married in our culture means that you’ve been given to a man without church and you’re set for life.”
The star went on to reveal that she had married her husband when she was just 19. “I got married to him when I was 19 and then I left him when I was 22,” she said. “I got out of there, it just wasn’t good, it wasn’t the nicest thing.” But despite leaving a relationship she says was not good for her, Trewley admitted she struggled emotionally with her decision.
“I felt a lot of shame when I left him, just because it felt like I had failed,” she said. Later, back in bed with her friend, Trewley became visibly emotional as she reflected on how long she had remained in the marriage. To think I was in such a bad place being in that marriage for so long,” she said. “I should have left that two years prior to everything and I didn’t because it was a shame.”
Fighting back tears, Trewley explained that the experience had fundamentally changed the way she viewed relationships and, most importantly, herself.
“It taught me that the only thing we had in common at that time is that we both didn’t love me and now I do,” she said. “I’d never be in something like that ever, ever, ever, ever again.”
Trewley went on to discuss the expectations she had grown up with about marriage and standing by a husband “through thick and thin”.
“I’ve seen a lot of women survive their marriages, survive this and that but I’m not doing that,” she said. “I’ve just been raised that you stand by a man through thick and thin but now that I’m older, I’ve also realised you show a man that you’ll go through anything with him, they’ll put you through everything.”
Her comments appeared to bring up painful memories of her own family, with Trewley becoming overwhelmed as she questioned how her mum had endured so much.
“How could my mum put up with so much, do so much, I can’t,” she said through tears. “In my head, I just couldn’t do what my mum did. So I failed.”
But her friend immediately reassured her that leaving an unhappy marriage did not mean she had failed. “No you haven’t failed. You know your worth,” her friend told her. Trewley admitted that learning her own worth had taken time. “I didn’t for a long time but it took me ages to get it back,” she said.
And it appears the experience has completely changed what she wants from a future relationship. “The next person I will be with, they will tick, tick, tick,” Trewley said.
You can catch up on Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives on Channel 4.
Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where we are just deep enough into USC’s fall football camp to ask the same question we ask every year around this time:
Might this be the year that Lincoln Riley actually fields a good defense at USC?
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Under D’Anton Lynn, the Trojans had unequivocally improved on that side of the ball. Lynn took the disaster that was USC’s defense under Alex Grinch and turned it into a respectable outfit, albeit one with limitations. There was no dominant, or even consistent, pass rusher. The run defense was regularly run over by good teams. And too often, in the biggest moments, there were mental lapses or self-inflicted mistakes on the back end of Lynn’s defense.
At the time, he pointed to the team’s youth as the problem.
“This team is more talented, but they’re just young,” Lynn said last November. “It’s just guys who haven’t played before. There are certain mistakes you have to live through.”
Almost a year later, USC has a new defensive coordinator. And kind of the same problem.
There are two things I think we can safely assume about this defense, compared to its 2025 counterpart: That Gary Patterson, as a newly minted College Football Hall of Famer, should be a significant upgrade from Lynn. And that the influx of five-star talent on USC’s defense should be too.
Because the hard truth, from the past four seasons, is that the Trojans just haven’t had enough talent on defense. Say what you will about the defensive coaching — and it has ranged from above average to horrendous during Riley’s tenure — but outside of Tuli Tuipulotu, who was only with Riley in 2022, USC just hasn’t had any true difference-makers capable of blowing up drives or taking over games on that end.
That’s beginning to change. The 2025 class had one defensive player I believe to be truly special in defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart, plus a couple others who have flashed some potential, such as defensive back Alex Graham and defensive tackle Floyd Boucard.
The 2026 class could be a different animal, if early reviews are to be believed. Five-star Luke Wafle already looks the part of a dominant defensive end and doesn’t have much standing in his way if he decides to take over this season. Elbert “Rock” Hill should be a starting cornerback in short order, either this season or next, and guys such as linebacker Talanoa Ili and defensive tackles Tomuhini Topui and Jaimeon Winfield look like future starters too.
But are any of those players poised to make a difference this season? They may have to, if USC has any hope of taking a real step forward on that side of the ball.
Otherwise, the Trojans are going to need some other defenders to make the leap in their second or third seasons, guys such as linebacker Desman Stephens or defensive linemen Jide Abasiri and Kameryn Crawford who have the potential but have never delivered on it consistently. They’re also going to need the secondary to stay healthy and top corners Jontez Williams and Chasen Johnson to live up to their billing from the portal.
But while all that might seem like reason to believe USC’s defense won’t be better in 2026, I actually think there are more such reasons than in recent years.
The front is clearly deeper, and if Wafle and Stewart can break through, USC could have two difference-makers along the defensive line for the first time in years. The secondary has two possible shutdown corners for the first time too.
The main cause for concern comes at linebacker, where USC still doesn’t have much in the way of high-level options. But if Stephens and Jadyn Walker can stand up better against the run in their third seasons, which Patterson seems convinced they can do, then those long standing problems could be at least somewhat mitigated this season.
The truth is there’s no real way of knowing how USC’s defense will look when it rolls out later this month. Patterson hasn’t coached since 2021. He has told us on several occasions that his defense will look different, blending concepts from other schools he observed and from USC’s previous defense.
But on paper, at least, the potential is at least there for Patterson to put together the best defense Riley has had as USC’s coach, complete with difference-makers in the defensive front and defensive backfield. Which, when paired with a top-10 offense, could be a pretty powerful thing.
The USC Bloom Football Performance Center.
(Allen Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
It’s extremely … functional. I know that’s not the sexiest answer. But it’s not the sexiest building.
And I mean that as a compliment!
It’s clear how much the design reflects the input of Riley and his staff, as well as others who understand what USC has been dealing with for years at the John McKay Center. Eighty percent of that facility was underground. So it’s notable when you see the natural light pouring in through the atrium from the ground floor or the 30-foot garage doors opening from the weight room to the practice field.
Amenities such as pickleball courts or infrared saunas or sensory deprivation tanks are cool, but I was more impressed by the heavy emphasis put on player recovery. Which was something else that Riley trumpeted in talking with reporters after our tour. The players themselves said that their favorite part so far was the zero-gravity recliners at their lockers.
The most impressive part, to me, is how everything withing Bloom feels so big, even as space had for so long been seen as a major problem on USC’s campus. For years, administrators told me and other reporters that they’d never be able to build a new facility on campus. But Bloom checked in at three floors and 163,000-square feet and at no point does any of it feel cramped.
In fact, there’s extra space in the building. Designed for the program to have room to grow.
“My goal with this building,” Riley said Thursday, “is I hope 50 years from now, when I’m really, really, really old, that whoever is in this thing, it’s still one of the top facilities and still is the home of USC football and still gives this program every possible advantage it could.”
USC’s starting center from 2025 is out for the season. What now?
Fifth-year senior Kilian O’Connor went down with a non-contact injury last Wednesday, ending his season and presumably his tenure with the Trojans. On an emotional level, it’s a tough pill for the team to swallow.
“[He’s] certainly one of the leaders and kind of heartbeats of this program,” Riley said Thursday of the former walk-on.
But from a football standpoint, the offensive line is one of the few places where USC may actually be able to weather a loss such as O’Connor. It’s possible that he might not have started the whole season at center, anyway.
With O’Connor out, Tobias Raymond, who took reps at center in the spring, could shift there full time. That would open up another spot at guard, where the best combination of Alani Noa, Hayden Treter, Breck Kolojay or even Justin Tauanuu could fit in.
There are options. Which is not a luxury USC has at a lot of other positions. It has offensive line coach Zach Hanson to thank for that.
—USC transfer center Eric Reibe is out for the foreseeable future after foot surgery. A Trojan transfer with high expectations got hurt before playing a single game at USC? You don’t say? Once again, USC starts a season stricken with the worst injury luck. It wasn’t clear yet this week how long Reibe will be out, but I expect it’ll be a while. The Trojans have already been in the mix for former Villanova center Duke Brennan, who got an extra, fifth year of eligibility after the NCAA changed its rules, and they could go after others if he goes elsewhere. USC only has one other true center on the roster, freshman Darius Ratliff. And while he — and his brother — are very talented, the ideal trajectory for both would’ve been to bring them along slowly behind more established players.
—Alani Noa was away from the team last bowl season “to deal with some personal stuff” at home. But the Trojans incumbent starting guard said last week that “there was never a question whether I was going to play at USC” and that the staff was totally supportive at the time. Whether Noa is able to return his starting spot at guard may be another story. As noted above, he’ll have a lot of worthy competition.
—Lincoln Riley has offered a quarterback from the 2028 class. Riley doesn’t usually offer more than one, meaning his choice for 2028 is Lone Star (Texas) High dual threat Trey Wright. Wright is 5 foot 11, 180 pounds as a sophomore and already has offers from the likes of Oregon, Oklahoma and Michigan, among several others.
What I’m Watching This Week
Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in a scene from “The Drama.”
(A24)
Robert Pattinson is on a truly epic run this year, and after recommending one of his films last week (“The Odyssey”), I’m bringing us back to the Pattinson well this week with a very, very different movie and very, very different role for the long-ago Twilight vampire.
“The Drama” stars Pattinson and Zendaya as a couple on the verge of getting married, who decide, one night, to confess with their two closest friends the worst thing they’d done in their lives. One of their answers, let’s just say, isn’t received all that well. And what follows is a cringy, funny, tense, propulsive roller coaster that’s definitely worth your time. Especially since it’s now available on HBO Max.
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
His two older brothers were both Division I athletes with Dominic Davis playing football and running track at USC and Diab Davis running track at California.
For a dual-sport athlete with big dreams like Pleasant, having mentors in his two brothers to lean on and gain advice from was everything he ever needed.
But once the four-star Gardena Serra product made it to Oregon for his first year of college football, he struggled to adapt and get situated in Eugene, Ore., — he needed another older brother.
Defensive back Rodrick Pleasant signals downfield during a UCLA football preseason practice.
(Isabella Serafini/UCLA Athletics)
And it was former Oregon and Chargers cornerback Nikko Reed who stepped up to the plate and guided Pleasant through his first two years of Power Four football.
Reed’s impact on Pleasant was so profound that the UCLA cornerback promised himself that he would be the Reed to other younger players.
And now it is the senior’s time to pay it forward.
“That’s what I’ve taken pride in in the spring, being a leader, being a guy that can talk too, being the guy that I needed when I was a young kid,” Pleasant said on the second day of UCLA preseason camp. “I’ve had great leaders for me when I was at another place, and that’s what I’ve been trying to work on and be there for the guys because I know I’ve dealt with stuff that they’re going through, so that’s what’s been the biggest thing for me.”
Pleasant got his first taste of leadership throughout spring practices. He was recovering from a shoulder injury suffered at the tail end of the 2025 season and had to sit out of team and contact drills.
On the sideline, Pleasant had to learn to impact the game and the players around him without stepping onto the field.
The 2025 All-Big Ten honorable mention honoree quickly found out that by coaching others, he could also help himself.
“Being out there and being able to coach the guys and help the guys. If you can coach it, you can play it,” Pleasant said. “It wasn’t a frustration. I believe in the staff. I believe in what we’re doing here and they had me limited … for a certain reason. I trust the process.”
The Gardena native could have entered the transfer portal after head coach DeShaun Foster was fired three games into the 2025 season. And he had another chance after the season ended with his position coach Demetrice Martin left for Arizona State.
But the Bruins new coaching staff left a lasting impression on Pleasant.
“It’s a family-oriented place. You see, their families running around here, their kids. They’re people at the end of the day, and being around them is special,” Pleasant said. “So knowing that they treat their families like that, and have their families around us, I appreciate it.”
And no one left a stronger imprint then Chesney, who Pleasant said has been the same guy ever since their meeting.
Despite five new cornerbacks joining the team through the transfer portal and 2026 recruiting class, the comfort induced by the family-oriented coaching staff has allowed Pleasant’s leadership to flourish, supporting one of the deepest position groups on the team.
“We’ve been jelling. . We’ve been practicing for a very long time together and the chemistry is there,” Pleasant said. “It’s exciting. A lot of dudes are on the same page together, so that’s what I’m really excited about.”
Pleasant is determined to be a leader among the defensive back group and in the locker room, being the person Reed was to him.
And one of the first players he took under his wing was sophomore cornerback Osiris Gilbert, a UConn transfer.
“That’s my guy. He’s a young guy. He’s going to be special,” Pleasant said of Gilbert. “He has talent. He’s a competitor, and I’m excited about this season for him. He has a lot to give out to us, and he’s going to bring a lot out of us.”
Rodrick Pleasant, center, of Gardena Serra wins the 100 meters state championship in 10.20 seconds in 2023. Jaelon Barbarin, left, of Simi Valley finished sixth and Anthony Flowers of South Torrance was fourth.
(Nick Koza)
While Pleasant’s leadership is centered around UCLA football, it does not end there.
The defensive back and former 100-meter sprinter who broke the California state record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.14 at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet in 2023 is also supporting the Los Angeles Jets Track Club.
“I went to the [USA Track and Field] Junior Olympics this past weekend and it’s just great seeing the young kids,” Pleasant said. “I’m a Jet at heart, and being out there and watching them run, it brings back memories. I’ve done it and the youth is a special place. Being somebody that they can see has done it before is like no other. So that’s why I wanted to get back. I like to be there because I know I needed somebody.”
“To be fair, I really hate running,” Thompson, a former track star, said. “But I’m really good at it.”
Thompson has proven that so far in Chargers training camp, sprinting around defenders and maximizing his 5-foot-9, 170-pound frame in passing drills.
His speed and do-it-all attitude have made him one of Justin Herbert’s favorite targets, including on deeper routes, over the last two weeks.
“He’s going to be very good,” Herbert said of Thompson. “We saw it early on that he was going to be. He’s skilled. He’s fast. He’s going to make a lot of plays for us. So, I’m really excited about him.”
Added Thompson: “I know my speed is pretty much unmatched when I step on the field, and that’s something I take strong confidence in.”
Thompson was clearly the fastest player going into the 2026 NFL draft after he posted a time of 4.26 seconds in the 40-yard dash, the third-best time ever, at the scouting combine.
And after leading the Southeastern Conference with 1,054 receiving yards as a senior at Mississippi State, Thompson impressed the Chargers enough to be their fourth-round pick.
He’s thrived ever since — as a wideout and as a returner.
“I agree with Justin,” added coach Jim Harbaugh. “We’re all seeing the same thing. Much like Akheem [Mesidor], so far, so good — really good.”
Special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken has been impressed with Thompson’s work ethic, saying “he’s willing to go ahead and put in the work.”
The Chargers have good reason to be excited about Thompson’s budding role.
New offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s scheme is largely focused on getting the ball to playmakers in space quickly. With Herbert being tasked this season with getting rid of the ball quicker, receivers are being tasked with finding ways of getting open sooner.
“We’re doing a lot more motions, a lot more shifts, a lot more stuff like that. “[McDaniel’s] whole philosophy is speed and moving fast,” wideout Quentin Johnston said. “Just different formations … variations of the same route … I mean, shoot, that just shows how good a coach Coach Mike is — got us in different positions to be successful.”
Thompson acknowledged he struggled to adapt to the NFL’s “20-word” play calls early on after coming from no-huddle communication rules in college.
McDaniel, however, acknowledged the progress and dedication he has seen from the rookie over the last few months.
Chargers wide receiver Brenen Thompson runs a drill during rookie minicamp in May.
(William Liang / Associated Press)
“I think he’s captured the attention of the quarterback room by his attack and ownership of the offense,” McDaniel said. “Typically, it’s a very difficult transition … there’s not pictures on the sidelines that you memorize. … The most impressive part has been his professional attack and ownership of assignment, which is not easy.
“Now, the next challenge is that you have all these stacked installs — can you still execute everything while these new plays are being shoveled to you, much like in a season where you have a new game plan every week?”
It helps Thompson to have veteran receivers such as Johnston and Ladd McConkey, who are willing to work with him.
“I pick their brains a lot,” Johnson said. “Whether it’s a certain route or certain play, how do they see these things? … I think the world of those two guys, along with everyone else in the room.”
McConkey and Johnston have enjoyed working with him too.
“He’s flying around across the field,” McConkey said. “He didn’t run 4.2 by accident. … He’s going to be able to help us a lot this year, for sure.”
Added Johnston: “Man, that’s my dawg. He came in with one thing on his mind: speed. Shoot, you’ve seen his [40-yard dash] time … he brought that to the league — to this team — which I appreciate a lot. He’s a very smart dude in the classroom. … He’s been a fun guy to be around.”
The Chargers’ offense will undoubtedly be different under McDaniel — Herbert’s new shotgun stance is proof of that. Speed and spacing will be key. And those who find ways to learn and contribute quickly, like Thompson, will earn playing time.
“I came here to contribute [and] to make this team better, and so whether that’s blocking, running, special teams — whatever that is — I’m going to put my best foot forward,” Thompson said. “I’m nowhere near where I want to be right now.”
Dorsey High’s 1982 City Section football championship team walked onto the stage with a youthful swagger. Though it has been decades since they celebrated within the halls of the school, it was like they had never left that courtyard.
Alumni and family cheered and danced alongside them at Dorsey’s first full athletics reunion. Soon after, the cheerleaders for the 1976 championship basketball team came out to perform. The up and coming sports teams for the 2026-27 school year came out with their families, as hundreds of people celebrated the legacy and the future of the school.
But Dorsey has undergone a lot of changes since the turn of the century.
In 25 years, it has gone from a well-attended school with a successful athletics program to one that has faded into the background of Los Angeles.
The last football championship came in 2001. The next year, Dorsey enrolled 2,211 students, the most in school history, according to Public School Review. Now, enrollment is hitting a low with 792 students, according to US News, and the athletic teams are trying to find that powerhouse status again.
Enter former football head coach Paul Knox. He had a solution — or at least an idea. Bring together the athletics alumni of Dorsey for a day of celebration, with a look ahead to the future.
On Saturday, hundreds of current and former Dorsey Dons came to the school for the reunion. There were a lot of stories, old photos, laughter and love being passed around from people who haven’t touched the campus in four decades. Alumni from all the way back in the 1950s came. Knox gave tours of the renovations the school has undertaken, and the event also highlighted the soon-to-be football stadium and new basketball gym.
Later in the day, the current teams were introduced to everybody in attendance as was the 1976 City championship basketball team. The chance to showcase both the past and present is what inspired Knox, who hasn’t coached at Dorsey since 2014, to put on this event.
“The atmosphere that is here, the pride that everybody has in the school in general … it’s one of the most passionate alumni that you are going to have,” Knox said.
Dorsey’s enrollment struggles are not unique. Across California, public school enrollment is down. In the Los Angeles Unified School District, enrollment dropped over 16,000 in the past year. Private and charter schools are on the up in both academics and athletics, leaving places such as Dorsey — that dominated for so long — behind.
Dorsey High alum and former major leaguer Don Buford sits under a towering ficus tree on campus Saturday during the school’s all-sports reunion.
(Caleb Otte / For The Times)
Dorsey has a long history of sending athletes to the professional leagues. Former major leaguer Don Buford, who graduated in 1955, was present at the event. He barely had a moment to himself as multiple other alumni wanted to chat and grab photos with him, and Buford was happy to exchange excited, reminiscent anecdotes.
Buford was sitting in front of a massive ficus tree, with roots the size of a 5-year-old child coming up out of the ground. He took a moment to look back when talking to a class of 1958 alumni, noticing the size of the plant.
“When I went here, this was just a little tree,” he said.
Eighty years of students coming through the halls of Dorsey watched the small seedling sprout into a towering, beautiful beast.
Knox, and the administration of the school, are treating this reunion as the initial seed for the rehabilitation of the athletics program and hopefully the entire school.
“The passion is there,” Knox said. “We’re really hoping to inspire the teams now, to show them that there’s depth behind the things they do.”
Beyond the prime directive of the event, it simply served as a way for the Dorsey community to experience joy. So many former players caught up with their coaches. People were introducing themselves to legendary alumni that they hoped to meet. Finding a face without a smile would’ve been a Herculean task.
The day also served as a chance to show the current students at Dorsey what opportunities are out there for them, whether that be from sports or otherwise. Former champions were highlighted alongside what Dorsey hopes are their future champions.
Baseball alumni all wore shirts that said “Legacy of Greatness … Five Rings, One Legacy.” Their most recent championship was in 2014. Little signs like that permeated the day, as did a big one displaying every Dorsey championship.
The idea that the school has a history of success, and they want to get back there, was the cornerstone of the event — without it being explicitly stated.
“Once you go here, you get that feeling,” Knox said.
Even with all the fanfare, the man giving out raffle tickets at the front entrance encapsulated it perfectly.
