When FIFA expanded the World Cup field from 32 to 48 teams for this summer’s tournament, the gnashing of teeth and clutching of pearls was as predictable as it was loud. The field would be watered down, the traditionalists protested. The group stage would be a series of blowouts, the sharks would devour the minnows.
In fact, none of that happened.
What we got instead was plucky Cape Verde playing No. 3 Spain to a draw and becoming the smallest nation to reach the elimination rounds. We got Austria advancing on a goal six minutes into stoppage time — eliminating unbeaten Iran, which deserved better — and Canada, Egypt and the Democratic Republic of Congo all winning World Cup games for the first time.
We got Lionel Messi scoring six goals and Mexico and Spain giving up none. We got South Africa, Canada, Egypt and Cape Verde advancing to the knockout rounds for the first time while South Korea and Uruguay went home.
It was one of the most surprising, exciting and compelling group stages in recent World Cup history. And on Sunday it gave way to the first game of the knockout rounds, with Canada beating South Africa 1-0 on a goal by LAFC midfielder Stephen Eustáquio in the second minute of stoppage time.
Canada’s Stephen Eustáquio reacts after a 1-0 win over South Africa at the World Cup on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Unlike much of the group stage, Sunday’s game was a sloppy, sleepy affair, with South Africa relying on some heroic play from its back line to keep the game even. But it ended with a bang with Eustáquio latching on to a loose ball at top of the box and blasting a right-footed volley just inside the left post.
Canada will play the winner of Monday’s Netherlands-Morocco match in the round of 16 next week. For South Africa, the World Cup is over.
For both countries, this World Cup was the most successful ever. Canada, which is sharing host duties with Mexico and the U.S., has won twice. South Africa had won games before, but it had never gotten beyond the group stage.
For South Africa, that success is part of a continental soccer resurgence. Four years ago in Qatar, Morocco became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semifinals. This summer, thanks to the expanded field, 10 African nations qualified for the tournament and nine advanced to the round of 32.
And the rise of African soccer hasn’t just boosted the fortunes of African teams. Top-ranked France, a World Cup favorite, has 21 players of African descent on its roster; at least a dozen other non-African teams, including Canada, have at least two players of African heritage.
Canada is one of the world’s most diverse countries with nearly a quarter of its population having been born somewhere else. Former coach John Herdman leaned into that diversity when he took over the men’s team in 2018; four years later, Canada made its second trip to the World Cup with a lineup that included four dual nationals.
Jesse Marsch, the U.S.-born coach who succeeded Herdman, doubled down on that. As a result, the 26 players on Canada’s roster, or their parents, come from more than 17 countries — from Iran, Croatia, Jamaica and Barbados to Haiti, Lebanon, Nigeria and the Philippines. Captain Alphonso Davies, Canada’s best player, was born to Liberian parents in a refugee camp in Ghana before being resettled in Edmonton, becoming a citizen in 2017.
Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau makes a save against South Africa on Sunday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
Davies, who hasn’t played since sustained an acute hamstring injury in early May, came on in the 76th minute Sunday and had an immediate influence, threading a perfect pass to the feet of Promise David, whose right-footed shot from the top of the box drifted inches wide of the left post.
Three minutes later, Davies drew two defenders to him on the left flank, opening space for Jonathan David to slip into the box and get off a tight-angled shot near the end line that stood up South African keeper Ronwen Williams. But the winner came from Eustáquio, the son of Portuguese parents who Herdman wooed away from the Portuguese U-21 team in 2019.
He has made 60 appearances with Canada’s senior national team, none bigger than Sunday’s.
Canada’s Tani Oluwaseyi, center, gets caught between South Africa’s Khuliso Mudau (20) and Sphephelo Sithole during the first half Sunday.
Through the first two games of this summer’s World Cup, the U.S. was about as perfect as a team could be. It won both games, never trailed, gave up just a goal and won its group handily, playing with a verve and confidence that erased all the doubts that had shadowed it coming in.
Then came Thursday.
With Mauricio Pochettino making a record nine changes to a lineup that had given the U.S. its most successful start to a World Cup in 96 years, the B team that closed the group stage at SoFi Stadium with a 3-2 loss to Turkey served to remind everyone how flawed this group can be.
The backline was porous, goalie Matt Turner gave up goals on the first two shots he faced and with the exception of midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, who had a goal and an assist, none of the starters really distinguished themselves. Whether any of that matters won’t be known until the U.S. next takes the field in the knockout rounds, facing Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday in Santa Clara, Calif.
For Pochettino, whose contempt for convention has been a hallmark of his team’s World Cup run, clearing his bench and getting a U.S.-record 23 players on the field in the group stage was more more important than the result.
“The objective was to finish first and we are first,” he said. “Now it is the next stage and it is going to be a final. And we are ready. We are much better than before that game because we had players now with 90 minutes in their legs and performing and ready to help if we need from the beginning or from the bench. It’s all positive.”
Maybe. Sure, Christian Pulisic, who hadn’t played since the first half of the first game, got back on the field and looked good in a 32-minute cameo. But other than that the game was meaningless since the Americans had already won the group and qualified for the next round while Turkey was going home no matter the result.
The U.S. came in riding a huge wave of momentum, though, and that’s gone now, erased on Kaan Ayhan’s goal on the last touch of the game.
Does that matter?
“No,” captain Tim Ream said with conviction. “You just turn the page.”
The experience the role players got, he said, is more important than the final score.
“When we say it didn’t mean anything, it’s still a meaningful game, right? It’s a World Cup game,” he said. “So it gives everybody a taste of what life will be like if they are called upon and have to contribute.”
Midfielder Tyler Adams wasn’t so sure.
“I don’t know what it’s going to do,” he said. “I can’t predict the future. I don’t have an eight ball in front of me. We’ll see what happens.”
What Adams can say with certainty, however, is that in the future the U.S. will have no room for error. The games are all elimination matches now and 13 players on the U.S. roster, including Adams, have experienced that first hand, having lost in the round of 16 four years ago in Qatar.
Turner said it’s up to those veterans to impart that wisdom on the 13 who are playing in their first World Cup.
“You need to really take care of the boxes when it comes to knockout round. That’s the biggest lesson that we learned,” said Turner, who started all four games in the last World Cup. “It’s not necessarily how beautiful a style you play. The chances you create is important, [but] the way you defend your box is more important.
“Those games are going to be decided by one goal, they’re going to be narrow, and we’re going to have to be compact and be together, defensively, offensively, and take the chances when they come.”
The U.S. did little of that Thursday.
After a Berhalter corner set up Trusty for the first goal in the third minute, Turkey’s Arda Guler, a Real Madrid midfielder, tied the score seven minutes later, splitting a pair of U.S. defenders and running onto a pass from Kenan Yildiz in the center of the box, then lifting a shot over Turner.
Orkun Kokcu handed the U.S. its first deficit of the tournament when he found another big hole in the U.S. defense, redirecting a cross from Eren Elmali in from the center of the box to give Turkey a 2-1 lead.
Berhalter tied the score again four minutes into the second half, latching onto a loose ball at the top of the penalty area and one-hopping a right-footed shot just inside the near post. The game stayed that way until Ayhan, who came on with two minutes left in regulation, slid between two U.S. defenders to knock in the game-winner eight minutes into stoppage time.
For Berhalter, one of a record 21 Americans to get a start in this World Cup, Pochettino’s decision to clear his bench was not only a reward, it was preparation for what’s to come.
“It’s every little kid’s dream, across the United States of America, to play in a home World Cup. Just in a World Cup in general,” he said. “People made their debuts today, so congratulations everyone. This is what everybody looks forward to.”
More important, he added, “we know everyone’s ready to step up at any moment.”
Which is good because history suggests the road ahead is about the get a lot more challenging. The loss to Turkey was the Americans’ 10th straight to a UEFA team, running their winless streak against European opponents to 13 in a row.
Guess which continent Bosnia and Herzegovina, who the U.S. faces next, is from?
Sports editor Iliana Limón Romero contributed to this story.
MEXICO CITY — The Mexican national team overcame a lackluster first half to rout the Czechia thanks to a dream second half that allowed it to finish the group stage undefeated on a night that will be remembered as one of the greatest in Mexican World Cup history.
The celebration of Mexico’s 3-0 win Wednesday at Azteca Stadium turned into a tribute to legendary goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who entered the game in the final minutes to receive a standing ovation unlike any other Mexican player has ever received in the history of the tournament.
With the loss, the Czechia was eliminated after failing to earn more than one point in the tournament. In the other group match, South Africa defeated South Korea 1-0 in Monterrey and advanced in second place. South Korea will have to wait to find out if it advances as one of the eight best third-place teams or it was eliminated.
Czechia put up a strong performance during the first 45 minutes, during which Mexico showed little offensive clarity, mainly due to a lack of control in midfield.
Everything changed in a matter of six minutes during the second half, when El Tri figured out Czechia and secured its best victory in the group stage.
Mateo Chávez, 22, opened the scoring in the 55th minute with the help of Mexico’s lethal counterattack. Luis Romo set up the goal by shaking off three Czechia players at midfield and pushing forward, passing to Chávez, who beat Czechia’s Michal Sadilek and buried a shot to the left side of goal.
Forward Julián Quiñones extended the lead in the 61st minute, exploiting Czechia’s defensive confusion in the penalty area.
Álvaro Fidalgo, who was a second-half substitute, capped the win with a stoppage time goal. The run on the final goal was set up by a booming Ochoa kick and triggered a raucous celebration by the goalkeeper and his teammates.
The match encapsulated both the present and the future of the Mexican national team.
Gilberto Mora, a 17-year-old midfielder from Tijuana and the team’s youngest player at the World Cup, was instrumental in the second half, setting up several of the plays that decided the outcome. With a 2-0 lead, one of the greatest moments for a goalkeeper in World Cup history unfolded. Ochoa replaced starting goalkeeper Raúl Rangel and was greeted with a standing ovation from a large portion of the 80,824 fans at Azteca Stadium.
Mexico’s Julian Quinones celebrates scoring his side’s second goal against Czechia during a World Cup match in Mexico City on Wednesday.
(Silvia Izquierdo / Associated Press)
The fans chanted Ochoa’s name every time the goalkeeper touched the ball, honoring a player who has competed in six World Cups for Mexico.
Coach Javier Aguirre said that finishing first in the group was a “primary objective” for Mexico, which had already qualified for the next round. The team achieved a first for a Mexican national team by securing three consecutive wins without conceding a goal in the group stage of a World Cup. Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 in the opening match and South Korea 1-0 in the second game.
The national team, which is co-hosting the tournament alongside Canada and the United States, will face its next opponent — one of the best third-place finishers — on Tuesday at Azteca Stadium.
The only sour note for Mexico came in the scoreless first half when the restless crowd unleashed a popular homophobic chant at least twice. FIFA has previously sanctioned the Mexican soccer federation in an effort to stop fans from saying the chant.
For dry activities, you can go climbing or have a spin at the roller disco.
A three-night stay from June 26 to 29 costs from £215, working out at £17.92 per person per night, based on a family of four – book it here.
Appletree Holiday Park has a nine-hole golf course as well as a splash padCredit: Away Resorts
Appletree Holiday Park, Lincolnshire
Found in Boston, Lincolnshire, Appletree Holiday Park sits in the countryside, with a nine-hole golf course and a splash pad for little ones.
While at the park, you can also have a go at the driving range or even explore by hiring a bike.
Little ones needing to burn off steam can also drop by the play area.
Guests can choose to stay in either a lodge or caravan, with the premium lodges boasting hot tubs as well.
A two-night stay from June 26 to 28 costs from £189.60, working out at £23.70 per person per night, based on a family of four – book it here.
Glendale Holiday Park has easy beach accessCredit: Glendale
Glendale Holiday Park, Cumbria
In Cumbria, you could stay at Glendale Holiday Park, which overlooks the Solway Firth – an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The park has both the countryside and coast to explore.
At the site itself, there is a swimming pool, an entertainment bar and an onsite restaurant as well.
There is also easy beach access.
A three-night stay from June 26 to 29 costs from £139, working out at £11.59 per person per night, based on a family of four – book it here.
At Broadland Sands, you can head to the indoor heated swimming poolCredit: Park Holidays
Broadland Sands, Suffolk
For a Suffolk break, you can head to Broadland Sands Holiday Park, sitting on the East Coast border.
Near Lowestoft, the holiday park is home to a heated indoor swimming pool with its own water flume.
There’s also a dinosaur-themed adventure golf course, as well as more sporty activities including a climbing wall.
For those wanting to spend some time outdoors, you can also head on a nature trail.
Then in the evening, sit back and enjoy some of the entertainment, including cabaret and live bingo.
A three-night stay from June 26 to 29 costs from £179, working out at £14.92 per person per night, based on a family of four – book it here.
Tarka Holiday Park Devon is just a short walk from the beach tooCredit: Tarka
Tarka, Devon
Tarka Holiday Park is less than five miles from the popular Devonshire town of Barnstaple.
The holiday park focuses on being a more peaceful retreat, so instead of pools, you’ll find a paddock and children’s play area.
Ideal for enjoying the warm weather, there is also an onsite picnic spot.
And for adventures outside of the park, you can head to the Tarka Trail, which stretches 180 miles and follows the steps of Henry Williamson’s Tarka the Otter.
A three-night stay from June 26 to 29 costs from £159, working out at £13.25 per person per night, based on a family of four – book it here.
South Bay Holiday Park in Devon is about 10 minutes from the beachCredit: South Bay
South Bay Holiday Park, Devon
Set on the English Riviera in Devon, you can head to South Bay Holiday Park.
The Brixham-based holiday park is home to an indoor pool, an outdoor pool and even a toddler pool.
There’s also a host of entertainment at the park, including a kids’ club and evening shows.
From the park, there is a direct path to the beach, which takes about 10 minutes to walk.
A three-night stay from June 26 to 29 costs from £199, working out at £16.58 per person per night, based on a family of four – book it here.
Summerfields Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth has a soft play area for little onesCredit: Summerfields
Summerfields Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth
Close to Norfolk Broads National Park, you could stay at Summerfields Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth.
The holiday park boasts a heated indoor pool along with a sauna and for a bite to eat, you can head to The Boathouse.
If it gets too hot outside for the little ones, inside you’ll also find a soft play area, as well as arcades.
A three-night stay from June 26 to 29 costs from £160, working out at £13.34 per person per night, based on a family of four – book it here.
Tattershall Lakes in Lincolnshire is a great spot for water sport-loving familiesCredit: Supplied
Tattershall Lakes, Lincolnshire
Set across 360 acres, Tattershall Lakes Country Park features woodlands and lakes.
The holiday park is a great spot for water sport-loving families, with activities including jet-skiing, water-skiing, wakeboarding and even an inflatable Aqua Park.
If that wasn’t enough water-based activities, there is also an indoor and outdoor pool and spa.
In the evening, you can head to the clubhouse as well for entertainment.
A two-night stay from June 26 to 28 costs from £199.20, working out at £24.90 per person per night, based on a family of four – book it here.
Lower Hyde Holiday Park has both an indoor and outdoor poolCredit: Parkdean Resorts
Lower Hyde Holiday Park, Isle of Wight
Lower Hyde Holiday Park in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight is a great spot if you want to feel like you are travelling abroad but without the long-haul flight.
At the Parkdean site, you can head to the outdoor pool, which has its own flume, as well as another pool inside.
For some entertainment, there’s Squires Showbar.
And if that all wasn’t enough, the park is also only a 20-minute walk from Shanklin Beach.
A three-night stay from June 26 to 29 costs from £189, working out at £15.75 per person per night, based on a family of four – book it here.
NEW YORK — With their highest draft pick since 2009, the Clippers selected Illinois guard Keaton Wagler fifth overall at the NBA draft on Tuesday at Barclays Center.
The 6-foot-6 guard was selected Big Ten freshman of the year after averaging 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. When NBA Commissioner Adam Silver read Wagler’s name aloud, he hugged everyone at his table, walked between two smoke towers and grabbed a Clippers hat with a bedazzled team logo before shaking Silver’s hand.
Wagler smiled in relief as he walked across the room, a welcome change after a nervy first 40 minutes of the draft. Wagler anxiously bounced his legs after Silver announced to the crowd that the Washington Wizards had five minutes to make the first selection. Cameras were poised at every side of AJ Dybantsa’s table, where the Brigham Young forward sat with his elbows resting on his knees and head bowed.
The No. 1 pick crossed himself when Silver read his name aloud.
The leading scorer in college basketball last year led an NBA draft class that is regarded as one of the deepest in a generation. Dybantsa was in a heated race against Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer to be the top pick as all three are projected to make immediate impacts at the professional level.
Peterson of Kansas went second to the Utah Jazz while the Memphis Grizzlies picked Boozer third. Chicago selected North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson fourth, completing an elite quartet of players at the top of the draft.
After the top four picks, the draft was considered wide open with a logjam of talented guards. The Clippers, who added former All-Star Darius Garland last year in a midseason trade, had options for a trade at the coveted No. 5 spot.
Wagler can team immediately with Garland to make a dynamic, young backcourt for a franchise hoping to win its first playoff series since 2021. The Clippers have never picked fifth overall and Wagler is the team’s highest selection since taking Blake Griffin first overall in 2009.
The Clippers also have the sixth (36th overall) and 22nd (52nd overall) picks of the second round, which begins Wednesday at 5 p.m. PDT.
That was what the backup point guard wrote on X, followed by three laughing-until-crying emojis, soon after he was stopped by two police officers who apparently did not recognize him as a Knicks player during the team’s championship parade in Lower Manhattan.
A video that has gone viral on social media shows Kolek skipping along the parade route next to a barrier meant to keep fans off that part of the street, using one hand to hold a beer and the other to slap hands with fans.
At one point, an officer stepped in front of Kolek to block his path while another gently grabbed him by the shoulders and motioned for the confused player to go back in the direction from which he came.
An unidentified man who had been accompanying Kolek quickly stepped in, and then officers allowed him to pass.
To be fair to the officers, Kolek — wearing a Knicks hat, Knicks T-shirt and gym shorts — looked like he could have been one of the estimated 2 million fans attending the parade.
And he’s not the most recognizable player on the team. Kolek has made one start in 103 game appearances during his two years with the Knicks, averaging almost 10 minutes a game. He did not make it into an NBA Finals game but played in eight postseason games this year, averaging 3.5 points and 6.6 minutes a game.
It doesn’t appear that the very brief run-in with the law dampened Kolek’s mood, based on the parade videos he posted on his Instagram. One showed his view of the massive crowds on either side of the street; another showed him throwing confetti while singing along to “New York, New York;” and another showed him standing outside the railing on a moving float while dancing and cheering.
And, yes, one showed the incident with parade security, along with the caption “I hoop bro I swear” and four laughing-until-crying emojis.
Fox is under fire for missing on-field action during the first match of the World Cup last week. .
Many sports fans were irate when the network aired a full-screen ad when play resumed after a water break during last Thursday’s Mexico–South Africa match.
In the second half, the referee called for the newly instated hydration break, but the call came during a replay, which led to a miscommunication over when the three-minute break actually started.
Fox ran its full-screen ad late, and because the break didn’t last the full three minutes, players were reportedly left stalling on the field — and many Fox viewers missed the restart entirely.
“The reason that I keep coming back to these games as a fan is for 45 solid minutes of entertainment. Anything that interrupts that, whether it’s [these hydration breaks] or anything else, is not great for the game,” Garrett Denney, an avid World Cup fan and frequent user of the World Cup Reddit page, said. “What we want to see is that kind of rhythm and tempo, the intensity for a full half of soccer.”
Fox declined to comment.
The hydration break is new to the World Cup. FIFA announced it in December as a way to protect players’ health in the summer heat. In every match, the referee is to call for a break around the 22-minute mark of both halves, regardless of weather.
A FIFA spoesperson declined to comment, but pointed to a previous press release describing the breaks as a “focused attempt to ensure the best possible conditions for players, drawing upon the experiences of previous tournaments.”
The extra minutes also created something else — a new advertising window, and broadcasters are taking advantage.
Networks are supposed to leave the on-field action 20 seconds after the referee signals the break and return 30 seconds before play resumes, allowing for ads of up to two minutes and 10 seconds in total. They can air any full-screen ad they’d like, or run a split-screen ad — though a split-screen has to feature a FIFA partner, like Coca-Cola or Adidas.
The stakes are especially high for Fox, which is also leaning on the tournament to promote Fox One, its streaming service that lets subscribers watch its programming without a traditional pay-TV subscription. The World Cup broadcast has been a major plus for the platform, which costs $19.99 a month.
For some soccer fans, though, the commercial breaks are an intrusions.
“The FIFA hydration break is pure capitalism,” comedian Kevin Fredericks wrote on X.
Musician Lloyd Cole made a similar point about the new ad windows: “US tv finally got their 4 quarters. Fifa, corrupt? Fifa?”
After Fox’s stumble, many fans started questioning the intention behind the rule itself.
That frustration has pushed some viewers toward an alternative: Telemundo. The Spanish-language network, available through the Peacock streaming platform, opted for minimal hydration-break ads instead of full-screen takeovers.
During the same Mexico–South Africa match, while Fox aired its full-screen ad, Telemundo kept players on camera, let its commentators share their thoughts, and ran a Lays ad in the corner of the screen. The network has described it as a conscious decision to prioritize authenticity and keep viewers immersed.
“No ads on Telemundo and I’m learning Spanish at the same time!” one user quipped on the World Cup subreddit.
Denney, who’s rooting for Team USA, said his family prefers the Telemundo stream too — even with only part of the household fluent in Spanish.
“Part of our household is fully fluent in Spanish, part is not. And even despite the language barrier, we’ve really gravitated toward the quality of the Telemundo stream,” Denney said. “It’s really more of a rhythmic commentary. You can get deep into the game, you’re not pulled so far out of that experience and it feels almost like you’re at the stadium.”
SAN FRANCISCO — The toughest decision of the Sparks’ season to date is fast approaching.
Within the next few games, the team will have to decide whether they are going to keep fan-favorite Kate Martin around.
She joined the roster on a developmental contract at the start of the season after being waived by the Golden State Valkyries the day of roster releases. Developmental contracts were introduced this year as part of the league’s new collective bargaining agreement.
Each team can carry up to two players on developmental deals. Those players are allowed to practice and travel with the team, but they can only be active for a maximum of 12 games during the season.
The Sparks’ Kate Martin shoots over the Fire’s Nyadiew Puoch at Crypto.com Arena on June 7.
(Luiza Moraes / Getty Images)
Typically, developmental players are used as emergency depth, stepping into the lineup only when injuries create a short-term need. That hasn’t been the case for Martin, who has been active for eight of the Sparks’ first 13 games, making her a regular part of the team’s plans.
“I’ve been activated for quite a few games and that is a blessing,” Martin said. “I feel very grateful to have been activated for so many games so far, but I think just like not knowing until like game day, trying to figure out, like, ‘Oh, am I going to be activated, am I not?’ I think that’s probably the biggest difference, but you know, they don’t treat me any differently.”
When given the opportunity, Martin has brought energy and impact off the bench. She is shooting 47.4% from the field and taking 1.6 shots from three-point range per game despite playing just 7.4 minutes. Martin often receives the loudest cheers from fans during home games.
She delivered her strongest offensive performance in a loss to the Tempo on May 17, scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, but since then she has been used as a first-half rotation player to rest the Sparks guards as a reliable shooter and defender.
Even with the Sparks at full strength against the Portland Fire last week, Martin still earned eight minutes of play. Then she played four minutes in Saturday’s overtime win against Phoenix.
“We’re figuring it out in real time,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “These are new positions, and so each player only gets 12 games, but Kate does have experience. She is a spark off the bench. Everyone out there trusts her. There’s value to that. It’s hard, though, as a [developmental] player, to play one game and not play the next, and like it’s just hard for the rest of the group. So that part’s been tricky, and we’re figuring it out as we go.”
With seven active appearances already used, Martin has just four games remaining under the terms of her developmental contract. The Sparks must either preserve those appearances for later in the season or make a long-term commitment by signing her to a standard contract or she will become a free agent again.
The challenge is that Los Angeles does not currently have an open roster spot, meaning the team would need to waive a player to make room.
The Sparks’ Dearica Hamby and Kate Martin chest bump to celebrate after scoring against the Dallas Wings at Crypto.com Arena on June 5.
(Luiza Moraes / Getty Images)
Rookies Jihyun Park and 2026 second-round draft pick Ta’Niya Latson have both appeared in fewer games than Martin, as have veteran Emma Cannon and second-year forward Sania Feagin, who was injured earlier this season but hasn’t claimed a rotation spot since her return.
Martin was a regular part of the rotation with the Valkyries in her one season with the franchise, playing in 42 games and averaging 6.2 points per game and 31% shooting from three-point range. She was inconsistent at times, but also provided a spark off the bench and it was a surprise when they cut her.
After an emotional few days after being waived, Martin joined the Sparks, where she was excited for the opportunity to develop. Now, she sees herself as a fit beyond the 12-game limit.
“The system that we want to run at a very fast pace,” Martin said. “Spread the floor and shoot a lot of threes, and I think that I am good at spacing the floor, and I think that what they want to run here offensively benefits my game in a lot of ways, and I think I fit kind of seamlessly in that way.”
The U.S. men’s soccer team isn’t only trying to win games in this World Cup. It is trying to win hearts and minds as well.
“We want the game to grow,” star midfielder Christian Pulisic said. “We want to get Americans excited to watch this game, to watch our team. That’s obviously a big goal of ours. And being successful would give that the best boost.”
The Americans certainly got a great start Friday, opening the second World Cup played on U.S. soil with a dominant 4-1 win over Paraguay. It was one of the most complete performances the American men have had on the sport’s biggest stage, with Folarin Balogun scoring twice, Pulisic setting up two goals, and just one momentary lapse on defense separating goalkeeper Matt Freese from a shutout.
The U.S. passed well, defended well and, most important, was clinical and dangerous in front of the net, finishing well.
U.S. midfielder Giovanni celebrates with Antonee Robinson and Sebastian Berhalter after scoring against Paraguay.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
“It was a real statement,” Balogun said. “And that’s what we wanted. I’m very delighted with the overall performance.”
The effort was warmly received by a sold-out crowd of 70,492 at SoFi Stadium, with record-setting crowds watching on TV throughout the country.
Fox Sports announced 15.99 million watched the win, making it the most-viewed U.S. World Cup match on English-language television.
And the Spanish-language broadcast drew a total audience of 8.9 million across Telemundo, Peacock and Telemundo’s streaming platforms. It was the most-watched U.S. World Cup match on Spanish-language television network platforms, harking back to the 1994 World Cup, the first played in the U.S. that also attracted record TV audiences.
At 38, captain Tim Ream is the only member of the team who was alive in 1994, but he and his younger teammates repeatedly have been reminded of the impact that tournament had on soccer in the U.S. That 1994 team won just one game, though, scored just two goals and didn’t make it past the round of 16.
This team is convinced it can do better — on and off the field.
Fans cheer after U.S. beat Paraguay to open the World Cup Friday at SoFi Stadium.
(Kelvin Kuo/Los Angeles Times)
“It’s trying to be an inspiration for the next generation and grow the game,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “I think we have the opportunity to do that.”
Part of that is kick-starting the kind of interest in soccer that briefly swept the country during the first U.S. World Cup 32 years ago. And this team certainly energized fans Friday.
“Having this crowd around us, seeing the red, white and blue, it’s awesome,” Pulisic said. “It’s really pushing us forward. We just hope it continues like that.”
It will if Pulisic and Co. continue playing like that.
The U.S. controlled the ball for nearly an hour of the 90 minutes, completed more than twice as many passes as Paraguay and took almost twice as many shots. It was a game that was as attractive and inviting as it was one-sided, one that might turn the most skeptical viewer into a fan.
It was, midfielder Weston McKennie said, the kind of game that could push the U.S. closer to becoming a proper soccer nation.
American midfielder Weston McKennie outruns two Paraguay defenders.
(Kelvin Kuo/Los Angeles Times)
“Because it’s a World Cup and it’s in America, people came out,” McKennie said. “We’re OK with that. There’s a lot of people that maybe have never come out to support us. But hopefully today, with this performance, they can connect with us.
“You feel this electricity in the stadium and the passion. That’s one thing that’s going to change soccer here.”
Pulisic and McKennie helped put the U.S. in front to stay in the seventh minute, although the goal was credited to Paraguayan midfielder Damián Bobadilla, who got his right foot in front of a McKennie pass intended for Balogun and deflected it into the net for an own goal. Pulisic made the whole sequence happen, however, pushing the ball between a pair of defenders before poking it on to McKennie in the center of the box.
Balogun scored twice in the final 20 minutes of the first half, one-timing a perfect pass from Pulisic in from the penalty spot in the 31st minute, then running on to a perfectly weighted through ball from Malik Tillman and avoiding two defenders to line a left-footed shot into the top left corner five minutes into stoppage time.
The brace was the first of Balogun’s international career and came in his World Cup debut before a crowd of family and friends, a cheering section he saluted from behind the goal line after scoring.
“I had to sort through a lot of ticket [requests.] It’s a dream night, you know? I’ve not been able to take it all in,” said Balogun, whose brace marked the first multigoal game by an American in the World Cup since 1930.
And that wasn’t the only history the U.S. made Friday. Defender Chris Richards, whose status for the opener was in doubt after he tore two ligaments in his left ankle a month ago, completed all 83 of his passes, the most without a miss in a World Cup game since 1966.
Mauricio pulled one of those goals back for Paraguay in the 73rd minute, before Gio Reyna closed the scoring with his first World Cup goal deep in stoppage time.
Pulisic, who said he took a kick to his left calf in the first half, was replaced by Sebastian Berhalter to start the second. Pulisic showed no signs of injury while talking with reporters after the match, and coach Mauricio Pochettino is hopeful the injury will not limit Pulisic during the next match Friday against Australia.
For the U.S., the commanding win over Paraguay was just the start. The best, the players promise, is yet to come.
Fans fill SoFi Stadium during the U.S. World Cup win over Paraguay on Friday.
(Kelvin Kuo/Los Angeles Times)
“Today was a great starting point for us,” McKennie said. “But we know that’s just a start and this is something we don’t want to over-celebrate. Because we want this to be the normal for us.
“We have two more games to go in the group. Hopefully we improve.”
Added Pulisic: “There’s so much more we want to accomplish.”
Cameron Brink said she’d appreciate some grace. She really would.
Sparks fans should give her some, because where else is she going to get it?
Certainly not from WNBA refs. Not from opponents with more to play for than ever. Certainly not from the game itself; basketball moves fast, and a bummer can become a bust in a blink.
But Brink, 24, is not on the brink of bust territory, no. Block that thought. Technically, it’s Year 3, but after a torn ACL derailed her as a rookie two summers ago, it’s practically like Year 2 for the former Stanford star. And by design, the WNBA is testing her confidence, her decision-making and her patience as she tries to reestablish herself as one of the WNBA’s best young players.
So, grace.
The recognizable 6-foot-4 forward — she’s the long-blond-haired hooper in the New Balance ads — was the No. 2 overall pick in 2024.
Now she’s her team’s No. 3 option in the post. She’s coming off the bench behind Nneka Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby for the Sparks, who are a modest 6-6 after wins this week over the expansion Portland Fire and the struggling Seattle Storm.
Against the Fire, Brink scored two points and picked up four fouls in nine minutes. Then she went to Seattle and had 15 points in 18 minutes but was pulled with more than five minutes left in the fourth quarter after getting her third, fourth and fifth fouls in 86 seconds. (WNBA players get six fouls before being disqualified.)
For the season, Brink has been called for 49 fouls in 208 minutes. A foul about every four minutes!
They’re silly fouls and they’re phantom calls. Egregious and ticky-tack. Costly and common. A real fouled-up buffet. She sets screens that get scrutinized as if by the most vigilant TSA agent. And sometimes, yes, she’s doing the accidental tripping. Other times, the officials are.
Her reputation precedes her, so everyone gets a superstar’s whistle when being defended by Brink. Opponents bake it into their game plans.
That can’t continue.
All that fouling is hindering Brink’s development because it’s robbing her of important in-game reps — which she needs, foremost, to figure out how to stop fouling.
Sparks forward Cameron Brink, left, blocks the shot of the Tempo’s Laura Juskaite during a game last month.
(Jeff Lewis / Associated Press)
“At the pro level,” said Tara VanDerveer, Brink’s coach at Stanford, “every young player always has a lot of work to do. And I saw her make a three. I see her block shots. She rebounds, she can handle the ball, she’s unselfish, she’s a terrific talent. But there’s always things players need to work on.”
We know what Brink’s thing is.
“She has to be disciplined,” VanDerveer said. “And if you want something so badly, if you want to be an All-Star someday or make the Olympic team, you’ve got to be dependable … and I think anyone can change, if it’s behavior they recognize is not in their best interests or not in their team’s best interests. It’s hard, but it’s something I think people can do.
“That’s what Cam is working on.”
And, VanDerveer added, “I’m really so excited that Nneka is there, because she will give her such great guidance and mentorship.”
And grace. Brink is getting that from Ogwumike — also a former Stanford star, the Sparks legend returned to L.A. this season after two seasons in Seattle — and her other teammates.
“I just do my best to lead by example,” Ogwumike, 35, said. “But then also let [Brink] know that she’s very capable, that she’s more than capable, which is exactly why she’s here with us and it’s exactly why we need her on this team.”
Sparks forward Cameron Brink, wearing a facemask, controls the ball while defended by Sun forward Raegan Beers.
(Joe Buglewicz / Getty Images)
But how long will Brink get grace from the Sparks in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business of basketball?
The foul trouble tells us why a win-now team wouldn’t trust her, why the Sparks would give meaningful minutes to two veteran post players ahead of her. Why they wouldn’t prioritize Brink’s development alongside winning as they strive to snap a previously unthinkable five-year playoff drought.
And what about fans? How patient will you all be with a player who was drafted immediately after Caitlin Clark and five spots in front of Angel Reese?
These days, that might depend on what the parlay calls for.
Or, preferably, whether you remember Brink’s first 15 WNBA games. All starts, all signs pointing to stardom. She showed up in 2024 throwing lavish block parties. Her 2.3 blocks per game were message-sending spikes, like what Lisa Leslie used to enthrall Sparks crowds with.
From the jump, she had guys coming to games at Crypto.com Arena wearing her No. 22 jersey and little girls arriving in groups with No. 22 painted on their cheeks and “I love Cam Brink” signs in hand.
And then the torn ACL cost her 25 games of her rookie season and another 25 last season, plus her spot on the United States’ Olympic 3×3 women’s basketball team in Paris in 2024.
She had to start over. Lost a lot of ground. But you see that masked woman stuck on the Sparks’ bench for all but 17 minutes per game?
You can’t miss her. She’s looking uncomfortable in protective facial gear that either hinders her breathing or her peripheral vision, her only options to protect the torn septum she suffered in a victory over the Las Vegas Aces last month.
She’s the one with the 6-8 wingspan who’s averaging 9.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 52.1% from the field in her limited minutes.
She’s still Cameron Brink. Between fouls, she’s fluid and fast and covers more of the court than almost anyone in the WNBA, able to leap from defending guards to centers in a single bound.
“It’s just looking at every day as a new opportunity to learn and grow and not getting too bogged down when things don’t go exactly as you planned,” Brink told me. “Because more times than not, things are not going to go how you want them to. And that’s life. So I just want to be able to put my best effort out there every single night.
She knows what the Sparks need from her: “To perform, just come on the floor and compete.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Golden Tempo closed out the Triple Crown season Saturday the same way he began it: In the winner’s circle.
The circumstances were different from the Kentucky Derby, when the late-running son of Curlin was helped by a hot pace that tired out the front-runners.
There was no such setup in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, but Golden Tempo showed he didn’t need it.
Ridden again by Jose Ortiz, the Derby champion stormed into the stretch and outfinished Commandment to win a thrilling stretch duel by 1¼ lengths at Saratoga Race Course.
“Golden Tempo is amazing. Jose is amazing,” said trainer Cherie DeVaux, who added to her historic win as the first woman to capture the Derby by becoming the first woman to win two Triple Crown races.
“Amazing feeling,” she said on Fox Sports.
Golden Tempo was sent off as the co-fourth choice with Commandment at 6-1 and returned $14 for a $2 win ticket. Renegade, the Derby runner-up, finished third as the 17-10 favorite and Chief Wallabee, the second choice at 5-1, was fourth. The rest of the finishing order: Emerging Market, Growth Equity, Vitruvian Man, Ottinho and Powershift.
This marked the second straight year the Derby winner also captured the Belmont after skipping the Preakness, with Golden Tempo following Sovereignty. It’s the fifth time in the past six years that a horse used that formula to win this race.
Could Golden Tempo have won the Triple Crown?
“It’s not something I want to think about,” DeVaux said. “We made our decision and he won today and we’re going to be happy about that.”
Trainer Cherie DeVaux lifts the August Belmont Trophy as she stands next to winning jockey Jose Ortiz, left, after Golden Tempo’s victory in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.
(Al Bello / Getty Images)
Golden Tempo, a homebred of owners Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stables, won for the fourth time in six starts. He earned $1.2 million from the $2-million purse to push his career total past $4.6 million.
Despite his victory five weeks ago in Kentucky, the general feeling about Golden Tempo entering the Belmont was pessimism. Not one of the 19 experts surveyed in Saturday’s Daily Racing Form selected him to win, with just two picking him second. The consensus was he would not finish in the top four.
The lack of pace was one reason, and sure enough, the race played out pretty much as expected, with Renegade’s stablemate, Powershift, dawdling through the first six furlongs in 1 minute, 12.38 seconds, about a second and a half slower than the same distance for the Derby (1:10.90).
Golden Tempo, ridden by jockey Jose Ortiz, crosses the finish line to win the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.
(Yuki Iwamura / Associated Press)
As he was in the Derby, Golden Tempo was last for more than half the race, but Saturday he trailed eight horses instead of 17 and never was more than about eight lengths behind the leader.
Growth Equity, who had been stalking Powershift, took the lead as the field turned into the stretch, but he soon was passed by Chief Wallabee. Before the field had run another furlong, though, Golden Tempo had moved around Renegade to the front. Commandment was on Golden Tempo’s outside but was unable to get past in the final furlong. In fact, the winner was pulling away as they reached the finish.
The final time wasn’t fast, 2:03.49 for 1¼ miles at Saratoga, which was hosting the Belmont for the third and final year while Belmont Park is rebuilt. The race started about five minutes after rain began falling in upstate New York.
Baffert’s Nysos dominates Met Mile
Nysos crosses the finish line to win the 133rd running of the Met Mile at Saratoga on Saturday.
(Yuki Iwamura / Associated Press)
The afternoon did not begin well for trainer Bob Baffert, who saw his top 3-year-old, Crude Velocity, routed by DeVaux’s Englishman in the Woody Stephens and his leading sprinter, Imagination, come up empty in the True North. But Nysos, the best horse in Baffert’s barn, salvaged the day — and then some — with a dominant win over Journalism and five others in the Grade 1 Met Mile.
“I’ve always thought he was one of the best horses in training and today he showed it,” Baffert said of the 7-5 favorite, who returned $4.94 after clocking 1:34.85, just 0.13 off the track record.
The victory was not without an anxious moment or two. Jockey Flavien Prat rushed Nysos to the lead out of the gate, but when he was joined on the pace by Antiquarian, Saudi Crown and Knightsbridge, the jockey dropped Nysos back to fourth place at the midway point.
“When he took him back I just thought, ‘I hope he knows what he’s doing,’” Baffert said.
Not surprisingly, Prat did. After Knightsbridge passed Antiquarian on the far turn, Prat took Nysos around those two as they moved into the stretch and pulled away. Knightsbridge was four lengths back in second with Journalism another three-quarters of a length behind in third.
“It felt like down the backside, the pressure from the outside never really stopped,” Prat said. “I figured I had to give him a chance, knowing he was carrying 126 [pounds] and he hasn’t run for [four] months, and it just played out good. When I tipped him out, he gave me a great run.”
It was the eighth win in 10 lifetime starts for Nysos, a 5-year-old son of Nyquist. He was second in the two defeats.
“He’s one of the best horses I’ve ever trained,” Baffert said.
The victory earned Nysos a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in October at Keeneland, but the horse won that race last year and Baffert has a bigger prize in mind.
“We’re going for the Classic,” he said, mentioning the Aug. 22 Pacific Classic at Del Mar as a possible race to bridge the gap between now and Oct. 31.
Since election night in California, a single theory of election fraud has taken root like no other — not just among online conspiracy theorists or bot accounts, but among major conservative influencers and people close to President Trump.
Late on election night, an update of vote counts in the Los Angeles mayor’s race appeared on election results pages of various media outlets including the Los Angeles Times.
It showed leading Democrats Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman receiving tens of thousands of new votes, and leading Republican former reality TV star Spencer Pratt receiving no new votes.
Close observers of the vote tally immediately took screenshots, with some shouting fraud. Others ran statistical analyses that showed it would be impossible for a candidate such as Pratt — running second in the race — to receive zero votes in such a large batch of ballots.
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“They’re not even trying to hide the fraud anymore,” wrote Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and one-time member of Trump’s inner circle.
The claim fit into the broader narrative being pushed relentlessly by Trump and other Republicans in recent days, that California Democrats were cheating.
But the discrepancy in the Tuesday vote count in the mayor’s race was not fraud.
What attracted far less attention than the update with zero Pratt votes was another update one minute later that showed tens of thousands of votes for Pratt, and none for Bass or Raman.
There was no batch of votes that included zero votes for any candidate, as Los Angeles County’s own data show plainly.
But voting data pushed out by the Associated Press came as two separate updates one minute apart, with Bass’ and Raman’s votes in the first and Pratt’s in the second.
“The AP vote count receives updates as provided by election officials and adds them to our vote count. What happened in this case is that there was a lag in an automated update such that some candidates’ votes were added in one update and the other candidates followed about a minute later,” the Associated Press said in a statement to The Times.
“Specifically, an electronic update from the Los Angeles County website pulled in votes for only one group of candidates, including Karen Bass and Nithya Raman. Exactly one minute later, the electronic update picked up the votes for another group of candidates including Spencer Pratt. Taken together, the updates included 21,870 votes for Pratt, 12,850 votes for Bass and 9,521 votes for Raman, along with votes for other candidates.”
The Times’ election results page relies on the AP’s data feed, and checks for updates once a minute.
According to a Times review of election night results data, The Times pulled data from the AP’s feed at approximately 8:35 p.m. that included 0 new votes for Pratt and eight other candidates. When The Times’ system next checked for new numbers a minute later, there was an update with votes for Pratt but no new votes for Raman, Bass and others.
Michael Sanchez, a spokesperson for Dean Logan, head of the L.A. County registrar-recorder/county clerk’s office, said he could not speak for how news outlets report county data, but that he could confirm there were no batches of votes that included zero votes for Pratt.
“It is false,” he said of that narrative. “In every single result update that we released on election night and since election night, he has received votes,” Sanchez said.
Justin Grimmer, a political science professor at Stanford University and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution who researches and evaluates claims of election fraud, conducted his own data analysis of the vote updates, and came to the same conclusion.
He said there was an initial update with no Pratt votes, but a second one 41 seconds later with no votes for Bass or Raman — leading him to believe the single batch of ballots was just reported in two back-to-back updates rather than one.
“Because they came so close together, it looks like it was just a sequence of updates,” he said.
Grimmer said news outlets are “thinking about speed” and the best way to get people the most accurate information as quickly as possible, but “haven’t quite adjusted to being in this world where there’s this group of people who monitor these data feeds as if they are official government reports.”
“It leads to these horrible tweets about there being evidence of fraud,” he said.
Grimmer said he operates under the “mantra” that such fraud claims can’t be dismissed “by mere assertion” that the fraud didn’t happen, but must be looked into — which is why he dived into the data in the first place. This claim, he said, was similar to claims about odd-seeming vote tallies that were made during and after the 2020 election of Joe Biden over Trump, so he was familiar with how to look into the data.
“You can just go to the source code for the page, and then you can find where the sort of feed is, and that’s all I did — just found the feed, downloaded it, and then just saw what the updates were,” he said.
Grimmer said it was not surprising to him that people were watching the data feeds come in closely enough to notice an apparent discrepancy in the data that lasted less than a minute.
“There is a group of individuals who are convinced that there’s lots of fraud going on in U.S. elections, and for whatever reason, this group is convinced that they’re gonna uncover this by careful monitoring of these data feeds and the data that is being reported,” he said.
Grimmer said he would not presume to tell news outlets how to do their job of delivering election results quickly in the future, but does hope they balance the need to move quickly with “this reality that their feeds are now being monitored by individuals who think that they’re able to discover instances of fraud from what’s happening in the feeds.”
Sanchez reiterated that the county’s own official results of votes have been accurate — saying that “at no point” did the county office “report an official results update in which Pratt received zero votes.”
Scott Pelley, a signature on-air talent for “60 Minutes,” was ousted from CBS News a day after he blasted the division’s top management over the firing of the program’s executive producer and two correspondents.
“We have parted ways with Scott Pelley,” the newly installed executive producer Nick Bilton said in a message sent to staff Tuesday.
The network announced Pelley’s departure after a meeting with top CBS News management late Tuesday, where the veteran correspondent continued to ask for answers on why “60 Minutes” executive producer Tanya Simon and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecila Vega were let go last week, according to people familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to speak publicly. Editor in Chief Bari Weiss would not address the matter at the meeting.
Pelley’s departure follows a contentious “60 Minutes” staff meeting on Monday where he accused Weiss of “murdering” the country’s most-watched news program.
Pelley also raised doubts over the credentials of Bilton, the former New York Times journalist and documentary filmmaker named last week to run the venerable newsmagazine, citing his lack of experience in TV news.
Bilton attempted to defend Weiss, who was not at the meeting, and asserted that CBS News management was committed to guiding “60 Minutes” into the digital future.
“She is murdering ‘60 Minutes,’” Pelley said of Weiss at the meeting held at the program’s Manhattan headquarters. “She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it, and she’s been doing exactly that.”
Pelley’s stunning remarks at the meeting were applauded by his colleagues. But veterans in the division — who were shocked by the confrontation— took it as a sign that he was ready to leave the program.
Pelley is the fourth correspondent to depart “60 Minutes” since Weiss joined CBS News. Anderson Cooper, who also anchors at CNN, chose not to sign a new deal, citing family reasons, although many insiders said he was not comfortable with the direction of CBS News. Alfonsi and Vega were severed last week.
Those vacancies mean “60 Minutes” will have to line up new talent quickly to fill the correspondent roles. Production on segments for the 2026-27 season is already underway.
Pelley, 68, started his career at CBS News in 1989. He covered the Gulf War for the network, traveling in Iraq and Kuwait. He later became chief White House correspondent during Bill Clinton’s turbulent second term.
Pelley became a correspondent for “60 Minutes II,” a midweek edition of the program that ran from 1999 to 2005. After the program was canceled, Pelley moved to the Sunday flagship edition.
The fate of “60 Minutes” — which saw a 9% audience increase and massive spikes in viewing across social media platforms this past season — has been an ongoing saga since President Trump sued the program over the editing of an interview with his 2024 opponent former Vice President Kamala Harris.
The suit was settled just ahead of the Federal Communications Commission clearing the way for the takeover of Paramount by David Ellison’s Skydance Media.
Ellison acquired Weiss’ digital start-up the Free Press, which established itself as a voice critical of so-called woke politics. She was given a mandate to move CBS News to the political center, which created a perception that her role is to placate the Trump White House as Paramount seeks regulatory approval to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
Iran is moving its World Cup training base from Tucson, Ariz., to Tijuana, the president of the country’s soccer federation said Saturday, removing one of the final hurdles to its participation in this summer’s tournament.
Iran is scheduled to open World Cup play at SoFi Stadium, facing New Zealand on June 15. It will play Belgium in Inglewood six days later before finishing the group stage against Egypt in Seattle. But there had been questions over the Iranian team’s security in the U.S. after American and Israeli attacks on the country began nearly four months ago.
This World Cup will be the first in which a qualifying team will play in a host country with which it was at war. In March, shortly after the war began, Iranian officials began to question whether they should travel to the U.S. for the tournament — doubts that increased after President Trump posted on social media to say he did not believe it was appropriate for Iran to come “for their own life and safety.”
Because the World Cup is being shared with Mexico and Canada, Iran requested permission to move its base across the border, a request Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, said Saturday had been granted.
FIFA, the World Cup organizer, did not immediately confirm to move.
“All team base camps for the countries participating in the World Cup must be approved [by] FIFA,” Taj said in his statement obtained by the Associated Press. “Fortunately, following the requests we submitted and the meetings we held with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as the webinar meeting we had yesterday in Tehran with the respected FIFA secretary general, our request to change the team’s base from the United States to Mexico was approved.”
Iran’s federation said moving the base camp will resolve potential visa issues since the team will enter the U.S. through Mexico. Taj that the team “may even be able to travel to and from Mexico using Iran Air flights.”
Tijuana is about 50 minutes by air from LAX, about 55 minutes quicker than a flight from Tucson. Iranians have been banned by the U.S. government from receiving visas to enter the U.S., although exceptions are to be made for athletes, coaches, and support personnel involved in the World Cup.
It was a familiar sight: Caitlin Clark stepped to her left, paused and lofted a right-handed layup.
But looming tall, Cameron Brink smacked it out of bounds, caught on camera yelling a couple of curse words before chest-bumping teammate Erica Wheeler so hard she tumbled backward.
That’s the Brink that the Sparks were hoping for this season, and the version of the third-year center they fully expect to shine.
“That was quite the highlight,” coach Lynne Roberts said last week. “That’s what we see in practice, she’s been like that. I was just smiling. … I’m so proud of her.”
After the first game of the season, a 105-78 loss to Las Vegas, Roberts was asked about Brink playing only eight minutes, when she was a minus-19.
“We need Cam to produce,” Roberts said. “We need Cam to bring that defensive energy. We have so much confidence and belief in her. She’s got to get out on the floor with some confidence and do what she’s capable of doing.”
After the next game, when Brink contributed 11 points with five rebounds in that 87-78 loss to Indiana, Roberts wanted to end “the narrative” that the 24-year-old was off to a slow start. Then she netted 10 points in 16 minutes during a defeat of the Toronto Tempo.
The Sparks are in win-now mode but are yet to prove this version of the team can do that. Brink would be a cornerstone player for almost any team in the league, yet she’s coming off the bench with high expectations for her to be one of the team’s most important players.
“My teammates aren’t gonna trust me if I don’t believe in myself,” said Brink, who is averaging 8.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. “Coaches, same thing. So, you know, I’ve had a slow start, but I’m putting in the work with the coaches. They work with me every day. We watch film, shoot a little extra.”
The Sparks need Brink this season. In her first two seasons, she had moments. With Dearica Hamby starting and the addition of Nneka Ogwumike, she is coming off the bench again after doing so last year for the first time since her freshman season at Stanford.
Roberts has said she wants at least two of them on the court at all times. Through the first four games, Brink has played 16.2 minutes per game and the Sparks are minus-29 points when she is on the court.
“Coming into the league, it’s interesting because a lot of times people feel like they have to do something different or more,” Ogwumike said. “But I think one thing that she’s done is she’s really leaned into who she is, and that that level of self assurance is something that I think really plays out when she’s on the court as well.”
In 38 career games, she is already 10th all-time in blocks in Sparks history. Brink dealt with a 13-month layoff after tearing her ACL and meniscus just 15 games into her rookie season, and was slowly re-integrated last season in 19 games.
Sparks forward Cameron Brink tries to power her way past a Tempo defender during agame May 15.
(Jeff Lewis / Asociated Press)
What could really separate the Sparks from the rest of the league, though, would be if Brink plays to her full potential as a sixth player. There are few players in that role who can take over a game the way she can.
“I definitely feel like I have an understanding for just the speed of the game, the nuances and what we’re doing,” Brink said. “The playbook this year is much easier because it was the same as last year.”
The Sparks rebuild started last season with the addition of Kelsey Plum, where they gave up the No. 2 pick to Seattle that would become Dominique Malonga. Then, this offseason they added Ogwumike, Ariel Atkins and Wheeler while trading away their other young star, Rickea Jackson.
The Sparks still gave up 90-plus points in three of their first four games. Brink has the second worst plus-minus rating on the team, but has also made some of their important defensive plays and has 1.8 blocks per game.
“She erases a lot of mistakes out there,” Ogwumike said. “Being able to be out there and know that she has my back, and we’re looking for each other to be in good spots to do well, yeah, I’m just, I’m just happy that we’re rebuilding our chemistry early and fast.”
Brink was a star at Stanford but became known for her fouling habits. As a pro, getting one extra foul to work with, has helped considerably. She’s averaged seven fouls per 36 minutes in her first two seasons.
But the new officiating mandate to allow more freedom of movement is another hurdle. The path to being an elite pro has not been easy for one of the most dynamic college players of the past half-decade, but this season seems essential for Brink and the Sparks to find themselves, together.
Moments like that block of Clark‘s shot are signs the player they need is in there.
“It’s one of those things where you’re in awe,” Ogwumike said. “But also, you know she can do that. I always tell her, go out there and release everything and be yourself. That was very much a Cam Brink play.”
As plenty of Californians remain undecided about the gubernatorial primary’s unsettled Democratic field, some are waiting to cast their ballots, creating the potential for a slower vote count or a longer wait to find out the winners.
Though the landscape could change quickly if Democrats coalesce around a single candidate within the next several days — signs of which were emerging this week — for now, many Democratic-leaning voters appear to be waiting for new developments before making their final decisions, political analysts say.
“This has been a roller coaster of a race, and I think voters are waiting to see when the ride is going to end and cast a vote at that time,” said Steve Maviglio, a Democratic strategist.
A larger-than-usual number of people casting mail ballots on or close to election day could extend the ballot-counting process, said Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation. County election officials said they were prepared for that possibility. Early returns so far haven’t made it clear whether most voters will wait longer than usual to cast ballots.
Mike Sanchez, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County registrar, said the county was “fully prepared” for the possibility of receiving “a significant number” of ballots returned close to or on election day, June 2.
“It is not uncommon in primary elections, particularly those with a large number of contests and candidates, for some voters to take additional time to review their ballots and hold onto them longer before returning them,” he said.
Californians who want to vote on or close to election day can vote in person or use a mail-ballot return option that doesn’t rely on the U.S. Postal Service to help speed the process and avoid the risk of a mail ballot arriving late, election officials said.
Hesitation by Democratic-leaning voters reflects the toll of a historically uncertain primary race for governor. The contest has been marked by the unusual lack of a clear Democratic front-runner and the party’s failure to line up behind a single candidate after former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out in April.
Early concerns within the party that a split Democratic electorate could put two Republicans on the November ballot under the state’s top-two primary system also heightened the sense of stakes among left-leaning voters.
Those factors, combined with a large slate of candidates, voter confusion about how candidates’ platforms differ and a desire to choose the person “most likely to win” have made Democratic-leaning voters uncertain, said Christian Grose, director of the USC Democracy and Fair Elections Lab.
“There’s a little bit of, whoever’s in the lead some Democrats are choosing to vote for … but people don’t know who that person is,” Grose said, noting that “some of that [could start] to go away” as the race tightens.
An indication that Democrats are starting to consolidate around Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, came Tuesday in a new survey released by the California Democratic Party. It showed Becerra with support from 21% of respondents, followed by billionaire Tom Steyer with 15%.
Republican-leaning voters appear to favor Steve Hilton, who had support from 22% of survey respondents. Republican Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff, had 10%. Under California’s primary system, the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party.
Tallies from a handful of counties showed varying early turnout so far.
In San Francisco, a relatively small number of ballots have been returned, indicating that voters may be waiting, Michelle Parker, president of the city’s elections commission, said Tuesday. If people vote by mail close to election day — rather than voting in person or using a drop box — it could affect the speed of vote-counting, a possibility the city’s election staff is prepared for, she said.
“We’ll see how quickly they come in, but knowing what the news has been like and watching what the dynamic has been like across the state, I’m not surprised people are waiting,” Parker said, referring to the governor’s race.
In San Bernardino County, 5.6% of mail ballots had been returned as of Tuesday, a rate comparable with previous elections, Registrar of Voters Joani Finwall said. Election officials “strongly encourage” voters to cast ballots early using drop boxes or early voting locations, Finwall said.
In Orange County, by contrast, data so far indicate that voters are not waiting, the Registrar of Voters office said. More than 129,000 vote-by-mail ballots had been returned by the end of the day Monday, more than had been returned by the same time in the 2024 and 2022 primaries. Of those, a slightly higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats had voted.
If a large number of voters were to wait until June 2 to cast a mail ballot, the county would be able to efficiently process them, said Registrar of Voters Bob Page, noting that 90% of the county’s early vote-by-mail ballots were included in election night results in the 2024 presidential primary.
Voters should be prepared for the possibility that the gubernatorial results aren’t determined on election night, Grose said. One candidate could appear to be in the lead on election night and another could overtake them once all ballots are counted.
State election officials warned this month that some social media posts urging Democrats to vote “late” could be misinformation. Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s office said it would look into such posts, one of which falsely attributed the message to historian Heather Cox Richardson.
Mail ballots must be postmarked on or before election day and arrive within seven days after the election; otherwise, they are considered late and not counted.
Rusty Hicks, chair of the California Democratic Party, acknowledged chatter around people holding onto their ballots but said the survey released Tuesday indicated voters are “beginning to move towards specific candidates.”
Even as Becerra and, to a lesser extent, Steyer rose in popularity, other Democrats saw support in the single digits in the poll, including former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, San José Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
“This race isn’t over; we’ve certainly seen a lot of twists and turns to this point, but you do see some clear consolidation taking place for both Democrats and Republicans,” Hicks said on a call with reporters. “I’m not concerned about California Democrats having their voices heard.”
“There is some uncertainty among Democrats about, ‘Is there one more shoe to drop for someone?” Grose said. “That’s one reason people are holding onto their ballots.”
Voters who want to cast ballots later than May 26 should return their mail ballots at a voting site, county election office or drop box, rather than via the Postal Service, by 8 p.m. on June 2 or should vote in person, recommended Alexander, of the California Voter Foundation.
Because mail ballots require election officials to conduct signature verification, they take longer to count than in-person ballots. In addition, recent changes at the U.S. Postal Service have slowed mail service, creating a higher potential for mailed ballots to arrive late.
Alexander also urged voters to take advantage of Saturday in-person voting, available at county election offices statewide the weekend before election day, and other early voting options.
“I am very sympathetic with voters who want to take their time to make their decision in this very fluid election,” she said. “The important thing is to have a plan.”
Kiki Rice dribbled to the hoop, deked and then put up a shot over the Toronto Tempo practice squad, crisp ombre blue-and-burgundy nails releasing the ball into the basket.
Just over a month ago and just about 10 miles away, Rice‘s blue-and-yellow nails grasped the NCAA championship trophy in celebration at Pauley Pavilion. That’s when she was starring for UCLA and leading the Bruins to their first NCAA national title during her fourth college season.
She was one of six Bruins to be selected in the WNBA draft on April 14, with all of them sticking to notoriously difficult-to-crack WNBA rosters. Rice was the expansion Toronto Tempo’s first college pick.
“We got really lucky getting her in the draft,” Tempo coach Sandy Brondello said. “She hasn’t disappointed.”
Former UCLA star Kiki Rice holds up a Toronto Tempo jersey next to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Rice was the Tempo’s first draft pick and was selected No. 6.
(Angelina Katsanis / Getty Images)
In her first two WNBA games, Rice has averaged 7.7 points and 1.3 assists in 20 minutes per game. She has been coming off of the bench to back up starting point guard Julie Allemand, who the Tempo took from the Sparks in the expansion draft.
“There’s definitely a lot of adjustments and getting used to what it is like inside this level,” Rice said on Friday. “But I’m with great vets, really great coaches, and I’m really enjoying the play as a pro.”
The No. 6 pick in this year’s WNBA draft, Rice elevated her stock as a prospect by having her best UCLA season. She finished her senior season averaging 14.9 points per game with 5.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists, and was named the Big Ten tournament MVP.
Ahead of the NCAA tournament, WNBA scouts said that her defensive prowess and willingness to charge to the basket made her emerge as an early first-round candidate.
“She stays confident in who she is, and that’s what we just pour into her,” Brondello said. “She comes from a really successful, you know, college program in UCLA. Cori [Close] is a great coach, and you know, pushed her hard for greatness. So she’s very mature. She knows that there’s another level that she can go to. She’s going to work really hard to get there.”
Rice went through the WNBA rookie gauntlet, going from the NCAA championship game to the draft within a week and then straight to the Tempo’s training camp.
“It’s something we all go through, it’s the same for all the rookies,” Rice said. “I feel like I haven’t slept a ton the past few weeks. It’s definitely not easy, it happens very quickly, but I am very grateful to be in the position.”
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts coached against Rice during her first two UCLA seasons while the former was the head coach at Utah.
Tempo guard Kiki Rice drives past the Storm’s Zia Cooke during expansion franchise Toronto’s first win on Wednesday in Toronto.
(Michael Chisholm / Getty Images)
“I think she’s going to do well with Sandy in her system,” Roberts said on Friday. “I saw over the course of her four years … her decision making, you know, improve and get better, which is natural, and her outside shot get more comfortable. … She’s going to be a good player to watch.”
Rice faced her old teammates Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalic with the Washington Mystics in the franchise’s first game on May 8, and the trio hugged at center court in Toronto. Rice had one assist and no points in 18 minutes during the loss. She rebounded with 12 points and one assist in 21 minutes during the franchise’s first win over the Seattle Storm on Wednesday.
“Playing with five other pros, you got the advantage of really competitive practices,” Rice said of her time at UCLA. “[The draft] was an incredible moment, something that’s very special for all of us. We didn’t do it alone, and to be able to share it with some of my closest friends, and to hear everyone’s name, be called to see everyone walk across the stage, be able to celebrate together, enjoy the moment, was special.”
This weekend provided a different kind of reunion, with her UCLA coaches in attendance Friday night as Rice scored 11 points and added two assists in 21 minutes during a loss to the Sparks. The Tempo rallied to within one possession in the final minute and get a rematch on Sunday.
He introduced Gary Lamont, Lisa McGrillis and Emily Atack from the series and asked them all about their characters and what they get up to in the Jilly Cooper adaptation.
After speaking to the Rivals cast, Saturday Kitchen’s Matt Tebbutt addressed viewers, explaining one star’s absence from the line-up.
Helen McGinn, wine expert and presenter, had not been able to take part in the show as Matt said: “Now, Helen McGinn had to stay at home today because last night she had a binge-watch party with her neighbours in the leafy gated community of Hampshire.
“And seriously, she is too much of a fangirl to sit here today; her jaw would be on the floor. She can’t believe she’s missing out on our Rivals special.”
“So guys, please say hello to Helen.” The cast then waved and blew kisses, with Lamont saying, “Wish you were here.”
“Are you hungover, Helen?” McGrillis added cheekily as Matt joked, “Probably is. Helen, drop us a text, let us know what you are up to.”
Viewers took to X noticing her absence, with one sharing: “Rivals dropped last night, and Helen is not doing the wine this morning. Coincidence? #SaturdayKitchen”
Will Murray, Jake Croft and Kate Jenkins were on hand to serve up some culinary delights inspired by 80s classics in homage to Rivals.
Ollie Smith served up some classic cocktails, which were also in tribute to the Disney+ “bonkbuster” series.
Tebbutt and Smith spoke to the Rivals cast about the new season with the show’s host bingeing the first two episodes.
“It’s absolutely brilliant,” Tebbutt said. “And I have to say, none of you looks anything like you do.” Later in the episode, Tebbutt expressed his surprise at the stars’ transformations in the series.
Saturday Kitchen airs on BBC One on Saturdays at 10am
South Korean boy band BTS, U.S. pop culture icon Madonna and Latin music superstar Shakira will be performing at halftime during the World Cup final July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., FIFA announced Thursday morning.
The performance will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is looking to raise $100 million to assist children in accessing education and soccer.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote on Instagram that the show “will be a truly special moment, bringing together music, football and a shared commitment to improving the lives of children around the world.”
“It’s a chance to show how amazing all different kinds of humans are,” Martin explains to Elmo in the video.
The three acts will bring a variety of cultures, musical styles and generations of fans to the Super Bowl-style concert, which will be the first of its kind for a World Cup final.
Madonna headlined the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show in 2012, and Shakira teamed with Jennifer Lopez to co-headline the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in 2020. Also, Coldplay headlined the Super Bowl 50 halftime show in 2016.
No duration time has been announced for the World Cup show, although soccer halftimes are not supposed to last more than 15 minutes. Bad Bunny’s halftime performance at Super Bowl LX in February lasted 13 minutes.
Among the three of them, Madonna, Shakira and BTS have compiled 20 No. 1 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart, 10 Grammys and 37 MTV Video Music Awards. Shakira is scheduled to release “Dai Dai” with Nigerian singer Burna Boy as the official song of the 2026 World Cup this month.
ST. LOUIS — Tomas Totland scored four minutes into the match and fellow defender Rafael Santos added a second-half goal to help St. Louis City beat LAFC for the first time, earning a 2-1 victory on Wednesday night.
Totland used assists from Eduard Löwen and Marcel Hartel to find the net for the first time this season and the third time in 55 career appearances. It was the first assist of the campaign for Löwen and the second for Hartel.
Santos added an unassisted goal in the 64th minute. It was his first score this season and his fourth in 92 career matches. Santos entered the match in the 10th minute for an injured Jaziel Orozco.
David Martínez entered the match in the 70th minute and scored in the 73rd to cut it to 2-1. Nkosi Tafari and defender Aaron Long set up Martínez’s fourth goal this season and his 11th in 58 appearances.
Roman Bürki finished with three saves for St. Louis City (3-6-3), which entered the match 0-5-2 all time against LAFC.
Hugo Lloris did not have a save for LAFC (6-4-3). He leads the league with eight clean sheets in 11 starts.
Mathieu Choinière scored his only two goals of the season — both from long range — to lead LAFC to a 2-0 victory over St. Louis City on March 14.
St. Louis City had scored just 10 goals in its first 11 matches under coach Yoann Damet, second fewest in the league.
The Ducks’ second-round playoff showdown with the Vegas Golden Knights has become a best-of-three series.
With a 4-3 victory Sunday before a raucous sold-out crowd at the Honda Center, the Ducks evened the series 2-2 as it heads back to Las Vegas for Game 5 on Tuesday. But it wasn’t easy, with the Golden Knights twice rallying from one-goal deficits, only to see the Ducks answer each time.
And the Ducks’ power play, so lethal in the team’s first-round win over Edmonton and so ineffective in the first three games of this series, finally found a spark, scoring goals in each of the first two periods.
The Ducks were fast and physical in the early going, playing with an urgency they lacked in their Game 3 loss. They also did a better job protecting the puck and that paid off with the team’s first power-play goal of the series 8:43 into the first period.
Vegas had killed 11 penalties against the Ducks and 21 in a row dating back to Game 3 in their first-round series against Utah. But after Dylan Coghlan went off for interference, Sennecke teed up a slap shot from the top of the right circle for his fourth goal of the playoffs, putting the Ducks up 1-0.
The lead didn’t last long, however, with Dorofeyev evening things with a power-play goal of his own about a minute and half later. The goal, on a tip-in, was Dorofeyev’s fifth of the postseason.
Ducks defenseman Ian Moore celebrates with teammates after scoring in the third period of a 4-3 win over the Golden Knights in Game 4 on Sunday at Honda Center.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Granlund put the Ducks back on top less than five minutes before the first intermission, taking a pass from Jeffrey Viel along the left-side boards and getting off a shot as he battled Vegas forward Cole Smith. The puck appeared to strike the blade of Smith’s stick as Viel let it go and that proved fortunate for the Ducks since the deflection fooled defenseman Noah Hanifin and goalie Carter Hart, who both let the bouncing puck tumble through them and into the goal.
That lead didn’t last long, either, with Howden tying things again for Vegas 4:04 into the second period. The goal, on the Golden Knights’ ninth shot, was Howden’s seventh of the playoffs, giving him a share of the NHL lead. Mitch Marner assisted on the first two Vegas goals, giving him a league-best 15 points in 10 postseason games.
However, Killorn scored the Ducks’ second power-play less than two minutes before the second intermission, putting the Ducks in front to stay. Moore doubled the lead 3:43 into the third, lining in a slap shot from well above the right circle.
The two-goal lead matched the largest of the series for the Ducks. Hertl cut that in half with 64 seconds to play after Vegas pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. But the Golden Knights got no closer.
Both teams have split their two games at home. The Golden Knights will have the home-ice advantage — if there is one — over the last three games since two are scheduled in Las Vegas.
Sunday’s win marked the sixth consecutive time the Ducks evened a playoff series it trailed 2-1 after three games.
Vegas played without winger Mark Stone, whose 28 goals were second-most on the team during the regular season. Stone, who had a goal and an assist in the first three games against the Ducks, is the team’s all-time playoff scoring leader with 79 points (39 goals, 40 assists) in 94 games. He sustained an undisclosed injury in the first period of Game 3 and his status for the rest of the series is unclear.
LAS VEGAS — Perhaps you were a little surprised when the Ducks, who haven’t had a winning record in seven seasons, led the Pacific Division for most of the season, or when they made the playoffs for the first time since 2018, or when they eliminated the Edmonton Oilers — who played in the last two Stanley Cup Finals — in the first round of the playoffs this spring.
If you were surprised by any of that, wait until you hear what they’ve done now.
Because with a dominant 3-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday in Game 2 of a best-of-seven playoff series, the Ducks evened the series at a win apiece and wrested home-ice advantage away from the division champions. Now they come home for Game 3 on Friday with a strong wind at their backs in a series they were supposed to lose.
“We kept the momentum and we’re headed home, which is fantastic,” center Ryan Poehling said.
If the series goes a full seven games, the Ducks will play three of the last five game at home where — would it surprise you to learn? — they had the best home record in the division this season?
But it’s not just that the Ducks won, but how they won that’s important. The younger, speedier team has skated rings around the older — and frustrated — Golden Knights, who have made the playoffs eight times in nine years, winning a Stanley Cup in 2023. Two games into this series, however, the plodding Golden Knights have looked like they’re skating through quicksand at times and have really had no answer for Anaheim in this series.
“The way to beat them is just outpacing them,” Poehling said. “And it’s not just with speed. It’s how we play. Guys are supporting one another, and you saw that. Tonight was kind of a game plan of what we want to do to win, for sure.
Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke celebrates after scoring in the second period against the Golden Knights in Game 2 on Wednesday.
(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
“We didn’t like how Game 1 ended, but we liked our game. That’s hockey sometimes. You can play the right way, do all the right things, we end up losing.”
The Golden Knights won Game 1 when a blown icing call allowed them to score the go-ahead goal before adding an insurance goal into an empty net. So the Ducks made sure one play wouldn’t decide Game 2, taking their first lead of the series on a Beckett Sennecke goal midway through the second period.
“We had some great opportunities to score first,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “Finding a way to score first was important.”
The Ducks also scored second and third, with Leo Carlsson doubling the lead 6:36 into the third period before Jansen Harkins scored into an empty net with 3:30 to play to ice things. That didn’t end the drama though because the Ducks were six seconds away from their first shutout of the season when Vegas’ Mark Stone scored a power-play goal into an empty net.
For the Ducks, that goal spoiled nothing.
“It doesn’t matter,” goalie Lukas Dostal said. “It doesn’t matter how you win, where the score is. Obviously it’s always the cherry on the top. But it doesn’t really matter. We got a W and that’s all we focus on.”
Maybe. But after a regular season in which the Ducks gave up more than 3.5 goals a game, most of any playoff qualifier, the defensive effort was…. well, surprising.
And important.
“That’s not our tradition of playing that type of game. Low-scoring affair, when we score first and we’re leading throughout,” Quenneville said.
Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal protects the net in front of Vegas forward Tomas Hertl during the second period.
(John Locher / Associated Press)
But if the Ducks hope to make a long playoff run, that’s the blueprint they’ll have to follow.
“The only way you’re going to be successful in the playoffs is you’ve got to win games like tonight,” said Quenneville, whose three Stanley Cup wins with Chicago are the most by an active NHL coach. “We showed that it’s going to take everybody to play these type of games. And everybody contributed.”
“We’re picking a good time,” added defenseman Jacob Trouba “to play our best hockey.”
Still, the Ducks’ best hockey can get better. Anaheim was for 0 for Las Vegas on the power play, failing to score on nine opportunities with the man advantage in the two games — including an eight-minute stretch in the first period when Vegas had one, and sometimes two, players in the penalty box.
“We had some great chances on the power play,” said Quenneville, whose team scored on half of their 16 power-play chances in the first-round series with Edmonton. Vegas, however, has killed 19 straight penalties and 24 of 25 in the postseason.
Ducks forward Leo Carlsson scores past Vegas goaltender Carter Hart during the first period Wednesday.
(John Locher / Associated Press)
Yet that wasn’t good enough for the sweep at home, so the once-favored Golden Knights must break serve in Anaheim.
“They split here. We’ve got to go in and try to get a game out of there,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said. “We’re going to keep our composure and get about our business. This team has always been really good in these type of situations, so I have full confidence we’re going to find our way.”
If the Golden Knights fail to do that, they just might be in for a surprise.
