LAS VEGAS — Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist, Lukas Dostal made 27 saves, and the Ducks opened the season by holding off the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 on Friday night.
The teams met last season in the second round of the playoffs, with Vegas winning in six games and going on to win the Western Conference. The Golden Knights opened Tuesday night at home with a 5-2 victory over Chicago.
Carlson set up Beckett Sennecke’s goal with eight seconds left in the first period, then scored at 7:03 of the second to cap a three-goal burst for a 4-0 lead. Alex Killorn and Jeff Malott also scored.
Shea Theodore, Tomas Hertl and Braeden Bowman scored for Vegas in the third period, with Bowman connecting with 2:50 left. Hertl struck on a power play.
Carter Hart stopped 16 shots for the Golden Knights.
Up next for the Ducks: vs. Florida at Honda Center on Sunday.
Heading into the Birmingham-Cleveland high school football game on Friday night, something had to give in the West Valley League opener. The host Patriots hadn’t lost a league game since 2017 and had beaten Cleveland 13 consecutive times, by an average score of 40-8.
Cleveland, however, was undefeated and looking for its first 6-0 start since 2004.
It wasn’t pretty, but a superlative defensive effort and two impressive first-half drives gave the Cavaliers just enough to defeat the Patriots 14-9. Birmingham fell to 1-5.
Neither team’s most potent offensive weapon was able to take over the game.
Cleveland running back Moyosoreoluwa Odebunmi did most of his damage early, rushing for 40 yards on the Cavaliers’ opening drive, which ended with quarterback Julio Avalos’ one-yard touchdown run.
Odebunmi again carried much of the load on Cleveland’s second drive, contributing 39 yards and scoring on a two-yard run to give the Cavaliers a 14-0 lead.
While Odebunmi was producing for Cleveland, the Cavaliers largely stifled Birmingham’s top offensive threat, wide receiver Paul Turner.
Turner’s biggest play was a 45-yard punt return that set up the Patriots’ lone touchdown, a six-yard pass from quarterback Daniel Kakooza to Aidin Irizary late in the third quarter that cut Cleveland’s lead to 14-9.
“We knew that was one of the keys to getting the win, containing him,” Cleveland coach Mario Guzman said of Turner. “We knew he’d get his catches. That’s inevitable — the kid’s a baller. But we knew if we could contain him, rally and tackle, we’d be in a good position.”
The fourth quarter turned into a comedy of errors. Birmingham blocked a punt to take over at the Cleveland 11, only to have Cleveland block the ensuing field-goal attempt. The Patriots later got another opportunity when Chris Barrera recovered a fumble.
Kakooza then rediscovered Turner, connecting with him six times on the drive as Birmingham drove to the Cleveland three-yard line. But the Patriots again came away empty.
Ulster have handed starts to five of their summer signings for Friday’s United Rugby Championship opener against Edinburgh at the Affidea Stadium (19:45 BST).
They form part of a total of eight players in the matchday squad who are set to make their competitive debuts for the Irish province.
New forward additions Eduardo Bello, Eli Snyman, Ben Donnell and Martin Moloney are named in the starting team, with another new recruit, Jamie Benson, chosen among the backs.
Ireland wing Robert Baloucoune is back in the starting line-up, while last season’s top try-scorer Zac Ward is among the replacements, both players having been involved in Ireland camp over the summer.
Full-back Michael Lowry is named as captain.
After missing all of last season because of a knee injury, James McNabney makes his competitive return, starting at number eight.
Argentine debutant Bello joins Eric O’Sullivan and James McCormick in the front row, with Snyman and Donnell forming the second row.
In the back row, there is a debut for former Exeter Chiefs forward Moloney at open-side flanker, with McCann starting at blind-side.
Conor McKee and Jack Murphy make up the half-back combination, while ex-Harlequins back Benson and Ben Carson team up in midfield.
Baloucoune is selected on the right wing and Development back Aitzol Arenzana-King on the left.
Arenzana-King crossed for four tries in Ulster’s pre-season games against Edinburgh and Ospreys.
Development hooker Henry Walker, prop Keynan Knox and scrum-half Matthew Devine are named in a youthful bench.
Forwards Walker, Tom McAllister, Knox, Harry Sheridan and James McKillop, and backs Devine, Jake Flannery and Zac Ward are chosen as replacements.
UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy stressed that his offense needed to come out swinging Saturday against Purdue after going scoreless in the first half against San Diego State last week.
And the Bruins heeded the advice, scoring 21 first-quarter points before pulling away in the second half to take a 52-38 win in their Big Ten opener Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.
UCLA improved to 3-0 and matched its 2025 win total with its first 50-point game against a Power Four program since November 2022. Bob Chesney joined Terry Donahue and Jim Mora as the only coaches to start their UCLA tenures 3-0.
Fifth-year tailback Wayne Knight spearheaded the offensive outburst, rushing for 177 yards and two touchdowns for a Bruins team that had 369 yards and four touchdowns on the ground via an average of 7.7 yards per carry. Knight has eight touchdowns in three games, matching the Bruins’ total output for rushing touchdowns last season.
“The biggest thing for us was to just put it all together. And I think that we stepped up to that challenge — what we did on the ground, in the air,” Knight said. “But the guys up front, no matter who is in there as guys are rotating all the time, whoever is in there is going to put up front. They are working as a team.”
While Chesney made sure to acknowledge his running backs — with all three starters reaching the end zone — he made a point to recognize the man under center, highlighting senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s resiliency.
After posting two interceptions to zero passing touchdowns through the first two weeks of the season, Iamaleava completed 19 of 31 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 55 more. Iamaleava looked much more comfortable and confident in the pocket, despite playing through multiple injuries.
UCLA defensive players celebrate after defensive lineman Sahir West (15) recovers a fumble against Purdue Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
“Last week, I told you it wasn’t his greatest game. We watched him go out here today, and I think he was near perfect for a stretch in the beginning of that game, finding all kinds of different receivers and being able to carry the ball himself a little bit,” Chesney said. “And just what a warrior, because he was pretty nicked up out there in moments, and he just wanted to keep fighting.”
Iamaleava found security in senior wideout Semaj Morgan, who hauled in four passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns. In three years at Michigan, Morgan had just four receiving touchdowns. Outside of Morgan, fifth-year wide receiver Leland Smith caught three passes for 59 yards despite playing just one snap across the previous two weeks, potentially giving Iamaleava and Kennedy a big target to look to going forward.
James Madison transfer Landon Ellis, who returned to the field for the first time since going down with a head injury in the beginning of the second half against California, scored his first touchdown as a Bruin. And South Carolina transfer Brian Rowe Jr. caught two passes for 65 yards despite getting targeted eight times, including a deep shot from Iamaleava in the end zone that bounced off his chest.
Although UCLA’s offense turned in 645 yards of total offense, its defense struggled to hold back a Purdue team that lost its 19th consecutive conference game.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava passes during the first quarter Saturday against Purdue.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
While the Bruins held Aztec signal caller Jayden Denegal to just 45 passing yards, the secondary found itself facing a different beast in Boilermaker quarterback Ryan Browne, who completed 19 of 30 passes for 378 of Purdue’s 488 total yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Xavier Townsend had 162 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
“I felt like the pressure mounted a little bit and we were not as clean in our technique as we needed to be,” Chesney said. “We can’t put ourselves in panic mode, which might have hit us a little bit throughout today. But when we needed it the most, we were able to get a stop.”
Chesney said the UCLA defense has the personnel and ability to compete with anyone, but penalties and a fake punt that resulted in a first down allowed the Boilermakers to get within one score and added unnecessary pressure.
Fortunately for the UCLA secondary, linebacker Sammy Omosigho put the defense on his back.
Omosigho led the team in tackles with 12, but more important, he had two sacks and two forced fumbles. He has four forced fumbles in three games.
“That’s his third game in a row forcing a fumble. There’s other things he’s going to want to clean up in there too and other schematic things that he can do better,” Chesney said of Omosigho. “But at the same point in time, the one play that stuck out to me was a running back, and it looked like he was going to go and get the edge, and Sam just put out one arm and just crumbled this kid with one arm. The strength he has, the poise he plays with, the toughness he plays with and the strength to be able to execute and finish on those tackles, are things that are pretty impressive.”
UCLA running back Anthony Woods is hoisted up by offensive lineman Julian Armella after scoring a touchdown against Purdue at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
James Madison transfer Sahir West recovered both of Omosigho’s takeaways — the Boilermakers’ first two giveaways this season — and they set up UCLA touchdowns.
While Purdue (1-2) kept up with UCLA for most of the game, its hopes of a comeback ended when senior defensive back Rodrick Pleasant picked off Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne with less than six minutes left.
Despite the Bruins’ difficulty thriving on both sides of the ball during the same game, Chesney said he is confident in his team’s ability to compete going forward.
“We heard the guys on defense saying thanks for getting our back,” Chesney said. “The offense struggled last week, we’re going to need them at some point. The defense is going to need that at some point, and then we’re all going to need the special teams at some point. We haven’t played the perfect complementary game yet, but there’s one in there and I’m looking forward to seeing that day because it exists. There’s fibers in here of a really high level football team.”
Sunday’s highly anticipated premiere of “60 Minutes” scored 7.9 million viewers according to Nielsen, the lowest for a season opener since 2000.
Nielsen data showed the news magazine was down 21% compared to last year’s opener, which averaged 10.3 million viewers. The premiere was the first ratings report card for the program since a major upheaval that occurred behind the scenes under CBS News Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
The number — which was also below the 2025-26 season average of 9.1 million viewers — has to be a disappointment to CBS News. The episode received a major promotional push in the weeks leading up to the premiere, which featured an exclusive interview with an Air Force officer who was shot down over Iraq.
The story of the pilot’s heroism may not have been enough to overcome the public’s antipathy toward the U.S. military operation which has gone on much longer than President Trump predicted.
The program did suffer from some comparisons to 2025.
The ratings for “60 Minutes” are often tied to the lead-in from the late afternoon NFL game on CBS, which was also off from 2026. Most of the country saw the Minnesota Vikings top the Green Bay Packers by a score of 39-22 which, with 18.4 million viewers, was down 22% compared to a comparable broadcast window last year.
Broadcasters tend to blame Nielsen when there are significant ratings declines. The NFL has already raised concerns to the research company about changes to its methodology in counting viewers, as the first week of games are down significantly compared to a year ago.
This year, CBS did not have the exclusive late Sunday window with its NFL game. Fox carried the Philadelphia Eagles-Washington Redskins contest in the time period. Last year’s “60 Minutes” opener was on Sept. 28, when CBS had the sole game with a Kansas City Chiefs-Baltimore Ravens contest.
CBS News did see “60 Minutes” retain a larger portion of its audience lead-in compared to last year, despite a later start time of 7:48 p.m. Eastern. The delay meant half of “60 Minutes” competed with NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” the most-watched TV program of the week. It dropped to 6 million viewers by the final quarter hour.
While there are plenty of rationales, CBS News will have to be patient and hope that viewers will sample the program, which largely had the same look as last year despite Weiss’ changes.
But personalities matter to TV viewers, and the new “60 Minutes” is without four of its longtime correspondents — Anderson Cooper, Scott Pelley, Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi. The latter three were fired by Weiss after clashing with her over their belief she is pushing the show to the political right. Weiss — who took over editorial control of CBS News after parent company Paramount acquired her heterodox digital news site the Free Press — also dismissed “60 Minutes” executive producer Tanya Simon and replaced her with screenwriter and documentary filmmaker Nick Bilton, who has no previous experience in TV news.
Viewers on Sunday briefly saw one of Weiss’ new hires, former conservative New York Times opinion writer Ross Douthat, who has no previous experience as a TV presenter.
