Shohei Ohtani deserves MVP over Francisco Lindor after 50-50 feat
Everything about him is unanimous.He’s the best player in baseball history. He just had the best offensive day in baseball history. He’s having the best…
Plaschke: LeBron James’ golden Olympics wasted on tarnished Lakers
He carried this country to gold.But he might not be able to carry the Lakers into the playoffs?He was the leader of the team that…
Plaschke: Bring it on! Los Angeles begins countdown to 2028 Olympics
Finally, dramatically, it has ended, the 2024 Paris Olympics finishing its last lap Sunday with incomparable enthusiasm, unbridled joy, and one last look at the…
Plaschke: Jack Flaherty gives Dodgers dramatic trade deadline victory
Far away from a field, hours before a game, Andrew Friedman just hammered out the biggest hit of the Dodger season.Trading for the Detroit Tigers’…
Plaschke: Clayton Kershaw debut gives Dodgers new hope
Clayton Kershaw was crumbling again. It was real. It was happening. It was October in July. It was deja boo. It was the third inning…
Plaschke: Caitlin Clark brings the magic in her Hollywood debut
All night, bricks. Then, boom. All night, dreadful. Then, dagger. Caitlin Clark spent most of her first visit to Los Angeles stuck in terrible traffic…
Plaschke: Lakers and JJ Redick are a match made in Looney Tunes
JJ Redick? Seriously? The Los Angeles LeBrons appear to be closing in on the landmark hire of a bench boss who possesses but one legitimate…
Plaschke: Shohei Ohtani has sweeping Dodgers dreaming of a different October
This wasn’t October. This can’t be confused with October. This has nothing to do with October. Yet make no mistake, the Dodgers’ weekend sweep of…
Times columnist Bill Plaschke wins prestigious Red Smith Award
The reaction was thunderous and effusive. Colleagues and competitors, team officials, longtime readers and even some critics all celebrated when the Associated Press Sports Editors…
Plaschke: Lakers finishing with headache, nausea and dimming hopes
Headache. Nausea. The two words were uttered Tuesday night to describe the condition of a certain Laker. The two words could also describe the reaction…
Plaschke: Do you still believe in Shohei Ohtani? I’m not sure
It still doesn’t feel right. It still doesn’t make sense. No matter how much Shohei Ohtani and his advisors attempt to clean it up, something…
Plaschke: Chargers want to finally make a splash? Hire Jim Harbaugh
Jim Harbaugh is there if the Chargers want him. The question is, how bad do they want him? Do they want to deal with the…
Letters to Sports: UCLA proves it isn’t a football school
UCLA’s decision to retain Chip Kelly confirms, once again, that UCLA really is a great basketball school. And why not retain him? After six seasons,…
Plaschke: From heroes to turkeys, missed miracle is Lakers’ reality check
The crowd had been revived. The energy had been restored. The building shook. The Dallas Mavericks were shaken. “Let’s go Lakers! ... Let’s go Lakers.”…
Plaschke: The Lakers need LeBron James for every second to survive
He is supposed to be getting old. LeBron James raced down the court for a thundering layup to give the Lakers their first fourth-quarter lead.…
Plaschke: The Dodgers will win the 2023 World Series title
They are fighting their tattered rotation, their untested bullpen, their shallow lineup. Clayton Kershaw is too old. Bobby Miller is too young. Evan Phillips is…
Plaschke: Trade deadline debacle! Dodgers, Andrew Friedman fail to improve starting pitching
The way baseball’s trade deadline played out Tuesday, one might confuse Andrew Friedman for a Dodgers’ starting pitcher. Because he got shelled. It’s strange to…
Plaschke: Reeling Angels need to swallow hard and trade Shohei Ohtani
For all the glitz and glam found within the rosters of Southern California’s successful sports teams, there is only one bit of bling that truly…
Plaschke: Enough! Dodgers need to trade for an ace, now!
Enough. Enough reliever starts. Enough rookie starts. Enough rattled starts. Enough starts that last four innings. Enough starts that give up five runs. Enough starts…
Bill Plaschke: Rob Pelinka and Lakers win the summer
They did nothing. They did everything. They bricked it. They absolutely nailed it. For the first time in recent memory, the NBA free-agent circus missed…