Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, receiver Puka Nacua and edge rushers Jared Verse and Byron Young were voted to the Pro Bowl, the NFL announced.
Stafford, 37, has passed for a league leading 4,179 yards and 40 touchdowns, with five interceptions, for a Rams team that is 11-4 and currently seeded sixth for the NFC playoffs. The Rams play the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night in Atlanta in the second-to-last game of the regular season. Stafford also made the Pro Bowl in 2014 and 2023.
Quarterbacks Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks and Dan Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys also made the NFC roster.
Nacua, a third-year pro, leads the NFL with 114 catches and ranks second with 1,592 yards receiving. He was also voted to the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2023.
Young, also a third-year pro, has amassed 11 sacks, which ranks ninth in the NFL. This is his first Pro Bowl recognition.
Verse has 6 1/2 sacks and is regarded as one of the league’s most disruptive forces. He also made the Pro Bowl as a rookie last season, when he was also voted NFL defensive rookie of the year.
The Pro Bowl Games will be held Feb. 3 in San Francisco.
Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche has told his players to “enjoy themselves” but to “use common sense” over christmas. His comments follow Pep Guardiola’s admission that Manchester City’s players will be weighed when they return to training to check their fitness has not dropped over the festive period.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It’s time to close out 2025 with The Times’ All-Star football package.
It’s awards time
Trent Mosley of Santa Margarita holds the CIF state championship Open Division trophy after beating De La Salle.
(Craig Weston)
The unanimous player of the year is Trent Mosley of Santa Margarita. During the postseason, he was unstoppable as a receiver and wildcat quarterback. The Eagles smartly decided he needed to get as many targets and opportunities as possible to turn short passes into long gainers, and he delivered in spectacular fashion. All the people who declined to make him one of their “five-star prospects” perhaps because of his size or a misunderstanding of how fast he is might want to reconsider now that he’s headed to USC and ready to be an impact player. Here’s the profile.
Luke Fahey of Mission Viejo.
(Craig Weston)
The back of the year is Luke Fahey of Mission Viejo. Ohio State is getting its next top quarterback. Accurate with a strong arm and great leadership skills, Fahey set an example of how you can reach the top while waiting your turn. He didn’t become the full-time starter until his senior season for the good of the team. He became a Mission Viejo legend. Here’s the profile.
Braiden McKenna of Los Alamitos, left, opens a hole against Cathedral Catholic.
(Craig Weston)
The lineman of the year is Braiden McKenna of Los Alamitos. Playing center, he helped ignite a ground game that produced two 1,000-yard rushers and a Southern Section Division 2 championship. Here’s the profile.
Los Alamitos football coach Ray Fenton stands with his players during an Alpha League opener at SoFi Stadium.
(Craig Weston)
The coach of the year is Ray Fenton of Los Alamitos. He took an underrated team and guided them to a Division 2 championship without transfers and lots of best friends uniting. Here’s the profile.
With finals taking place or finished, get ready for the transfer portal to open for high school football players looking for new schools for the spring semester.
There have been lots of rumors about players coming to Santa Margarita to play for coach Carson Palmer after the Eagles won the Division 1 title in his rookie season. Mater Dei has had two lackluster freshman classes the last two years, so if the Monarchs intend to keep up in the Trinity League, look for new players checking in.
Top five high school football teams for 2026 BEFORE transfers. 1. St. John Bosco, 2. Santa Margarita, 3. Corona Centennial, 4. Orange Lutheran, 5. Servite.
Mission Viejo has an opening at quarterback, so keep watch who ends up there. Will JSerra players stick around for a new coach or switch to another Trinity League team.
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St. John Bosco has lots of returning players, including two promising quarterbacks who will be juniors. It will be a surprise in today’s environment if both stay. The Braves are expected to get a top defensive back/receiver in the coming days. Sierra Canyon has plenty of back-ups expected to move into starting roles, but it’s been the same problem in recent years for the Trailblazers: Average play at quarterback against the best teams doesn’t get you to be one of the top two teams.
In the City Section, Carson won its 12th championship and gets to build the likely City player of the year, quarterback Chris Fields III. Will Crenshaw continue its rise? Will Birmingham start a new winning streak against City teams? What will happen to coach Robert Garrett, who didn’t get to coach this season at Crenshaw while on administrative leave with no end date in sight. All he does is check in from home waiting for a long and confusing Los Angeles Unified School District investigative process to play out despite reaching 300 career victories.
New coaches at JSerra, Bishop Alemany, St. Francis, Bishop Montgomery, Oaks Christian and St. Paul will offer a glimpse about what direction those private school programs want to take.
JSerra makes historic hire
Finally, a Trinity League school said yes.
Hardy Nickerson of the Chicago Bears poses for his 2007 NFL headshot at photo day in Chicago. He’s the new head coach at JSerra.
(Getty Images / Getty Images)
Hardy Nickerson, a Verbum Dei grad who was an All-Pro linebacker and coached in the NFL, college and high school ranks, was hired by JSerra as its new football coach, becoming the first Black head football coach in the Trinity League since it was formed in 2006. Here’s the report.
New JSerra coach Hardy Nickerson: “I’ve been around a lot of football and coached literally at every level. We’re in the most competitive league in the country, the SEC of high school football, but at the same time, it’s about building young men and mentoring them.”
There’s been excuses in the past, from lack of fit, to lack of coaching experiences to lack of school ties. Nickerson earned this chance based on years of qualifications and coaching at every level, from youth to high school to college to the NFL.
There’s no guarantee of success, however, in a league in which the other five schools have invested lots of money and hard work trying to be successful. There’s an expectation coaching in the league you get about three years and are gone without progress.
Nickerson will face the same challenges as his predecessor, former Azusa Pacific coach Victor Santa Cruz, who came in with strong qualifications but was pushed out following a 3-7 season.
If Nickerson succeeds, it can pave the way for other Black head coaches to get a chance to be a coach at a top private school. It has happened in basketball, but football has been way behind.
Basketball
It’s freedom day for high school basketball players who transferred without moving and have been sitting out the first month of the season. They’re getting the best Christmas present of all — eligibility on Friday.
Many teams will undergo changes that could lead to much-improved performances. Sierra Canyon, Chaminade, Mater Dei, Loyola, Crespi, Arcadia and Pasadena are among the schools getting stronger. Among girls, Etiwanda and Corona Centennial will be getting new players.
Crespi is getting 6-foot-9 junior Rodney Mukendi, which will add much-needed rebounding and a rim protector.
Ontario Christian’s girls’ basketball team has won 14 straight games to start the season. Etiwanda is 7-1. The inevitable meeting between the two should happen in the postseason.
The day after Christmas is always one of the busiest basketball days of the season with tournaments galore. The Classic at Damien leads the tournament action. The fact that sit-out period players become eligible on Dec. 26 will make for interesting matchups and possible surprises.
On Monday in Las Vegas, there will be some great matchups at the Tarkanian Classic, including Redondo Union vs. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, San Gabriel Academy vs. La Mirada and Santa Margarita vs. Utah Timpview.
It’s not too early to start speculating which teams will challenge defending Division 1 champion St. John Bosco for No. 1 this season. The Braves are loaded with quality returnees, from twins James and Miles Clark to star closer Jack Champlin.
There are at least seven other schools gearing up to make a title run, including JSerra, Orange Lutheran, Huntington Beach, Santa Margarita, Harvard-Westlake, Cypress, Corona and Norco.
Among the elite players, JSerra outfielder Blake Bowen is being mentioned as a possible first-round draft pick. Trey Ebel of Corona is hoping to follow brother Brady as a high pick. Norco has two of the best underclassmen in sophomore pitcher Jordan Ayala and junior shortstop Dylan Seward. Huntington Beach has the best hitter/pitcher in junior Jared Grindlinger. Santa Margarita returns Brody Schumaker, who is switching from second base to shortstop. Harvard-Westlake welcomes a group of off-the-chart freshmen, led by El Segundo Little League World Series hero Louis Lappe.
In softball, Norco looks strong but JSerra has pitching and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame made a big move last season to be a contender with lots of youth.
Notes
Point guard Ryan Gov from Cypress has committed to Azusa Pacifica …
Mark Holman has resigned as football coach at San Dimas …
Mike Moschetti has resigned as football coach at St. Paul …
Former Campbell Hall football coach Dennis Keyes is the new football coach at Bishop Alemany. He was the defensive coordinator at Chaminade this past season and was an All-City player at Birmingham and starting defensive back at UCLA …
Baseball player Malachi Wobrock of Hart has committed to MIT.
From the archives: Colby Parkinson
Oaks Christian tight end Colby Parkinson during his playing days with the Lions.
(Los Angeles Times)
Former Oaks Christian tight end Colby Parkinson, 26, continues to demonstrate as a key player for the Rams why almost everyone was projecting him to be an NFL player since his high school days when he was a three-sport athlete.
From the Washington Post, a story on two high school basketball siblings who are five-star players.
Tweets you might have missed
Always trying to be helpful and certainly not encouraging transfers, but the sit-out period for 2026 in football ends for Southern Section players on Sept. 28 and for City Section Sept. 24.
Don’t name a stadium, a gym, a park, a center, a building or create an award for somebody, then think you can change the decision years later to make more money on someone else. It’s embarrassing, whether done at the high school, college or political level.
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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Guardiola is known as a strict coach when it comes to player fitness levels and in 2016 exiled some of his squad from first-team training until they met certain weight targets.
Guardiola previously apologised to Kalvin Phillips after saying the City midfielder was “overweight” on his return from the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
City are two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, who beat Everton 1-0 on Saturday, and face Forest before an away fixture at Sunderland on New Year’s Day.
Guardiola said he had no problem with his squad’s fitness or running, but they simply “have to play better”.
“The players asked me to have tomorrow’s [Sunday’s] training session off and I said no, because they didn’t play well enough,” Guardiola said.
“So Sunday recovery, train the guys that didn’t play, and after three days off they have two days to prepare for Nottingham Forest.”
Guardiola added that it was important for his players to spend time with their families over the Christmas period.
“I’ve learned from England, since I arrived, as much days [where you can] have a day off, you give them,” he added.
“The schedule is so tight and the players have to forget. The moment of the game they will be fresh in the legs.”
Salah delivered the corner from which Hugo Ekitike scored Liverpool‘s second goal in a 2-0 win at Anfield against Brighton and that was the cue for home fans to sing his chant.
He did a lap of the pitch at full-time in his final appearance before joining up with Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations.
However, his comments after the Leeds game have put a question mark over his Liverpool future, especially with Saudi Pro League clubs interested in him and the January transfer window coming up.
Former Reds defender Jamie Carragher described Salah’s aside as a “disgrace”, while ex-Blackburn and Celtic striker Chris Sutton said the controversial remarks had caused “carnage” at the club.
Speaking before the Tottenham game, Slot said “we moved on” as he attempted to draw a line under the issue.
Jones added: “I get that there are certain ways you can go about things, but if a lad’s fine to just be on the bench and he doesn’t want to play and help the team, then I think that’s more of an issue.
“When there’s been any sort of anger from us, including myself, it’s always been from a good place.
“In the moment, it might not have come out in the right way, but it’s never been to affect the team, the staff, the manager, anybody like that.
“We’re past that now and we’re gelling well as a team, playing well and starting to win games.”
Frank has endured a difficult start to life at Tottenham since joining them in June after seven years at Brentford, who he guided from the Championship to the Premier League in 2021.
The Dane’s performance had come under increasing internal scrutiny following a home defeat by Fulham on 29 November which came as part of a run of one win in eight, while sections of Spurs supporters have also voiced frustrations with Frank.
However, the manager insists he retains the backing from the club hierarchy.
“I feel supported. I’ve done that the whole time,” said the 52-year-old.
“This is not a quick fix. This will take time. That’s not to say that we’re not going to do everything we can to beat Liverpool.
“I’m very comfortable and confident that I will, how can I say, fix it, but just to make sure it’s not me. When this club comes out on top, there will be a lot of good people working together, aligned at the same time through the years.
“I just know one thing I’m pretty good at – I’m good at analysing things. I know what good looks like and I know where we should get [to], and… I’m 1,000% sure we haven’t seen any club be successful unless they had key people in the right positions for a long time.
“And I’ll back myself to be one of those key people to be in that position.”
Four players have been banned from all football-related activity for several years for their part in match-fixing offences in Australia’s A-League.
Kearyn Baccus and ex-New Zealand international Clayton Lewis were paid A$10,000 (£4,940) each to get themselves booked during Macarthur FC’s game against Sydney FC in December 2023.
Luka Doncic was back at it again, this time surprising the Lakers and staff members with more than 100 e-bikes for Christmas gifts.
Doncic, who took his teammates to a Porsche Driving Experience in October as a way to bond, gave the gifts away Tuesday after practice.
“I just wanted to give everybody something,” he said. “Everybody works hard, even the people you don’t see in the back, so I want to do something for them too.”
Said teammate Jake LaRavia: “Shout-out to Luka, man. What a guy.”
Welcome back to the Times’ Lakers newsletter, where we’re all about finding beauty in the struggle that is a basketball season. In a game with 68 free throws, five technical fouls and one potential dagger three-pointer marred by an ejection, there was definitely a lot of struggle.
The thought still made JJ Redick smile.
“It’s about growth,” Redick said after the Lakers survived a slugfest against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. “It’s not about perfection.”
“Consistently, when they have been challenged on a very specific thing, they have responded to those challenges,” Redick said of his players.
The latest challenge was shaping up on defense. The Lakers confronted their deficiencies in a meeting last week during which coaches presented film of the team’s mistakes and stats showing how far the Lakers had fallen. From giving up 113.7 points per possession during their first 14 games, the Lakers allowed 120.9 during the next 10 games.
Redick specifically asked his players for consistency and urgency on defense. For example, instead of being up to touch half of the time, he needed the bigs to be at the level of the screen every time. While allowing teams to shoot 41.3% on corner threes (the second-worst for any team on such shots), Redick noticed a mixture of improper pick-and-roll coverage, bad transition defense or lack of on-ball containment. He asked for simply more consistent execution of what the team had shown it could do.
Some defensive inconsistencies were forgiven during the seven-game winning streak against teams that have a combined .465 record as of Dec. 15. But a 3-3 record during a six-game stretch against .500 teams proved the Lakers can’t hide anymore.
Center Deandre Ayton called it “embarrassing” to see what other teams thought of their defense.
“JJ really got on us and basically showed us, ‘Y’all showing y’all ass right now,’” Ayton said. “‘And it’s time to tighten up a little bit.’”
Playing against a sometimes undersized Suns team Sunday, the Lakers answered by dominating the boards. Ayton grabbed 13 rebounds. The Lakers were without Austin Reaves because of a mild calf strain but leaned on Marcus Smart in the starting lineup for defense and toughness.
Smart missed the previous game against Phoenix with an injury when the Suns got hot during the first half and the Lakers simply had no answer for their opponents’ energy. When the Suns’ Royce O’Neale hit four of his first five three-point attempts and former Laker guard Jordan Goodwin forced turnover after turnover, the Lakers could have folded again.
Instead, they clapped back.
“Nothing’s ever gonna be perfect, especially in this league,” said Smart, who leads the Lakers in per-game plus-minus. “… We know the saying, ‘Pressure busts pipes and makes diamonds.’ We’re gonna see what you’re made of. And that’s the beauty about these games when it comes down to that: finding out who you are individually and as a team.”
Return of the Vandolorian
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt waits for a rebound.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
He spent a month on the bench. Then Jarred Vanderbilt needed only 17 seconds to reintroduce himself.
Immediately after entering Sunday’s game to begin the second quarter, the 6-foot-8 forward snagged an offensive rebound and scored on a putback. Vanderbilt had been waiting for that kind of opportunity.
“I haven’t played in a month, so naturally it was built up,” said Vanderbilt, who scored seven points with seven rebounds in 15 minutes against Phoenix after playing only three minutes in the Lakers’ previous 10 games. “But I feel like I bring that every game I play regardless.”
Vanderbilt was the Lakers’ long-awaited X-factor in their nail-biting win over Phoenix, providing the exact defensive and energetic lift the team had needed during its recent slump. As the defense started slipping during the last 10 games, Redick emphasized that everyone needed to get back on defense and be disruptive within the system. Lamenting that his team struggled to do the little things that affected winning such as crashing the boards and forcing turnovers, Redick found the quick answer in Vanderbilt.
“He starred in his role tonight,” Redick said. “He was awesome.”
With Vanderbilt setting the tone for the energetic bench unit, including Gabe Vincent, Jake LaRavia and Jaxson Hayes, the Lakers had a season-high 54 rebounds against the Suns. They forced 20 turnovers.
Vanderbilt fell out of the rotation as soon as LeBron James returned from his 14-game sciatica absence. Although Vanderbilt, who was struggling with injuries in recent years, reinforced his potential as a strong defender during an impressive preseason, he was still sidelined because of his offensive limitations. Because teams don’t respect his shooting, it can create spacing issues for Luka Doncic or James.
He made up for it Sunday by relentlessly crashing the glass. Six of his seven rebounds were offensive.
Even before putting Vanderbilt back in the rotation, Redick praised the 26-year-old’s professionalism and work ethic during a difficult situation.
Smart noticed the same thing. That’s why when the guard saw Vanderbilt running behind him in transition in the fourth quarter against the Suns, Smart attempted to flip him the ball blindly over his head to help Vanderbilt get what could have been a highlight dunk.
It was a disaster. It sparked the Suns’ 20-point fourth-quarter comeback. Smart recognized that it nearly cost the Lakers the game. But Smart did connect with Vanderbilt on another big shot.
Smart assisted on Vanderbilt’s three-pointer with 6:41 remaining. It was Vanderbilt’s first made three since Nov. 14.
On tap
Records and stats updated entering Monday’s games
Thursday at Jazz (9-15), 6 p.m. PST
This game is a respite from the stretch against winning teams, but the Lakers shouldn’t overlook the Jazz. Guard Keyonte George has averaged 30.1 points in his two games against the Lakers this season.
Saturday at Clippers (6-19), 7:30 p.m.
Somehow things have gotten worse for the Clippers since the last time they played the Lakers. After losing 135-118 at Crypto.com Arena on Nov. 25, the Clippers lost five of their next six. They unceremoniously waived Chris Paul in the middle of the night. James Harden, one of the season’s only bright spots, landed on the injury report with a calf strain before Monday’s game in Memphis.
Status report
Austin Reaves: calf
The Lakers announced last Friday that the guard will be out for approximately one week with a mild left calf strain.
Maxi Kleber: back
The forward has missed two games with a lumbar muscle strain but remains day to day. Redick said Kleber felt the injury during practice on Dec. 9 and missed half of the session.
Favorite thing I ate this week
The Pilgrim from Cornish Pasty Co. in downtown Phoenix. The handpie is filled with roasted turkey, onions, sweet potatoes and house-made stuffing.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
I hung Christmas decorations in my house this week but I’m still not over Thanksgiving. So looking for any opportunity to eat more stuffing, I stopped by Cornish Pasty Co. in downtown Phoenix. The “Pilgrim” handpie was filled with roasted turkey, onions, sweet potatoes and made-in-house stuffing (my favorite Thanksgiving side) with a side of cranberry sauce. The pastry was perfectly flaky while not being so soft that everything fell apart. Sign me up for any version of a portable Thanksgiving meal.
Former head coach Holley was part of the Ospreys coaching staff who between 2003 and 2012 won four league titles and an Anglo-Welsh Cup .
The 55-year-old former full-back, who hails from Aberavon, says the region’s faithful would not support losing their side.
“To Ospreys fans, it probably confirms to them what is going on behind the scenes that is not being made public,” said Holley.
“There is an air of sadness, anger, disbelief. Your average fan takes things on face value.
“Let’s talk hard facts. Who has been the most successful region?”
Holley highlights anger among Ospreys fans who he says “won’t entertain” a potential 40-mile trip to watch rugby in Cardiff.
“They are die-hard fans who have gone through the hardships of the 2000s, established a brand and have two generations of supporters who have only known Ospreys,” he said.
“Ospreys are doing good things in the community and on the field are still reasonably competitive because they have that culture.
“Ospreys people will say they are one true region. That must count for something as well as the success.
“It is a hot-bed of Welsh rugby. Swansea, Neath, Aberavon or Bridgend. But there has always been the feeling the Ospreys have been the target, the ones to go and that creates the anger.”
And Holley, who also coached Bristol to English rugby’s top-flight warns Welsh rugby has reached a critical juncture.
“We are on the precipice, we don’t realise how close we are to losing our game,” he said.
