playing

PHOENIX — Dalton Rushing’s first year in the big leagues with the Dodgers didn’t go quite as planned.

Over 53 games after his May call-up, the highly-regarded prospect batted .204 with a .258 on-base percentage, .582 OPS, four home runs and 24 RBI. It was the only time in his baseball life — aside from his freshman year at the University of Louisville — that Rushing was not a regular fixture in his team’s lineup.

“It was very, very up and down,” Rushing said. “It was some good, some bad, some ugly. A lot of things were new to me, the scattering [of] playing time was tough. It was a little tough being able to stay on top of compete mode, keep the swing in a good spot.”

But it still yielded a rather satisfying end result.

“Overall, I got to win a World Series with this team,” Rushing said. “And it’s hard to look back and think, ‘I’d take this back or I’d take that back.’ It went exactly how it was planned.”

With three-time All-Star catcher Will Smith in front of him, Rushing’s role is clear: he is the Dodgers’ backup catcher. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts feels good about Rushing’s progression going into 2026.

“Dalton’s in a good spot right now,” Roberts said last week. “I want him to understand his role as a backup catcher, what that entails, really learn the pitchers, learn the swing that works for playing a couple times a week. He’s used to playing a lot more. But I think, that [he’s] still maturing, because it’s not easy to not play every day when you’re used to [playing regularly]. I think that he grew last year, and I like where he’s at.”

Roberts plans to use Rushing at first base, if Freddie Freeman comes out of the game or needs a day off. Rushing will not, however, play in the outfield, where he saw some run in the minor leagues.

“Outfield’s not on the table”, Roberts said. “I do think that there’s going to be some spots for him to come into games if Freddie’s out or if there’s a game he doesn’t play, we’ll see how that lines up. And I think right now for me, just seeing how the roster plays out as far as what are the options we might have at first base, but I do want to get him at-bats when I can.”

Rushing started Saturday’s Cactus League opener against the Angels, driving in a run on a sacrifice fly in his three at-bats. The 25-year-old said he’s fully embracing his spot on a club vying for its third consecutive championship.

“For me, if I can keep myself ready to play two or three times a week, then it’s going to be easy to keep myself ready to play five or six,” Rushing said. “To be able to go through something like this early in my career, where I have to not only earn the time on the field, but also navigate my way through my career, I think it’s a really good start to my career, to be able to understand how this game works.”

Rushing also views playing behind Smith as a valuable opportunity to learn from one baseball’s best catchers, something he believes will help him grow as a player.

“I have a spot to work behind the best catcher in baseball,” Rushing said. “And from there, I’m going to be given opportunities to see more time on the field, to get my bat in there as much as possible, and it’s up to me to take advantage of those opportunities and continue to put myself on the field as much as possible.”

Rushing says he does not have any personal goals or accolades that he hopes to reach in 2026. This season is about team success and winning.

“The main goal especially with this role is I’m going to win as many [games as] possible,” Rushing said. “Every game I’m on the field, I want to win. I want to win 110 games in the regular season as a Dodger. We’re fully capable of it. I think that’s a good goal to put for ourselves and it just makes each and every game that much important.”

Shohei Ohtani throws live BP before departing for WBC

Before the Dodgers’ 5-1 win over the San Diego Padres in Peoria, Ariz., on Sunday, Shohei Ohtani had a live batting practice session at Camelback Ranch in which he threw 33 pitches and struck out Freeman and Mookie Betts.

“I felt pretty good about today in terms of volume,” Ohtani said via interpreter Will Ireton after his session. “While in Japan, I plan to do some sort of live BP/bullpen/some kind of simulation.”

After the game, Roberts revealed the star two-way player is expected to depart either Sunday night or on Monday to join Team Japan for preparations for next month’s World Baseball Classic.

The Lakers had just completed practice Thursday with a full and healthy squad when Luka Doncic strolled over to speak with the media.

Doncic had played only five minutes Sunday for Team World in the All-Star Game because of a lingering left hamstring strain. He had missed the previous four Lakers games.

With the Lakers scheduled to start the post-All-Star break against the Clippers on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, Doncic was asked if he was playing in that game.

“Probably,” he said. “We’ll see. I got to talk to people.”

Since Doncic did practice, he was asked how he was doing and how his hamstring felt.

“I’m good,” he said. “Feeling good.”

But, Doncic was told, he did play in the All-Star Game, even if it was limited time.

“Five minutes. I was on minutes restriction,” Doncic joked.

Lakers coach JJ Redick was the first to speak to the media after practice, his time away from the game leaving him fresh and ready to go.

He was asked if Austin Reaves, who had been on a restriction of about 25 minutes after returning from a 19-game because of a left calf strain, would still be on a minutes restriction and if Doncic would be available for the game against the Clippers.

“Austin won’t have a minutes restriction,” Redick said, “and as of 35 to 45 seconds ago, we’ll have everybody available tomorrow.”

Injuries have been a common thread for the Lakers this season.

Lakers guard Austin Reaves sits on the scorer’s table before entering a game against the Mavericks earlier this month. His minutes restriction since returning from a calf injury has been lifted.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

It started at the beginning of the season, when LeBron James missed 14 games because of sciatica. He has recently dealt with left foot arthritis that kept him out of a game.

Center Deandre Ayton missed the last two games with right knee soreness.

“Well, there’s only so much you can control. I mean, you know, as a coach, you have zero control in that. As a player, you know what you do to prepare, and what you do to recover can give you some level of control, but ultimately, the basketball Gods in the game are going to dictate health,” Redick said. “It’s funny, we were talking before the season about building continuity with those three guys, and we’ve had them available together for 10 games. So it’s just the situation we’re in.

“Not the only team that has had a bunch of health issues throughout the season and had to manage that. But I think … my messaging this morning to the players was this is going to be a sprint, these last 28 games. It’s another segment of the season where, starting tomorrow, we won’t have more than a day between games until the end of March. So, we’ve got an opportunity to, I think, play our best basketball after the All-Star break. We’ve got a number of indicators on both sides of the ball that we’re doing some things that are trending in the right direction. And I think it’s coming at a good time, as we’re getting fully healthy.”

Doncic, James and Reaves have played just 10 games together because of health issues.

As a trio, they have combined to average 80.2 points per game, led by Doncic’s NBA-best 32.8 points per game. Reaves is averaging 25.4 points and James 22.0.

Reaves said it is “very important” that the three of them get reps together.

“You have those games from last year, but obviously you still have a learning curve of how to play alongside one another and that’s with everybody else on the team as well,” Reaves said. “Continuing to build that continuity and confidence in every single position. We’re locked in with the five guys on the court. So, very excited.

“I think you can tell throughout the season, even with the unfortunate injuries and stuff, we’ve done a good job of maintaining it. We’re fifth in the West, on pace for a good record and just getting healthy is going to continue to help that. So it’ll be fun to see what that looks like and get to work.”

The Lakers

play four games next week, all against opponents with winning records that are jockeying for position in the playoff race.

So, Thursday’s practice was a good start for the Lakers to get back in gear.

“We only got one practice in so we’re not going to get a lot out of one practice,” Doncic said. “But we definitely like to get up and down a little bit after one week off. So, it was good.”

Tiger Woods turned 50 in December.

He’s four months removed from disk replacement surgery in his lower back — the same back that has endured six other operations, including spinal fusion in 2017.

Woods won’t be taking part in this week’s Genesis Invitational, a tournament he has hosted since 2020, as he continues to recover from that procedure. The 15-time major championship winner told reporters at Riviera Country Club on Tuesday that he has been able to start taking full golf shots during his training.

Still, the 2026 Masters tournament is less than two months away. So considering everything mentioned above, it would seem pretty unlikely that Woods would be ready to compete in the first major championship of the year.

Right?

Well, a reporter asked Woods quite simply, “Is the Masters off the table for you?”

Woods gave an even simpler answer.

“No,” he said without hesitation or further elaboration. He did give a slight smile after a brief pause, for what that’s worth.

It should come as no surprise that Woods would be doing everything he can to be able to play April 9-12 at Augusta National. He has won the event five times, most recently in 2019.

Woods famously played in the 2022 Masters just 14 months after a catastrophic rollover car accident — and actually made the cut before finishing at 13-over par. He last played the Masters in 2024, making the cut for a record 24th time but finished with a 16-over 304, his highest 72-hole score.

Woods missed all of the 2025 season as he recovered from a back surgery the previous year and surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon in March. He spoke Tuesday on the multiple challenges he faces in attempting to return to the PGA Tour and also brought up the possibility of playing on the PGA Champions circuit.

“The disc replacement has been one thing. It’s been a challenge to have had a fused back and now a disc replacement. So it’s challenging,” said Woods, who added that his back is still sore following the most recent procedure.

“And I entered a new decade. So that number is starting to sink in and has [me] thinking about the opportunity to be able to play in a cart. That’s something that, as I’ve said, I won’t do out here on this tour, because I don’t believe in it. But you know, on the Champions tour, that’s certainly an opportunity.”

Liverpool signing Jeremy Jacquet faces a spell on the sidelines after suffering a shoulder injury playing for Rennes.

The 20-year-old French defender, who agreed a £60m move to Anfield last week, is set to join at the end of the season.

He fell awkwardly in the second half of Rennes’ 3-1 Ligue 1 defeat at Lens on Saturday, when defender Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal also suffered a muscular injury.

Rennes manager Habib Beye said: “It’s definitely quite serious for both of them.”

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Three-time Grammy Award winner Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl LX halftime show.

It will be Bad Bunny’s second Super Bowl halftime show performance after he made a guest appearance with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira during the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show.

“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown,” Bad Bunny — whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — said in a statement, noting that “this is for my people, my culture and our history.”

Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, which has partnered with the NFL on halftime shows since 2019, will again produce the show.

Most Super Bowl halftime shows include special guest artists, but no one has been officially confirmed by Roc Nation or the NFL.

Veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford confirmed he will keep playing for at least one more season after being named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player for the first time.

The Los Angeles Rams star was the slight favourite for the award and beat New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye by one first-place vote.

The 37-year-old became the oldest quarterback to win the MVP for the first time and it is the 13th straight win by a QB.

Stafford had been rumoured to be considering retirement and while on stage with his four daughters in San Francisco, said: “I’ll see you guys next year.”

“It’s something I’d been thinking about, whether I wanted to keep playing or not,” he added.

“I ended the season on a healthy note, had a bunch of team-mates in the crowd and my daughters with me, so it felt like the right thing to do in the moment. I’m happy to be coming back.”

Stafford was unable to register a play-off win in 12 years with the Detroit Lions, but after being traded to the Rams in 2021, he won the Super Bowl in his first season and has now been named MVP.

The former first overall draft pick is just the second quarterback after Tom Brady (2007) to lead the NFL in touchdown passes, passing yards and touchdown-interception ratio over the past 50 seasons.

He led the Rams to the NFC Championship game but the Seattle Seahawks won to book their spot in Sunday’s Super Bowl, where they will face the Patriots in Santa Clara.

Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba was named Offensive Player of the Year at the NFL’s end-of-season awards night after leading the league for receiving yards.

New England’s Mike Vrabel won Coach of the Year having led the Patriots to the Super Bowl in his first season as their head coach.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in three years after claiming the single-season sack record.

Darius Garland could not have been more in transition than he was Wednesday night on his first day with his new team.

Officially traded earlier in the day from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Clippers for 11-time All-Star James Harden, Garland talked about his upheaval during halftime of Wednesday’s game between his current and former teams, a game the Cavaliers won, 124-91.

“I knew about it. It wasn’t a shock, though,” the two-time All-Star said. “It’s the business of basketball. Cleveland was great to me and my family, and I have respect for all of those guys over there. … Seven years was a really long time, and it was great. I’m glad I’m here now. The next chapter in my book.”

Garland has been out since Jan. 16 with a big toe sprain on his right foot, and the Clippers have no timetable for his debut. But coach Tyronn Lue expects to implement a new game plan once the 26-year-old point guard is on the floor. Garland said he’s ready to go and waiting for the OK to play.

“He’s different from James and we can play different with a faster pace,” Lue said. “We can play him off the ball more. It’s going to be exciting. I’ve known DG for a while and having a young point guard under my tutelage, I think it’s the first time I have had one since Kyrie (Irving).”

Garland played more than 70 games just once in his seven seasons because of injuries. He’s on pace to play 42 games this season.

Garland’s uncertain availability, and the Cavaliers’ need to get star Donovan Mitchell more scoring help, motivated Cleveland to swap their young floor leader for Harden, who is 10 years older.

Cleveland got the scorer it needed, and one who can also run the point, while the Clippers managed to get younger as they head toward an offseason without a first-round draft pick.

Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson called Garland one of his favorite players. Yet that bond was not tight enough to prevent the deal for Harden, an 11-time All-Star and the player with the second-most three-pointers in NBA history.

“Those are the toughest calls you have to make, but he goes up on my favorites list,” Atkinson said. “I’m going to miss him. We had a great relationship.”

Atkinson seemed to take comfort in handing Garland off to Lue, who is known for getting the most out of his players.

“Ty is going to be great for Darius,” Atkinson said. “Ty was a point guard himself and understands the position. You know, my relationship with Darius, and to lose it, is kind of a tough day. But the positive is that he is coming to the Clippers and he will be with Ty. I expect him to be great here and I’m rooting for him.”

It might not have been the change Garland was looking, for but he was starting to embrace the possibilities of teaming with Kawhi Leonard.

“I hope T-Lue uses me like he did Kyrie in that championship run they had (in Cleveland),” said Garland, whose father Winston Garland played 1 1/2 seasons with the Clippers in the early 1990s. “But whatever T-Lue wants me to be, whatever position he wants me to be in, I’m going to do that. I’m here to win games.”

During Wednesday’s loss, Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and John Collins had 19 points for the Clippers, who lost consecutive games for the first time since a five-game losing streak in December.

Rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser scored 10 points and had eight rebounds for the Clippers, who are 17-5 since Dec. 20, although most of that success was with Harden. The Clippers were also without starting center Ivica Zubac, who was out for the birth of his child.

The tenth edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will take place in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8, 2026.

Twenty teams will be competing in 55 matches for the chance to win cricket’s most prestigious T20 trophy.

But cricket is a game with a list of commonly used terms and phrases that might confuse those new to it.

In this illustrated guide, Al Jazeera breaks down cricket lingo and helps you understand the game beloved by nearly two billion people.

What is the aim of the game?

Cricket is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams consisting of 11 players each.

The game is divided into two parts, known as innings.

In the first innings, following a coin toss, the first team bats while the other team bowls and fields.

The batting team should try to score the highest number of runs in the allotted time, while the bowling team has to try to prevent them from scoring.

The bowling team has dedicated bowlers, while the remaining players, spread across the ground, try to prevent the batters from scoring runs as well as catch the ball to get the batters out.

In the second innings, the bowling team now gets a turn to bat and try to score more runs than their opposition.

The team with the highest number of runs at the end of the day wins the game.

What does T20 mean?

There are three different formats in cricket, each with its own duration and rules.

Each format has its own defined set of “overs”.

An “over” consists of six deliveries by the bowler.

In a T20 match, which usually lasts three to four hours, each team is given 20 overs (120 balls) to score the most number of runs. This format of the game is designed to be shorter and faster-paced, which provides more excitement for spectators.

A One Day International (ODI) match typically lasts about seven to eight hours. Each team is given a total of 300 deliveries, which are divided into 50 overs, to score the most number of runs.

A Test match is the longest and oldest format of the game, played over a maximum of five days. It is considered a test of endurance and skill. Each day has a minimum of 90 overs. Both teams have two innings each.

The cricket field and pitch

Cricket is played in a large, oval-shaped field, typically about 150 metres (164 yards) in diameter at its widest point and surrounded by a boundary rope.

In the centre of the field is the pitch, a rectangular area about 20 metres long (22 yards) and 3 metres (3.3 yards) wide, where most of the action takes place.

At each end of the pitch are three wooden sticks known as wickets or stumps, with two bails atop them.

The batter stands in front of these wickets inside a specified area known as the batting crease. It is from there that he or she will strike the incoming ball from the bowler.

During the match, the batting team will actually have two players on the field, one on either end of the pitch, to take turns in hitting the ball.

The bowling team, meanwhile, will have all 11 players scattered throughout the field to minimise the number of runs their opponents can score.

Some of the most common positions are shown below:

How are runs scored?

The aim for the batters is to score as many runs as possible by hitting the ball in the gaps between the fielders or over the boundary rope.

To score a run, the batter needs to hit the ball and then, together with their batting partner, run to the opposite side of the pitch before the fielder returns the ball; otherwise, they can be run out.

A single run is scored when both batters safely complete one run, a two-run when they complete two runs, and so on.

If a batter hits the ball along the ground and it reaches the boundary rope, then four runs are awarded.

To signal that four runs have been scored, the umpire moves his right hand from one side to the other, repeatedly waving it back and forth horizontally.

The maximum, six runs, is scored when the batter hits the ball directly over the boundary before it bounces. This shot is the most rewarding but also among the riskiest, due to the chances of getting bowled or caught.

To signal a six, the umpire will raise both hands above his head, which the fans will often imitate.

How does a player get ‘out’?

There are several ways to get a batter out, with each out referred to as “losing a wicket”.

Since cricket is played with pairs of batsmen, when 10 players from the batting team are dismissed, their innings concludes, and the sum of the runs they scored sets the target score for the bowling team.

The most common ways of getting a player out include:

Bowled: This happens if the batter misses the ball, and it goes on to hit the wicket.

Caught: A batter is caught out when they hit the ball and a fielder catches it before it touches the ground.

Run-Out: A run-out happens when the fielding team throws the ball at the wicket while the batter is trying to score a run and before they can reach the opposite side of the pitch.

LBW (Leg Before Wicket): This decision depends on various factors, but in a nutshell, a batter can be given out LBW if the ball hits their legs while they are standing in front of the wicket, thus preventing the wicket from being hit.

To signal an “out”, the umpire who is standing in the middle of the field will raise his index finger to signify that a batter has been dismissed.

This gesture is often referred to as the umpire having “raised the finger” or “given the finger”.

How do you read the score?

To follow the score in cricket, you need to look at three numbers.

The first is the number of runs a team has scored – the higher the number, the better.

The second indicates the number of “outs” or “wickets”. Once 10 players are out, their batting innings come to an end.

The third is the number of overs that have been bowled.

Combined, a score may look like this: 109-5 (10 overs)

This means that 109 runs have been scored, 5 players are out, and 10 overs have been completed.

Typically, teams make anywhere from 100 to 250 runs during a T20 match. A score of 100 is considered low to defend, while 250 runs is usually very strong.

The highest score in international T20 cricket was between Zimbabwe and The Gambia in 2024.

Zimbabwe batted first and scored a huge 344-4 in their 20 overs. In response, The Gambia only managed 54 runs before losing all 10 of their wickets.

Zimbabwe won by 290 runs.