Lucid set to report another loss-making quarter; cash flow updates in focus
Lucid set to report another loss-making quarter; cash flow updates in focus
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Houthis report 25 killed in Yemen strikes | Houthis
Yemen’s Houthis say at least 25 people have been killed and 30 injured in air strikes they blame on the Saudi-led coalition. Houthi-affiliated media report that nine attacks targeted telecommunications networks in Sa’ada governorate.
Published On 7 Nov 2026
The Sports Report: One mistake turned her whole season around, for the better
One mistake can turn your season around
From Kevin Baxter: The most significant game of Angelina Anderson’s season was also her worst.
It was Angel City’s fifth match of the season and Anderson, the team’s goalkeeper, made a crucial error in stoppage time that led to a winning goal. And while that was significant, what really made the game stand out is what happened next.
When she carried the weight of the loss home with her, her boyfriend, Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Thomas Booker, staged an intervention. Every time she make a mistake, Booker told Anderson, she would beat herself up. Yet when she played well, she simply considered that part of her job.
“We came to this conclusion that is not sustainable,” Anderson said. “I’m putting way too much pressure on myself so I had to figure out a way to care, not less, but care optimally. As athletes, we’re always like ‘what more can I do?’ when really I think it’s ‘what’s optimal for you?’
“That kind of gave me more freedom on the pitch.”
Playing with that freedom, Anderson gave up just one goal per game during the rest of the season, pitching a league-best nine shutouts since May 17 and leading Angel City (15-8-7) to its second playoff appearance. Anderson and Angel City will meet Kansas City (16-9-5) on Saturday morning at CPKC Stadium, where the Current is unbeaten in its past 32 games.
Aaron Donald works on fumble recovery
From Gary Klein: Since coming out of retirement before this season, Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald adopted a humble approach, always allowing younger, less-accomplished players to go ahead of him during drills.
But on Thursday, the future Hall of Famer enthusiastically moved to the front of the line.
The Rams practiced scooping fumbled footballs off the turf.
“I needed that,” Donald said Thursday, chuckling. “Learn bending and getting down.”
Last Sunday against the Chargers, Donald missed the opportunity to score his first NFL touchdown when, with a clear shot to the end zone, he failed to come up with a fumble, albeit in hilarious fashion.
Angel City signs Maddie DiMaria, 17
From Kevin Baxter: Angel City heads into this weekend’s NWSL playoffs with the youngest starting lineup in the league. And with a 10-game unbeaten streak, it has the hottest team in the league as well.
On Thursday, that team got a little younger and potentially a bit better when it announced the signing of 17-year-old Maddie DiMaria, the leading scorer in the U-17 women’s World Cup. Financial terms of the four-year deal were not released.
“This person is special,” sporting director Mark Parsons said of DiMaria, who signed with Angel City before scoring 12 goals in four games in the age-group World Cup. “But she also represents what Angel City football is about and what Angel City is trying to do over the so many years, which is win.
“And she’s a winner.”
A two-time Gatorade girls’ national soccer player of the year, DiMaria scored 24 times in 23 appearances with the U-17 team, with her 12 goals in Morocco breaking Michelle Akers’ 35-year-old American record for most goals in a World Cup. Before graduating from Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis, she scored 67 goals and had 25 assists as a junior, leading her team to a 25-0 season and a state championship.
Lakers send two to G League
From Dan Loumena: Third-year guard Bronny James and rookie guard Cameron Carr have been assigned to G League Coachella Valley, the Lakers announced Thursday.
James, who is the third year of a four-year contract worth $7.9 million ($4.4 million guaranteed), played only 12 minutes this season across five games, scoring four points on two-of-three shooting while missing his only three-pointer.
Carr, who was the 24th overall draft pick this summer, has played only four minutes in three games, missing the only shot he took.
UCLA women defeat UC Irvine
Sienna Betts scored 17 points on eight-of-10 shooting and No. 11 UCLA used a big start and strong finish to roll to a 78-42 win over UC Irvine on Thursday night.
The Bruins never trailed after Betts hit a short basket 12 seconds into the game. It was 23-8 after one quarter. The Anteaters were only outscored by seven in the middle quarters and then UCLA had a 14-0 advantage in the fourth quarter when Irvine went 0 for 11 from the field and committed seven turnovers.
Elina Aarnisalo added 14 points for the Bruins (2-0), Timea Gardiner had 12 points and KK Bransford had 10 points.
Ducks edge the Oilers
Cutter Gauthier became the first Ducks player with nine goals over a four-game span, scoring and adding an assist in a 5-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.
Gauthier — coming off consecutive hat tricks — has seven power-play goals in the four-game span. Dating to 1933-34, the only other NHL players to accomplish the feat are Dave Andreychuk (eight, Nov. 7-14, 1992) and Teemu Selanne (seven, Oct. 25-31, 2008).
Pavel Mintyukov and Beckett Sennecke each had two goals and an assist for the Ducks, and Laurent Brossoit made 23 saves. They have three in a row to improve to 8-7-1.
This day in sports history
1869 — First U.S. college football game played, Rutgers 6, Princeton 4.
1934 — Joe Carter scores four touchdowns and Swede Hanson rushes for 190 yards as the Philadelphia Eagles crush the Cincinnati Reds 64-0.
1966 — Philadelphia’s Timmy Brown returns kickoffs 93 yards and 90 yards for touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a 24-23 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
1981 — Larry Holmes knocks out Renaldo Snipes in the 11th round to retain the world heavyweight title in Pittsburgh.
1983 — James Wilder of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rushes for 219 yards and a touchdown in a 17-12 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
1988 — Britain’s Steve Jones win the New York City Marathon in 2:08:20, the fastest time in the world this year. His margin of victory, 3 minutes and 21 seconds over Salvatore Bettiol, is the largest in the history of the five-borough race. Grete Waitz wins an unprecedented ninth women’s title, finishing in 2:28:07 well ahead of Italy’s Laura Fogli (2:31:26).
1992 — Manon Rheaume of the Atlanta Knights becomes the first woman to suit up for a regular-season pro hockey game. The 20-year-old goalie doesn’t play in Atlanta’s 3-2 overtime loss to Cincinnati in the IHL game.
1993 — French-based Arcangues stages the biggest Breeders’ Cup upset, rallying to beat Bertrando by 2 lengths in the $3 million Classic at Santa Anita. Arcangues went off at 133-1 and returned $269.20 on a $2 bet.
1993 — Evander Holyfield regains the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships from Riddick Bowe in a fight disrupted by a parachutist. During the seventh round at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the chutist tumbles into the ringside seats and stops the fight for 21 minutes. Holyfield becomes the fourth man to become a heavyweight champion at least twice.
1995 — Art Modell officially announces Cleveland Browns are moving to Baltimore.
1999 — Charles Roberts rushes for 409 yards and five touchdowns to lead Sacramento State past Idaho State 41-20, setting a new NCAA record for a single-game rushing performance.
2005 — Annika Sorenstam becomes the first player in LPGA Tour history to win a tournament five straight times, shooting an 8-under 64 for a three-stroke victory in the Mizuno Classic.
2010 — Michigan wins the highest scoring game in its 131-year history by stopping a 2-point conversion attempt in the third overtime for a 67-65 victory over Illinois.
2010 — Zenyatta comes within a head of finishing a perfect career. Horse racing’s biggest star closes from dead last, but Blame holds off the 6-year-old mare and wins the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic under the lights Churchill Downs. Zenyatta entered the race hoping to improve to 20-0 on her career.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
The Sports Report: Lakers get 40 points from Doncic in victory
Lakers get past the Kings
From Broderick Turner: On a night when Lakers coach JJ Redick said his team was “a little flat,” Luka Doncic flattened yet another opponent.
Even Doncic started slow compared to his usual first-quarter exploits, but he picked up his pace as the game progressed, dropping 40 points on the woeful Sacramento Kings to lead the Lakers to a 116-103 win Wednesday night at Golden1 Center.
Doncic has scored 40-plus points in three straight games and in five of his last six.
So, after he went 11-for-23 from the field and six-for-13 from three-point range and after he also notched nine rebounds and seven assists, Doncic was asked if he’s ever had a better offensive stretch over his eight-year NBA career.
“Maybe. I don’t know,” he said. “I had some good stretches in my career. But obviously this could be one of the highest ones. But there’s still some work to do.”
Clippers lose at last second
Klay Thompson made the winning three-pointer with a second left in overtime and the Miami Heat rallied past the reeling Clippers 117-116 on Wednesday night.
Bam Adebayo set season highs with 35 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who have won three of four after losing their first four games. Thompson scored 30, going eight of 17 from three-point range, and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 14 boards and six assists.
Miami trailed by 20 in the second quarter and was still down 10 with 4 1/2 minutes left in the fourth before a 9-0 spurt set up the tight finish.
Myles Garrett returns to Rams practice
From Gary Klein: Rams star edge rusher Myles Garrett, who has been sidelined for seven games following knee surgery, returned to practice Wednesday.
Garrett, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, has been on injured reserve since undergoing left knee surgery after the Rams’ season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Australia.
Coach Sean McVay said the Rams have attempted to be “as diligent, as thorough” as possible before allowing Garrett to practice and opening the 21-day window for him to return to the roster.
McVay said Garrett would take half the amount of full reps on Wednesday and would be evaluated each day before determining when he would be activated to the roster for a game. Garrett went through individual drills with edge rushers during the portion of practice open to reporters.
The Rams play the Washington Commanders on Sunday in Landover, Md.
Rams’ Jaylen Watson to miss rest of season
From Gary Klein: Rams cornerback Jaylen Watson will have shoulder surgery and is out for the season, coach Sean McVay said Wednesday.
Watson, who signed with the Rams as a free agent after winning two Super Bowl titles in four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, reinjured his shoulder during last Sunday’s victory over the Chargers at SoFi Stadium.
“That’s a big blow,” McVay said. “Bummer for him. He’s been such a stud for us. He wanted to be able to play through it but just kind of understanding the totality of it all, just some of the different things, recommended to get that surgery.
Kempe’s hat trick leads Kings
Adrian Kempe had a hat trick and an assist, Quinton Byfield scored two goals, and the Kings routed the San José Sharks 7-2 on Wednesday night.
Erik Haula and Joel Armia also scored for the Kings and Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves. Artemi Panarin had four assists.
It was the 37th multigoal game Kempe has had with the Kings, moving him past Dustin Brown for sole possession of ninth place in the history of the franchise. Kempe returned to the lineup after missing a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday because of an undisclosed injury.
This day in sports history
1927 — Walter Hagen beats Joe Turnesa 1-up to capture the PGA Championship for the fourth consecutive year and fifth overall.
1955 — Montreal’s Jean Beliveau scores the second fastest hat trick in NHL history in a 4-2 win over Boston. Beliveau, who scores all four Canadien goals, gets three in 44 seconds against Bruins goaltender Terry Sawchuk on the same power play.
1961 — Bill Stacy of the St. Louis Cardinals returns two interceptions for touchdowns in a 31-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
1966 — Virgil Carter of Brigham Young passes for 513 yards and rushes for 86 to set an NCAA record for total yards with 599 in a 53-33 victory over Texas Western.
1977 — BYU sophomore Marc Wilson sets an NCAA record with 571 passing yards in a 38-8 rout of Utah.
1978 — Oakland coach John Madden becomes the 13th head coach to win 100 games in the NFL as the Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs 20-10.
1988 — Alysheba becomes the richest racehorse when he beats Seeking the Gold by a half-length in the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.
1994 — George Foreman regains part of the heavyweight title he lost to Muhammad Ali in 1974, stopping Michael Moorer with a two-punch combination at 2:03 of the 10th round. Foreman, 45, captures the IBF and WBA championships to become the oldest champion in any weight class.
1999 — Carolina’s Ron Francis becomes the sixth NHL player to reach 1,500 points when he assisted on Sami Kapanen’s first-period goal for the Hurricanes in 3-2 loss at Detroit.
2008 — Tony Parker scores a career-high 55 points, including a 20-footer at the buzzer to force a second overtime in San Antonio’s 129-125 victory over Minnesota.
2010 — Calvin Borel and Javier Castellano tussle at Churchill Downs just moments after tangling during the $500,000 Breeders’ Cup Marathon in an ugly, chaotic scene. Castellano’s horse Prince Will I Am runs into the path of Romp and Martin Garcia. Garcia is able to stay on top of his horse but also impedes Borel and A.U. Miner. After the race, an enraged Borel is restrained by security personnel and his older brother Cecil.
2010 — Mexico beats the United States in one of the biggest upsets in the history of women’s soccer. The Mexicans, on goals by Maribel Dominguez and Veronica Perez, post 2-1 victory and qualify for the 2011 World Cup.
2011 — Drew Alleman kicks a 25-yard field goal in overtime to give top-ranked LSU a 9-6 win over No. 2 Alabama.
2016 — Arrogate catches 4-5 favorite California Chrome in the final 100 yards to win the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
2017 — Shalane Flanagan dethrones three-time winner Mary Keitany to become the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon since 1977.
2017 — Eli Manning of the Giants became the seventh NFL quarterback to reach the 50,000-mark with his completion to Sterling Shepard in the fourth quarter against the Rams.
2022 — Alex Ovechkin scores 787th goal for the Washington Capitals surpassing Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings, for all-time NHL record for most goals scored for a single team, in 3-2 loss to Arizona Coyotes.
2022 — World Series: Houston Astros win second title in franchise history; beat Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1 iat Minute Maid Park, Houston for 4-2 series victory; MVP: Astros SS Jeremy Peña, Dusty Baker (73) becomes oldest manager to win championship, Phillies set ignominious record striking out 71 times.
2025 — Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin becomes first NHL player to score 900 goals in a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Blues
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
The Sports Report: Lakers still have room for improvement
Lakers have room for improvement
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Austin Reaves described it as “fun.” Luka Doncic called the Lakers’ effortless-looking offense as “flowing.” And this is still the early stages of development for a team that brought in nine new players.
Through eight games, the Lakers have the most dynamic offense in the NBA. Led by Doncic, the Lakers are second in scoring with 122.5 points per game and first in offensive rating with 121.9 points per 100 possessions. The starting lineup of Doncic, Reaves, Walker Kessler, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle has a league-best 135.5 offensive rating among five-man groups that have played at least 40 minutes together entering Wednesday’s game at Sacramento.
“Everything’s as expected,” guard Quentin Grimes said Monday after the Lakers hung 138 points in a21-point win over the Miami Heat. “Winning, everybody’s getting involved, everybody’s making the right play, getting a lot of assists.”
The Lakers (6-2) had 39 assists against the Heat, the most during JJ Redick’s head-coaching tenure. Doncic is on a historic scoring binge; he is the first Laker since Kobe Bryant in 2007 to have five consecutive games of 35 or more points. While putting up a seemingly ho-hum 42 points against Miami, he also had a season-high 13 assists.
“It’s a really good offense that we’re playing right now,” Redick said. “And a lot of that, of course, is Doncic and what he’s able to do and bend the defense.”
Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer at 38.3 points per game, does his damage early. He typically plays all 12 minutes of the opening quarter and leads the league with 15 points a game in the first quarter. Once he gets his shot going, teams send double teams to force the ball out of his hands. That’s when Doncic can be particularly dangerous.
How Angel City helped ‘Ted Lasso’
From Kevin Baxter: Angel City and “Ted Lasso” both came to life in the summer of 2020 when the rest of the world was preoccupied with something far more serious, the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In those dark times, the series about kindness, grace, optimism — and soccer — became the show we didn’t know we needed, but suddenly couldn’t do without.
Angel City, meanwhile, would play its first NWSL game two years later, by which time “Lasso” and Jason Sudeikis, the title character of the Apple TV series about a fictional Premier League team and its manager, had already won multiple Emmys.
Hollywood is a small town, so it wasn’t long before Sudeikis reached out to Kara Nortman, a venture capitalist who co-founded Angel City in 2020, and asked to talk about women’s soccer.
UCLA is No. 8 in first CFP rankings; USC is No. 20
UCLA coach Bob Chesney and the Bruins are ranked No. 8 in the first College Football Playoff rankings, a remarkable turnaround for a program that recorded three wins last season.
Chesney has led a revival in his first season that has the Bruins on track to host a playoff game if they can navigate formidable games at Minnesota on Saturday, at home against Illinois on Nov. 13, at Michigan on Nov. 21 and at home against crosstown-rival USC on Nov. 28.
The Trojans (7-2) were ranked No. 20 in the poll after their defiant 30-18 win over No. 12 Ohio State Saturday at the Coliseum.
Split election results for local teams
From Sam Farmer: Hollywood Park was winning one fight and losing another, both by slim margins, as vote counting continued Tuesday night on two ballot measures in Inglewood.
According to results posted by the Los Angeles County registrar shortly after 10:30 p.m., Measure AT was losing, 51.9% to 48.1%, a margin of 583 votes; and Measure BB was losing 51% to 49%, a margin of 307.
Measure AT would mean more ticket taxes for big events in Inglewood, home to SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome and the Forum. The City of Inglewood wants that.
Measure BB would bar the city from allowing billboard advertising on sidewalks, medians and the like. Owners of those sports and entertainment venues, who have their own sponsorship deals, are backing that measure.
Meanwhile, City Council member Gloria D. Gray led incumbent Mayor James T. Butts Jr., 34.6% to 29.8%, putting them on an early track for a runoff election in March.
Ducks beat the Canucks
Cutter Gauthier scored a hat trick for the second game in a row and the Ducks held on for a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.
Mikael Granlund added a goal and two assists for the Ducks, while Leo Carlsson put away a shorthanded tally and Beckett Sennecke had four assists.
Laurent Brossoit stopped 19 shots for the Ducks.
The Ducks (7-7-1) came into the game with the league’s second-best power play (34%) behind only the Utah Mammoth and went three for three with the man advantage. Two of Gauthier’s goals came on the power play and the Ducks have 10 power-play goals on 12 chances over their past three games.
This day in sports history
1934 — The Detroit Lions rush for an NFL-record 426 yards in a 40-7 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The only bright spot for the Pirates is scoring the first touchdown against Detroit this season, ending the Lions’ shutout streak at seven games.
1951 — The U.S. wins six of eight singles matches and ties another to win the Ryder Cup 9½-2½ over Britain at Pinehurst in North Carolina.
1959 — Ernie Banks, Cubs shortstop, wins his 2nd consecutive NL MVP.
1960 — Wilt Chamberlain of Philadelphia scores 44 points and sets an NBA record by missing all 10 of his free throws in the Warriors 136-121 victory the Detroit Pistons.
1976 — Baseball holds its first free agent draft with 24 players from 13 major league clubs participating. Reggie Jackson eventually signs the most lucrative contract of the group, $2.9 million over five years with the New York Yankees. Others free agents are Joe Rudi, Don Gullett, Gene Tenace, Rollie Fingers, Don Baylor, Bobby Grich and Willie McCovey.
1984 — Seattle’s Dave Brown returns two interceptions for touchdowns in a 31-17 triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs.
1987 — NBA announces four new franchises; Charlotte & Miami for 1988 & Minneapolis & Orlando for 1989.
1989 — Sunday Silence holds off the late charge by favorite Easy Goer to win the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Classic by a neck at Gulfstream Park.
2000 — R.J. Bowers rushes for 128 yards to become the first player in NCAA history to gain 7,000 yards in his career, leading Grove City past Carnegie Mellon 14-10.
2000 — In the highest scoring Division I-AA game in NCAA history, Ricky Ray passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns and scores three more to lead Sacramento State over Cal State Northridge 64-61.
2001 — Luis Gonzalez’s RBI single caps a two-run rally off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth, and the Arizona Diamondbacks win their first championship by beating the New York Yankees 3-2 in Game 7.
2006 — Rod Brind’Amour of Carolina scores his 1,000th point, assisting on a goal in the Hurricanes’ 3-2 win over Ottawa.
2007 — Adrian Peterson runs for an NFL-record 296 yards and three touchdowns in Minnesota’s 35-17 win over San Diego.
2009 — The New York Yankees win the World Series, beating the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 behind Hideki Matsui’s record-tying six RBIs.
2012 — Andrew Luck breaks the NFL’s single-game rookie record by throwing for 433 yards in leading Indianapolis to a 23-20 win over Miami
2016 — Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell and Josh Anderson score two goals apiece and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat Montreal 10-0, matching the biggest loss in the Canadiens’ storied history.
2017 — Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw rushes for a career-high 265 yards and Army ends Air Force’s 306-game scoring streak with a 21-0 victory.
2017 — With a 31-24 overtime victory over Nebraska, Northwestern becomes the first Football Bowl Subdivision program to win three consecutive overtime games.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
The Sports Report: Lakers, UCLA men and women, USC men and women win, but not Clippers
Lakers beat the Heat
From Broderick Turner: The clash between Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo received top billing Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Doncic leads the league in scoring with 37.7 points per game for the Lakers, and Antetokounmpo is fifth at 28.2 for the Miami Heat.
But this matchup didn’t quite live up to the hype after Doncic continued his early season dominance in the Lakers’ 138-117 win.
Doncic was masterful, producing 42 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. He was 14 for 24 from the field and six for 15 from three-point range.
“Feels good. Like I said, obviously when we win, it feels way better,” Doncic said. “And that’s the only important stuff. But obviously it feels good. You know, when you win by [21] against a team like Miami, it’s really awesome, especially on a back-to-back.”
Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, but he also had seven turnovers as he battled tight defensive coverage.
Clippers lose sixth in a row
Scottie Barnes scored 15 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, Immanuel Quickley had 27 and the Toronto Raptors rallied for a 125-118 win over the skidding Clippers on Monday night.
Toronto trailed by 13 going into the final period, but Barnes hit a turnaround jumper with 2:08 remaining to give the Raptors their first lead as part of a 12-1 run.
RJ Barrett scored 26 for Toronto. Barnes also finished with 15 rebounds and eight assists.
Kobe Sanders had a career-high 26 points for the Clippers, who have dropped six straight games since winning their season opener Oct. 21 against Sacramento.
UCLA men upset Arizona
Trent Perry scored 21 points for No. 22 UCLA, which opened the season Monday night by overcoming a career-best 38 points from Arizona’s Ivan Kharchenkov to defeat the No. 5 Wildcats 84-75 in a matchup of former Pac-12 Conference rivals.
Kharchenkov, who also had 10 rebounds, topped his previous best of 20 against Denver last Nov. 24. Derek Dixon added 18 points for the Wildcats.
Jaylen Petty and Eric Dailey Jr. each scored 13 points for the Bruins.
UCLA women open season with a victory
Sienna Betts scored 15 points, Donovyn Hunter added 14 and defending national champion UCLA, ranked No. 11, used a big third quarter to turn back Lehigh 73-53 on Monday.
In the first meeting between the two schools, the Bruins made 10 of 15 shots in the third quarter and held the Mountain Hawks to three of 13, stretching a 32-27 halftime lead to 55-36.
KK Bransford added 10 points for UCLA, which returns five players but had six taken in the WNBA draft — five in the first round. The Bruins will raise their championship banner on Nov. 15 at the end of their five-game homestand.
USC men beat Milwaukee
Adonis Ratliff scored 25 points in his collegiate debut, Alijah Arenas had 21 points and a career-high eight rebounds, and No. 21 USC beat visiting Milwaukee 95-63 to open the season Monday night.
Darius Ratliff, Adonis’ twin brother, added 14 points and five blocks in his debut for the Trojans. Rodney Rice had 15 points and nine assists in his first game since a season-ending shoulder injury last year, and KJ Lewis added 10 points.
USC (1-0) shot 56.9% from the field, including 12 of 22 from three-point range, and never trailed en route to its third straight season-opening win under coach Eric Musselman.
JuJu Watkins leads USC women to victory
JuJu Watkins scored 21 points in her return after missing last season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, freshman Saniyah Hall added 22 in her collegiate debut and No. 3 USC defeated Nevada Las Vegas 100-68 on Monday.
Jazzy Davidson led all scorers with 23 points on 10-for-11 shooting for the Trojans. Hall added seven rebounds and seven assists.
Kennedy Smith contributed 12 points and Sitaya Fagan had 11 for USC, giving the Trojans five scorers in double figures. Watkins added five rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes.
Myles Garrett is returning to Rams practice
From Gary Klein: Rams edge rusher Myles Garrett, who has been on injured reserve since undergoing knee surgery after the season opener, will practice this week, coach Sean McVay said Monday.
The Rams will open the 21-day window for Garrett to return to the roster, but McVay said the Rams would proceed cautiously before determining when Garrett will play in a game.
The Rams (4-4) play the Washington Commanders (2-4-1) on Sunday in Landover, Md.
“I want to be careful to even set any sort of expectations,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters. “I think just taking it a day at a time is going to be the best way that we can approach it.
Sean McVay’s unusual kicker experiment leaves Rams with little margin for error
Is Mark Walter selling the Dodgers?
From Bill Shaikin: Mark Walter isn’t selling the Dodgers, right?
He is selling the Lakers. He is selling his share of Chelsea, the Premier League team. He is looking into selling the Sparks.
And now he is looking into selling his share of the Cadillac Formula Oneracing team, as Sportico first reported Monday.
But keeping the Dodgers, right? “No matter what,” Walter told the California Post last week.
Wait a second, though. In August, Walter’s TWG Global holding company issued a statement that was definitive in two specific aspects: the Dodgers were “not being sold” and his company was “not considering exiting its stake in the Cadillac Formula 1 team.”
So I reached out to Walter’s company and to his personal spokesman, asking how to reconcile the definitive statement denying interest in a Formula One sale with the news of a possible sale and, in light of that development, whether the denials of interest in a Dodgers sale should remain credible.
No one at the company emailed me back, and the spokesman declined to comment.
Dodgers adding former Padres executive to their front office
Buck vs. Aikman: Much ado about nothing
From Bill Dwyre: Come to find out, as we approach the season of plump turkey legs and similar Santa Clauses, all is not well at ESPN. Turns out Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are having a hissy fit.
Will sports broadcasting ever be the same? As the late Chick Hearn would say, “Oh me, oh my.”
Buck and Aikman have broadcast various pro football games together for 25 years. They are Abbott and Costello, but not anywhere near as funny. You tune in just to wait for Joe to say, “I’m Joe Buck and this is Hall of Famer Troy Aikman.”
Kind of gives you goose bumps.
According to various reports, Joe went out and negotiated a new contract without telling Troy. Divorce lawyers are now circling the wagons.
The reports have Joe getting $108 million for six years so that Joe can tell us that one of the teams on the field needs to establish a run game. Golly.
Swanson: Chargers’ lost season really could become the NFL’s first 0-17 humiliation
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Explosions hit Iran’s Qeshm Island as US media report US strikes in Hormuz | US-Israel war on Iran News
Iranian media report several explosions in Qeshm Island and Bandar Lengeh, as US media say the US military carried out the strikes.
Published On 3 Nov 2026
Several explosions have been heard on Iran’s Qeshm Island, as media outlets in the United States reported that the US military carried out what officials called “defensive strikes” in the Strait of Hormuz.
The blasts came in rapid succession late on Monday, according to Iran’s state-owned IRNA news agency. Witnesses told the agency they saw two planes flying over the island, located off Iran’s southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz.
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The semi-official Fars news agency said explosions were also heard in the port city of Bandar Lengeh, coming from the direction of the sea.
The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that the US military carried out the strikes.
Some officials told the Journal the strikes were defensive, aimed at restricting Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. One official said Washington had deliberately kept the campaign quiet to avoid signalling a return to major combat operations.
The Associated Press news agency also cited a US official as saying the US had conducted defensive strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz. The official said that “Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets” had been targeted.
Reporters with Fox News and Axios said the attacks were in response to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) firing at a US aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. Citing a US official, Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin said the incident did not mark “the start of expanded strikes by the US”.
There was no immediate comment from authorities in Iran or the US.
Earlier on Monday, the IRGC claimed it had captured two US reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm, using electronic warfare systems, and destroyed an MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz.
The alleged US attacks come on the eve of crucial midterm elections in the US, with President Donald Trump’s Republican Party fighting to keep control of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
They also come amid intensifying diplomatic efforts to prevent renewed US attacks on Iran.
Trump, writing on his Truth Social platform on Monday, suggested that a deal with Iran could happen soon.
“Oil Prices are dropping like a rock, down almost $10 a Barrel, a record, because people feel that there will not be a war with Iran,” he wrote. “Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible. It could happen!”
Earlier, when asked by reporters if he was considering striking Iran after Tuesday’s midterm elections, Trump replied “no”.
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei had said Tehran’s demands for peace had been clearly communicated to Washington and “the ball is in the US court”.
He said Iran’s proposed plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz had been condensed and could be implemented within two days if Washington met Tehran’s conditions. These included the US lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ports and securing an end to hostilities, paving the way for the reopening of the strait and renewed negotiations.
The Sports Report: Rams defeat Chargers; Lakers win
Rams defeat the Chargers
From Gary Klein: For much of Sunday’s game between the Rams and the Chargers, it was impossible to distinguish:
Which team had arrived at SoFi Stadium winless?
The Chargers, who had not won a game since last season, looked the part.
But so did the supposedly we’re-ready-to-make-a-run Rams.
The Rams showed life at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, and that ultimately proved enough for a 24-9 victory in front of 73,621.
Matthew Stafford passed for a touchdown and Blake Corum and Kyren Williams rushed for touchdowns as the Rams improved their record to 4-4.
Safety Quentin Lake and cornerback Trent McDuffie intercepted passes to foil a Justin Herbert-led offense that went into the game as the NFL’s lowest-scoring outfit and did little to foster reason for optimism.
For a mostly underperforming Rams team that began the season as an overwhelming favorite to win Super Bowl LXI, it has turned into a season of firsts.
Consider: For the first time this season, the Rams have won two games in a row.
Lakers slide past the Raptors
From Broderick Turner: Lakers coach JJ Redick and defensive ace Walker Kessler applauded Luka Doncic for his standout defensive performance in the Lakers’ 131-125 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.
And Doncic’s response to the accolades?
“Finally,” Doncic said, laughing.
Doncic had five steals. He took three charges. And he collected 15 defensive rebounds. Oh, and he also had 45 points and six assists. He was 12 for 23 from the field, eight for 12 from three-point range and made all 13 of his free-throws.
But it was his defensive performance that drew the most attention on Doncic bobblehead giveaway night. As he sat in front of the media wearing a black baseball cap, Doncic was asked why he has this reputation of not being a very good defender.
“Why? I don’t know,” he responded. “Obviously, I’m not the best defender in the NBA, but I think this year I really took a step forward. Obviously, people are going to talk what they want to talk [about] me. … But I know, and my team knows, that I think I’m better this year. And that helps the whole team, I think.”
UCLA moves up to No. 5 in AP poll
Ohio State dropped out of the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday for the first time in five years, UCLA entered the top five for the first time in 25 years and New Mexico earned the first ranking in program history.
The Buckeyes plummeted from No. 2 to No. 11 following their 30-18 loss at USC, making it four weeks in a row the No. 1 or 2 team has lost to an unranked opponent.
Miami was No. 1 for the third straight week after escaping North Carolina with a 38-35 victory. Georgia moved up a spot to No. 2 and was followed by Utah, Notre Dame and UCLA.
USC re-entered the rankings at No. 18.
UCLA’s Cori Close has the right approach to college sports
From Mirjam Swanson: You’re either a hater, a Trojan, or you were happy to see Cori Close win the national championship last season.
Even Dawn Staley was glad to see it, and it was her South Carolina team that Close’s UCLA Bruins throttled 79-51 in last April’s NCAA Tournament championship clinic in Phoenix.
“I’m always happy for people that worked hard in this game, who are really quality people,” Staley said shortly after UCLA won its first NCAA women’s basketball title. “I want good things to happen for them. Cori is one of those people who really works at making our game better. Not just UCLA, but our entire game.”
As the whole enterprise of college sports teeters chaotically, Close winning was as healthy a thing as could happen.
Clippers lose fifth in a row
Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored a career-high 37 points and dished out six assists in a game in which Golden State rested stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, and the Warriors beat the Clippers 124-112 for their fourth straight win Sunday night.
Lendeborg notched his fourth game with 20 or more points, scoring five straight midway through the third quarter that gave the Warriors their biggest lead to that point at 83-68. He shot 13 for 19 — six of 11 from three-point range — and his points were the most by a Warriors rookie since Curry went off for 42 on April 14, 2010, at Portland.
With two 30-point performances among his initial seven games, Lendeborg joined Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry as the only other Warriors to do so. Lendeborg bounced back from a tough outing in a win against the Lakers on Friday in which he fouled out.
Angel City enters playoffs with a win
From Kevin Baxter: It has been a week since Angel City qualified for the NWSL playoffs. On Sunday, the team found out who and where it would be playing.
With a 4-1 victory over Boston Legacy, Angel City finished the regular season fifth in the standings and will travel to Kansas City on Saturday to meet the Current in its second-ever trip to the postseason. And it will enter the playoffs as the hottest team in the NWSL, riding a league-best 10-game unbeaten streak.
The goals Sunday came from Nealy Martin in the first half and Evelyn Shores, Sveindis Jonsdottir and Claire Emslie in the second. Boston’s only score came from Brazilian striker Amanda Gutierres just before intermission.
LAFC falls to Minnesota
Joaquín Pereyra scored two goals, defender Cherrion Valerius scored the first of his career and Minnesota United kept its postseason hopes alive with a 3-1 victory over LAFC on Sunday night.
Minnesota (10-12-11) pulled within two points of a Western Conference postseason berth with one match remaining.
LAFC (12-10-11) had already clinched a playoff spot but missed a chance to finish in the top four and earn home-field advantage in the best-of-three first round.
Ducks rally past Senators
Cutter Gauthier had his second career hat trick, scoring the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and the Ducks overcame a three-goal deficit to beat the Ottawa Senators 6-3 on Sunday night.
Judd Caulfield scored twice, rookie Roger McQueen added another and Leo Carlsson had three assists to help the Ducks win for the second time in nine games. The Ducks went four for five on the power play.
Laurent Brossoit made 20 saves in his Ducks debut. Brossoit played his second NHL game in three seasons after being recalled from San Diego of the AHL on Saturday.
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Robert Kelker-Kelly: ‘Days of Our Lives’ actor’s official cause of death
Missouri officials have determined the official cause of death for “Days of Our Lives” actor Robert Kelker-Kelly, who died this month at age 62.
Kelker-Kelly died of arteriosclerotic heart disease, the St. Charles county regional medical examiner of Missouri confirmed to The Times. The actor’s death was deemed natural. Arteriosclerosis occurs when blood vessels carrying oxygen and nutrients from the heart to the body become thick and stiff, according to the Mayo Clinic. The coroner’s report confirms details previously disclosed by law enforcement and emergency personnel.
The actor, who worked as a pilot later in life, died Oct. 3 after he complained of chest pain and became unresponsive, police confirmed earlier this month. Officers reported with paramedics to the actor’s home for a report of an unconscious man who was not breathing.
“Life-saving measures were administered but were unsuccessful,” police said.
Kelker-Kelly’s wife, Allison Kelly, informed authorities the actor complained of pain in his left arm and chest while on the drive home from Spirit Airport, People reported. The actor asked his wife to pull the car over to vomit and said he did not need to go to the hospital. He reportedly continued experiencing pain at home. Kelly found her husband unresponsive, alerted authorities and administered CPR.
Kelker-Kelly was best known for his work in long-running daytime dramas “Another World” and “Days of Our Lives,” where he portrayed the rebellious heartthrob Beauregard “Bo” Brady from 1992 to 1995. He began his turn as Bo, which lasted for more than 586 episodes, following the departure of original actor Peter Reckell, who would return to the show off and on in the following decades.
He debuted in “Another World” in 1987 and appeared in more than 400 episodes in a handful of roles until 1998, according to the actor’s IMDb page. He was also known for his work as Stavros Cassadine in “General Hospital” and its spinoff series “Port Charles.” Kelker-Kelly’s “General Hospital” tenure lasted from 2001 to 2014 and was his final TV role. His television credits also include “Jack’s Place,” “Touched by an Angel” and “Rescue 77.”
Iran Used Limpet Mine Placed On Ship’s Hull In Latest Strait Of Hormuz Attack: Report
A small boat in the Strait of Hormuz approached a tanker and placed two explosive devices on the hull above the waterline, causing a blast that started a fire in the engine room, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center reported. The attack on the Dubai-owned tanker Louise 1 was carried out by Iranians using limpet mines, Financial Times reported. The incident took place Thursday and was the first of its kind since June 2019, when a Japanese and a Norwegian ship were hit with limpets, the publication noted.
This is the first indication of the successful use of these mines during the current Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) wave of strikes against shipping in the Strait of Hormuz following Operation Epic Fury. The attack also highlights the challenges of keeping ships safe in a busy and complex littoral.
“The apparent ability of a small craft to approach a transiting tanker, deploy explosive devices and withdraw presents a significant security concern, particularly in the Strait’s congested shipping lanes,” Greece-based maritime risk management group Marisks said on Friday, Reuters reported.
TWZ covered the 2019 attacks extensively, including sharing the following video showing an Iranian Navy or IRGC fast boat going back to remove a dud limpet mine from the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous’s damaged hull.
Limpet Mine Attack in the Gulf of Oman: JUNE 13, 2019
Earlier Friday morning, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Adm. Brad Cooper said the waterway was cleared of sea mines. He was not addressing the limpet mine claim.
He stated on X that after “we sank Iran’s navy earlier this year, we also successfully cleared the strait’s internationally recognized primary transit routes of Iranian sea mines, and today U.S. forces remain highly vigilant and present to ensure that all primary transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz remain free and clear.”
“This week we reached a significant milestone, having now assisted Gulf partners in exporting more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil since summer,” Cooper added.
Recalling a recent flight over the Strait of Hormuz, Cooper noted that he “saw our U.S. assets in the air and on the water, including a squadron of advanced sea drones that were on patrol supporting a defensive layer. Here’s what I didn’t see: I didn’t see the IRGC out there at all.”
Also known as uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), the sea drones are part of an increasingly uncrewed armada of air, land and sea assets that are supporting the safe corridor through the Strait.
The USV type shown in the following video, a Saronic Corsair, made history twice in the battle against Iran. In July, the USVs were used as a strike weapon in combat for the first time by the U.S. A month earlier, a Saronic Corsair USV rescued the crew of a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache that crashed in the Gulf of Oman after it was downed by Iran.
Despite the heavy presence of CENTCOM forces, this month is turning out to be particularly dangerous for shipping in the region.
“October has seen the highest number of ship attacks on record,” Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said last week, according to the BOE Report, an oil industry publication. “Raydan, who maintains the institute’s interactive shipping incident map, has recorded 28 confirmed and reported attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waterways in October and 113 since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28.”
These strikes, combined with ongoing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, have already placed tremendous pressure on a global economy relying heavily on fossil fuel from the region. As of Friday morning, Brent crude topped $117 per barrel, the highest level in more than four years, according to OilPrice.com.
The American oil industry, meanwhile, is making a fortune on this situation.
“The war with Iran has been very lucrative for American oil companies, which have earned more than $130 billion in profit as people pay much higher prices for gasoline, diesel and other fuel,” The New York Times reported on Friday. “That is a conservative estimate based on the performance of more than 50 large U.S. oil and gas companies, most of them producers or refiners, in the six months from April through September. It does not reflect profits earned in March, the first month of the war, or in October.”
“The United States oil and gas business is making hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said at an Oct. 24 campaign rally, describing how the war is affecting the industry.
The Latest
Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday in another bid to try to pull the Middle East region back from the brink of war. The visit takes place as the U.S. and Israel are gearing up for a possible new round of strikes against Iran that could come as soon as next week after America’s midterm elections.
U.S. President Donald Trump has frequently stated that he could order new strikes, likely with Israeli assistance, after control of the next Congress is settled. While Trump could be gearing up to hit Iran again, leaks about war planning could also be messaging to compel Tehran back to the bargaining table.
“It’s going to get wrapped up soon,” Trump said Friday morning in an interview with Kansas City radio station KCMO. “We need a guarantee there’ll never be a nuclear weapon.”
Whether this latest Qatari effort can stop the clock winding down toward a resumption of hostilities remains questionable. Washington and Tehran seem far apart in their goals for achieving an agreement to stave off war.
The U.S. wants nuclear issues included from the start of negotiations while Tehran demands that the U.S. first end its port blockade and lift oil export sanctions, Reuters reported on Friday.
A senior Iranian official has already dismissed a plan presented by Qatar as “unacceptable,” the outlet added. “The proposal presented by Qatar sets a seven-day timeline addressing both Tehran’s and Washington’s concerns, laying out daily confidence-building steps that each side must take,” the news outlet reported on Oct. 28, citing an official briefed on the negotiations.
The Qatari mediation is the latest diplomatic effort to prevent new fighting. On Monday, major regional powers met in Tehran to find a peaceful way forward.
Regardless, American forces are locked and loaded for a possible new round of strikes against Iran. Israel also continues ramping up attack plans in coordination with the U.S. in the wake of a so-far inconclusive national election that could result in the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s career.
“Cooper rarely briefs Trump in person, so the meeting could signal that the U.S. is moving closer to significant military operations,” the publication stated. “He met with the president in July, when the two huddled with Hegseth and Caine on Air Force One in Delaware.”
CENTCOM declined comment when we asked to confirm the meeting as described. The Pentagon referred us to the White House, and the White House did not respond to our request for comment.
While the Journal offered no specific details about the plans discussed at the White House meeting, previous reporting has suggested Trump is seeking a short, intense bombing campaign.
“According to several people familiar with the war plans, any new US-Israeli assault would be intense, lasting some three days and targeting nuclear facilities, regime assets and civilian infrastructure including power plants,” Financial Times reported on Thursday.
A top Democratic senator said he was briefed on plans and was shocked by what he heard.
“I will just say this: their plan is insane,” Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said. “It will lead to devastating escalation and the likely destruction of our commitment to the rule of law.”
“There’s been open reporting as to what we may be planning and the civilian infrastructure that we may be targeting,” Murphy added. “The plan that they have developed will lead, in my view, to a prolongment and an escalation of this war that will be devastating for our security interests.”
As the White House continues to put the finishing touches on new attack plans, the U.S. is bolstering its forces in the Middle East as we noted at the top of this story.
“The U.S. military is sending an additional Patriot system to Israel from Texas to beef up its missile defenses in the country, according to flight-tracking data and two officials with knowledge of the movement,” the Journal reported on Wednesday. “The U.S. has also moved troops off bases in the Middle East where they were vulnerable in preparation for an escalation.”
“U.S. forces in the region have been restocking their munitions, and bomber aircraft and jet fighters are preparing for strikes, some of the officials said.”
As we previously noted, there have been other signs that a major new round of U.S. and/or Israeli strikes on Iran might be looming on the horizon. Fox News reported that the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and the rest of its carrier strike group, as well as the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group carrying the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), are heading to the Middle East, citing unnamed U.S. officials.
“The ships will arrive in the Middle East by the end of November,” the officials said, according to a post on X from Fox’s Jennifer Griffin on Tuesday. “These new deployments will add about 10,000 sailors and Marines to the Middle East.”
You can find out more about the locations of the U.S. Navy’s fleet of flattops in our “Where Are The Aircraft Carriers?” feature.
There have been indications of increased U.S. military air activity in the Middle East recently, as well. Observers have called attention to the particularly significant influx of aerial refueling tankers to bases in the region, as well as in Europe, which would be critical to any new major air campaign.
America and Israel struck hard at Iranian logistics during Operation Epic Fury, and the U.S. Navy maintains a blockade on Iranian ports. Still, the IRGC has managed to bring in materiel critical to its drone and missile programs.
A new Reuters investigation examines how.
“Iran has created a secret network of military agencies with global reach to import at least $2 billion in hardware, explosives and heavy-duty trucks since January 2025, evading both the US naval blockade and Western sanctions,” the investigation found. “Hidden behind names starting with the letters MOD, for the Ministry of Defense, are more than 5,000 agencies that form a formidable financial and military machine. Their financial footprints are on bills of lading and other shipping data dating back to 2016. Some are tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and to business conglomerates known as bonyads that are controlled by Iran’s elite.”
“The findings offer a window into one of the war’s great mysteries,” the outlet explained. “How is the IRGC replenishing its missile and drone arsenals while firing them in their thousands?”
Amid events in the Persian Gulf region, fighting between the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen and Saudi Arabia rages on.
On Friday, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone near Islam’s holiest city, a claim the Houthis denied.
On Thursday, the Houthis claimed attacks on a half dozen targets across the kingdom, including oil facilities and airports. Saudi officials, for their part, said they intercepted ballistic missiles.
Adding to regional jitters, there were fresh reports of explosions near Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz Thursday night. However, these incidents often turn out to be air defense activity, warning shots fired at ships or nothing at all.
CENTCOM on Friday pushed back against claims that the command acknowledged attacks on Iranian targets.
“The reported notion that CENTCOM claimed any recent attacks is false,” Capt. Tim Hawkins, the command’s spokesman, told TWZ.
For now, the world is waiting nervously to see whether the Middle East again erupts into war. We should have a clearer picture in the coming days.
Contact the author: howard@twz.com
Catalyst watch: Election drama, jobs report, Apple and McDonald’s in the earnings confessional (SPY:NYSEARCA)
Apple’s call will address Apple Intelligence adoption, supply constraints, memory costs, and the iPhone Duo. Options imply a 4.3% share-price move; Cirrus Logic, Skyworks, and Qorvo are also in focus because each gets more than half its revenue from Apple.
The Sports Report: Lakers are better without LeBron James
Lakers show they are better without LeBron
From Bill Plaschke: They fly around the court, Luka Magic to AR to that new guy who dunks.
These joyous new Lakers have wings.
LeBron James would have grounded them.
They gesture to the crowd, point to each other, fill the postgame interviews with jokes and laughter and connection.
LeBron James would have silenced them.
Barely a week into the Lakers’ season, ignoring the records, forgetting the statistics, only one thing is abundantly clear.
The Lakers are better off without LeBron.
The Lakers are thriving without LeBron.
‘A true professional’: Jarred Vanderbilt leads Lakers’ bench against Clippers
Rams discuss CTE and football
From Gary Klein: Rams players are increasingly aware of the risks of playing their sport, especially as it relates to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a neurodegenerative brain disease.
But they try not to think about it.
This week, a Boston University study was published that analyzed the medical records of more than 2,000 deceased former NFL players. The study estimated that 74.5% of them likely had CTE.
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald, 35, played 10 seasons before retiring after the 2023 season. He rejoined the Rams this season. When asked about the study and CTE, Donald said, “That’s a real thing.”
But he said, “You don’t think about it. You just play. When you sign up to play football, you know what you’re signing up for.
“You obviously don’t want nothing like that to occur.”
Staggering 74.5% of NFL players who died from 2008 to 2023 likely had CTE, study finds
NFL Week 8 picks: Lions beat 6-0 Vikings; Steelers prevail over Browns
UCLA kicker happy to be part of team’s success
From Jordan Puente: UCLA football coach Bob Chesney trusted Mateen Bhaghani enough to trot him out for a 58-yard field goal attempt before halftime during the Bruins’ 28-10 win over Michigan State.
Bhaghani drilled a 54-yard field goal during last season’s 42-37 upset against Penn State.
His attempt to surpass his career long of 57 yards against the Spartans last week fell short, but Bhaghani doesn’t linger long on errant kicks. He knows he will only be successful when his team needs him most if he focuses on the fine details of every kick.
“I love the feeling of making field goals and helping the team win,” Bhaghani said. “It’s a different type of adrenaline; going out there, with all that pressure — is so fulfilling and relaxing for me.”
The daily attention to detail has helped Bhaghani hit all 102 of the extra points he has attempted during his college career.
The following interview with Bhaghani ahead of the Bruins’ game against Nevada Saturday has been edited for length and clarity.
Kings win in overtime
Ottawa Senators forward Hayden Hodgson received a game misconduct and major penalty for boarding defenseman Brandt Clarke in the Kings’ 6-5 overtime victory Thursday night.
Hodgson took a run at Clarke, charging in at 21 mph according to the game broadcast. Clarke was just below the goal line when he was driven into the boards. The hit caused a brief scrum, and the Kings’ Erik Haula received a two-minute penalty for roughing Hodgson.
Clarke was ruled out for the rest of the game for what the Kings called an upper-body injury.
The play with 8:45 left in the second period came shortly after the Kings scored three goals in 4:03 to take a 4-1 lead and chase goalie Jonas Johansson.
Struggling Ducks lose again
Tage Thompson had three goals and two assists, Zach Benson added a goal and two assists, and the Buffalo Sabres scored six consecutive goals during a 7-6 victory over the struggling Ducks on Thursday night.
Thompson’s 10th career hat trick tied him with Alexander Mogilny and Danny Gare for the third-most in Sabres history. One night before his 29th birthday, Thompson scored twice in 15 seconds in the second period, skating around the Ducks’ inert defense for a breakaway third goal that sent a dozen hats flying onto the Honda Center ice.
Tyson Kozak, Noah Ostlund and Jack Quinn also scored and Colten Ellis made 28 saves for the Sabres, who roared back from an early two-goal deficit and then hung on to improve to 2-0-1 on their four-game trip.
Captain Mikael Granlund scored and Leo Carlsson had three assists in the Ducks’ seventh loss in eight games.
This day in sports history
1943 — Gus Bodnar of Toronto scores a goal 15 seconds into his first NHL game as the Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers 5-2.
1945 — Branch Rickey signs Jackie Robinson to the Montreal Royals.
1955 — Jim Patton of New York returns a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown as the Giants beat the Washington Redskins 35-7.
1966 — Jim Nance of the Boston Patriots rushes for 208 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-21 victory over the Oakland Raiders.
1971 — Eric Allen of Michigan State rushes for 350 yards in 43-10 rout of Purdue.
1974 — Muhammad Ali knocks out George Foreman in the eighth round in Kinshasa, Zaire, to regain the world heavyweight title in the “Rumble in the Jungle.”
1975 — John Bucyk of the Boston Bruins scores his 500th goal in a 3-2 victory over St. Louis.
1977 — Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears rushes for 205 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-0 triumph over the Green Bay Packers.
1993 — Erin Whitten becomes the first woman goalie in pro hockey to be credited with a victory as Toledo beats Dayton 6-5 in the East Coast Hockey League.
1996 — The WNBA announces the eight cities that will compete in the WNBAs inaugural season. Charlotte, Cleveland, Houston and New York will play in the Eastern Conference and Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sacramento and Utah will compete the Western Conference.
1997 — Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona announces his retirement from football on his 37th birthday.
1997 — Violet Palmer makes pro sports history by becoming the first woman to officiate an NBA game. There is little reaction by the crowd when her name is announced just before tip-off of the game between the Dallas Mavericks and Vancouver Grizzlies.
1999 — Marques Tuiasosopo becomes the first college player to pass for 300 yards and run for 200, racking up a school-record 509 yards as Washington rallied to beat Stanford 35-30. Tuiasosopo completes 19-of-32 passes for 302 yards and a touchdown and rushes 22 times for 207 yards and two TDs.
2001 — Michael Jordan misses his biggest shot of the night and commits two crucial late turnovers in the Washington Wizards’ 93-91 loss to the New York Knicks, Jordan’s first regular-season game after a 3 1/2-year retirement.
2003 — In the first regular-season game of his NBA career, 18-year-old LeBron James has 25 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four steals, but the Cleveland Cavaliers lose 106-92 to the Sacramento Kings.
2004 — Trainer Bobby Frankel finally breaks through in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, with Ghostzapper blazing to victory in America’s richest race held at Lone Star Park. Frankel, who had just two wins with 62 Breeders’ Cup starters before the $4 million Classic, had saddled the beaten favorite the past three years.
2004 — Dana College’s Tom Lensch sets an all-division college record by attempting 101 passes in a 60-35 loss to Hastings College. Lensch completes 56 passes for a school-record 507 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
2011 — The Baltimore Ravens erase a 24-3 deficit to defeat Arizona 30-27. It marks the fifth time this season a team trailed by at least 20 points and came back to win. That is the most in a single season in NFL history.
2016 — Derek Carr throws a 41-yard touchdown pass to Seth Roberts with 1:45 remaining in overtime, capping a record-breaking day for the Oakland Raiders in a 30-24 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Carr throws for a franchise-record 513 yards — completing 40 of 59 passes without an interception — and the Raiders overcome an NFL-record 23 penalties for 200 yards.
2019 — World Series: Washington Nationals beat Houston Astros, 6-2 in Game 7 at Minute Maid Park, Houston to win first title in franchise history; MVP: Washington pitcher Stephen Strasburg.
2024 — World Series: Dodgers win eighth title in franchise history; overcome 5-0 deficit to beat New York Yankees 7-6 at Yankee Stadium for 4-1 series victory; MVP: Dodgers 1B Freddie Freeman (4 HR, 12 RBI).
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
The Sports Report: Lakers rout the Clippers
Lakers rout the Clippers
From Broderick Turner: Lakers scoring phenom Luka Doncic missed his first game of the young season with back tightness, leaving a giant hole in their offense with the NBA’s leading scorer (36 points per game) sitting out.
Lakers defensive star Ziaire Williams also missed his first game with left foot soreness, leaving them even more depleted with two starters unable to play.
The Lakers added a lot of depth over the summer in case of injury situations and now it was going to be tested against the Clippers at Intuit Dome.
Collin Sexton is one of the players the Lakers acquired for a moment like Wednesday, and he delivered in a big way, coming off the bench to provide energy and effort in helping the Lakers take a 103-87 victory over the Clippers.
“Sometimes it’s hard to get his attention because he gets locked in, he gets in the zone,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said about Sexton. “I love the competitive fire.”
Sexton was at his best in the third quarter, scoring 11 of his 21 points, flexing and pounding his chest after a made basket. His play helped the Lakers open a 22-point lead they never lost.
High-scoring Lakers stress they need to play championship defense
Rams bring back kicker Joshua Karty
From Gary Klein: The Rams are suddenly paying special attention to special teams — and they are turning to former players for help.
On Wednesday, the Rams signed to the practice squad kicker Joshua Karty and long-snapper Jake McQuaide — both of whom played previously for the Rams — and linebacker Jon Rhattigan.
The moves came after the Rams gave up significant kick returns and long snapper Joe Cardona suffered an ankle injury during their 35-21 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, the latest miscues in a season that has featured a seemingly nonstop array of special teams issues.
The Rams (3-4) play the winless Chargers (0-6) on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
LA Olympics unveils official slogan
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: To stage the largest Olympics in history, LA28 is looking toward the cosmos for inspiration.
The committee in charge of bringing the Games back to L.A. for the first time in 44 years announced its slogan for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games on Wednesday, hoping to rally athletes, volunteers and fans behind a simple call: “Stars align.”
“‘Stars align’ is when preparation meets opportunity,” LA28 chief marketing officer Alex Merchán said. “So together that creates something extraordinary, and that’s what we seek to do here.”
The slogan that will set the stage for the next 21 months developed organically within the organizing committee over several years, Merchán said. Only during the last 12 or 13 months did the team really start imagining ways to bring the phrase to life.
Brewers win their first World Series title
The small-ball Milwaukee Brewers playing in the smallest market in the majors are World Series champions for the first time in franchise history.
Hey, Milwaukee: grab a brat, raise a beer and prepare for that parade.
Young ace Jacob Misiorowski threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball, rookie Cooper Pratt got two more hits and two RBIs, and the Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night to set off a long-awaited celebration among thousands of Brewers fans in attendance at Tropicana Field.
“It’s the best feeling ever. All of our fans are here. I know the city’s waited a long, long time for this,” Milwaukee captain Christian Yelich said. “We’re so happy to bring it home to them. I can’t wait to get back there and celebrate.”
World Series results
No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 1 Tampa Bay
at Milwaukee 3, Tampa Bay 2 (box score)
at Milwaukee 5, Tampa Bay 4 (box score)
Milwaukee 10, at Tampa Bay 1 (box score)
at Tampa Bay 4, Milwaukee 3 (12) (box score)
Milwaukee 4, at Tampa Bay 1 (box score)
This day in sports history
1950 — Detroit’s Wally Triplett gains 294 yards in kickoff returns and ends up with 331 total yards as the Lions pound the Rams 65-24 on 41 third-quarter points.
1960 — Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) wins his first pro fight, beating Tunney Hunsaker on points in six rounds in Louisville.
1961 — Oscar Robertson dishes out a franchise-record 22 assists during Cincinnati’s 139-132 win over visiting Syracuse. The “Big O” goes on to average a triple-double (30.8 ppg, 12.5 rpg and 11.4 apg) for the Royals during the 1961-62 season, becoming the first NBA player to average double figures in assists.
1969 — Tom Seaver wins NL CY Young.
1977 — Boston’s John Havlicek becomes the second player in NBA history to connect on 10,000 field goals, reaching the milestone in a 103-98 loss at Cleveland.
1977 — Russell Erxleben of Texas kicks a 60-yard field goal in a 26-0 rout of Texas Tech for his third field goal of the season over 60 yards, an NCAA record.
1983 — Gil Fenerty rushes for 337 yards in 18 carries and scores six touchdowns to lead Holy Cross to a 77-28 rout of Columbia.
1984 — Orlando Pizzolato wins the New York Marathon in 2:14:53 and Grete Waitz captures the women’s title in 2:29:30.
1987 — Thomas Hearns wins unprecedented fourth different weight boxing title.
1994 — Arnold Mickens rushes for more than 200 yards for the eighth consecutive game, breaking the NCAA Division I-AA single-season rushing record as Butler beats Evansville 49-14. Mickens’ 244 yards gives him a total of 2,111, surpassing the record of 2,016 set by Towson State’s Tony Vinson.
2005 — Top-ranked USC wins its 30th straight game, routing Washington State 55-13. The Trojans tie Texas for the 11th-longest winning streak in major college football history.
2006 — With a a 34-31 victory over Denver, Indianapolis is the first team to start 7-0 in consecutive seasons since the 1929-31 Green Bay Packers did it three straight times.
2011 — Joe Paterno breaks Eddie Robinson’s record for victories by a Division I coach with No. 409 in Penn State’s sloppy 10-7 win over Illinois.
2014 — Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants succeed where no team had in 3 1/2 decades, winning Game 7 on the road for their third World Series title in five years. Bumgarner comes out of the bullpen to pitch five scoreless innings on two days’ rest as the Giants held off the Kansas City Royals 3-2.
2017 — Russell Wilson hits Jimmy Graham for an 18-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left, his second TD catch of the fourth quarter, to lead Seattle over Houston 41-38. Wilson finishes 26 of 41 for a career-high 452 yards and four TDs. Deshaun Watson is nearly the equal of Wilson, throwing for 402 yards and four touchdowns and three interceptions.
2017 — Caroline Wozniacki wins the biggest title of her career when she beat Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the WTA Finals.
2017 — Justin Rose mounts the third-largest final-round comeback in PGA TOUR history to win the WGC-HSBC Champions. Rose starts the final round eight shots behind Dustin Johnson, who ties a record for losing the largest lead in the final round. The historic 5-under 67 round by Rose is keyed by a back-nine 31. Rose finishes at 14-under 274 and Johnson who finishes with a 77, ties for second with Henrik Stenson and Brooks Koepka, two strokes back.
2018 — Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors, breaks the NBA record for most three-pointers in a game with 14 in a Warrior’s 149-124 over the Chicago Bulls. The record was previously held by Thompson’s teammate Stephen Curry.
2024 — Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman sets record with a home run in his 6th consecutive World Series game, including two with Atlanta Braves in 2021, in 11-4 loss at Yankee Stadium in New York.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Mary Peltola’s campaign reportedly helped recruit second Dan Sullivan
JUNEAU, Alaska — The Democratic campaign for Alaska’s U.S. Senate seat was involved in efforts to place on the ballot a candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan in a bid to confuse voters in a race that could determine which party controls the chamber, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
The newspaper obtained text messages between members of Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign discussing recruiting other people with the same name as the two-term Republican their candidate was running against. They eventually landed on a retired schoolteacher in the small fishing community of Petersburg named Dan J. Sullivan. He made it through the state’s August open primary and is one of four candidates on the ranked vote ballot for Tuesday’s general election.
Dan J. Sullivan has long denied he was running at Democrats’ behest and said he had no contact with Peltola’s campaign: “Zero, none, zilch,” he said in June after announcing his run.
He did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment from the Associated Press.
A top state elections official ruled Dan J. Sullivan ineligible for the ballot after he declared his candidacy, claiming it was “filed with a purpose to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot’s fairness or neutrality.”
The case went to the Alaska Supreme Court, which ruled he was qualified to run. The U.S. Constitution sets out only age, citizenship and residency requirements to run for the Senate.
“Alaskans deserve the truth,” said Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sen. Sullivan’s campaign. “Mary Peltola, her campaign and her senior advisers colluded with the DSCC, national Democrat lawyers and Alaska Democrat operatives to recruit candidates to deliberately confuse and deceive voters.”
The campaign for Peltola, a former congresswoman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Democrats, including the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, repeatedly have denied they were involved in any campaign trick.
“The DSCC is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan,” the organization said in a statement Wednesday. The Times report said DSCC staffers were on texts with the Peltola campaign discussing the second Sullivan.
Legal experts said the report about Democrats appearing to recruit Dan J. Sullivan as a way to potentially confuse voters will have no impact on a lawsuit filed recently by the U.S. Department of Justice. President Trump directed the department to file a lawsuit seeking to halt certification of a possible Peltola win, citing the presence of the second Dan Sullivan on the ballot.
“It’s a dirty campaign trick, and it’s good reason the Alaska Supreme Court should have permitted the candidate to have been removed from the ballot,” said Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor. “But now it’s in the hands of the voters, not litigation.”
It’s not the first time a candidate’s appearance on the Alaska ballot has been questioned. In 2024, the state Democratic Party sued to keep off the U.S. House ballot a man with no apparent ties to the state who is serving time in a federal prison in New York. A divided state Supreme Court allowed him to remain on the ballot. The man is running again, also in the House race, and is on the Nov. 3 ranked vote general election ballot.
The Times story about the recruitment of Dan J. Sullivan is based partly on interviews with Peltola’s former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, who was fired in August amid a campaign shake-up. The newspaper said she tried to retract her comments last week.
As of Monday, 46,204 ballots had been cast in Alaska, according to AP data. Sen. Sullivan is marked on the ballot as the Republican incumbent. The other Sullivan is listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., with no party affiliation.
Bohrher and Riccardi write for the Associated Press. Riccardi reported from Denver.
The Sports Report: How Angel City turned itself around
How Angel City turned around
From Kevin Baxter: No one in Angel City history has played in more games or worn the captain’s armband more often than Sarah Gorden. So it’s unlikely any player has enjoyed this season, Angel City’s fifth in the NWSL, more than her.
With Saturday’s 2-0 win over Bay FC, the team extended its franchise record for wins (14) and points (49) with one game to play. It has averaged more goals scored (1.7) and fewer goals allowed (1.07) than any team in franchise history, has the best goal differential (plus-19) in the league and has qualified for the postseason for just the second time.
If Angel City (14-8-7) beats Boston in its regular-season finale Sunday, it could play host to a playoff game for the first time. For Gorden, none of that success is surprising. What is surprising is that it took so long to achieve.
“Did I think we’d get here? Yeah,” she said. “I always felt like we take two steps forward, one step back. Maybe two steps forward, three steps back. But I always felt like strategically, at some point, the right pieces would be here and we’d be doing the right things at the right time.
“The backing was always there, the passion was always there, the vision was always there. For a long time it was just about getting the right pieces together.”
That was the part that took a bit of trial and error, with the team going through 64 players, five coaches, three general managers/sporting directors and two controlling ownership groups since its founding. And Gorden, who became the second player in team history when she was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Red Stars in December 2021 — five months before Angel City’s first game — has been with the team for all of it.
Kings rout the Rangers
Drew Doughty had a goal and two assists, and Artemi Panarin added a power-play goal and an assist as the Kings beat the New York Rangers 6-3 on Monday night.
The Kings won for the third time in their last four games — all on the road — after going winless over their first six games of the season.
The Kings jumped on New York early, chasing goaltender James Reimer after one period. Reimer was pulled in his Rangers debut after allowing three goals on eight shots. Reimer played just one previous game this fall, a 35-save shutout in the American Hockey League on Saturday night, before signing an NHL contract for the rest of the season.
Taylor Ward opened the scoring 1:15 into the game on the Kings’ first shot. Brandt Clarke made it 2-0 at 4:52 of the first, tipping in a rebound off Joel Armia’s slap shot.
Valkyries win WNBA Finals Game 5
Kiah Stokes had 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots as the Golden State Valkyries moved within one win of a championship in their second season, beating the Atlanta Dream 64-55 in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Monday night.
Angel Reese finished with seven points, 15 rebounds and five assists — a big difference from her two standout performances in the first two games of the series at Chase Center. Reese shook her head when whistled for the second of her three offensive fouls with 7:43 to play.
Fans screamed and clapped thunder sticks following the final buzzer as Stokes spoke from the floor to chants of “MVP!”
Brewers move one win away from World Series title
Jackson Chourio set the tone at the plate, Brice Turang sparked a historic offensive outburst and Robert Gasser shut the door on the mound.
The Milwaukee Brewers are one victory from their first World Series title after routing the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 on Monday night thanks to a trio of young players who have shined in October.
Chourio bookended Milwaukee’s eight-run fifth inning with two of his four hits, and Turang’s two-run single opened a barrage of scoring with two outs.
World Series results, schedule
All games at 5 p.m. PT
All game on FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 1 Tampa Bay
at Milwaukee 3, Tampa Bay 2 (box score)
at Milwaukee 5, Tampa Bay 4 (box score)
Milwaukee 10, at Tampa Bay 1 (box score)
Tuesday at Tampa Bay
*Wednesday at Tampa Bay
*Friday at Milwaukee
*Saturday at Milwaukee
* if necessary
This day in sports history
1967 — New Mexico tight end Emilio Vallez catches 17 passes for 257 yards to tie an NCAA record in a 75-12 rout of Texas El Paso.
1973 — Four players rush for more than 100 yards as Alabama sets three NCAA records during a 77-6 romp of Virginia Tech. Alabama sets records with 823 yards total offense, 743 yards rushing and four 100-yard rushers. Jim Taylor gains 142 yards, Wilbur Jackson 138, Calvin Culliver 127 and Richard Todd 102.
1984 — Washington State’s Rueben Mayes sets an NCAA record with 357 yards rushing, 197 in the first half, and scores three touchdowns in a 50-41 victory over Oregon.
1984 — Iowa’s Chuck Long completes 22 straight passes to set an NCAA record in a 24-20 victory over Indiana.
1996 — After two humbling losses at home, the New York Yankees win their first World Series title since 1978 with a 3-2 victory over the defending champion Atlanta Braves in Game 6.
2001 — Joe Paterno wins his 324th game to pass Bear Bryant for the most victories by a Division I-A coach when Penn State rallies for a 29-27 win over Ohio State.
2002 — Emmitt Smith breaks the NFL career rushing yardage record held by the late Walter Payton on an 11-yard run in the fourth quarter. Smith has 109 yards and a touchdown in Dallas’ 17-14 loss to Seattle and ends the game with 16,743 career yards — 17 more than Payton gained.
2002 — Behind rookie pitcher John Lackey and a three-run double by Garret Anderson, the Angels beat Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants 4-1 for the franchise’s first World Series title.
2004 — The Boston Red Sox are World Series champions at long, long last. Johnny Damon homers on the fourth pitch of the game, Derek Lowe makes it stand up and the Red Sox win Game 4 3-0, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals for their first crown since 1918.
2005 — Curtis Joseph makes 13 saves to earn his 400th NHL victory and Mike Comrie scores twice as Phoenix edges Calgary 3-2.
2006 — The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2 in Game 5 to wrap up their first Series title in nearly a quarter-century and 10th overall. The Cardinals had 83 regular-season wins, the fewest by a World Series champion.
2007 — Curlin posts an emphatic victory against his toughest rivals in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Monmouth Park. Ridden by Robby Albarado, Curlin defeats Derby runner-up Hard Spun by 4 1/2 lengths.
2007 — Weber State beats Portland State 73-68 to set an NCAA all-division football record for points in a game. Back in 1916, Georgia Tech beat Cumberland 222-0, but that was before the NCAA kept track of records.
2012 — Matt Scott of Arizona gains 469 total yards and accounts for four TDs in the Wildcats’ 39-36 win over USC. Marqise Lee of USC, catches 16 passes for a Pac-12-record 345 yards and two TDs.
2013 — Matthew Stafford’s 1-yard lunge over a pile of linemen with 12 seconds left and Calvin Johnson’s 329 yards receiving lift the Detroit Lions to a 31-30 comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys. Stafford throws a 22-yard pass to Johnson, who had the second-most yards receiving in NFL history, to set up his winning score.
2013 — Serena Williams ends her best season in style, rallying past Li Na 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 for her second straight WTA Championship and 11th title of the year.
2015 — Alex Gordon hits a tying home run with one out in the ninth inning, Eric Hosmer hits a sacrifice fly against Bartolo Colon in the 14th and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets 5-4 in the longest opener in World Series history.
2015 — American soccer star Abby Wambach announces her retirement.
2020 — Dodgers beat Tampa Bay Rays in Game 6 at Globe Life Field, Arlington Texas to win their first World Series title in 32 years.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
The Sports Report: Rams look revived in win over Raiders, while Luka Doncic leads Lakers to win
Rams get nice win over Raiders
From Gary Klein: What happened in Vegas cannot stay in Vegas.
Not if the Rams want to make a run to the playoffs.
Matthew Stafford must continue to flash his 2025 MVP form. Star receiver Puka Nacua and Rams tight ends must keep carrying a Davante Adams-less receiving corps. Kyren Williams and Blake Corum must build on an impressive combo rushing performance.
And the Rams’ defense must negate potential comebacks.
The Rams displayed all those attributes Sunday in a 35-21 victory over the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
Stafford became the franchise’s all-time leader in touchdown passes by connecting with tight end Davis Allen for two and with Nacua for another in a victory that improved the Rams’ record to 3-4.
“A good step in the right direction,” coach Sean McVay said.
Williams and Corum each rushed for a touchdown as the Rams bounced back from consecutive defeats by the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals to keep alive their turnaround from their third poor start in three seasons.
For the first time in the Rams’ last five games, the outcome did not come down to the final play.
Luka Doncic scores 52 in Lakers victory
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Luka Doncic raised three fingers toward the Utah crowd. Fans were left counting more than just his points.
Doncic hit three clutch three-pointers late in the fourth quarter and took a momentum-swinging charge to lead the Lakers to a nail-biting 132-123 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday at Delta Center. Doncic led the Lakers (3-0) with 52 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as the team fought back from an 18-point second-quarter deficit.
Guard Austin Reaves hit a dagger three with 34 seconds remaining to give the Lakers a seven-point lead. As Doncic salted the game away from the free-throw line, he was serenaded with chants of “MVP!” Reaves finished with 29 points.
“Getting MVP chants in someone else’s arena is crazy,” center Walker Kessler said. “But, you know, obviously deserving.”
Kessler knows this arena well. It’s where he spent the first four years of his career. But the center was quiet in his return to Salt Lake City. After he joined the Lakers in a massive sign-and-trade deal that cost the Lakers two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps and a four-year, $130-million contract, Kessler was held to just two points on one-of-two shooting with seven rebounds.
UCLA’s start has a big flaw
From Mirjam Swanson: In the most complimentary way, I ask: What the heck was that first half, UCLA?
Yes, really. With Saturday’s 28-10 victory over Michigan State, Bob Chesney has the Bruins football team 7-0 for the first time since 2005. Still undefeated and still the only team in the Big Ten — and SEC — conferences that can say so. Ranked No. 9 in the nation and moving on up.
And so I ask: Two lost fumbles before halftime? Two drops? Two holding penalties? A meager 84 yards through the air and a modest 14-7 halftime lead? Against a majorly depleted Michigan State team fielding a freshman third-stringer at quarterback — that also lost two more of its best players to injury in the first half?
These Bruins are too good to be letting the wounded Spartans (2-6, 0-5 Big Ten) hang with them for even a half.
And yet, for a hot moment, doubt started to creep back in: Was this the day Chesney’s chariot turned back into a pumpkin? Was the last petal from the enchanted rose about to fall, this beauty of a season due to turn ugly? Was the fairy tale almost over?
Clippers lose to the Thunder
Shai-Gilgeous Alexander scored 34 points, Ajay Mitchell had 18 off the bench, and the Oklahoma City Thunder stayed undefeated with a 108-101 victory over the Clippers on Sunday night.
Isaiah Hartenstein added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which won its third straight to start the season but lost three players to injury, including All-Star guard Jalen Williams, who went down hard on a drive to the basket with 1:14 left. Williams left the court on a stretcher with towels covering his left leg.
Guard Cason Wallace (left shoulder soreness) and forward Jaylin Williams (right wrist soreness) left the game in the first quarter and did not return. Mitchell was eight-for-14 shooting with six rebounds, four assists and three steals in 28 minutes.
LAFC and Galaxy play to a draw
Leo Walta scored the tying goal in the 62nd minute, and LAFC clinched a playoff spot by rallying from two goals down in the second half for a 2-2 draw with the Galaxy on Sunday night.
Joseph Paintsil scored his first two goals since August as the Galaxy hung on impressively for a point, but endangered their own playoff hopes by blowing the lead in another thrilling El Tráfico derby.
The final seconds of injury time were breathtaking: Galaxy goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski and defender Justin Haak both made spectacular stops on LAFC chances before Denis Bouanga scored on a redirection of Tyler Boyd‘s bicycle kick — only for the play to be ruled offside.
World Series results, schedule
All games at 5 p.m. PT
All game on FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 1 Tampa Bay
at Milwaukee 3, Tampa Bay 2 (box score)
at Milwaukee 5, Tampa Bay 4 (box score)
Monday at Tampa Bay
Tuesday at Tampa Bay
*Wednesday at Tampa Bay
*Friday at Milwaukee
*Saturday at Milwaukee
* if necessary
This day in sports history
1907 — Jim Thorpe makes his Carlisle (Pa.) debut dazzling a crowd of 22,800 in a 26-6 defeat of No. 4 Penn at Philadelphia’s Franklin Field. Thorpe rushes, returns kicks and does all the kicking in putting on a one-man show.
1951 — Joe Louis loses his last fight, an eighth-round TKO to Rocky Marciano at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Marciano knocks Louis down with a left hook in the eighth round. Louis gets to one knee at the count of three and takes an eight-count before getting up. Marciano ends the fight with a right that sends Louis through the ropes and onto the ring apron. Louis’ career record is 66-3 with 52 knockouts.
1968 — Brooks Dawson of Texas El Paso completes 17 of 24 passes for 304 yards in the final 10:21 of the fourth quarter as the Miners beat Brigham Young 31-25.
1968 — Boxer George Foreman beats Ionas Chepulis of the Soviet Union for the gold medal in the heavyweight division at the Mexico Olympic Games.
1970 — Muhammad Ali returns to the ring after a 2 1/2-year layoff due to his refusal to be drafted into the United States Army. Fighting in Atlanta, Ali opened a cut over Jerry Quarry’s left eye with a right hand in the third round, causing the fight to be stopped before the start of the fourth round.
1980 — The St. Louis Cardinals sack quarterback Baltimore quarterback Bert Jones 12 times in a 17-10 victory.
1982 — Philadelphia Phillies Steve Carlton became the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards
1990 — Wayne Gretzky becomes the NHL first player to reach the 2,000-point plateau when he helps set up a goal by Tomas Sandstrom at 14:32 of the first period of the Kings’ game at Winnipeg.
2000 — The New York Yankees become the first team in more than a quarter-century to win three straight World Series titles, beating the New York Mets 4-2. The Yankees match the Oakland Athletics’ three in a row from 1972-74, and win their fourth title in five years.
2002 — Volponi, a 43-1 long shot, finds room along the rail and blows past the fading Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner War Emblem to take the Breeders’ Cup Classic by 6½ lengths ahead of Medaglia d’Oro.
2006 — Ryan Miller stops 29 shots as Buffalo beats the New York Islanders 3-0 to win its 10th straight game. The win matches the best start in NHL history, tying the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs.
2012 — The NHL cancels all its games through the end of November because of the labor dispute between owners and players.
2013 — Octavias McKoy runs for 455 yards, setting an NCAA record for all-divisions, as Division III Western Connecticut State beats Worcester State 55-35. McKoy scores five touchdowns in the game and breaks the rushing record previously held by Dante Brown of Marietta College. Brown ran for 441 on Oct. 5, 1996 against Baldwin-Wallace.
2014 — Serena Williams wins the WTA Tour Finals for the third straight year and fifth time overall, beating Simona Halep 6-3, 6-0. Williams joins Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf as the only players to have won five titles in the season-ending championship.
2014 — Ben Roethlisberger is 40 for 49 for 522 yards and six touchdown passes in Pittsburgh’s 51-34 win over Indianapolis. Roethlisberger became the first player in NFL history with two 500-yard passing games — 503 yards vs. Green Bay on Dec. 20, 2009.
2014 — Abby Wambach scores four goals and the World Cup-bound United States beat Costa Rica 6-0 for its fifth CONCACAF women’s title.
2018 — The longest World Series game by innings and time; Dodgers beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 in the 18th inning (7 hours, 20 minutes) in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium with a Max Muncy walk-off home run.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Couche-Tard makes bid for Cumberland Farms: report
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
The Sports Report: Injured Puka Nacua leaves Rams practice
Puka Nacua leaves practice with injury
From Gary Klein: The Rams’ injury woes continued Thursday when star receiver Puka Nacua left practice because of a calf injury, a team official said.
Nacua was sidelined for two games this season because of a hip injury, but he has played the last three games for a Rams team that opened the season as the Super Bowl favorite but is 2-4 heading into Sunday’s game against the Raiders in Las Vegas.
The Rams are already thin at receiver in the wake of a hamstring injury suffered by Davante Adams during the Rams’ 18-16 defeat by the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday. Adams, 33, will be sidelined for six to 10 weeks, coach Sean McVay said.
It remains to be seen if Nacua, who led the NFL in receptions last season, will play against the Raiders. He has 37 catches for 417 yards and a touchdown, and he has also rushed for a touchdown this season.
Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell and rookie CJ Daniels are other Rams receivers.
Mumpfield, a second-year pro, said he would be ready if called upon for a larger role.
NFL Week 7 picks: Seahawks defeat Chiefs; Rams prevail over Raiders
Walker Kessler has great Lakers debut
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: He spent the offseason admiring the great Lakers centers that came before him. He pondered how he could possibly continue such a legacy.
Turns out, Walker Kessler makes it look easy.
The new Lakers center scored 26 points on 12-for-12 shooting with nine rebounds, one assist and two blocks in his purple and gold debut to help the Lakers (1-0) to a dominant 127-105 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.
After admiring Lakers legends, Kessler can now be mentioned in the same breath. His 12 made field goals without a miss were the most by a Laker since Wilt Chamberlain in 1969. His 10 dunks are the most for a Laker since Shaquille O’Neal in 2003.
Clippers should do more for their fans
From Mirjam Swanson: Starting over has to start somewhere, and so the Clippers got on with it Wednesday.
While Kawhi Leonard got an NBA Finals hero’s welcome upon his return up north in Toronto, the Clippers did what they could to entice fans back to Intuit Dome.
Not with superstars or championship aspirations. But with the promise of free parking, a jersey trade-in and a basketball team that is, at least, better than the Sacramento Kings, who they beat 121-96 in both teams’ season opener. Coach Tyronn Lue dedicated the win to suspended team owner Steve Ballmer: “Just want to say thank you for everything. We’re still fighting for him.”
Yeah, but the Clippers should focus on fighting for their fans, not the billionaire whose apparent salary cap circumvention has the organization in hot water.
Wednesday’s fan appreciation stuff was a swell gesture, as a start. But it wasn’t nearly far-reaching enough.
Dodgers fans should be rooting for Brewers
From Bill Shaikin: The Dodgers have been dead for a week. The sting has dissipated. The World Series starts Friday.
For the first time in three years, Los Angeles faces a Fall Classic with no rooting interest.
Might we suggest the Milwaukee Brewers?
No?
So maybe the sting has not dissipated, not after the Brewers so rudely swept the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. But did you see the thousands of Brewers fans that arose within Dodger Stadium to salute the newly crowned NL champions, sticking around long after the Dodgers fans had retreated to traffic jams in the parking lot?
“It’s a good time to be a Milwaukee Brewers fan, for sure,” NLCS MVP Jake Bauers said. “It’s always fun going into a road stadium, especially in a postseason environment, and coming out with a win and seeing how many people hang around after the game.”
The Brewers are L.A.’s team, at least for the next week.
Budget cuts threaten soccer refugee program
From Kevin Baxter: Mohammed Annour spent much of his youth living in a flimsy shelter in a dusty, overcrowded refugee camp in east Africa, where the days were long, the food was poor and the future nonexistent.
“Go to the army and fight. That’s one option,” said Annour, who fled war in Sudan for the refugee camp in Chad when he was 9. “The other one is you stay there. But you don’t have a future.”
If he had stayed, Annour, now 33, has little doubt how his story would have ended.
“Probably,” he said, “I’m dead.”
Instead, he’s in Sweden, raising two boys, working as a quality control inspector for a textile company and playing amateur soccer for a team in the country’s fifth division. And the only thing that separates his experience from the tens of thousands of desperate people he left behind in the camp is the fact someone believed in him enough to give him a chance.
That would be Katie-Jay Scott and Gabriel Stauring, a pair of South Bay activists who showed up at Annour’s camp on a blazing hot day in 2011, rolled a battered soccer ball across a barren field and transformed an untold number of lives.
Kings defeat Islanders in OT
Artemi Panarin had two goals, Brandt Clarke scored in overtime and the Kings won their second consecutive game, 3-2, at the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
The Kings have back-to-back victories after losing their first six games. They were the final NHL team without a win before defeating Washington on Tuesday night.
The Kings were outplayed for much of the game and were outshot 43 to 26. Panarin beat rusty backup Semyon Varlamov glove side twice, and Darcy Kuemper kept making stops even as his rebound control was lacking, finishing with 41 saves.
Kuemper cracked for the first time with just under six minutes left in the second period when rookie Victor Eklund’s shot squeezed through on a power play. Matthew Schaefer wired a wrist shot past Kuemper 7:06 into the third.
Ducks lose to Devils
Arseny Gritsyuk and Nico Hischier scored first-period goals, Nico Daws made 16 saves and the New Jersey Devils beat the Ducks 4-1 on Thursday night.
Anthony Mantha restored the two-goal lead with 6:33 left in the third, and Jack Hughes added an empty-netter with 6.1 seconds remaining. New Jersey won its second straight to improve to 6-4-0, while the Ducks dropped their fifth in a row to fall to 4-6-0.
Gritsyuk and Hischier each scored their fifth goal of the season, with Jesper Bratt assisting on both scores. Hughes assisted on Gritsyuk’s goal.
MLB postseason schedule
World Series
All games at 5 p.m. PT
All game on FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 1 Tampa Bay
Friday at Milwaukee
Saturday at Milwaukee
Monday at Tampa Bay
Tuesday at Tampa Bay
*Wednesday at Tampa Bay
*Friday at Milwaukee
*Sat., Oct. 31 at Milwaukee
* if necessary
This day in sports history
1921 — Green Bay Packers play 1st APFA (forerunner to NFL) game; beat Minneapolis Marines, 7-6 at Hagemeister Park, Green Bay, Wis.
1945 — Jackie Robinson signs a contract with the Montreal Royals, minor league farm team of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1949 — Don Doll of the Detroit Lions intercepts four passes in a 24-7 victory over the Chicago Cardinals.
1960 — Jim Martin of Detroit becomes the first kicker to kick two field goals over 50 yards in a game as the Lions beat the Baltimore Colts 30-17.
1964 — Joe Frazier dominates German Hans Huber for an easy points win to capture the boxing heavyweight gold medal in Tokyo.
1971 — Greg Pruitt rushes for 294 yards on 19 carries to lead the Oklahoma Sooners to an NCAA record 711 yards rushing and a 75-28 pounding of Kansas State.
1976 — Pittsburgh’s Tony Dorsett rushes for 180 yards in a 45-0 rout over Navy to become the top career rusher in NCAA history with 5,206 yards.
1988 — Dan Marino passes for 521 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions as the Miami Dolphins lose to the New York Jets 44-30. Marino completes 35 of 60 passes as he produces the second-best single-game total yardage in NFL history.
1993 — The Toronto Maple Leafs break the NHL record for most victories at the start of the season, winning their ninth straight game by beating the second-year Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0.
1999 — Florida State’s Bobby Bowden gets his 300th win with a 17-14 win over his son, Clemson coach Tommy Bowden. With the victory Bowden joins Bear Bryant, Pop Warner, Joe Paterno and Amos Alonzo Stagg as the only major college coaches to reach 300 victories.
2000 — The New York Jets, trailing 30-7 at the end of the third quarter, come back to beat the Miami Dolphins 40-37 in overtime on Monday night. The Jets score four touchdowns and a field goal in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
2005 — San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson is held to a career-low seven yards rushing in 17 carries and fails to score in the Chargers’ 20-17 loss at Philadelphia, ending his NFL record-tying streak of games with a touchdown at 18.
2008 — Carolina’s Brandon Sutter gives one of hockey’s most famous families another milestone, scoring his first NHL goal in a 4-1 loss at Pittsburgh. The 19-year-old Sutter, son of New Jersey Devils coach Brent Sutter, is the ninth member of the Sutter family to play in the NHL.
2011 — Tim Tebow rallies the Broncos for two touchdowns in the final 2:44 of the fourth quarter to force overtime, and Matt Prater’s 52-yard field goal gives Denver an improbable 18-15 victory over the stunned Miami Dolphins. The Broncos appeared beaten when they trailed 15-0 with 5:23 left and took over at their 20.
2016 — Jay Ajayi ties an NFL record by surpassing 200 yards rushing for the second game in a row, helping the Miami Dolphins rally past the Buffalo Bills 28-25. Ajayi rushes for 214 yards in 29 carries after totaling 204 yards a week earlier in a win over Pittsburgh.
2019 — All Star point guard Kyrie Irving pours in 50 points, setting a new NBA record for points on debut with a new team as his Brooklyn Nets go down 127-126 at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
The Papers: 'Prepare for the worst' and 'Covid report fallout'
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting’s national campaign on preparedness for cyber or climate emergencies dominates today’s papers.
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Deportations climb under Trump but fall short of White House target, a new report finds
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s administration is on track to deport about 660,000 people over the past year, a new report released Thursday shows, as arrests ramp up across the country fueled by billions of dollars meant to supercharge his immigration agenda.
The report by the Migration Policy Institute shows deportations increased from 620,000 during the first year of Trump’s second administration. The numbers fall short of previous highs in the early 2000s and fail to meet the Trump administration’s promise, made when it received the billions from Congress, that the money would allow for 1 million deportations annually.
The report, based on publicly available data obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, comes after the Trump administration in January 2025 stopped publicly releasing similar figures compiled by the Department of Homeland Security.
Trump, a Republican, returned to power last year promising to stanch crossings at the southern border and crack down on immigration. His administration has pushed through restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration and launched high-profile arrest operations in its bid to force migrants out.
More people being deported, but not at all-time highs
The analysis found that the Department of Homeland Security carried out 980,000 deportations during the first 18 months of the second Trump administration.
During the last fiscal year — when the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement mechanisms were shifting into high gear — an estimated 660,000 people were deported.
According to MPI’s analysis, that’s a 26% increase from the yearly average from 2021 to 2024 during the administration of President Biden, a Democrat, but well below the 1.86 million deportations recorded in 2000, under President Clinton, another Democrat.
Despite the surging arrests, the report details some of the challenges to the Trump administration reaching its deportation targets.
Historically, many immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization were from Mexico and didn’t often seek asylum. But in recent years, migrants have come to the U.S. from a wide range of countries, which can make it more complicated to deport them. And immigration courts, which ultimately decide whether someone can be removed from the country, face more significant case backlogs.
Voluntary departures are increasing as are interior arrests
The report said voluntary departures — when people give up their cases in immigration court and agree to leave the country — were at an “all-time high,” with 170,000 choosing to do so since Trump returned to office in January 2025. People who choose voluntary departure could one day return to the U.S. But some immigrant advocates and lawyers say that people give up their court fight and agree to leave simply to get out of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, detention.
The Trump administration was also increasingly deporting people it arrested in the country’s interior, the report said, reflecting how it was stepping up enforcement against migrants who have been in the country for a long time. In 2025, about 28% of the people deported were arrested inside the country, but by July of this year that had risen to 39%.
Migrants arrested at the southern border still make up a large number of deportations, the report said — 69% of all deportations between Jan. 20, 2025, and July 31, 2026, were of people initially intercepted at the border.
People in the country longer may have more opportunities to contest their removal while the government typically has greater authority to fast-track deportations for people arrested at the border.
The analysis said most people deported have never been convicted of a crime, despite the Trump administration claiming to be targeting the “worst of the worst.” Previous data has showed the same.
In response to the MPI report, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said: “President Trump has delivered the largest reduction in illegal immigration in modern history.”
Trump administration no longer regularly releases immigration data
Homeland Security stopped releasing similar data when Trump took office, making it difficult to track one of his key campaign promises. Figures the Trump administration has released are inconsistent and unverifiable.
The administration says it is transparent. On Tuesday, it released some of its own figures as part of a document boasting of its achievements on immigration, including that 1.2 million migrants have been deported or removed during Trump’s second term. The discrepancy could not immediately be reconciled.
In the absence of regular data, analysts and activists interested in immigration trends have relied on information obtained through lawsuits or limited and sporadic information released by federal agencies to track deportation data.
Santana writes for the Associated Press.
The Sports Report: Lakers win season opener with a rout
Lakers win season opener
From Broderick Turner: As soon as Luka Doncic took the microphone to share some words with the Lakers’ faithful before their first game of the regular season Wednesday night, it was official that this was his team.
“Um, Laker nation. Thank you for supporting us,” Doncic said. “It’s the start of something new. It’s going to be a special season. So, thank you for your support.”
Then the game started and Doncic went right to work, throwing a lob pass to Walker Kessler for a dunk against Golden State at Crypto.com Arena.
Indeed it was the start of the Luka Doncic Show that included him finding an antagonist to direct his ire during the Lakers’ 127-105 win over the Warriors.
“I mean, obviously it’s the Lakers. It’s one of the biggest organizations in the world, if not the biggest,” Doncic said. “Some it’s a very…a lot of honor just to be the face of the franchise, and I hope I can stay here long. And it doesn’t feel…It’s very much an honor and just enjoy this moment.
Doncic and Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg got into a little beef in the second quarter, leading to the Lakers All-Star guard to put in a little more effort while producing 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists with six turnovers.
Doncic got help from Kessler, who was a force with 26 points on 12-for-12 shooting, nine rebounds and two blocked shot in his debut. Ten of his field goals were on dunks, and in the middle of it all, Kessler had several Lakers and NBA milestones.
Lakers center Walker Kessler believes his competitive side will overcome pressure
Clippers win their season opener
From Joaquin Ruiz: Darius Garland, microphone in hand, waited patiently at midcourt to speak before the Clippers tipped off their 2026-27 NBA season against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night at Intuit Dome.
“Clipper Nation, Clipper Nation,” the eighth-year guard said to raucous cheers in Inglewood. “We’ve been working hard all summer, ready to really turn up this year. [We’ll] try to play at the highest level. [I] really appreciate the support from my teammates, coaching staff [and] organization — really appreciate everybody that comes out and … continues to support. We’re gonna be here all year.
“Clipper Nation, let’s go.”
Garland wasted no time giving Clippers fans something to smile about after an offseason of torment and transformation. He started the game shooting five-for-five from the field and three-for-three from deep, scoring 16 points in nine minutes and fueling the Clippers’ 121-96 blowout win over the Kings.
Dodgers should not let Shohei Ohtani pitch
From Bill Plaschke: As they head into an offseason of overdue rest and roster reshaping, the Dodgers really only face one obstacle.
But it’s a $700-million obstacle. It’s a 5,400-mile obstacle. It’s an obstacle whose gravitas can be found in everything from international sponsorships to stadium tours, an obstacle with expansive implications and crushing consequences.
The Dodgers have a Shohei Ohtani problem.
He is their best player… and their biggest pain.
He is insanely charming… and unrelentingly stubborn.
He has derived his worldwide popularity from his ability to hit and pitch with equal prowess, a deft duality unmatched in the history of baseball. This ability has helped earn him four MVP awards and status as the unofficial greatest player ever.
But, he’s changing. His body is changing. His skills are changing. He’s 32, with 13 seasons of pro baseball burdening his lumbering 6-foot-4 frame, and part of his game is slowly disintegrating under the weight.
After NLCS exit, Dodgers face big questions about their aging lineup and future
Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing to undergo elbow surgery for partial UCL tear
Angels part ways with manager Kurt Suzuki
The Angels have fired manager Kurt Suzuki after he lost 100 games in his only season in charge of the long-struggling club.
Baseball operations consultant John Mozeliak announced Wednesday that the Angels declined the option on Suzuki’s contract and would open a search for a new manager in 2027. Suzuki has been offered the opportunity to stay with the organization as a special assistant.
“Kurt has earned tremendous respect in our clubhouse, and I’ve seen firsthand how much he cares about our players,” Mozeliak said in a statement. “I do not believe our record this year was a true reflection of his true abilities as a manager.”
MLB postseason schedule
World Series
All games at 5 p.m. PT
All game on FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 1 Tampa Bay
Friday at Milwaukee
Saturday at Milwaukee
Monday at Tampa Bay
Tuesday at Tampa Bay
*Wednesday at Tampa Bay
*Friday, Oct. 30 at Milwaukee
*Sat., Oct. 31 at Milwaukee
* if necessary
This day in sports history
1933 — Primo Carnera retains the world heavyweight title with a 15-round decision over Paolino Uzcudun in Rome.
1950 — The Rams beat the Baltimore Colts 70-27.
1961 — Erich Barnes of the New York Giants ties an NFL record by returning an interception 102 yards for a touchdown in a 17-16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
1966 — Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins scores his first goal.
1975 — The 10-team World Football League, citing lack of television and season ticket support, disbands before the 12th week of a 20-week season.
1975 — The Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park to win the World Series in seven games.
1976 — Twin brothers Tom and Dick Van Arsdale play together in a game for the Phoenix Suns, becoming the first and only pair of brothers to play for the same NBA club.
1984 — Future Pro Football HOF quarterback Ken Stabler retires after 17 seasons in the NFL with Oakland Raiders, Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints.
1994 — Alcorn State’s Steve McNair becomes the NCAA’s career yardage leader with 15,049, surpassing the old mark set by Brigham Young’s Ty Detmer, who had 14,665. McNair’s 649 yards also breaks his own Division I-AA single-game record as he leads the Braves to a 41-37 win over Southern.
2000 — Bengals running back Corey Dillon rushes for an NFL single-game record 278 yards in a 31-21 victory over the Denver Broncos. Dillon betters Walter Payton’s 27-year-old mark by three yards.
2001 — New York routs Seattle 12-3 in Game 5 to win the AL pennant for the 38th time. The Yankees become the first team since their predecessors in 1960-64 to win four straight pennants.
2005 — Mount Union drops a regular-season game for the first time since 1994, losing 21-14 to Ohio Northern in a Division III matchup. The Purple Raiders, winners of 110 straight regular-season games, had not lost a regular-season game since they were beaten 23-10 by Baldwin-Wallace on Oct. 15, 1994.
2012 — Lance Armstrong is stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life by cycling’s governing body after a report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that accuses him of leading a massive doping program on his teams.
2014 — Serena Williams is routed 6-0, 6-2 by Simona Halep in the WTA Finals round-robin, one of the most one-sided losses in the 18-time Grand Slam champion’s career. The last time Williams managed to win just two games in a WTA Tour or Grand Slam match was in 1998 when she was 16.
2016 — Kyle Hendricks outpitches Clayton Kershaw, Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras homers early and the Chicago Cubs won their first pennant since 1945, beating the Dodgers 5-0 in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series.
2016 — Baker Mayfield has seven touchdown passes and 545 yards to help No. 16 Oklahoma beat Texas Tech 66-59 in the game that breaks the NCAA record for combined offensive yards with 1,708 yards.
2016 — Leonard Fournette breaks LSU’s single-game rushing record in just his first eight carries as the No. 25 Tigers beat No. 23 Mississippi 38-21. Fournette finishes with 284 yards rushing in his first action since aggravating a left ankle injury on Sept. 24. He averages 17.8 yards in 16 carries and his touchdowns go for 78, 76 and 59 yards.
2017 — The Phoenix Suns fire coach Earl Watson just three games in to the NBA season.
2020 — The NHL announced its annual All-Star Game and Skills Competition would be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2024 — LeBron and Bronny James become the first father-son duo in NBA history to appear in a game together as Lakers beat Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.