Defenseman Brandt Clarke has agreed to a five-year, $37 million deal to stay with the Kings.
The Kings announced the deal Friday for Clarke, the eighth overall pick in 2021 who has grown into the new cornerstone of their defense.
Clarke had career highs of eight goals and 32 assists while playing in all 82 regular-season games last season for the Kings, who lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. He was third in the NHL with 185 blocked shots, and he finished fourth on the LA roster in scoring.
The 23-year-old Clarke spent parts of the past four seasons with the Kings, but has been an NHL regular for only two years. Kings general manager Ken Holland still saw enough to lock down the mobile defenseman through the 2030-31 season.
The Kings hired Peter Laviolette as their head coach earlier this month, and Clarke’s offensive skill fits well into the team’s possible evolution away from its traditional defense-first mentality to a more aggressive club under Laviolette.
Clarke was the Kings’ most prominent restricted free agent heading into the summer, but Holland also must make decision on unrestricted free agents Andrei Kuzmenko and Scott Lawton.
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — The USGA set up a different golf course at Shinnecock Hills to keep it playable in strong wind. And when the wind subsided late Thursday afternoon, Wyndham Clark looked like he was playing in a different U.S. Open.
Clark seized on a more gentle course — slightly calmer and still soft with receptive greens — by pulling away late to reach six-under-par through 16 holes.
He left in darkness with a four-shot lead over seven players, one of them Oklahoma junior Ryder Cowan, another the surprisingly resurgent Dustin Johnson.
Rory McIlroy thought he had made a fine effort with a 69 in gusts that topped 30 mph in the middle of the day, when the scoring average was well above 74. The afternoon started tough until the wind kept subsiding, and players began taking aim at flags. The afternoon wave was playing at least a stroke easier than the early starters who faced relentless wind.
“Everything was kind of clicking,” said Clark, who came into the U.S. Open playing as well as anyone. “We were definitely fortunate with the wind laying down. Overall a good round.”
Shinnecock was still a brute of a test, but the red numbers on the white scoreboard were an unfamiliar site for this course. When play was suspended by darkness, 17 players were under par.
Xander Schauffele hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during the second round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Friday.
(George Walker IV / Associated Press)
The lowest opening round in the previous five U.S. Opens at Shinnecock is 66, last done by three players in 2004.
Cowan birdied his last hole for a 68 to join former Sooner Max McGreevy and former Oklahoma State player Sam Stevens, the only one of that trio who faced the harsh wind of the morning wave.
Johnson, in his final year of being exempt from the U.S. Open he won at Oakmont in 2016, ran off four straight birdies and was tied with Clark after 13 holes. But Johnson failed to get up-and-down for birdie on the easy par-five fifth, where Clark made eagle. And then Johnson three-putted from short range for double bogey on the sixth to fall four shots behind.
Scottie Scheffler, who needs the U.S. Open to complete the career Grand Slam, battled all day and relied heavily on his short game to salvage a 72. It was his 10th consecutive U.S. Open round without breaking par, but at the time it left him only four shots out of the lead.
Clark, who won the U.S. Open in Los Angeles three years ago, changed the look of the leaderboard. He was to return Friday morning to complete the round, then head out for the second round in wind expected to be not as strong.
One key to his round might have happened some five hours before he even showed up.
Thirty minutes after the round began, play was stopped because of fog so dense it was difficult to see the fairway and the green on the par-three 11th. The two-hour delay pushed back tee times.
The forecast was for the strongest wind of the week during the brightest part of Thursday.
“I would say when I got my tee times on Tuesday, I was like, ‘Oh, could be a tough draw,’” Clark said. “That two-hour fog delay was very helpful, and it was really nice it laid down. So it definitely helped those last six, seven holes we played.”
His golf wasn’t too shabby, either. Clark started on No. 10 and opened with two quick birdies. He went out in 32 to get his name atop the leaderboard. And after missing an eight-foot birdie putt on No. 1 and failing to save par from a bunker on the long par-three second, he took off.
He hit wedge to five feet on No. 3 for birdie, made a 20-foot birdie putt on the next and then from 207 yards with some wind at his back, he hit his second on the par-five fifth to within three feet for eagle.
When Johnson faltered, Clark had plenty of breathing room — and a quick turnaround.
The wind was so strong and the conditions so severe that it took Scheffler’s group nearly three hours to complete nine holes. There was a question the round could have finished even without the fog delay.
Only 27 out of the 77 players from the afternoon wave — Jason Day withdrew because of a back injury — finished the first round.
Dustin Johnson reacts after missing a putt on the sixth hole during the second round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Friday.
(Gerald Herbert / Associated Press)
Johnson was joined by three other U.S. Open champions — Matt Fitzpatrick (2022), Gary Woodland (2019) and Jon Rahm (2021) — at two under, with all still having holes to play.
Rahm, who had a chance in the final hour at the PGA Championship, was bogey-free and reached two under by making a 60-foot birdie putt on the par-three 17th hole.
Stevens overcame a double bogey to start his round — a hole that took him over two hours to play because of the fog — and strung together six birdies for his 68.
“The greens haven’t been too firm, the fairways haven’t been too firm, so I’ve really felt like it’s pretty scorable,” said Stevens, who had only his second sub-70 round in his fourth U.S. Open. “Obviously, it’s difficult, but overall it’s an awesome place. I think the setup is great right now.”
For half of the opening round, the USGA appeared to have the ideal test. Coming off two Opens at Shinnecock when the course got out of control, it slowed greens to 10 1/2 on the Stimpmeter — rare for any major, much less the U.S. Open — and keep plenty of water on the putting surfaces.
It was all because of the wind, which did not disappoint. The sustained wind approached 25 mph, and gusts were even stronger. And if that wasn’t enough, it shifted directions in the middle of the day.
“It was tough around here without wind, and then it was blowing pretty hard — really hard,” Keegan Bradley said after a 70. “The USGA did a great job setting the course up because if the greens were any faster or firmer, we might not be playing right now.”
But they played, it became more ideal with each passing hour late in the afternoon.
Lionel Messi becomes the World Cup’s joint-top all-time leading scorer with a hat-trick, as reigning champions Argentina begin their defence with a 3-1 win over Algeria.
Wyatt-Hodge always been one of England’s most fascinating cricketers. She jokes and smiles, but that should never be confused with anything but fierce determination.
As a cricketer, she as resilient as they come.
Wyatt-Hodge made her debut in the same Mumbai ODI as Heather Knight and the pair are now the longest-serving members of this England set-up.
From the World Cup win at Lord’s in 2017 to last year’s Ashes drubbing down under. Together they have witnessed it all.
But while Knight was front and centre nine years ago as captain, Wyatt-Hodge was a bit-part player. She played five matches before others returned from injury for the trophy tilt.
Now, at 35, there is still time for this career’s defining chapter.
While Wyatt-Hodge took her parental leave, debate bubbled about who would be England’s openers when the big time came in this tournament.
Sophia Dunkley’s form faltered and Amy Jones was promoted. The one certainty, despite her absence, was always England’s diminutive right-hander.
Bleary-eyed from the sleepless nights, she made 29 when she did return against India last month in Bristol. Three single-figure scores followed but again England did not waver.
“Some people just need a bit of pressure and a bit of ‘something’ on a game,” said another former team-mate Katherine Sciver-Brunt, who watched on from the commentary box.
“This is exactly the sort of environment she needs.
“As a cricketer you can thrive or you can go within yourself, and she thrives with situations like these.
“Don’t be surprised if she is the highest run-scorer of this tournament now.”
It was also fitting that when Wyatt-Hodge reached three figures, captain Nat Sciver-Brunt was at the other end.
Like Wyatt-Hodge she is a cricketer and mum. Like Wyatt-Hodge she rocked her bat to celebrate reaching three figures at last year’s 50-over World Cup.
Coincidentally both tons were against the same opposition.
“It was really nice to have her in the middle to celebrate that hundred – two mummies,” Wyatt-Hodge said.
“I got a bit nervous at the end when the crowd was cheering me on. Nat said just take a breath and time it. I was really determined.”
As Wyatt-Hodge took the crowd’s acclaim and left the field, it was the jettisoned Dunkley who met her first by the boundary edge.
There is a togetherness building in this squad and Wyatt-Hodge is one of its most popular members.
“It was pretty emotional. A few of the girls said they had a few tears,” she said of those moments returning to the dressing room.
It was Graham Gooch who coined the phrase ‘Daddy Hundred’. This was one of the mummy variety.
After everything, few are more deserving of this moment in the sun than Wyatt-Hodge.
Sparks guard Kelsey Plum should be set to return to action on Friday against the Dallas Wings.
Plum, who leads the WNBA in scoring, missed the last three games with a sprained ankle injury she sustained in practice. She practiced in full on Thursday, and head coach Lynne Roberts seemed optimistic that she would play.
“I think so,” Roberts said when asked if Plum would play. “She looks good. Hopefully she can play.”
Plum led the Sparks to a 101-95 win in Las Vegas on May 23 and has been one of the best shooters in the league.
She said she feels ready to play on Friday.
“I hated it,” she said of watching from the bench. “I have been just rehabbing like a maniac, sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber, red lighting my way back.”
In her absence, the Sparks went 1-2 and averaged 83 points, including their worst offensive game of the season on Tuesday in a loss to the Aces.
“She’s kind of the engine that makes everything go,” Roberts said on Thursday. “We’ve sputtered a little bit offensively.”
Before this injury, Plum had missed only four games in her nine-year career because of injury.
The Sparks are 4-5 after starting the season with high hopes to make a return to the postseason.
Coming off a dreadful loss in Connecticut to the worst team in the WNBA, the Sparks needed a strong response.
In their first home game after the road trip, that did not happen until far too late.
The Sparks were always just out of reach in their 79-69 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night, despite Rae Burrell’s career-high 22 points and a late comeback bid. It was the fewest they have scored in a game since Aug. 9 of last season when they scored 59 points.
Last time the Sparks faced the Aces on May 23, they went into Las Vegas and scored 29 points in the fourth quarter for a tremendous road win, powered by Kelsey Plum.
But Plum, who leads the WNBA with 26.8 points per game, is still out with a right ankle sprain, and the Sparks (4-5) offense suffered for it. Other than Burrell’s scoring, the rest of the Sparks offense combined to shoot 12-for-51.
They also entered the night with the league’s worst defense. It’s always going to be difficult to stop A’ja Wilson (25 points), but the Sparks had few answers for Jackie Young (16 points, nine assists) who spaced out the Aces (6-3) offense.
It still was far from their worst defensive showing of the season, and mostly they couldn’t claw their way back with a paltry 30.8% from the field. In fact, the Aces scored just 15 points in the fourth, giving the Sparks a window to come back, but they shot 29.4% in the frame.
The Sparks fell into a 15-point hole in the second after going nearly three minutes without scoring. Burrell scored seven of her points in that frame, though, to ignite a 20-point quarter and the Sparks trailed 37-30 at the half.
But the Aces quickly earned a 13-point lead early in the third and stayed up double digits until near the end of the fourth when Burrell made it a seven-point game.
Plum missed her fourth consecutive game since injuring her right ankle in practice. She participated in shootaround Tuesday even after being ruled out, and head coach Lynne Roberts said she was day-to-day.
But the Aces were also shorthanded, without Dana Evans, Jewel Loyd and Chennedy Carter, who is second on the Aces in scoring despite coming off the bench. That forced the Aces to run some sets with Wilson at small forward and a much-larger front court in front of her before NaLyssa Smith ran into foul trouble.
The Sparks forwards struggled with that, with Dearica Hamby, Nneka Ogwumike and Cameron Brink combining to shoot six-for-27, including an 0-for-7 night from Hamby.
The Sparks next host Dallas (6-3) on Friday night.
SAN DIEGO — Ryan Hollingshead scored his first goal this season in the 14th minute of stoppage time and Denis Bouanga added a goal for LAFC on Saturday night in a 2-2 tie with San Diego FC.
Mathieu Choiniere’s soft header off a corner kick played to the back post by David Martinez bounced in front of the goal and Hollingshead slammed home the finish to cap the scoring.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored two goals — his first career multi-goal game in MLS — for San Diego.
Anders Dreyer played a corner kick to the near post and Ingvartsen headed home the finish to open the scoring in the seventh minute.
On the counter-attack, Dreyer played a cross from the right side to Ingvartsen, who knocked down the ball with his first touch and then blasted a shot from the center of the area inside the left post and into the side-net to make it 2-0 in the 71st minute.
Ingvartsen has seven goals and two assists this season. The 30-year-old had two goals and one assist in eight appearances, five starts, in 2025, his first season in MLS.
Denis Bouanga scored in the 82nd minute, LAFC’s first shot on goal. Bouanga, who has scored at least 20 goals in each of the last three seasons, has five goals this season.
LAFC (6-2-3) beat Minnesota 1-0 last time out to snap a three-game winless streak.
San Diego (3-5-3) snapped a five-game losing streak.
CJ Dos Santos made his season debut and had three saves for San Diego but left due to injury in stoppage time and was replaced by Duran Ferree. The 24-year-old Dos Santos, who had 10 shutouts last season, suffered a fractured cheekbone and orbital floor fracture in a playoff loss at Portland on Nov. 1.
Mathias Laborda scored in the 82nd minute for the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night, sealing a 1-1 tie with the Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.
The Whitecaps (8-1-1), who were only the second MLS team in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to win eight of their first nine games to begin a season, had their club regular-season record four-game win streak snapped.
Sebastian Berhalter played a free kick from the left side to the back post and Laborda headed home the finish from point-blank range to cap the scoring.
The Whitecaps had 58% possession and outshot the Galaxy 19-7, including a 5-2 edge in on target shots.
Joseph Paintsil opened the scoring in the 46th minute. Lucas Sanabria, in the opening seconds of the second half, stole a misplayed ball from Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka and fed Paintsil for a finish from the right side of the area.
JT Marcinkowski had four saves for the Galaxy (3-4-4).
Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson scored 42 seconds apart in the third period, Mikael Granlund had a goal and two assists, and the Ducks celebrated their first home playoff game in eight years with a 7-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers and a 2-1 series lead on Friday night.
Jeffrey Viel and Jackson LaCombe also scored in the third and Lukas Dostal made 20 saves for the upstart Ducks, who have poured in 16 goals in three games to take an early lead in this first-round series against the two-time Western Conference champion Oilers. Mason McTavish and Alex Killorn scored early goals.
Backed by a raucous sellout crowd hungry for Orange County’s first playoff hockey since 2018, the Ducks overcame their season-long defensive shortcomings by outscoring the powerhouse Oilers even after Connor McDavid recorded his first points of the series.
Game 4 is Sunday night in Anaheim.
McDavid had a power-play goal in the third period and an assist for Edmonton. Vasily Podkolzin, Kasperi Kapanen and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored, and Connor Ingram stopped 32 shots.
Appropriately for a defense-deficient series, the Ducks capitalized on two transition sequences early in the third to take control.
Moments after Sennecke ripped a wrist shot for the tiebreaking goal and the precocious rookie’s first playoff point, Carlsson clinically finished a textbook 2-on-1 rush with Troy Terry.
McDavid trimmed the Oilers’ deficit with a fortunate deflection off Pavel Mintyukov’s stick, but the Oilers superstar short-circuited another power play later in the third by cross-checking Tyson Hinds.
Viel then flipped home a backhand with 3:03 left to cap a strong game by the Ducks’ fourth line, and LaCombe lofted home an empty-net goal all the way from the Ducks’ goal line to seal Anaheim’s first home playoff victory since May 14, 2017, in the conference finals against Nashville.
The clubs split the series’ first two games in Edmonton, but the Ducks demonstrated they could stay with the playoff-tested Oilers despite the obvious deficiencies of an inexperienced group that allowed more goals this season than any other playoff team.
Anaheim rode the wave of crowd energy and dominated play early in Game 3, putting 20 shots on Ingram in the first period. Killorn tied it for Anaheim in the second with his 39th career playoff goal.
Oilers forwards Adam Henrique and Jason Dickinson missed Game 3 with injuries.
