CHICAGO — The eventual end of the USC men’s basketball season came the same way that it fizzled out during the past month, with yet another second-half collapse that featured the added pain of overtime.
The Trojans led the Huskies by 13 in the second half and had chances to win at the end of regulation and overtime, only to miss all three potential game-winning or game-tying shots and go 2-for-5 from the free-throw line in overtime. For a team that was once in NCAA tournament consideration before stumbling, that failure to finish was a persistent flaw.
USC guard Alijah Arenas talks with coach Eric Musselman during the Trojans’ loss to the Huskies in the Big Ten tournament on Wednesday in Chicago.
(Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
“That’s been the story of our last eight games,” Musselman said. “I think we’ve led at halftime four of our last eight games, and as a group, we haven’t figured out how to close games, the last 20 minutes with a lead. It’s a disappointing last eight games of the season. I thought up until that point we played good basketball.”
With the Trojans likely to decline any postseason invitation, Musselman said, he was headed to the team hotel Tuesday night to get back to work filling out next season’s recruiting class, starting with more freshmen before the transfer portal officially opens next month.
That group already includes two top-30 recruits in the Ratliff twins, Adonis and Darius, but if USC learned anything from the way this season ended, all too similar to the way last season ended, it’s that whatever depth and talent Musselman has assembled in his two years at USC hasn’t been enough, whether that’s freshmen or transfers.
“We want a blend of both,” Musselman said. “It’s early in our tenure, and we’ve got to figure out a way to get better than what we’ve done the last two years.”
Tuesday, the Trojans had no shortage of chances to fend off the end.
They had a double-digit lead with 13 minutes to play. They had the ball at the end of regulation with the score tied. They had a chance to win it in overtime and were gifted a last-chance shot to tie it.
They missed all three pivotal shots — the first two by Kam Woods, the last a 3-pointer by Jordan Marsh — to see a game they once led comfortably slip away again and again.
“On the last one, I feel like I missed Ezra [Ausar] on that cut,” said Woods, a grad transfer who joined the team in midseason. “Coach trusted me with the ball in my hands, and I feel like I let him down.”
Woods finished with 24 points while Jacob Cofie scored 14, Marsh 13 and Ausar and Ryan Cornish 10 each for 13th-seeded USC (18-14) as the 12th-seeded Huskies (16-16) beat the Trojans for the third time this season.
Freshman Alijah Arenas, who led the Trojans in scoring in both games without Baker-Mazara, was held to six points on 3-for-10 shooting and sat out the final six minutes of regulation and all but eight seconds of overtime. Musselman said that was his decision, as was the virtual absence of senior Terrance Williams, who played only one minute.
That left USC with what was essentially a six-player rotation to conclude a season that began without the injured Arenas and ended without Rodney Rice and Amarion Dickerson, both hurt, as well as the departed Baker-Mazara — all of which factored into Musselman’s position on any postseason plans.
“I haven’t had in-depth conversations with the administration yet about that, but I would assume we’re not going to play, just based on the number of bodies and how we played the last eight games,” Musselman said.
It was not all that long ago that USC was thinking about the NCAA tournament. Winners of the Maui Invitational, USC was 18-6 and above .500 in the Big Ten standings after a February 8 win at Penn State, solidly in a workable position on the NCAA tournament bubble.
But as the injuries mounted and momentum waned, second-half struggles just like the Trojans’ on Tuesday became an increasingly fatal flaw as they slumped to their longest losing streak in a decade. The loss to Washington compounded the misery of a second straight frustrating season, in familiar fashion.
“As a team, we faced a lot of adversity,” Cofie said. “I felt like we did a good job sticking with it and trying to play for each other. We had to deal with a lot of injuries. I felt like that played a huge deal in it. We still fought. We tried our best.”
Lakers star Luka Doncic was fined $50,000 on Tuesday for directing an “inappropriate and unprofessional gesture toward a game official” during the Lakers’ win over the New York Knicks on Sunday, the NBA announced.
The moment came during the third quarter when Doncic didn’t get the charge call after stepping in front of Knicks forward Mohamed Diawara in transition. Diawara dumped off a pass to Josh Hart for an easy layup, while Doncic, lying flat on his back under the basket, looked at the closest official and rubbed his fingers together as if flashing money.
Doncic was not penalized during the game, which the Lakers won 110-97, but he has had his battles with referees this season. With 15 technical fouls, he is just one away from a mandatory one-game suspension. He is one technical foul behind league leader Dillon Brooks.
Doncic did later draw a charge in the game. He has drawn a career-high 12 charges this season, which ranks third on the team. The Lakers lead the NBA in charges drawn with 53, led by Marcus Smart’s 16 and Austin Reaves’ 14.
Brand new episodes of One Piece are now available to stream as of today (March 10). Fresh instalments adapt several story arcs from the original source material which was previously turned into a popular anime.
The first season of the live-action version debuted exclusively on the streaming service back in August 2023. It means fans have been eagerly awaiting the continuation of the Straw Hat crew’s adventures.
Based on the Japanese manga series by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece follows Monkey D. Luffy on his journey to find the legendary treasure, the One Piece, in his quest to become King of the Pirates. The second season is subtitled Into The Grand Line.
Who is in the cast One Piece Season 2 on Netflix?
All members of the Straw Hats crew return for the live-action series’ second outing. They are lead by Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate bestowed with the power of stretching from eating a Devil Fruit as a child.
His ultimate goal is to find the One Piece and become the next King of the Pirates. Mexican actor Godoy has previously appeared in The Imperfects on Netflix.
Emily Rudd also returns as Nami, a cat burglar and expert cartographer. Rudd has previously starred in Fear Street Parts Two and Three as well as thriller series Hunters.
Mackenyu stars as swordsman Roronoa Zoro, an ex-bounty hunter who becomes Luffy’s first mate shortly after their first encounter. He trains regularly to become the world’s greatest swordsman. Mackenyu previously appeared in Pacific Rim Uprising and recently voiced Gennojo in the game Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Jacob Romero Gibson plays Usopp, master storyteller and estranged son of an infamous pirate. He aspires to be a brave warrior of sea. He has also appeared in episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and The Resident.
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This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like Stranger Things and The Last of Us.
Taz Skylar also returns as Sanji, the master chef and martial artist who only fights with his legs to protect his hands for cooking. He is searching for the All Blue, a mythical connection point of the Four Seas. Spanish-British actor Skylar, is also known for Boiling Point and The Lazarus Project.
The newest member of the Straw Hats for Season 2 is Tony Tony Chopper. They are a reindeer capable of walking and talking like humans after consuming a Devil Fruit, who also happens to study as a medical practitioner. Providing Chopper’s voice is Mikaela Hoover, known for turns as Cat Grant in 2025’s Superman while she’ll also appear in the new season of Beef on Netflix.
Aside from the main crew, they have a number of familiar adversaries on their tail. It includes Koby, the former cabin boy of the Alvida Pirates Luffey rescued back in the first episode. He has since become a Marine in his tracking his former pal down. He is once again played by Morgan Davies whose recent credits include Evil Dead Rise.
Marine Vice Admiral Garp is also on the Straw Hats’ tail. He was also revealed during season one to be Luffey’s estranged Grandfather. He’s played by Welsh actor Vincent Regan, whose credits include Shetland, House of the Dragon, The Bay and Poldark to name a few.
Also confirmed to return is Jeff Ward as Buggy the Clown, the circus-themed captain of the Buggy Pirates. Buggy has the power to split his body into pieces and control each part remotely. Like Luffey, his unique ability comes from eating a Devil Fruit. Ward has previously appeared in Hacks and Agents of Shield.
Who are in the Baroque Works?
There are not the only ones our heroes need to worry about though. A brand new faction is introduced and causing trouble on the Grand Line. Namely, a mysterious group of assassins who call themselves Baroque Works.
Their leader is the mysterious Mr. O, played by Joe Manganiello. The actor is easily recognisable for his turns in True Blood and his uncredited appearance as Deathstroke in Zac Snyder’s Justice League.
Bridgerton star Charithra Chandran is also part of the group as Miss Wednesday while she also has her own agenda. Her partner is Mr 9, played by Raised by Wolves actor Daniel Lasker.
David Dastmalchian stars as Mr. 3 described as “creepy artist serial killer of Baroque Works.” Dastmalchian previous roles include Oppenheimer, Ant-Man, The Suicide Squad and Late Night With The Devil.
The OA actor Camrus Johnson is Mr 5, while Lioness star Jazzara Jaslyn plays Miss Valentine. They are joined by Exterritorial’s Lera Abova as Miss All Sunday alongside The School for Good and Evil’s Sophia Anne Carusoas as Miss Goldenweek.
One Piece is streaming on Netflix.
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Travis Kelce will return for another season with the Kansas City Chiefs, who have also agreed a deal to sign Kenneth Walker, according to reports.
Kelce, a three-time Super Bowl winner, has spent his entire NFL career with the Chiefs and the veteran tight end is out of contract after his 13th season.
But a social media post, external by New Heights, the podcast he produces with his brother Jason, said: “He’s back! Travis Kelce is back with the Chiefs for year 14.”
Kansas City hoped the 36-year-old would commit to another season and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Kelce has turned down more lucrative offers, external from other teams to agree a one-year deal worth up to $15m (£11.2m).
After reaching five Super Bowls in six years, the Chiefs missed the play-offs last season for the first time since the 2014 campaign.
During the regular season, Walker passed 1,000 rushing yards for the second time in four years with the Seattle Seahawks, and the 25-year-old then helped fill the void after fellow running back Zach Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL in the play-offs.
Walker led the NFL for most carries (65), rushing yards (313) and rushing touchdowns (four) during the post-season, becoming the first running back to be the Super Bowl MVP since 1998.
Champions Seattle were willing to let Walker test the free agency market and he will become the first Super Bowl MVP to immediately switch to a new team since 2003.
The league’s so-called legal tampering period begins Monday at 9 a.m. PT, when teams are allowed to start negotiating with the agents for players who are about to become unrestricted free agents. No contracts can actually be signed, however, until the the start of the new NFL league year, which is Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT.
So, basically, fans will start finding out what moves their teams make and where various players will land starting Monday morning.
Hours before the legal tampering period started, the Miami Dolphins announced they will release longtime quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The 2023 All Star will count $99 million against the Dolphins’ salary cap, the biggest dead cap hit in NFL history. The money can be split over the next two seasons if Tagovailoa is designated a post-June 1 release.
In six years with the Dolphins, Tagovailoa went 44-32 as a starter, completing 68% of his passes for 18,166 yards with 120 touchdowns and 59 interceptions. He made the Pro Bowl in 2023.
“Wearing this jersey and representing this city has been one of the greatest joys of my life,” Tagovailoa wrote Monday on Instagram, adding: “I also carry deep regret that I couldn’t get the job done and bring a championship home to this city. Miami deserves that, and I’ll always wish I could have delivered it for you.”
Who are some of the other big names in the free agency market? As far as quarterbacks are concerned, Green Bay Packers backup Malik Willis could be a hot commodity. Daniel Jones is a free agent after a strong season with Indianapolis, although the Colts placed the transition tag on him and can match any offer.
Veteran quarterback Kyler Murray was informed by the Arizona Cardinals last week that they will be letting him go at the start of the new league year. The Atlanta Falcons have made a similar announcement regarding Kirk Cousins. Other available veteran quarterbacks include Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco, Russell Wilson and Marcus Mariota.
Teams in need of a running back might be interested in the services of Kenneth Walker III, who will be a free agent just weeks after he was named Super Bowl LX MVP as a member of the Seattle Seahawks. Travis Etienne of the Jacksonville Jaguars could also find a new home.
This also seems to be a big year for free agent edge rushers (including Trey Hendrickson, Jaelan Phillips, Odafe Oweh, K’Lavon Chaisson and Boye Mafe) and wide receivers (including Alec Pierce, Mike Evans, Romeo Doubs, Rashid Shaheed and Jauan Jennings).
Check back here for updates as teams begin making moves.
The Sidemen’s reality series is returning to Netflix in a matter of days
Samantha King Content Editor
14:22, 09 Mar 2026
Influencers will be battling for a gigantic prize pot in Season 3 of Inside(Image: Netflix)
A third season of The Sidemen’s hit reality show Inside is now just days away from release, with a first trailer arriving today (March 9).
The reality series established by the YouTube collective brings together 12 internet personalities who must compete in high-stakes challenges for an eye-watering sum of money. The group will all live under one roof over the course of a week as they compete for the prize pot stands at a whopping £1m.
The group must buy everything from basic necessities through to luxuries, all offered at an inflated price. However, in a brutal twist the cost of any of the goods are deducted straight from the prize pot. During one scene in the trailer, one of the cast is shown ordering “15 prosecco”, totalling £45,000.
Among the stars of the upcoming season are Geordie Shore star Chloe Ferry, lifestyle creator Saffron Barker, streamer Marlon Lundgren Garcia and even the former World’s Strongest Man, Eddie Hall. Rounding out the cast are Ben Azelart, Lydia Violet, Alhan Gençay, Chian Reynolds, Anna Malygon, Expressions Oozing and Alfie Buttle.
Netflix’s official synopsis for the show states: “One house. One million pounds. A whole lot of influencers. Content creators take on a series of jaw-dropping challenges for the potential to win a huge prize fund in this reality series from viral YouTubers, the Sidemen.”
While many fans are circling their diaries for the March 23 release date, the trailer was flooded by angry Netflix subscribers who all made the same demand: the release of the XO, Kitty Season 3 trailer. The streaming giant announced the romcom’s latest season trailer would be released today, but so far it hasn’t been made available.
“YOUU YOU CAN POST THIS BUT NOT XO KITTY???!!!” one fan fumed in the comments. “XO KITTY SEASON 3 WHERE IS IT?” penned a second.
“THEY’RE DROPPING EVERYTHING BESIDES THE XO KITTY SEASON 3 TRAILER” another remarked, accompanied by a crying emoji and a wilting rose. “WE ARE WAITING FOR XO KITTY COME ON,” demanded someone else. “I literally thought after seeing notification XO KITTY i was so excited,” said another fan.
Meanwhile genuine Inside fans expressed their excitement for what was to come. “Expressions doing this is going to be so hilarious,” one remarked. “It is going to be entertaining, ik that,” another added.
Season 3 of The Sidemen’s Inside reality series will land on Netflix on March 23.For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.
Peaky Blinders fans want to know if there will be another series of the show
The Peaky Blinders franchise will be continuing(Image: BBC)
Peaky Blinders is once again enthralling viewers after the cinematic release of The Immortal Man hit theatres last week, ahead of its Netflix premiere later this month.
Many enthusiasts are now pondering the future of the franchise and what lies ahead. Here’s everything you need to know.
Is there a new season of Peaky Blinders?
No, there isn’t another season of the original Peaky Blinders series, however, the BBC has confirmed there will be a brand-new TV show which continues the narrative.
Technically, this isn’t the seventh season, but it does progress the Peaky Blinders story with fresh characters separate from the original programme.
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In an announcement in October 2025, the BBC revealed that the upcoming drama had already been commissioned for two seasons straight away.
The forthcoming show will narrate the tale of a new generation of Shelbys with Peaky Blinders’ creator and writer Steven Knight at the helm, whilst leading star Cillian Murphy serves as an executive producer.
Knight expressed in a statement: “I’m thrilled to be announcing this new chapter in the Peaky Blinders story.
“Once again it will be rooted in Birmingham and will tell the story of a city rising from the ashes of the Birmingham blitz.
“The new generation of Shelbys have taken the wheel and it will be a hell of a ride.”
Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker said: “Peaky Blinders is a worldwide phenomenon that’s boosted our tourism and global reach.
“We’re proud to be working with the team bringing the production back to the Shelbys’ home of Birmingham and job opportunities will follow for local people to become part of this story.
“It’s this sort of backing from some of the biggest names in entertainment that will turn the West Midlands into the creative capital of the UK.”
The forthcoming Peaky Blinders series will feature six episodes per season, meaning fans can expect 12 fresh instalments.
The BBC’s synopsis of the show states: “Britain, 1953. After being heavily bombed in WWII, Birmingham is building a better future out of concrete and steel.
“In a new era of Steven Knight’s Peaky Blinders, the race to own Birmingham’s massive reconstruction project becomes a brutal contest of mythical dimensions.
“This is a city of unprecedented opportunity and danger: with the Shelby family right at its blood-soaked heart.”
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is screening in select cinemas and will be released on Netflix on March 20
**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new ** Everything Gossip ** website**
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, left, dives for a loose ball next to Knicks forward OG Anunoby in the first half Sunday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Hayes crawled across the floor for loose balls. Marcus Smart stepped in front of driving opponents. Jarred Vanderbilt leaped into the laps of front-row fans.
With energy and focus from every player, the Lakers delivered one of their best defensive efforts of the season despite circumstances that could have made Sunday’s game a snoozer.
The Lakers were playing their third game in four days. Losing an hour of sleep because of daylight saving time had Rui Hachimura sleepwalking into the arena Sunday morning for a 12:30 p.m. tip. Hoping to wake himself up, the Lakers forward said he got into the hot tub when he arrived.
Players tried to hype themselves up in the locker room by blasting music. Instead of listing three defensive keys before the game, coaches whittled the game plan to one focus: multiple efforts.
“It wasn’t gonna be an offensive game,” coach JJ Redick said. “This was gonna be a gritty, tough game that we had to win with effort. And we did that.”
Smart led that effort with a game-high plus-27 in 29 minutes and 17 seconds. He drew two charges. His signature moment didn’t even show up in the game play-by-play. After Luka Doncic turned the ball over with 2.2 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Smart hustled back to force Jordan Clarkson to pass the ball at the buzzer, keeping the Knicks from getting a last-second layup attempt. Smart walked to the bench with his arms extended like a defensive back who had just broken up a touchdown pass.
The Knicks were held to less than 100 points for only the seventh time and had their fourth-worst three-point shooting performance of the season, going eight for 34. The Lakers went nearly five minutes without scoring in the fourth quarter, but held on by forcing eight turnovers.
“It was not a perfect game,” said Doncic, who led the Lakers with 35 points on 11-for-25 shooting. “But we fight at the defensive end. I think we did a great job. It says a lot about the team, bringing this much energy in a game like this.”
The Chargers bolstered their efforts to protect quarterback Justin Herbert all while diversifying their offense by agreeing to terms with veteran fullback Alec Ingold on Sunday, according to multiple reports.
Ingold’s deal with the Chargers reportedly is for two years and $7.5 million.
Ingold will be no stranger to the Chargers’ plans on offense. He played the last four seasons in Miami under coach Mike McDaniel, the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator. Last year he caught eight passes for 52 yards and ran the ball twice in 17 games.
Ingold caught 47 passes for 372 yards and rushed for 34 yards in 20 carries in four seasons with the Dolphins. He also had two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown.
Before his time in Miami, Ingold played three seasons with the Raiders.
The deal comes two days after the Chargers signed veteran center Tyler Biadasz to take over over for the retiring Bradley Bozeman. They agreed to terms on a one-year deal with edge rusher Khalil Mack on Saturday.
With the free agency negotiation period set to begin Monday at 9 a.m. PDT, the Chargers remain in strong position to be significant players in the free-agent market. They rank among the top-five teams in salary cap space, per Overthecap.com.
Author Diana Gabaldon knew readers had been mentally casting the timeless main couple at the center of her “Outlander” book saga since the first novel’s release in the early ‘90s — particularly its leading man, a tall and burly Scottish Highlander with striking red hair. She recalls a 50-year-old German actor who, she says, “always looked like he’d been dipped in cooking oil” among the imaginary candidates. Another was a 5-foot-4-inch race car driver. She quickly learned not to weigh in.
“They would keep asking me who I’d like to play Jamie — ‘Nobody,’ I kept saying because on the rare occasion when I mentioned some possibility, the immediate response would be shrieks of dismissive outrage and heapings of scorn that went on for days (online),” she says over email. Besides, she felt the whole notion of considering prospects was pointless because, as she puts it, it’s not like Hollywood would want to adapt a 300,000-word book anyway.
However, Ronald D. Moore and Maril Davis, longtime collaborators through their Tall Ship Productions banner under Sony Pictures Television, did. And Gabaldon was thrust back into the casting debacle, watching test videos and learning not to judge a book by its cover — or actors (in this case, Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe) by the photos that pop up in a Google search: “Sam doesn’t look like Jamie, and Caitriona doesn’t look like Claire, but both of them can be those people, and that’s all that matters,” she says. And they were those people.
In 2014, the duo brought to the screen the epic story of Claire Randall, a British combat nurse who is mysteriously transported back to 1743 Scotland and marries Scottish warrior Jamie Fraser to survive. Together, they ignite a passionate romance that traverses decades and endures brutal separations, wars and time travel. After spinning its own sweeping narrative for more than a decade, the Starz series is launching its eighth and final season on Friday.
In “Outlander,” Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe) is a British combat nurse who is mysteriously transported back to 1743 Scotland and marries Scottish warrior Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) to survive.
(Ed Miller / Starz)
And it won’t exactly be a by-the-book ending. The final season pulls from the remaining material in Book 8, as well as Book 9 — Gabaldon is working on a 10th installment, “A Blessing for a Warrior Going Out” — leaving Matthew B. Roberts, the showrunner, and the writing team to craft an original ending for television. In a signal of how much pressure there was to do right by the beloved fictional couple, four endings were written and filmed.
“Diana’s been involved since Day 1 — she reads everything, she sees everything,” Roberts said by video conference. “I told all the endings that were going to be written. She briefed me a little bit of where she might be going, not the ending of the books, but just where the book might be going. I wanted to at least incorporate some of that in some of the endings that were written.”
Can it be anything other than a happy ending? Maybe the clue is in “I Love Lucy.” Lucy and Ricky Ricardo‘s love story was often a reference point for Roberts throughout his time on “Outlander.”
“No matter what trouble Lucy got in, no matter what she was doing, never did you think they were ever going to break up,” he says. “That’s Jamie and Claire, no matter what happens, no matter what he goes through or what she goes through, no matter what trouble or what they tell each other sometimes, we’ll never think they break up. And the audience knows that too, and we knew, if you just stayed true to that, then that love story would be successful.”
Ahead of the show’s final season premiere, The Times spoke with Balfe and Heughan to get their thoughts on bringing the historical romance to life and the journey to reach the final chapter.
In the spirit of the Season 8 premiere, which has a moment where Claire and Jamie reflect on the early days of their story, let’s travel back in time. Do you remember how this series was first presented to you and what went through your mind?
Balfe: I think the logline I saw was “nurse goes back to Scotland and then goes back 200 years in time and meets a Highlander.” I think I had two lines. That was all I had.
Heughan: It sounded like it was never gonna work. I found out it was a book series, and I think we both read it, didn’t we?
Balfe: Yeah, I read the book in four days before we tested. You’d already been cast at that point … I was living in L.A. I had tiny bit parts in a few films, and I was definitely struggling. I had booked to go on a trip to India, sent my passport into the Indian embassy. Of course, that’s exactly when I found out that maybe I had to travel to London for this test.
Heughan: At the time, I had failed attempts at pilot season, and I was back in London working in a bar and thinking, “I can’t afford to do this and I’m 34 years old. I should probably think about giving up.” Because there was no way I could support myself. I wasn’t loving it.
Balfe: You were 33, by the way.
Heughan: Oh, yes. I was younger. Then this thing came through. And actually, to be honest, the logline and perhaps the dialogue, when I read it, I just thought, “I know this guy.” There just was something very familiar.
“At the time, I had failed attempts at pilot season, and I was back in London working in a bar and thinking, ‘I can’t afford to do this and I’m 34 years old. I should probably think about giving up,’” says Heughan.(Sophia Spring / For The Times)
Tell me about the decision to say goodbye to this show and these characters. Does it feel like the right time?
Balfe: By the time we got to Season 7, that was our last season that we were contracted for, and there were conversations going around that they — the writers — felt that they had eight seasons [for this story]; that that was sort of an organic finish to it. But we were more than halfway through Season 7 before anyone came to talk to us. Actually, we had all scripts, bar the last two. And it wasn’t ending. Before they came to us, it was like, “How is this gonna happen? Are they going to wrap it up in two episodes or are they coming to us?” It was a lot of pressure in a very short amount of time to decide, “OK, do we just wrap this up in two episodes or do we try and give it a season to properly say goodbye?” There’s a lot of people’s jobs, and there’s a lot of people’s livelihoods, and there’s a whole ecosystem around it. We felt that it needed that kind of time.
Heughan: A lot of thought went into it. I think we were ready to move on or do something else. But also, there was this itch, like we hadn’t finished it and it didn’t feel satisfying for us and for the fans. We wanted to come back and really tie it up properly.
The final season focuses on Claire and Jamie’s struggles during the Revolutionary War, with the war having followed them home. What intrigued you about this final onscreen chapter of their story?
Heughan: Jamie’s concerned about himself in the foremost because he has this information that he’s going to die. But they’ve fought for eight seasons to stay together and to protect everyone they love and the greater community and I think that continues, but there’s so many more distractions or more challenges along the way in this season from the inside.
Balfe: And the Revolutionary War has been circling them for a very long time. It was time for the culmination —
Heughan: [Laughs] Instead of saying “War is coming,” it’s “War is here.’
“There’s a lot of people’s jobs, and there’s a lot of people’s livelihoods, and there’s a whole ecosystem around it. We felt that it needed that kind of time,” says Caitriona Balfe, right, with Sam Heughan, about finishing the “Outlander” story with an eighth season.
(Sophia Spring / For The Times)
The fandom around this property is active and devoted. There’s good that can come from that — the engagement, the creativity — but some bad too, like when things get toxic. What was the learning curve of playing this beloved fictional couple and navigating the fandom?
Balfe: It was a bit of a baptism of fire.
Heughan: We were both quite green when we were thrust into it and engaged wholeheartedly.
Balfe: The landscape is very different. Twitter was Twitter before it was death pit, Instagram was far more innocent as well. In the beginning, it was really nice. I wasn’t a mom. I had loads of time on my hands — well, not really, because we were shooting all the time — but anytime I did, it used to be nice and we would do these quick Q and As. That one-on-one connection with the fans was really, really lovely. I do think there was a moment where … the tide shifted, and this sort of shipper-dom got very intense. I was getting married, and that was having an impact on the people in my life and and I think I had to then step away because I was like, “OK, this doesn’t feel good for everyone in my life.”
Heughan: Look, I think it’s still there. It is a strange one to get your head around. People, in one way, are uber fans of the show, but in other ways, they’re overtly intrusive in your life. But it is a small minority. I think … perhaps we’ve done our job that well? It’s not just about Jamie and Claire, it’s about that person behind it and their life behind it, and their family behind it, that people want to get invested in. I don’t know if it’s a great thing for actors, to be honest, but in this current environment, we’re always asked to give more of ourselves to engage with fans, but it’s been something we’ve had to learn on the job.
Balfe: And I think there are times in your life when you have more capacity to be more open, and there’s times in your life where you need to shut off a little bit more. The overall reception from the fans have been so positive and so supportive of things that we’ve done in our lives, and that is the thing that I choose to focus on with it.
“Outlander” isn’t strictly a romance, but that’s what gives it power. You’ve spent more than a decade in this space. What have you learned about how that romance space functions and what the fans seek from these stories?
Balfe: I was sort of unaware of the need and the appetite that people have for it. Nowadays it’s served an awful lot better, but I think it was an underserved demographic. Or it was not given the due that people needed. It’s sometimes looked on as the second-class citizen of storytelling, in many ways, but I think it’s a genre that allows you to really look at the beauty of humanity and … the core things that we care about, which is love and family and connection.
Heughan: And comfort. It’s comforting. This show proves that there’s a real appetite.
Balfe: There’s many more shows now. Everybody’s talking about “Heated Rivalry.” There’s “Bridgerton.” Maybe it’s the emancipation of women in the last 50 years. It’s like they are finally like, “Well, we want our TV that speaks to us as sexual beings and as mothers and as matriarchs and as professionals and whole round of people.” Our show did that a lot.
“There’s many more shows now,” Balfe says of series that serve up romance. “Everybody’s talking about ‘Heated Rivalry.’ There’s ‘Bridgerton.’ It’s like they are finally like, ‘Well, we want our TV that speaks to us as sexual beings and as mothers and as matriarchs and as professionals and whole round of people.’ Our show did that a lot.”(Sophia Spring / For The Times)
Have you taken stock of just how much Claire and Jamie have gone through as a couple?
Balfe: How many near-death experiences?
Heughan: Yeah, how many times they’ve nearly died or been attacked or assaulted.
Balfe: How many people they’ve killed. Claire, she’s like a serial killer.
I was wondering, because it’s the last season, you can’t get in trouble now, where would Caitriona or Sam have called it quits in this relationship? Like, this is too much, I need to move on.
Balfe: I don’t know if Caitriona would have gone back 200 years in time.
Heughan: When she fixes his shoulder — that’s pretty painful. She gets him in a lot of trouble and he puts himself in a lot of trouble. I wouldn’t have gone past Episode 1 [he mumbles].
Balfe: See! I would have gone to Season 3.
Heughan: No, I think when he sends her through the stones and is like, “That’s it. She’s gone.” But she keeps coming back. I thought I got rid of her, finally!
Caitriona, you make your directorial debut on the show this season with Episode 2. Tell me about that experience.
Balfe: It was so fun. They gave me Episode 2, which allowed me to do my prep before we started. I was so lucky that Jan Matthys, who is the director of Episode 1, was an incredible mentor to me throughout the process. I just got to work with these guys in a totally new way, which was so amazing. I was buzzing. The whole first 10 weeks [of this season] felt like the very first 10 weeks again because you’re learning all these new skills and you’re just in such high operating point; you have to make decisions on the fly, I was also in scenes. It was just mad, but brilliant.
Heughan: You were also probably happy to take the corset off.
Balfe: To be able to walk around in proper wet weather gear and trousers and be able to go to the bathroom — not to be TMI, but it was so good.
They did not give me the easiest episode. Every day had its thing — obviously, the bear attack sequence. Three days before we were filming that, that was a cougar; we were going to have a live cougar. There was a whole thing planned. And a cougar attacks in a very different way than a bear does. So my whole shot list had to go out of the window and I had to rethink the whole thing. But that was kind of fun.
The final season of “Outlander” focuses on Claire (Balfe) and Jamie’s (Heughan) struggles during the Revolutionary War, with the war having followed them home.
(Robert Wilson / Starz)
Finales can be tough, given how viewers chime in on social media. You can’t please everyone. But what was your vision for the ending of “Outlander”?
Balfe: I didn’t really have one. I would not want to have had Matt’s job because that’s a really heavy load to bear, trying to finish this out. But I would say the season was unusual. Normally, we would get an overview of the season before we start. This season, we went into it blind so we weren’t getting sort of any info about what was going to happen. Through the whole season, it was like finding out as the scripts came what was happening. And to be honest, we still don’t really know the ending. We know bits that were filmed, but [not] how he’s going to edit it.
Heughan: I definitely had a firm belief about a certain element of it. I spoke to a few people — few other execs and producers — and there was a common consensus, and I think that might be one of the directions, but it’s going to be a surprise for us when we watch it. I don’t know when we are going to watch it.
Multiple endings were filmed.
Balfe: There was a few different things filmed.
Heughan: Hard to know what’s [going to make it] — it’s all in a same direction. But what direction that is …
Would you call it a happy ending?
Heughan: I don’t know. It was such a secret on the call sheets and stuff.
Balfe: There was different versions of scripts that went out.
Heughan: There were fake people put in. There was a reduced crew.
If any photo reveals the intensity of two All-Americans, it’s this one from late in the game, where Jerzy Robinson (left) of Sierra Canyon and Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian battled in the Open Division final.
Call it the Mick Cronin Say Something Nice Challenge.
Not something nice-ish, not a chocolate-covered diss or an insult teased as affirmation. Just a compliment, no chaser.
It’s not impossible, it turns out.
“We have great guys,” Cronin said about his team, which demolished USC 89-68 at Galen Center on Saturday to finish the season 21-10. “I have to make myself yell at some of these guys, because they’re such good guys. And I did that by design.”
He’ll have a funny way of showing it, but Cronin likes the guys he recruited or plucked from the transfer portal. He really, really likes them.
They put up with him, after all. They get him.
Coming after an impressive 72-52 triumph against No. 9 Nebraska on Tuesday, Saturday’s victory launched his Bruins men’s basketball team into tournament play, starting with a third-round Big Ten tournament game Thursday, and then the NCAA tournament.
And, no, the controversial coach won’t likely be excused from his post anytime soon. Not with another four years on his contract, a current buyout price of $22.5 million and now a not-terrible finish to this strange season of all peaks and valleys and no plateaus.
The Bruins are on the way up at the right time, even playing enough defense for Cronin’s taste — though, of course, he’s prepared for that to change.
“I’ve been around these guys for five months,” he said, “so I know that the fight is not over with that. We can go right back to who we were, which was a bad defensive team.”
What can you say? The man’s service might be questionable, but his backhands are unparalleled.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin talks about the Bruins’ win over USC on Saturday.
His opening statement the last time UCLA clocked USC, 81-62 on Feb. 24: “Proud of the guys, they got the job done …” and, wait for it, “I’m well aware you’re going to ask about rebounding, and as I tell people, you can’t be great at everything. And we’re surely not.”
There was the time he actually fell on the proverbial sword after his team’s 86-74 loss to Ohio State: “Blame me — blame me,” he said, only kidding: “I recruited ’em, I signed them as free agents.” (The bums!)
He isn’t exactly dropping jewels of inspiration suited to be posted in classrooms beside John Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success.”
But after five up-and-down months with him, his players say they’re cool with Cronin, who has shaken off what feels like an annual wave of national criticism. This time it hit after he booted his own center Steven Jamerson II from a game at Michigan State on Feb. 17, overreacting because he mistook a clean basketball play for something else.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin shouts instructions to a player during the Bruins’ win over USC on Saturday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“I’ve adapted to how he coaches and how he runs stuff,” said Donovan Dent, the Bruins’ sure-handed point guard who had 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting to go with his seven assists without a turnover Saturday.
How does he coach? “Fun, very fun,” Dent laughed, acknowledging that, yes, “absolutely” players have to have some thick skin if they’re going to play for Cronin.
“He can get on you,” Dent said, “but he just wants the best for you.”
“I mean,” forward Tyler Bilodeau said, “he’s intense. Coach Cronin has no off days, he is who he is every single day. You gotta respect that.”
And Cronin’s bait-and-switch bit? It would kill at a comedy club, but working a locker room? Maybe he’s found the right audience of young athletes.
“I’m at a point in my career, I want guys who are good guys,” said Cronin, whose team went 17-1 at Pauley Pavilion and 4-9 away from it. “I don’t want to be fighting with guys, I don’t have the energy for it. I won enough games, it’s not worth it.”
Well, about that.
The Bruins will have made the NCAA tournament five times in Cronin’s seven-year tenure with the team, and they’ve advanced to the Final Four and twice to the Sweet 16. But the Final Four run was six seasons ago, and in the past two years, UCLA made just one tournament appearance and got only as far as the second round.
That hardly seems sufficient for a UCLA program that’s regularly supposed to be breathing rarefied air without caveats or qualifiers.
But he thinks he’s found the right players to roll with his punchlines, and to play defense too.
“We can keep winning games,” Cronin said, “if we stop the other team.”
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Kawhi Leonard had 28 points, Darius Garland scored 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and the Clippers held on for a 123-120 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.
Bennedict Mathurin finished 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Derrick Jones Jr. added 16 points as the Clippers won for the fourth time in five games despite hitting only four three-pointers, a season low.
Ty Jerome led Memphis with 23 points and seven assists. Taylor Hendricks scored 18 and Cedric Coward 15 as Memphis lost its third straight.
The game was close throughout, and the Grizzlies held a 118-117 lead with about two minutes left. Leonard and Jordan Miller each made a pair of free throws to give the Clippers a 121-118 edge. Mathurin’s two free throws with 4.4 seconds left sealed the win as Jerome’s closing three-point try for Memphis was off the mark.
The Clippers, who were 15 games under .500 earlier this season, now sit at 31-32. The are in ninth place in the Western Conference, and in the running for a postseason bid.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies’ season has been marred by injuries. Six rotation players were on the injured list for Saturday’s game, including guard Ja Morant, who missed his 20th game with a left elbow ulnar collateral ligament sprain.
Before the game, Morant said he wanted to remain with the franchise, even referring to a Grizzlies logo tattooed on his back as a sign of his loyalty.
Memphis got off to a fast start building a 19-point lead against the Clippers, playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
The advantage was short-lived. The shooting touch left Memphis, which committed 10 turnovers in the second. Leonard scored 15 points and the Clippers trailed by a point at 59-58 at the break.
Juraj Slafkovsky scored his second goal 49 seconds before he set up captain Nick Suzuki for the tiebreaker with 4:33 to play, leading the Montreal Canadiens’ rally for a 4-3 victory over the Kings on Saturday night.
Jake Evans also scored and Jakub Dobes made 35 saves for the Canadiens, who salvaged the final stop of their three-game California trip with a late surge led by their offensive stars.
Shortly after Slafkovsky tied it on Montreal’s only power play, Cole Caufield forced a turnover that went from Slafkovsky to Suzuki for a one-timer that slipped underneath Darcy Kuemper’s arm.
Montreal had its NHL-leading 20th comeback victory one night after making a late rally — and then blowing a lead — in a wild 6-5 shootout loss to the Ducks.
Alex Laferriere scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period for the Kings, who have lost seven of nine — including two of three under interim head coach D.J. Smith.
Scott Laughton scored in his debut for the Kings, who acquired the center in a trade with Toronto on Friday. Kuemper stopped 19 shots.
Captain Anze Kopitar opened the scoring with his seventh goal late in the first period. The Kings’ 38-year-old captain, who is retiring this spring after 20 seasons with the Kings, ended his 21-game goal drought since Dec. 8.
Slafkovsky put Montreal ahead late in the second when he skated in off the boards. The 21-year-old Slovak’s first goal since January was also his 50th point, making him the first Canadiens player to record three 50-point seasons before turning 22.
The Kings didn’t take a penalty until Trevor Moore went off for slashing with 5:53 to play, but Slafkovsky tied it moments later.
Phillip Danault got a lukewarm reception during his first game in Los Angeles since the Kings traded him back to Montreal in December. Danault had four solid seasons for the Kings, but then played 30 goalless games this fall and reportedly requested an exit.
Up next for the Kings: at Columbus on Monday to open a five-game trip.
The Lakers 128-117 winwon, Luka Doncic dominated and then the conversation moved forward, because even though a 128-117 win over the slumping Indiana Pacers on Friday counts all the same in the tight Western Conference standings, it doesn’t say as much about the Lakers as what comes next.
Buoyed by four recent wins over struggling teams, the Lakers are still searching for a statement victory to announce themselves as legitimate contenders in the crowded Western Conference. The Lakers (38-25) are comfortably in sixth place in the West, but just 3-11 against teams that are .600 or better.
Two of the wins came in the first two weeks of the season. The losses have been ugly: an average margin of 19.9 points per defeat.
Now with five of their next six games against teams that are .600 or better — starting with Sunday’s 12:30 p.m. contest against the New York Knicks — the Lakers get a chance to prove their potential to make a playoff run.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves drives to the basket as he’s chased by Indiana Pacers guards Quenton Jackson and Aaron Nesmith Friday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“You play teams that are playing winning basketball and [have] winning records, it definitely can build some confidence in the group,” guard Luke Kennard said Friday. “But I know even some of the close games we’ve lost just recently, I know we’ve done some really good things. … We know what we have in the locker room and in this group.”
Even a day and a win later, the Lakers were still ruing Thursday’s road loss in Denver. With a chance to jump to fifth place in the standings, they let the Nuggets (39-25) open the game on an 11-point run. Denver opened up a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.
But unlike many of their other losses to playoff-contending teams, the Lakers answered Denver’s run. They cut it to one with 2:05 left before the Nuggets held on for the victory.
“That was a game that we’ve broken throughout the year, in games like that,” coach JJ Redick said. “And they made a number of runs that went to double digits and we just kept playing and had a chance. … I’m confident we’re going to find it. How we’re going to find it, that’s where it’s —”
Redick cut off his own thought as he searched for the words.
“You got to figure it out on a daily basis sometimes,” the coach concluded with a tight smile.
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes scores at the rim in front of Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard Friday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
The Lakers figured it out Friday behind a dazzling 44-point performance from Doncic, who leads the NBA with 10 40-point games this season. The NBA’s leading scorer didn’t even play during the fourth quarter of the blowout.
Doncic’s brilliance was more than enough against the bottom-feeding Pacers, who, at 15-48, are playing more for lottery position than postseason hopes. But the Knicks (41-23) have won four of their last five games, including convincing wins over San Antonio and Denver. The only recent loss was a three-point defeat to Oklahoma City.
Lakers forward LeBron James is expected to be available for Sunday’s marquee game after injuring his elbow late in the loss to the Nuggets and missing Friday’s game. Centers Deandre Ayton (left knee soreness) and Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain) are day-to-day.
Led by Jalen Brunson’s 26.2 points and 6.5 assists per game, the Knicks have the NBA’s third-best offense. Conversely, the Lakers are 21st in defensive rating.
The Lakers emphasized the importance of team defense all season, but Marcus Smart is “the only one that consistently is just doing what he’s supposed to do” on defense, Redick said Friday. Sometimes the former defensive player of the year is forced to overcompensate for his teammates’ mistakes.
Doncic’s defensive lapses are magnified, especially with the team’s recent inconsistencies. But Doncic’s oft-criticized defense has provided some bright spots, Redick said.
When he switches onto the ball, Doncic gives up the lowest number of points per possession among the Lakers’ perimeter players, Redick said. He led the Lakers in rebounding Friday with nine boards, all defensive. Doncic had both of the team’s blocks against the Pacers.
“He’s shown that he can contain the basketball,” Redick said of Doncic’s defense. “He’s obviously one of the best wing defensive rebounders in the NBA. He’s able to generate steals and deflections. And, with some prodding, he’s taking charges as well.”
Doncic has drawn 11 charges this season, the most for a single year in his NBA career.
The 7-foot Swiss center was injured Wednesday night in a 130-107 win against the Indiana Pacers. Niederhauser was diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury in his right foot and will require surgery, the team said. The injury involves damage to the ligaments or bones in the middle of the foot.
Niederhauser averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 41 games. After being selected 30th in last year’s NBA draft, he began the season in the G League, but after the Clippers traded Ivica Zubac last month, he was earning more minutes.
In his last five games, Niederhauser was shooting 52% from the field and averaging 8.2 points and 6.2 rebounds while playing 18 minutes a game.
In its second week of release, the sophomore season of “Paradise” is already at its midpoint. And it just delivered one of the season’s shocking twists with the death of — don’t worry, we won’t spoil it for you.
The post-apocalyptic drama, which dropped its fourth episode this week, has ventured outside bunker life this season as our Secret Service protagonist Xavier (Sterling K. Brown) continues his journey through Atlanta to find his wife — and now, he’s got a baby to keep safe in the process. Meanwhile, back inside the idyllic simulated town in the depths of Colorado, which anchored the first season, things have started to unravel and the fight for control intensifies. And the mastermind behind it all — Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond (Julianne Nicholson), the tech billionaire who set up the bunker town after a massive catastrophe threatened the extinction of the human race — isn’t MIA anymore. Last seen unconscious in a hospital bed after being shot, she’s awake and ready to regain order and control. Nicholson stopped by Guest Spot to talk about what she finds intriguing about her character’s motivations.
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Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our recommendations include an ever timely reminder from Anthony Bourdain on the gift and privilege of discovering a new culture and engaging it without judgment, as well as a suburban noir starring a trio of TV heavyweights that spins middle-age malaise, swinging and murder into an addictive tale.
Read on. Then press play and give your thumb a break from all the fast-forwarding you did while watching the wedding episode of this season’s “Love is Blind.” See you next week.
— Yvonne Villarreal
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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
Anthony Bourdain visits Havana in 2015 for an episode of “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.”
(David Scott Holloway / CNN / Turner Entertainment)
“Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” (HBO Max)
It was Bourdain’s masterpiece, the last and best of his several series, and arguably the greatest travel show ever. Bourdain will occasionally fetch up at some fancy eatery, but the heart of any cuisine is formed on the street, or in the country, or along the sea. As a story of how people live, with a good bit of historical context thrown in, the series is explicitly and implicitly political, philosophical and autobiographical; Bourdain has no time for bigots, fascists or bullies — or, one would imagine, McDonald’s cheeseburgers — but he revels in complexity and contradiction. (See Season 4, Episode 6, “Iran.”) The episode on Massachusetts encompasses clambakes and heroin. “I visited and learned to love many places not my own,” says the host, “cultures and beliefs very different from the Upper East Side of Manhattan.” They include, among many other places, Cuba, Ethiopia, Beirut, Buenos Aires, Hanoi, Sri Lanka, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Borneo, Los Angeles and Hanoi, where he sits down with then-president Barack Obama in a family-run noodle shop. Gorgeously filmed, the series can be heartbreakingly beautiful, and sometimes plain heartbreaking. There are 12 seasons running from 2014 to Bourdain’s death in 2018, and I can’t help but believe that anyone who watches them attentively will come out a better person. — Robert Lloyd
Jason Bateman, Linda Cardellini and David Harbour in “DTF St. Louis.”
(Tina Rowden / HBO)
“DTF St. Louis” (HBO Max)
The true-ish crime series about a deadly love triangle is so wonderfully twisted and unexpectedly deep, it’d be criminal to miss this dark comedy starring David Harbour, Jason Bateman and Linda Cardellini. Initially inspired by a real scandal (covered in the 2017 New Yorker article “My Dentist’s Murder Trial: Adultery, False Identities, and a Lethal Sedation”), it evolved into something else. Set in the suburbs of St. Louis, the seven-part series follows fastidious local news weatherman Clark (Bateman), the TV station’s guileless sign language interpreter Floyd (Harbour) and Floyd’s calculating wife, Carol (Cardellini), as each grapples with a middle-age identity crisis. Seeking to spice up their sex life, the men join the discreet, eponymous hook-up app, and one of them ends up dead. Solving this peculiar whodunit is anything but predictable, and the case consumes seasoned detective Homer (Richard Jenkins) as well as young crimes officer Jodie (Joy Sunday). But it’s the quest for connection among all these misfit characters, including Floyd and Carol’s troubled son Richard (Arlan Ruf ) and an unlikely hookup (Peter Sarsgaard), that makes this series so powerful. — Lorraine Ali
Guest spot
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching
Julianne Nicholson as Sinatra in a scene from Season 2 of “Paradise.”
(Ser Baffo / Disney)
If you see Nicholson on screen, you know things are about to get good. She consistently and compellingly delivers strong performances in some of your favorite films and TV shows, whether she’s expressing both quiet strength and palpable desperation as a mother in “Mare of Easttown” or bringing comedic pizzazz as a social media star in “Hacks.” Her latest captivating performance, in Hulu’s “Paradise,” brings power to a complicated character. She plays Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond, a deeply emotional and eerily ruthless billionaire mastermind responsible for the underground bunker city that grounds the series. Driven by the intense grief of losing a son and a desire to control her environment to protect her family, the character is faced with trying to regain order of the simulated utopia after tension and chaos erupts. Over email, Nicholson shared her thoughts on the morally ambiguous character and the Dustin Hoffman film that brings her comfort. — Yvonne Villarreal
Sinatra is not the usual “villain” in a post-apocalyptic story. Despite her approach, there is an altruistic motive, at least initially, that drives her actions. Which version of her fascinates you the most: pre-global disaster Samantha, who is trying to figure out a way to protect her remaining family, or post-apocalyptic Sinatra, who is closer to facing a reckoning in the aftermath of what she’s created?
I am especially interested in Sinatra after she wakes from the coma. Finding the balance between vulnerability and control. Taking back her power while also recognizing no amount of it or money will necessarily keep herself/her family safe. And then the idea that the bigger picture she’s been working towards the whole time may actually be coming true with the introduction of Link [Thomas Doherty], and who he may be to her, cracks her wide open.
There have been real-life assessments of the power billionaires wield and their influence in the White House — those figures are primarily men. How have those conversations shaped your performance or how you think about the power dynamics of “Paradise’s” fictional world?
I love that Dan Fogelman wrote the most powerful person in the room as a woman. Normalizing women in power can only be a good thing. Even if we don’t necessarily agree with her tactics, she sure is fun to play. I love her take no prisoners/no apologies attitude.
This season Sinatra wakes from her coma and faces a new obstacle in Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom). What intrigues you about how they play off each other and how Sinatra is navigating the threat Jane may pose?
One of the most fun scenes to play in Season 2 was when Jane is trying to find out what Sinatra remembers of the shooting. The wonderful director, Ken Olin, really encouraged us to make a cat and mouse game of it with neither giving anything away. And I love we don’t ever find out what Sinatra remembers. I think it’s a real case of keep your friend close here. Sinatra realizes Jane is much more valuable as an ally than an adversary.
In “Paradise,” Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson), left, was last seen in a coma after being shot.
(Ser Baffo / Disney)
You delivered a brilliant performance in Season 4 of “Hacks” as TikTok sensation “Dance Mom.” What’s a memory that stands out from filming those scenes? And did you find yourself giving a dance lesson on the set of “Paradise”?
I loved every moment of working on “Hacks.” I loved having dance/choreography sessions with Cory Baker in the run up to filming and the utter absurdity of the “boofing” scene. I also almost lost it when DM was passed out on the stoop on Wisteria Lane and Jimmy [Paul W. Downs] and Kayla [Megan Stalter] come driving around in the golf cart looking for her and shouting, “Dance Mom!” That name alone is so funny to me. Alas, there were no dance lessons in “Paradise.”
What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?
I was blown away this year by the film “Sirât.” I recommend but also warn as it is a deeply affecting, intense film and not for the faint of heart. I love its exploration of a world I know nothing about (a traveling rave culture set in Morocco), the humanity in it and the real faces and performances of the actors. [And] its originality and bravery.
What’s your go-to “comfort watch,” the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?
“Tootsie” is one of my favorite films and I can watch that any time. It’s partially nostalgic as I remember watching it in the theater when it came out and I was so taken with NYC at that time. The tall buildings, yellow cabs and hustle and bustle. It’s such a smart comedy with brilliant performances across the board, starting with Dustin Hoffman but each actor is as perfect as the next! So much heart and depth without ever taking itself too seriously. And just very, very funny.
INDIANAPOLIS — The UCLA women’s basketball team’s tear through the Big Ten continued on Friday, as the Bruins defeated Washington 78-60 to advance to the conference tournament semifinals.
Behind 26 points from center Lauren Betts, the No. 1 seed Bruins took down No. 8 seed Huskies with an explosive second half to stay undefeated in conference play.
Washington (21-10, 11-9), which defeated No. 9 seed USC on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinal, struggled to respond to UCLA’s second-half surge and trailed by 19 in the fourth quarter.
UCLA (22-1, 19-0), the second ranked team in the nation in the Associated Press top 25 poll, started slow, missing five consecutive shots in a five-plus minute scoring drought in the first quarter. The Bruins’ six first-quarter points were a season low.
The Huskies extended a 10-point lead into the second quarter. Betts, though, kept the Bruins’ deficit from growing with 10 points in the first half, sparking a 15-2 run during the final 6:10. UCLA, which boasts the best three-point percentage in the Big Ten, didn’t make any treys in the first half and didn’t hit one until Kiki Rice’s with 5:27 left in the third quarter.
It tied for the worst three-point shooting performance from the Bruins this season (one for 10).
UCLA led 27-24 at halftime.
Washington went up briefly in the third quarter, powered by 18 points from guard Avery Howell, but the Bruins scoring finally found their rhythm shortly after. UCLA shot 54% overall from the field.
It was UCLA’s 10th consecutive win against the Huskies. It was the Bruins’ 23rd straight win overall after last losing on Nov. 26.
UCLA will face the winner of No. 4 seed Minnesota and No. 5 seed Ohio State in a Big Ten tournament semifinal on Saturday, with a berth in the Big Ten championship game on the line.
The Hollywood Pantages Theatre on Thursday announced its 2026-27 season, which contains a whopping seven L.A. premieres including “Maybe Happy Ending.” The hugely buzzy show about the complicated love between two humanoid helperbots was originally developed and staged in South Korea, and won six Tony Awards last year including musical, direction (Michael Arden), leading actor (Darren Criss) and book and original score (Will Aronson and Hue Park).
An early version of the show was first staged in Seoul in 2015, seven years before the rollout of ChatGPT and the ensuing AI doomsday alarm that platform sparked about the rise of hyper-intelligent robots. It will be interesting to watch “Maybe Happy Ending’s” lead robot characters, Claire and Oliver, contemplate their existence during a time when Elon Musk says his Optimus humanoid robots will be in widespread use by the end of next year.
Five shows will be staged at the Pantages before “Maybe Happy Ending,” starting with the season-opening L.A. premiere of “Water for Elephants.” Based on Sara Gruen’s 2006 novel, this musical about the dramatic life of a traveling circus performer during the Great Depression premiered on Broadway to mixed reviews in 2024 and closed after 300 performances.
Next up: The L.A. premiere of “The Outsiders,” based on S.E. Hinton’s iconic 1967 novel about the conflict between two gangs of disaffected youth. The show opened on Broadway in 2024 and was nominated for 11 Tony Awards — it ultimately won four including for musical and direction.
After that a new revival of the beloved rock opera “The Who’s Tommy” will take to the stage. Given the show’s 30-plus-year history of destroying audiences (in a good way) with its classic rock grooves, it’s sure to remain a steadfast crowd-pleaser.
Get your dancing shoes on for the L.A. premiere of “Buena Vista Social Club,” which was co-produced by John Leguizamo and opened on Broadway last year, garnering 11 Tony nominations and five wins, including a special Tony Award for the Buena Vista Social Club band. Based on the lives of musicians in Havana from the 1950s through the 1990s, and featuring plenty of infectious Latin music presented in Spanish, the show is set to launch its North American tour in Buffalo this fall before making its way to the Pantages.
The L.A. premiere of “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical” is up next. The World War II-themed comedy about a British plan of deception premiered on Broadway last year and was nominated for four Tonys including musical.
Rounding out the L.A. premieres are a lavish production of “The Great Gatsby” and the season closer, “Death Becomes Her,” both of which are based on hot properties with plenty of audience recognition.
If you’re looking for a classic, fear not: “Hamilton” and “The Lion King” are returning next season to do what they do best: Thrill audiences and sell out shows.
I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt contemplating a season pass. Here’s your arts and culture news for the week.
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY From John Doe to Lonesome Rhodes: Anti-fascism From the Archive A double bill of “Arch of Triumph” (1948), a tragic romance set in 1938 Paris starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer and Charles Laughton, and “Voice in the Wind” (1944), a low-budget B-movie with Francis Lederer as a persecuted Czech concert pianist, opens this short series of films that were restored by the the UCLA Film & Television Archive. The series continues with Saturday’s pairing of “The Burning Cross” (1947) and “Open Secret” (1948) and “A Face in the Crowd” (1957) on March 20. 7:30 p.m. Billy Wilder Theater, UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. cinema.ucla.edu
SATURDAY Nuun to Midnight A 37-film, 12-hour festival that merges music and visual arts serves as a fundraiser for curated arts presenter Middle Ear Project. Noon-midnight. Automata Theater, 504 Chung King Road, Chinatown. automatala.org
Sarah Davachi + Robert Takahashi Novak: New Commissions The Broad lobby’s unique characteristics will be utilized to create a deep listening experience for newly commissioned compositions by electroacoustic and minimalist organist Davachi and conceptual sound and contemporary electronic music artist Novak. 8 p.m. The Broad, 221 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. thebroad.org
The Great Wall of Los Angeles Judy Baca’s iconic mural inspired Gustavo Dudamel and Gabriela Ortiz to gather composers Juhi Bansal, Nicolás Lell Benavides, Viet Cuong, Estevan Olmos, Xavier Muzik and Nina Shekhar for this salute to the city, augmented by a video installation created director Alejandro González Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki. 2 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
Alexander Malofeev The young Russian pianist performs a program featuring works by Sibelius, Grieg, Rautavaara, Scriabin, Stravinsky, Arthur Lourié and Prokofiev. 7:30 p.m. Broad Stage, Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St. broadstage.org
The Opera Buffs Emerging musical artists from Southern California perform six mini-operas. 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org
Wild Up The orchestral collective Wild Up performs “The Odes,” a program highlighting experimentation across the ages, featuring works by French Baroque composer Jean-Féry Rebel, English dramatist Henry Purcell and Soviet modern polystylist Alfred Schnittke, as well as modern artists. The group will be joined by guest vocalist and composer Julia Holter, students from the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts and special guests. 8 p.m. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. redcat.org
TUESDAY Beetlejuice The Broadway musical based on Tim Burton’s 1988 horror-comedy makes a local stop on its national tour. Through March 22. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd. broadwayinhollywood.com
Malice: Stories of Injustice The Odyssey, in partnering with Mar Vista Voice and West Los Respuesta Rapida, presents a program of monologues based on the true stories of families and communities impacted by ICE, with proceeds benefiting the two charities. 8 p.m. Tuesday (in English) and Wednesday (in Spanish). Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com
The Rilke Project Piano Spheres presents pianist Vicki Ray performing works by Bernstein, Ives and Eötvös, as well as pieces from Los Angeles-based composers Steuart Liebig, Andrew Tholl, Joseph Pereira and David Rhodes, and the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke. 8 p.m. 2220 Arts + Archives, 2220 Beverly Blvd. pianospheres.org
Six The national tour of the Broadway musical by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, a modern pop take on the sextet of women who were the wives of Henry VIII. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-March 13; 2 p.m. Saturday. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 300 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scfta.org
THURSDAY Turning Points Guest conductor Dinis Sousa leads the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in Huang Ruo’s “Tipping Point,” Schumann’s “Violin Concerto” with solo violinist Isabelle Faust, and Mendelssohn’s “Symphony No. 4,” a.k.a. the “Italian.” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; 7:30 p.m. March 6. Colburn School, Zipper Hall, 220 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laco.org
Arts anywhere
Kevin Kline and Laura Linney in the series “American Classic” on MGM+.
(David Giesbrecht/MGM+)
American Classic The limited series (eight 30-minute episodes) stars Kevin Kline as an out-of-control Broadway star who returns to his Pennsylvania hometown. Featuring a fine supporting cast that includes Laura Linney, Jon Tenney, Tony Shalhoub and Len Cariou, Times TV critic Robert Lloyd calls the show “a love letter to theater, community and community theater.” Streaming on MGM+ (free 7-day trial available).
KUSC Local classical music fans know very well the treasure we have in Classical KUSC, one of the few all-classical music stations left on the planet. And, indeed, people from all over the world listen online. But what if you’re just “classical curious” and don’t know where to start? With round-the-clock programming, multiple specialized streaming channels devoted to movie scores, seasonal sounds and more, plus live concerts and knowledgeable hosts, this is the place for enjoyment, enlightenment and education. And remember, it’s listener-supported! If you can afford to give, please do. Listen at 98.7 FM and stream at kusc.org
The jacket of the book “True Color” by Kory Stamper.
(Knopf)
True Color Kory Stamper chronicles the life of I. H. Godlove, an eccentric scientist who infused the midcentury Merriam-Webster dictionary with a shockingly kaleidoscopic array of colors using only words. The worlds of color science, color psychology and color production provide a vivid backdrop for a journey across the 20th century. Knopf (March 31 release): 320 pp. $32
Culture news and the SoCal scene
People gather outside for pre-show drinks before Public Assembly theater’s show at the Women’s Twentieth Century Club on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Los Angeles.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
The roving company Public Assembly Theatre, which develops three one-act plays monthly in unconventional L.A. spaces, got an up-close look via a fascinating story by freelancer Emma Madden. Madden spent the better part of a month tracking the development process, read-throughs and final show, and tells the story of a tiny company that is making major waves with a Hollywood-weary crowd.
Freelancer Solvej Schou tells the difficult but ultimately uplifting story of an Altadena shop owner who closed twice during the last year: Once because of the Eaton fire, and again because of heavy flooding the following year. In the wake of all the trauma, the owner, Adriana Molina, hired a local muralist to paint a colorful outdoor mural of Altadena as a way to boost morale in the neighborhood.
Dalia Stasevska, a Ukranian-born conductor who is making her L.A. Opera debut with Philip Glass’ “Akhnaten,” poses for a portrait at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
(David Butow / For the Times)
The Ukrainian-born conductor Dalia Stasevska made her L.A. Opera debut last weekend, conducting Philip Glass’ opera “Akhnaten,” which runs through late March. Times freelancer Tim Greiving sat down with Stasevska to write an in-depth profile that delves into her early love of opera and classical music as well as her efforts to raise money for humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
Malia Mendez got the skinny on a Christie’s auction in New York that features the $1-billion guitar collection of the late businessman Jim Irsay. Items on the block included Kurt Cobain’s 1969 Fender Mustang and the Beatles drum head from the band’s legendary appearance on “The Ed Sullivan show.”
Artist Ulysses Jenkins is photographed at his studio in Inglewood on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Mendez also penned a lovely obituary for Ulysses Jenkins, a pioneer of Black experimental video who died last month at the age of 79.
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Chiura Obata, “Full Moon, Pasadena, California,” (1930) Verso, Asian American art
(The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, Gift of the Obata Family)
The new theme for the fourth edition of the Getty’s PST ART has been announced. The 2030 survey will explore “the artistic and cultural exchange between Los Angeles and the Pacific Rim,” according to a news release. PST ART launched in 2011 and has since established itself as one of the region’s most timely and expansive art showcases — with participation from every corner of Southern California.
“PST ART is now an established and central part of Southern California’s cultural landscape, with each edition exploring key aspects of our past, present, and possible futures,” said Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, in a statement. “With our large diasporic communities from around the Pacific Rim, Los Angeles is the perfect place to explore the far-reaching and varied impact of transpacific culture.”
Coming into her senior year, Ciena Alipio wanted to be as present as humanly possible and learn how to trust herself going into every competition.
She set forth goals for herself and a bigger one for the UCLA gymnastics team. With the first box checked after clinching their second consecutive Big Ten title, the work toward meeting each of her standards is just beginning.
“You’re seeing the result of every hard practice that we’re having,” Alipio said after Friday’s victory over Maryland. “We’re putting in work and we’re doing what we absolutely have to every single day in the gym and I think it’s just putting it all together on the same day.”
After an unbeaten conference season, Alipio has not only transformed herself into a three-event staple in the lineup, she was among the 45 nominees for the 2026 AAI Award along with her teammate Jordan Chiles — an NCAA honor that is given to the most outstanding senior female gymnast of the season.
“She’s just one of those athletes that’s really willing to do whatever it takes to be at her best for the team, and she’s an incredibly hard worker,” coach Janelle McDonald said. “She puts her heart into everything she does and she really has a growth mentality that she takes into every aspect of her life.”
During the first three years of her college career, Alipio was known as a balance beam expert. That fact hasn’t changed, except now she added success on the uneven bars and the floor exercise.
She’s currently ranked No. 4 in the nation on beam and leads the team with six individual titles in the event. Against Nebraska in January, Alipio led the meet in the floor exercise. On her way to another Big Ten title, she has shown consistency by hitting all 23 of her routines without a fall.
Alipio is averaging a mark above 9.800 on beam, bars and floor exercise. The two-time first-team All-American on beam has been named Big Ten event specialist of the week three times this season for her high performances on multiple apparatuses.
McDonald describes the Big Ten balance beam champion as a steady leader who leads by example, someone who’s willing to put her head down and go through the grind to get better — a valuable asset to any team.
“To see somebody always trying to show up and get better with that growth mindset is so great,” she said. “Ciena really has leveled up in her leadership in that she’s somebody that continually checks in on people.”
When Alipio notices someone needs a little pick-me-up, she’s there to support them, McDonald added.
“She’s also just become a really great messenger of our team culture and just [continues] to build and tighten our culture where it’s needed and to step up in those moments when the team needs a leader.”
UCLA gymnast Ciena Alipio celebrates with teammate Jordan Chiles after completing a balance beam routine.
(Jesus Ramirez / UCLA Athletics)
With two meets left in the regular season — against Stanford on Saturday and Utah on March 14, senior night at Pauley Pavilion — Alipio is just going to have fun competing.
“Coming in as a freshman I was like, ‘Oh, I have so much time,’ and now it has gone by in a blink of an eye,” she said. “… But I’m really, really trying to just stay present for the next few weeks and just enjoy every single moment with this team.”
Rosen update
McDonald and the coaching staff will take a conservative approach to dealing with Katelyn Rosen’s foot injury from Friday’s meet. Resting her and making sure she is 100% to go for the Big Ten championships is the priority. Replacing her at the top of rotations is an ongoing conversation.
“We really look for that lead-off to be very steady,” she said. “Somebody that doesn’t kind of go with the ups and downs of their emotions. They can show up, be really steady, kick off the event really aggressively, confidently and so those things we’re gonna be looking for this weekend [against Stanford].”
INDIANAPOLIS — If the USC women’s basketball hoped to make a case for a favorable NCAA tournament seed, the Trojans did themselves no favors during the past two weeks culminating with Thursday’s Big Ten tournament loss.
The No. 9 seed Trojans let a second-round tournament contest against No. 8 seed Washington get out of hand in the third quarter, stumbling to a 76-64 loss at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. USC’s conference run ended quickly after the Trojans delivered one of their worst offensive outings of the season.
It was USC’s fourth consecutive loss, putting its NCAA tournament positioning in question.
USC (17-13, 9-10) didn’t make its first three-pointer until the 3:30 mark in the second quarter, just the Trojans’ fifth made basket of the game overall. The Trojans trailed 32-20 at the half while shooting just 25%.
Washington (21-9, 11-8) took a 20-point lead near the end of the third quarter while USC struggled to 1-for-7 shooting during that stretch.
USC made it a 10-point game with 1:51 to play as the Trojans’ aggressive half-court press forced Washington turnovers, but even the team’s 26-point fourth quarter couldn’t rescue it.
The Huskies and Trojans entered Thursday with the third and fourth best defenses in the conference, respectively. That didn’t deter a Washington offense that shot 50%, its fourth-best effort all season.
But USC was stymied and put up its fourth-worst shooting of the year at 31%. Point guard and Big Ten freshman of the year Jazzy Davidson shot 2-for-13 after briefly leaving the game in the first quarter with a right shoulder injury and playing the rest of the contest with it wrapped under her jersey. She didn’t see the floor again after the 7:12 mark in the fourth quarter.
Davidson said after the loss she is getting an MRI on her shoulder to determine the extent of the injury.
Washington outrebounded USC 43-26. Huskies guard Elle Ladine led the game with 25 points. Londynn Jones netted 19 for the Trojans.
USC entered Thursday boasting the No. 22 NET ranking in the country and will likely get an at-large NCAA tournament bid, but Thursday’s loss put a good seed in peril.
The Huskies will face No. 1 seed UCLA (28-1, 18-0) in the quarterfinal on Friday at 9 a.m.
Myles Garrett is in a hurry to become the greatest pass rusher in NFL history. The Cleveland Browns All-Pro defensive end set the single-season sack record in 2025 and has cracked the top 20 career leaders after only nine seasons.
“I’m going to take that down, and I prefer I take it down in the next five years,” Garrett told Casino Guru News last month.
Off the field, however, his urgency to get from point A to B is a problem. He’s accumulating speeding tickets at an alarming rate.
On Feb. 21, Garrett was handed his ninth speeding ticket since his NFL career began in 2017. He was cited for driving 94 mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 71 between Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.
The citation from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office says Garrett was driving his green 2024 Porsche at 1:35 a.m., returning home after attending a Miami of Ohio basketball game in Oxford.
Body cam footage shows the officer telling Garrett that she kept the charge under 100 mph so that a court appearance wouldn’t be mandatory. Garrett reportedly still holds a Texas driver’s license — he attended Texas A&M — and told the officer that he did not have an Ohio license.
Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett wears a jacket displaying his girlfriend Chloe Kim before the women’s snowboarding halfpipe finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy.
(Lindsey Wasson / AP)
The officer wrote that the famously affable Garrett was “kind and cooperative,” and that drugs and alcohol were not a factor.
Garrett’s need for speed flies in the face of his persona. He has written poetry since high school, peppers social media with inspirational sayings and donates time and money to several charities.
His girlfriend is two-time gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, for whom he wrote a poem he shared on social media: “You enrapture fools to kings, and exist without a peer, put on this Earth for many things, but our love is why you’re here.”
Verse hasn’t slowed his roll. On Aug. 9 he was cited for ticket No. 8, clocked at 100 mph in a 60-mph zone in a Cleveland suburb a day after the Browns returned home from a preseason game at Carolina.
Garrett’s seventh ticket followed a frightening crash in 2022. He flipped his gray 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S off State Road in Sharon Township and he and a female passenger were injured. He was cited for failing to control his vehicle due to unsafe speeds on what had been a slick roadway.
A witness told a responding police officer that Garrett’s vehicle went airborne, took out a fire hydrant and rolled three times. Garrett sustained shoulder and biceps sprains and was sidelined for the Browns’ game that week against the Atlanta Falcons. His companion was not seriously injured.
Cleveland television station WKYC reported that in September 2021 Garrett was stopped twice in a 24-hour period — for driving 120 and 105 mph. The infractions occurred on Interstate 71 in Medina County, where the speed limit is 70 mph, and he paid fines of $267 and $287.
A year earlier, Garrett was cited for driving 100 mph in a 65-mph zone of Interstate 77 — again while driving a Porsche — and paid a $308 fine. He accumulated his first batch of speeding tickets in 2017 and 2018, and the police reports recite similar circumstances: Garrett driving well over the speed limit, cited without incident, paid a nominal fine.
The piddly fines certainly aren’t a deterrent. Garrett, 30, and the Browns agreed to a four-year contract extension in March 2025 that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history at the time. The deal pays the seven-time All-Pro more than $40 million a season and includes more than $123 million in guaranteed money.
He set the NFL single-season sack record with 23.0 last season, surpassing the 22.5 accumulated by T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan. Garrett has 125.5 career sacks, averaging 14 a season, a pace that would enable him to break Bruce Smith’s career record of 200 in five years.
“That is definitely on my mind to go out there and get,” Garrett said. “That’s a goal I’ve had for years now since college.”
Garrett has declined to discuss his driving habits.
“I’d honestly prefer to talk about football and this team than anything I’m doing off the field other than the back-to-school event that I did the other day,” he told reporters after ticket No. 8 in August, referring to a charity appearance.
“I try to keep my personal life personal. And I’d rather focus on this team when I can.”
