NEW YORK — UCLA climbed into the top 10 in the first regular-season Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll of the season on Monday while Florida remained No. 1 and the top four were unchanged.
The Gators, who began the season with wins over then-No. 14 Miami and Jacksonville, earned six more first place-votes and had 53 of the 60 from a national media panel. Duke earned the other seven first-place votes, Illinois held down No. 3 in the poll, and UConn was fourth after winning an NCAA championship game rematch with then-No. 16 Michigan on Friday night.
Michigan State rounded out the top five Monday, taking the place of Arizona, which lost its opener to the Bruins a week ago.
The former Pac-12 rivals met in Las Vegas, where the Bruins’ Trent Perry scored 21 points to help them overcome a career-best 38 from the Wildcats’ Ivan Kharchenkov. Arizona got within a point with 3:11 left before the Bruins held on for the 84-75 win.
It sent UCLA from No. 22 in the preseason poll to No. 9, its highest ranking since the final poll of the 2022-23 season.
“Huge,” Bruins coach Mick Cronin said of beating Arizona. “They’re going to win a lot of games, man. I don’t know exactly how many [wins] they’ve averaged over the last three years, but I’d guess it’s close to 30. So when you get a win over a team like that, it’s massive.”
Virginia moved up three spots to sixth after a trio of wins last week, including a victory over then-No. 12 Arkansas. Texas and Houston were next, then UCLA and Louisville, which moved up one spot to round out the top 10.
Tennessee fell three spots to No. 11 after beating Wofford in its only game last week. Arizona dropped seven spots to No. 12.
“It’s not about how we start the season. It’s about how we end the season,” Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd said. “Obviously, it hurts when we’re losing. Just remember that feeling. We’ll have a tough stretch in another game, and we’ll need to dig deeper.”
The rest of the Top 25
St. John’s, Gonzaga and Kansas rounded out the first 15 in the poll. Texas Tech, Miami and Alabama were next, while Arkansas dropped seven spots to No. 18 after its loss to Virginia, and Michigan fell four spots to No. 20 after its loss to UConn.
USC, Vanderbilt, Brigham Young, Kentucky and Nebraska finished out the top 25. The Wildcats, who play the Jayhawks on Tuesday night, are one week shy of becoming the first school in the nearly 78-year history of the AP poll to be ranked for 1,000 weeks.
In and out and on the bubble
The Huskers, who opened their season with wins over Le Moyne and Providence, jumped into the poll thanks in part to Iowa State’s loss to Memphis. The Cyclones fell from No. 18 out of the poll, and were third among the others receiving votes.
Memphis was the first team outside of the top 25, followed by Saint Louis, which had an impressive win over Missouri last week.
Conference watch
The Southeastern Conference not only had the No. 1 team in Florida but seven of the top 25. The Big Ten was next with three of the top 10 and six in the poll. The Big 12 had five ranked teams, the Atlantic Coast Conference had four, the Big East had two and Gonzaga gave the new-look Pac-12 one team in the top 25.
DETROIT — Austin Reaves raised three fingers to the rafters. Then after hitting a clutch three-pointer with 46 seconds remaining against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, he turned his palm to fans sitting courtside at Little Caesers Arena and waved goodbye.
The Lakers guard scored a season-high 41 points as the Lakers survived a 121-116 win over the Pistons without star point guard Luka Doncic. The Lakers (9-2) led by 26 early in the second quarter, but nearly collapsed under an avalanche of second-half turnovers and 53 combined points from Detroit bench guards Daniss Jenkins and Kevin Huerter.
Lakers center Walker Kessler had 12 points and 16 rebounds for his fifth double-double in six games. He crossed into double-digit scoring with a clutch put-back three-point play with 2:15 remaining to put the Lakers ahead by seven.
On the front side of a back-to-back, Doncic missed his second game of the season with low back tightness, although Lakers coach JJ Redick said he didn’t anticipate the back tightness to affect Doncic significantly throughout the season.
The Slovenian superstar is averaging a league-high 40.1 points per game, but Doncic was doing more than just scoring at rates not seen since Wilt Chamberlain. His estimated on/off of 37.7 — the difference between the Lakers’ net rating when he was on the court compared to off — was the second-highest in the league, following only Victor Wembanyama’s 41.5. In addition to the highest scoring average through nine games since Chamberlain, Doncic is also the team’s second-leading rebounder at 7.8 per game and was second with 1.7 steals.
But the Lakers already showed they could compete without Doncic this season. They dominated the Clippers on Oct. 28 when Doncic was also sidelined with back tightness.
Just as they did against the Clippers, the Lakers needed contributions from everyone. Ziaire Williams hit four three-pointers and finished with 17 points. Collin Sexton, serving as the Lakers’ second ball-handler, had 17 points on five-of-10 shooting.
Jarred Vanderbilt’s energetic six rebounds, two assists and one block in less than six minutes during the first quarter helped lift the Lakers to a 26-point lead early in the second.
The Pistons, playing without All-NBA center Jalen Duren (hamstring), didn’t get their first points from star point guard Cade Cunningham, until early in the third quarter. Instead, Jenkins nearly mounted the comeback on his own.
Jenkins, who averages 8.6 points across his career, should be a familiar Lakers foe. Last season, in the Lakers’ lone trip to Detroit, the guard who went undrafted in 2024 scored a then-career-high 30 points against the Lakers to end their season-long nine-game winning streak.
Jenkins scored 22 points of his new career-high 31 in the first half, cutting the Lakers’ 26-point lead to 13 by halftime. He drained a three-pointer at the buzzer that injected life into the antsy home crowd. The Lakers, who have benefited from two halftime buzzer-beating heaves from Doncic this season, know what it’s like to be on the other side of that momentum swing.
Pistons fans banging inflatable thunder sticks erupted in the third quarter as Detroit ripped off an 11-0 run to close the lead to three with 1:03 remaining in the quarter. The Lakers, playing with Sexton as their primary ball-handler during the stretch, turned the ball over four times during the drought, including a shot clock violation after a time out.
Reaves had 13 points in the third quarter, including five straight on difficult fadeway jumpers that pushed the lead to 17 with 6:41 to go in the third, and watched the near collapse from the sideline.
Back on the court during crunch time, Reaves hit the big shots the Lakers needed.
SEATTLE — Albert Rusnak scored in the first minute, then notched an assist and the Seattle Sounders clinched a postseason spot with a 2-1 victory over LAFC on Saturday.
Seattle (12-12-10) began the day on the outside looking in, but finished eighth in the Western Conference and will host Real Salt Lake in the wild-card match with the top-seeded Vancouver Whitecaps awaiting the winner in the best-of-three first round.
LAFC (12-11-11) finished sixth in the West and will not have the home-field advantage in a first-round matchup with No. 3-seed St. Louis City.
Seattle grabbed the lead 51 seconds into the match when Rusnak took a pass from Cristian Roldan and scored the Sounders’ earliest goal this season. It was the fifth netter for Rusnak and the sixth assist for Roldan.
It was the fourth fastest goal in “Decision Day” history. Former Sounders midfielder Nico Lodeiro holds the record for a regular-season finale, scoring in 24 seconds for Seattle in 2022.
Rusnak added an assist when he set up rookie forward Sebastian Gomez in the 31st minute for his third netter and a two-goal lead. It was the seventh start and 20th appearance for the 20-year-old Gomez.
LAFC made things interesting when defender Eddie Segura used his head to score in the 82nd minute. Segura’s first goal of the season came with assists from defender Ryan Porteous — the second of his career — and Leo Walta — his first in his fifth league appearance.
Andrew Thomas turned away seven shots for Seattle — none better than one on a point-blank shot by Son Heung-min to keep it 2-0 in the 54th minute.
Rookie Cabral Carter had one save for LAFC in his second start and third appearance of the season..
Seattle’s Jordan Morris left in the 24th minute with a quadriceps injury.
The Sounders have missed the postseason just once since joining the league in 2009. It was only the second time the club had to wait until “Decision Day” to decide its playoff fate.
All hail the JSerra Lions, the best high school flag football team in California and probably in the nation.
The Lions went 28-0 this season, their second straight unbeaten season. They won the Southern Section Open Division championship game on Saturday night with a 40-14 victory over Newport Harbor at Huntington Beach.
Coach Brian Ong wasn’t supposed to have a better team than the unbeaten 2025 squad, but the Lions pulled it off led by quarterback Kate Meier and receiver Tessa Russell, both of whom are only sophomores.
Meier passed for four touchdowns on Saturday. Russell had 12 receptions for 153 yards. No opponent came closer than 13 points all season. Newport Harbor, the No. 2 team in Southern California, lost three times to the Lions.
LIONS POSTGAME: Sophomore Kate Meier threw for 262 yards and four touchdowns, including three to fellow sophomore Tessa Russell (who had 12 catches for 153 yards), to help spark the JSerra Girls Flag Football team to a 40-14 win over the Newport Harbor Sailors in the CIF-SS Open… pic.twitter.com/3JKAcUoibb
In other finals, Oxnard won its first Division 1 title with an 18-12 win over Palos Verdes. In Division 2, San Clemente defeated Gahr 35-34 in overtime.
In Division 3, Valencia defeated Quartz Hill 12-7. Valencia’s 11-man football quarterback, Evan McCalister, was on hand to help his father, Cedric, the head coach. Camila Quintero threw three touchdown passes.
Valley Christian won Division 4 with a 33-18 win over West Ranch. Loma Linda defeated Peninsula 33-6 in Division 5. St. Monica, in its inaugural season, won Division 6 with a 39-20 victory over Heritage.
Fulham striker Rodrigo Muniz has spoken of the struggles he endured last season, revealing his wife suffered a miscarriage.
Muniz scored the equaliser for the Cottagers in a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United on Saturday for his first league goal since their opening top-flight match of last season.
“Last season was really difficult for me because, now I can say it, but I had the surgery,” said the 25-year-old Brazilian, who had an operation on a hamstring injury, external in November and was out until early February.
“My wife was pregnant last season and, unfortunately, we lost the baby, but God is good all the time and now she’s pregnant again.
“The goal was for my baby, and I hope this season will be different than last season.”
Muniz also scored in wins over AFC Wimbledon and West Ham in the Carabao Cup this season.
Overall, he has 19 goals and three assists in 86 Premier League appearances for the London club since joining from Flamengo in 2021.
“I train hard every week to get opportunities to play and I want to play more,” said Muniz, whose eight Premier League appearances under manager Alvaro Arbeloa this season have all come off the bench.
“I cannot control the gaffer, but I showed the gaffer I want to play more. I have to keep training hard, for him to say, ‘OK, now is your time’, and then I’m ready.”
Upon hammering her 19th kill on a cross-court attack, Westley Matavao leaped into the arms of her teammates to celebrate Mater Dei’s 24-26, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 triumph over Sierra Canyon in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 girls’ volleyball final Saturday night at Cerritos College.
Having avenged a loss in the section finals last season, the Monarchs’ next goal is to defend their state championship, and they will be the top seed when the Southern California Regional Open Division bracket is released Sunday.
Westley Matavao goes on the attack for Mater Dei against Sierra Canyon in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 girls’ volleyball championship match on Nov. 7, 2026.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
“This season it’s important for us to win everything because I’ve been here all four years, this is my last one and I wasn’t going to take losing as an answer,” said Matavao, a senior outside hitter headed to UCLA.
The Monarchs (39-1) have dealt Sierra Canyon (32-2) its only losses this season and the top two programs in the nation could meet for a third time, but for now Mater Dei reigns supreme after earning its second section title in three years. It swept the Trailblazers in the finals two years ago.
Freshman Jimin Seung had 14 kills, Cal-bound middle blocker Emma Kingston had 11 kills and sophomore libero Sienna Cicero finished with a match-high 23 digs, diving all over the floor to keep points alive.
“It was definitely tougher this time around — over half of them are high Division I level players — so you can’t underestimate a team like that,” Cicero said. “Our blockers played great and funneled the ball perfectly for me. My mentality is we’re going to win no matter what.”
Mater Dei beat Sierra Canyon, 25-18, 25-17, in the gold division final at the Durango Fall Classic in September before suffering its only loss to Trinity League rival Santa Margarita 11 days later.
Katherine Nowak, center, celebrates a kill with Mater Dei teammates Jael Smith, left, and Riley Stringer against Sierra Canyon in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 final on Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Sierra Canyon trailed by seven points midway through the first set but rallied to take an 18-17 lead on an ace by McKenna McIntosh, who blasted through a left-side block on the Trailblazers’ first set point. McIntosh, a hitter headed to USC, finished with 10 kills and 19 digs and Nebraska-bound middle blocker Kendall Omoruyi had a match-high 22 kills.
The Monarchs were clinging to a 21-20 lead in the second set when Matavao took control, hammering spikes for her team’s last four points. An ace by Kalea Lee gave Mater Dei a 21-19 lead in the third set and another by Matavao had the Trinity League champions one set away from victory.
Lee (22 assists) and fellow setter Riley Stringer (25 assists) ran the Monarchs’ offense with precision and Matavao, the cousin of Trailblazers setter Lucky Fasavalu, who is committed to Missouri, added 14 digs.
Sierra Canyon’s Kendall Omoruyi hits over Mater Dei blockers Emma Kingston, center, and Jimin Seung in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship on Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Concentrating on the task at hand, Matavao said the two did not talk before the match.
“I’m grateful to be part of this team,” Matavao said. “We did all this together.”
In the preceding Division 2 final, Long Beach Poly trailed 14-12 in the fifth set before reeling off the last four points to beat Redondo Union, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18, 23-25, 16-14. It marked the second section title in three seasons for the Jackrabbits, who won the Division 3 title in 2024.
Avery Milburn had 18 kills for second-seeded Poly (29-7) and blocked the Sea Hawks’ top hitter, Asofiafia So’oto, on match point.
“I could see her approach going angle and I knew I had to get my right hand on it and make it the best block ever,” said Milburn, who got a kill to thwart the first of the Sea Hawks’ two chances to end it.
Long Beach Poly’s Alison Wetteland plays a ball at the net in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 girls’ volleyball final against Redondo Union on Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
McKennah Iamaleava had 29 kills, 15 digs and two aces and teamed with Alison Wetteland for a block to level the final set at 14-14. Mina Orbiso finished with 32 assists, Cedra Talaga had 20 digs and Aleeya Salima added 18 kills and seven digs for Poly.
So’oto had 17 kills, Abigail Hairrell had 11 kills and Leah Blair had nine kills and 14 digs and Addison Uphoff had five blocks, including one to end the fourth set for Redondo Union (22-12), which had upset No. 1-seeded Newport Harbor in the quarterfinals and No. 4 San Juan Hills in the semifinals.
In the Division 3 final, Corona del Mar outlasted Newbury Park 24-26, 25-20, 25-15, 22-25, 15-13 to capture its first section title in 22 years and the eighth in program history.
Corona del Mar’s Sofia Dajnowiec, right, tips the ball over two Newbury Park blockers in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 girls’ volleyball championship on Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
“I’m glad I was able to score that final point,” said senior outside hitter Sofia Dajnowiec, who pounded her 36th kill to end the match. “To win this means everything, it’s the best thing that could happen. We really worked hard in practice and stuck together as a team.”
Isabella Spinella dished out 44 assists, Savannah Dennis had 14 kills and 18 digs, Olivia Rosowski had 25 digs and Dajnowiec added 17 digs for the Sea Kings (26-9), who served 13 aces.
Charley Knupp had 18 kills and 15 digs, Emmery Reynolds had 10 kills and 10 digs, Olena Harasymowycz added 29 digs and Keira Overbeck handed out 32 assists for the Panthers (34-10), who were making their second finals appearance in three seasons, having lost the Division 4 title match to Campbell Hall in 2024.
Taft takes City Section Open Division title
Making its fourth finals appearance in five seasons, Taft defeated West Valley League rival Cleveland in five thrilling sets at Birmingham High to claim the Open Division championship — its seventh City title under coach Arman Mercado since he took over the program in 2000.
The fourth-seeded Toreadors (34-7) avenged two league losses to the third-seeded Cavaliers (31-12), who were vying for their first section crown after going 10-0 in the West Valley League to capture their first outright league title since 2004.
Mercado piloted the Toreadors to the City championship in 2006, the Invitational title in 2008, Division II titles in 2009, 2013 and 2014 and their first Open Division championship in 2024.
Second-seeded Granada Hills Kennedy upset top-seeded Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in four sets in the Division I final.
“There’s nothing more difficult than taking something that’s really, really good and trying to make it better,” says Daniel Harding, newly appointed music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Harding is perched on a sofa at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in an office that belonged to Gustavo Dudamel for nearly 20 years. The name on the plaque outside the door is now Harding’s, but the decor — particularly the heavy Hollywood Bowl throw blanket that keeps sliding off the cushions behind him — is not. Understandably tired after flying in from Paris the night before, Harding is in town to conduct three concerts of Brahms and Bernstein this weekend.
The LA Phil is heralding a new era after Dudamel left for the New York Philharmonic, having achieved legendary status and leaving a world-class orchestra in his wake. Harding doesn’t officially begin his directorship until the 2027 season, but he has two programs on this season’s schedule.
With Harding’s arrival, the LA Phil has announced a new shared leadership model that represents a departure from the 17 seasons under Dudamel, who served as both music and artistic director. Instead, Harding will split responsibilities with Esa-Pekka Salonen, who holds the title of creative director, and Anna Handler, the new conductor-in-residence. On Wednesday, the LA Phil also announced a new row of artistic chairs: Samara Joy (McLendon) as creative chair for jazz (succeeding Herbie Hancock), Silvana Estrada as creative chair for Latin music, a new position, and Thomas Adés as creative chair for New Music (succeeding John Adams). A chair for film music is still being finalized, and veteran film composer Joe Hisaishi was recently appointed composer-in-residence.
(Hancock and Adams will join Zubin Mehta with emeritus titles. Dudamel holds an artistic and cultural laureate position.)
Esa-Pekka Salonen holds the title of creative director under the L.A. Phil’s new shared leadership model.
(David Swanson/For The Times)
It’s all very exciting and just a tad chaotic — kind of like a game of musical chairs. Scheduling the interviews and photos for this article has taken nearly four months seemingly because all of these musicians are busy and scattered to the four winds. McLendon is based in Harlem, where she has started a jam session night at a local restaurant. Estrada lives in Mexico City and is currently on tour with her band. Hisaishi lives in his native Japan, and Harding resides in Paris.
President Kim Noltemy’s strategy, to divide labor and empower an array of specialists, is a bold counter to the traditional model of the all-powerful artistic and music director.
“Our new artistic leadership team brings us a remarkable breadth of perspectives and strengths across disciplines,” Noltemy said in a news release about the most recent appointments, “allowing us to imagine new forms of presentation, build unexpected collaborations, and create experiences that challenge, inspire and engage audiences. Perhaps most important of all, this team will amplify the wide range of voices, cultures and genres in Los Angeles.”
It remains unclear just how the new system will work, but all participants seem eager to find the best way as they go, and Harding still emerges as the symbolic head of the system with direct purview over the orchestra itself.
Anna Handler, the new L.A. Phil conductor-in-residence leading the Beethoven program at the Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026.
(Ariana Drehsler/For The Times)
“They have a vision [that] more voices can represent better what they want to do in the future,” says Handler, whom I interviewed at Massachusetts’ Tanglewood music festival in August. “You know, one single voice is not enough to speak for everything they want to do and everyone they want to reach.”
Salonen offers a steady, familiar hand, although neither Harding nor Handler are strangers to this orchestra. Both are well-liked guest conductors, going back as far as 1997 for Harding.
Handler, who turned 30 in April, says that when her appointment was announced, “I think like 25 musicians wrote to me on WhatsApp or on Instagram, and they were all like, ‘This is so deserved,’ or ‘We are so happy, we can’t wait for the projects to come with you,’ or like, ‘We’re so happy you’re part of our family now.’”
Handler embodies the youthful and diverse future of classical music — half Colombian, half German, she speaks fluent Spanish and is interested in new technologies. She is also visibly enthusiastic about the vote of confidence from the LA Phil and the creative sandbox it represents.
“This position for me means a safe space to grow, step by step, and do projects that I couldn’t do somewhere else,” says Handler, who has something “super cool” in mind for a Hollywood Bowl concert next year and is particularly excited to work with children. “You have the Walt Disney Concert Hall which, when you set foot in this building, you are like, ‘Wow, am I in the future? Am I in the present? Am I in the past?’
“The building evokes inside of me a desire to experiment,” she says.
McLendon, 26, and Estrada, 29, have both been contracted to curate four concerts, in different LA Phil venues, for two years. McLendon says she wants to bring some East Coast influence to the L.A. scene, and — in addition to playing with her own septet — she has a dream for “a night where older musicians and younger musicians kind of share the stage in a way that maybe they haven’t done before outside of their respective projects.”
Estrada says one of her goals is exploding the idea many non-Latino people have that “the Latin sound is just one sound.”
“The Latino community is the soul of an entire continent,” she says. “So there are so many sounds and so many stories, really. And I think I’m really excited about, in one hand, bringing all this richness of the Latino culture, but also how this richness reacts to other cultures and to other sounds.”
“I think what is great about the LA Phil and all the venues they have,” Estrada says, “is it’s a really, really beautiful and empowering place to tell any story you want to tell.”
Harding, 51, arguably has the least specific and most challenging mandate.
Daniel Harding, the newly appointed director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, arrives in L.A. in May after he was announced as Gustavo Dudamel’s replacement.
(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)
“The genuine success of everything that’s happened here in the last 20 years is so impressive and so deep,” Harding says, “that coming in and saying, ‘Yeah, I can contribute something,’ that feels like a step. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think I could be part of the journey as we continue to grow. But yeah, that’s a big challenge.”
The Oxford-born conductor and licensed pilot, who has co-piloted the London Symphony and captained the Orchestre de Paris and Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome (among other posts on an impressive CV), brings a dry, erudite charm and a different energy than his charismatic Venezuelan predecessor.
“I inherit from him an orchestra that has great energy and flexibility and knows what it is to sell something with what they call ‘sexy music-making,’” says Harding, “and it’s all there to be enjoyed and to be nourished. It’s a huge gift.”
Still, Harding adds: “We all hear different things. We all have slightly different priorities.”
Harding recalls conducting the orchestra two years ago, in a program of Britten and Strauss, and offering tweaks to color and balance: “I thought, yeah, there’s an orchestra which has a way of doing things which is very coherent, but they have so much available space in their musical awareness, and so much technical ability, that if you give them something else to think about or to munch on, the change is strong and quick.”
“Gustavo and I share a lot of things,” he continues, “but any two musicians hear things differently, see things differently, understand them differently — and I think the orchestra is very, very receptive to that.”
Gustavo Dudamel, left, hugs Daniel Harding, Los Angeles Philharmonic’s new music director, before a Rockies vs. Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium in May — just after Harding was announced as Dudamel’s replacement.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Harding is keeping his big dreams and schemes for the LA Phil close to the vest, but teases that one of them “involves one of our chairs, and it involves some of the people who make this town so admired all around the world, and it involves something that chair and I both grew up with. And that’s looking possible, and even if nothing else were to happen, if we make that one happen, I’ll be very, very excited.”
How this game of musical chairs will play out is a mystery, and it will likely take some time — and possibly trial and error — for Harding and his sprawling cohort to find their rhythm together. But the LA Phil is arguably the perfect band to take a big swing and try bold new things.
Handler cites her experience as a Dudamel Fellow, in 2024, conducting “Swan Lake” selections for the orchestra’s youth series.
“I had five performances, and what the musicians said to me about what they liked was that I did something different every time,” she says. “I tried this idea of experimenting for the sake of getting better, but also keeping it alive.”
El Cerrito High School in the Bay Area has canceled the remainder of its football season following a month-long police investigation into allegations of hazing and sexual assault involving at least 22 athletes over the last three seasons.
The probe stems from “a mandated reporter” on Oct. 2 telling police that members of the football team were engaging in bullying and hazing, the El Cerrito Police Department said in a statement. A mandated reporter in California is someone who has responsibility for children through their employment or volunteer status and is legally required to report suspected child abuse.
The alleged victims were other members of the football team. Detectives interviewed them along with school staff and witnesses. The West Contra Costa Unified School District, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, said the alleged incidents were said to have occurred between September 2024 and October 2026.
The police said they are investigating allegations of battery, sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, dissuading a victim, conspiracy and stalking.
Detectives have obtained video evidence that corroborated the allegations, although police officials said they would not release details because of “the sensitive nature of an ongoing investigation that involves juvenile victims, witnesses and suspects.”
El Cerrito head coach Tim Johnson was placed on leave, and the team’s regular-season finale Friday against El Sobrante De Anza High was canceled. El Cerrito has a 6-3 record but will not participate in the upcoming playoffs to defend their title won last year.
The school district said it is conducting its own investigation under Title IX.
“No child should ever experience what our students have described,” District Supt. Cheryl Cotton said. “While we have worked to focus on accountability for the actions of individual players up until this point, new information has led to new decisions.
“We must now make the very tough call to immediately suspend the El Cerrito High football program in order to prevent any further harm and restore a safe learning environment for our students.”
Cotton said the district is “providing resources for all impacted and involved students” through classroom instruction on anti-hazing and bystander education.
The El Cerrito football program is two years removed from a controversy that allegedly coincided with the beginning of the hazing. Six games were forfeited by the Gauchos in 2024 and their coach at the time, Jacob Rincon, was suspended for breaking rules prohibiting undue influence and athletically motivated transfers. Several players were deemed ineligible, and the program was placed on probation for two years.
Some parents and advocates of the program were outraged by the school’s action, calling on Rincon to be reinstated and then-principal Malcolm Norrington to be fired. More than 100 students engaged in a walkout, waving homemade posters and chanting “Free Coach Jake,” and “No More Norrington,” according to digital news site Richmond Confidential.
Parents gathered more than 2,000 signatures in a petition to fire Norrington, who left the district in 2025. Rincon was dismissed and replaced last season by Johnson, who led the team to a 13-2 record and the school’s first State Division 4-A championship.
According to the police, however, the hazing and sexual assaults continued in 2025 and into 2026.
Similar allegations have marred prominent high school football programs in Southern California in recent years.
A lawsuit in 2024 details a sexual assault against a sophomore football player at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita that triggered a police investigation and left the boy with post-traumatic stress disorder, severe depression and anxiety. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigated after the boy went to a hospital emergency room and alleged he had been sexually assaulted.
Santa Margarita principal Cheri Wood admitted in emails obtained by the Orange County Register that “at least 8” other players were allegedly assaulted by their teammates in a similar manner. The lawsuit was dismissed after a confidential out-of-court settlement was reached. The coach at the time was replaced by former NFL quarterback Carson Palmer, and Santa Margarita won a state title in 2025 and currently sits atop The Times’ high school football rankings.
A Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos High football player placed in a chokehold and whipped with a belt by two older players in a locker room in 2023 was initially described by Chaffey Joint Union High School District officials as “horseplay.” However, a video of the victim begging and screaming was circulated widely online and the district reversed its position, reclassified the event as prohibited hazing and issued undisclosed student disciplinary measures.
A 2021 lawsuit shined a light on players at Santa Ana Mater Dei High — one of the most celebrated football programs in the nation — being severely beaten by other players in a brutal hazing ritual called “bodies.” The family of a victim who suffered a traumatic brain injury and a broken nose filed a lawsuit against Mater Dei and the Diocese of Orange, alleging the Mater Dei administration covered up the incident.
“You drop your kids off at school and give them a kiss goodbye … and you feel like you’re putting them somewhere they can be safe,” the victim’s mother told The Times. “I felt like Mater Dei had the highest protection, I felt my kid would be safe there. Then for them to turn a blind eye and be so unsupervised. … It’s like, you failed my child.”
So far, Lake said Friday afternoon, he hasn’t heard back.
“I don’t know if he read it,” Lake told The Times. “He probably says, ‘I don’t care about it anymore. I’m not trying to see this. It doesn’t matter. You said what you said.’ But at the same time I … felt like it was right for me to at least say,’ Hey, man, I didn’t mean it in any disrespectful way.’”
Lake and teammate Trent McDuffie each intercepted a pass thrown by Herbert during the Rams’ 24-9 victory over the Chargers on Sunday. During an appearance on the “St. Brown Podcast” this week, Lake mentioned that Herbert “was throwing deli meat” and “seeing ghosts” during the game.
The comments left Lake and the two hosts — Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and his brother, former NFL receiver Equanimeous St. Brown — in stitches.
After his quotes went viral, however, Lake was left with a bad taste in his mouth.
“You know, I was with my boys,” said Lake, who played high school football with Amon-Ra St. Brown at Mater Dei. “I was in a comfortable environment. I was trying to say stuff funny. But looking back on it, they have a big platform. And when you say stuff like that, people are going to take it in ways that you may not mean it. … In no way shape or form was it supposed to be disrespectful.”
The Chargers are 0-7 this season, and Herbert is seen as a key contributing factor. A two-time Pro Bowl selection who is just two seasons removed from throwing for 23 touchdowns and three interceptions over 17 games, Herbert has only five touchdowns and a league-high 10 interceptions this year. He ranks 31st in QB rating among passers with at least 100 attempts.
But Lake said he thinks Herbert is “still a great quarterback,” citing the seventh-year player’s arm strength, running skills and processing ability.
“Obviously there’s some things going on over there that they probably want to fix and probably want to polish up,” Lake said. “You look at their roster from top to bottom, [they’re] still very, very talented, him included.”
Despite sitting atop the Big Ten with an undefeated record, the College Football Playoff selection committee slotted UCLA at No. 8 in its first rankings of the year, sitting behind a pair of two-loss Southeastern Conference teams and setting the stage for the Bruins to slip outside the 12-team playoff with one or two losses.
The Bruins, ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, are on the road for the first time in almost a month to face Minnesota at Huntington Bank Stadium, their toughest test since UCLA defeated Wisconsin on Oct. 17. The Golden Gophers — who defeated then-No. 13 Iowa on Oct. 24 and took then-No. 4 Indiana to overtime in Bloomington last week — give the Bruins an opportunity to silence critics questioning their strength of schedule. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. local time and 9 a.m. PST, the Bruins’ earliest start this season.
Coach Bob Chesney said he wants his team remain focused on the matchup and not outside noise, arguing that the two most meaningless statistics in football are the score at halftime and a team’s record going into November.
UCLA coach Bob Chesney directs his team during a win over Nevada at the Rose Bowl on Oct. 31.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“This is as tough a team as we’ve faced and probably will face — playing at their place with an early start, all the things that come with it,” Chesney said. “… We have to make sure that we understand that practicing mental toughness, physical toughness, emotional toughness are all things that have to be worked on now and logged now. But again, it’s November. Things are heightened just a little bit more.”
If the Bruins want to leave Minnesota 9-0, they need strong play from senior quarterback Ty Dieffenbach, who has led an offense that strained to score wins the past two weeks.
UCLA’s offense has combined for 48 points against Michigan State and Nevada, but the Bruins suffered from slow starts during both homestands.
And while Dieffenbach has not turned the ball over across the past two weeks, Chesney said the quarterback failed to pull the trigger on throws that could have opened up the offense and allowed the running game to hit another gear.
“The biggest thing is starting fast, and staying with your true reads — being able to get back to the third read, fourth read — and then trust in the pocket too,” UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy said. “… At the end of the day, there’s going to be a little bit of pressure. The pocket’s going to break down. So sitting in there and then really trusting it to get back with your eyes.”
Kennedy said self-inflicted wounds have hampered the offense’s execution, forcing Dieffenbach into third-and-long situations rather than third and manageable.
With Minnesota’s defense ranked sixth nationally in third-down defense and UCLA going 11-for-29 on third down the past two games, the offense will have to make the most of early downs.
UCLA’s offensive arsenal also gave away two fumbles against Michigan State — from senior running back Jaivian Thomas and fifth-year Anthony Woods — both in Spartan territory. The Golden Gophers and the Bruins are tied for first in the Big Ten in forced fumbles with 10 and it could take just one loose ball to change the tide of Saturday’s game in the Twin Cities.
“You look at the amount of turnovers they create. … You see them punch a lot at the football too,” Kennedy said. “That’s all design, and that’s probably something they pride themselves on, of trying to turn the football over and give it back to their offense.
“That’s something that we’ve stressed nonstop — ball security.”
Creating turnovers on the other side of the ball will be equally imperative to dismantling Minnesota’s offense. The Bruins lead the nation in takeaways with 26, averaging 3.3 per game, but defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler noted that they also lead the country in dropped interceptions.
With Minnesota kicker Luke Drzewiecki hitting 51 and 60-yard field goals against Indiana, and maintaining a perfect 15-for-15 field-goal clip — including going eight for eight from 40-plus yards — the Golden Gophers have the ability to light up the scoreboard as soon as they hit midfield.
The key to keeping Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck’s offense in its own territory and punting will be winning the line of scrimmage battle. Edge rushers Aiden Gobaira and Sahir West dominated last week against Nevada, combining for 16 tackles, three sacks and five tackles-for-loss.
“We have to match that intensity that starts up front, and AG [Aiden Gobaira] always sets the tone from that standard and you love the kid to death,” Hitschler said. “He puts it all out there for his teammates and he’s taken Sahir under his wing over the years. … Sahir starts and he does the hard duty, but when they’re together and they’re dominating, that’s carried us for a long time.”
Setting the edge and winning the trench battle will also be vital for mitigating the influence of Minnesota running back tandem T.J. Thomas and Darius Taylor.
The former has operated as the backup this season, but has rushed for 379 yards in six yards per carry. And while Taylor has struggled so far this season, averaging 2.6 yards per attempt, he still displays flashes of the tailback who rushed for 986 yards and 10 scores two seasons ago.
“I saw Darius a few years ago, and he’s as good a back as there is in this league, and obviously their backups got a good chip on his shoulder and earned the opportunity to play at this level and have been extremely explosive,” Hitschler said. “They’ve done a good job of being tough and being physical and finding a way to win. And a lot of that goes to their mentality being similar to ours.”
To make “North of North,” creators Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril had to do what no one had done before: build a full-scale scripted TV production in the Arctic, where infrastructure is scarce and costs are high.
Co-commissioned by CBC, Netflix and Indigenous network APTN, the acclaimed comedy stars Anna Lambe as Siaja, a young Inuk mother who leaves an unfulfilling marriage to reinvent her life in the close-knit fictional Arctic community of Ice Cove. For the creators, the series could only be filmed in Iqaluit — the capital of Nunavut, the northernmost territory of Canada.
“As soon as you visit the Arctic, you’re like, ‘Northern Manitoba’s not going to cut it. Northern Ontario’s not going to cut it,’” Arnaquq-Baril says. “And it’s not just the landscape — it’s also all the people, the houses. Everything is just a little different and unique and well worth all the logistical challenges of shooting up here.”
While CBC, Netflix and APTN all immediately saw the value in shooting in the Arctic, Aglok MacDonald says the executive producers still had to conduct their own “feasibility study” to prove it was possible. They had to demonstrate that local hotels could house the crew and that service providers and truck rentals were available. They also needed the city council’s permission to rent the Iqaluit Curling Club and convert it into a temporary studio for Season 1 — though it was big enough only for some of the sets, with no room for department or producer offices.
After “North of North” was officially ordered to series in March 2023, Aglok MacDonald and Arnaquq-Baril hired a producer, a year before prep would normally begin, to plan the procurement and transport of specific items months in advance. Wherever possible, materials were sent by sea during the annual short thaw to avoid expensive airfreight. For example, building materials and boxed water — which, Arnaquq-Baril says, was chosen over plastic bottles to leave “less toxic garbage in the Arctic” — were shipped by sealift.
Anna Lambe as on the set of “North of North” Season 2.
(Jasper Savage / CBC / APTN / Netflix)
Most sets were built in Toronto, disassembled and palletized to fit the cargo plane’s fuselage. Generators arrived drained of fuel and had to be restarted by a local. The pipes in portable washrooms would have frozen, so the production hired extra drivers to shuttle crew to their hotel bathrooms. Costume designers even used social media to ask travelers to bring items from Ottawa or Toronto.
What couldn’t be shipped had to be improvised. “Our grip department were like MacGyver,” Arnaquq-Baril says. For instance, the crew built the “Nunavut arm,” a jib mounted on a pickup truck’s flatbed to capture wide outdoor shots. A camera operator built a custom housing that kept his hands warm at –40 degrees Celsius while he maintained enough dexterity to fly a drone. Even hair and makeup had to adapt, since traditional hair spray stops working properly in that cold.
A lack of hotel space, however, nearly derailed “North of North” entirely. Production paused in Season 1 when a mining symposium took over the town’s hotels. In Season 2, which premiered on Netflix Thursday, a hotel renovation forced the producers to ship sets to Toronto and shoot those scenes on a soundstage, and pushed the Arctic shoot later in the year, leaving less time for postproduction. When the Iqaluit shoot finally began this March, Lambe and the creators recall, the temperature was also 20 C colder than in Season 1 — a jarring drop even by Arctic standards.
Aglok MacDonald says that many cast and crew members actually lost weight during the shoot. “Often, we’re standing still, but our bodies are still really working so hard to keep warm, and we’re out there for 13 hours a day in –39 C,” she explains. “Thankfully, our craft services [team] is feeding us warm food. Every time we call ‘cut,’ people are starting to do jumping jacks and doing what they can to keep their bodies moving. Even Inuit from our community would be watching us outside through their windows and being like, ‘Oh my God, you guys are crazy. Are you guys OK?’”
“We have a taste of what hunters do every day now,” Arnaquq-Baril quips. “They go out in the cold every single day, all year round, year after year, and we’re just doing it for six weeks at a time. It was grueling. I don’t know how they do it.”
Maika Harper as Neevee, from left, Anna Lambe as Siaja, Braeden Clarke as Kuuk, Jay Ryan as Alistair are filmed for “North of North.”
(Jasper Savage / CBC / APTN / Netflix)
“North of North” has been a boon to the local and national economy. In Season 1, 500 Iqaluit locals (from a population of around 8,000), including the mayor, appeared as background actors, while the production employed more than 300 Canadian crew members and over 225 vendors, more than 60 of them from Nunavut. Netflix estimates the first season generated more than $23 million in economic activity.
Having seen non-Indigenous filmmakers come to the Arctic and offer little in return, the Inuit co-creators, who both live in Nunavut, were determined to give back to their community. Most notably, they created apprenticeship programs across various departments — including camera, sound, production design, catering — to teach Inuit and other local northern residents about the filmmaking process.
Lambe, raised in Iqaluit, grew up with many of the people who are now working on the show. “When you’re on the outside of [the industry], you have no idea that lighting tech or grip is a job, or that craft services are an integral part of a production,” she says. “If they don’t want to be in front of the camera or writing or directing, there’s so many other spaces that they can work in and dream about and pursue.”
After the extended Season 2 stint on a Toronto soundstage, Aglok MacDonald and Arnaquq-Baril secured funding for a new studio from the Indigenous Screen Office, the Government of Nunavut, the Canadian government and local Inuk businessmen. Construction is now 75% complete, and the “North of North” team hopes to have it ready in time for a potential Season 3. “We’re so excited for it to be done, adding to the infrastructure of the community instead of just straining it so much,” Arnaquq-Baril says.
Unrivaled will tip off its third season with a coast-to-coast event on Jan. 8 at Intuit Dome, featuring a doubleheader.
Opening night in Los Angeles will begin at 7 p.m. with a matchup between the league’s first two MVPs, as Napheesa Collier and Lunar Owls BC go up against Chelsea Gray and Rose BC. The second game of the night will feature newly crowned WNBA champion Gabby Williams, the Sparks’ Cameron Brink and Hive BC going against Jackie Young and Laces BC.
“Opening our third season in Los Angeles at Intuit Dome is a significant milestone for Unrivaled and reflects how far the league has come in just two years,” said Unrivaled president and CEO Alex Bazzell. “With our expanded roster of talent and a coast-to-coast opening night, we’re excited to introduce even more fans across Los Angeles to the competition and player experience that make Unrivaled unique.”
Before the games at Intuit Dome, Unrivaled will start the season in Boston with a rematch of last season’s final, as the defending champion Mist take on Phantom. The opening game will be followed by Vinyl vs. Breeze.
The rest of the season will be played as part of an eight-city tour, including stops at the league’s home base, Sephora Arena in Miami, as well as Detroit and San Francisco on Jan. 11, Brooklyn on Jan. 22, Minneapolis on Jan. 24, Houston on Feb. 12 and Philadelphia on Feb. 15.
Unrivaled began touring the country during its second season, starting with a historic soldout game at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. The league also held its semifinal games before another sellout crowd at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Three-on-three basketball made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, where the United States took home the gold medal. Germany won the top prize at the Paris Summer Olympics. Unrivaled has maintained the three-on-three approach, but it is played on a condensed full court rather than the Olympic halfcourt format.
The league features WNBA stars such as Kelsey Plum of the Phoenix Mercury, Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings and Marina Mabrey of the Toronto Tempo.
Games will be televised on TNT, truTV and HBO Max.
While real-world tech mogul Elon Musk suffered a major setback this week after pouring more than $200 million into Texas Republican campaigns that lost to protect his business empire, over on HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” robber baron George Russell is fighting tooth and nail against looming federal regulations to save his.
The period drama returned Sunday with its fourth season. After leaving George (Morgan Spector) at a major turning point in Season 3 — seemingly done with his marriage following Bertha‘s (Carrie Coon) forced engineering of their daughter‘s marriage, as well as his own survival of a near-fatal shooting — the couple is still at odds. As the new season picks up, George unravels under the looming threat of anti-monopoly laws targeting his industrial empire. And that’s just part of all the drama and fun that made the episode the show’s most-watched premiere yet, averaging nearly 4 million viewers across platforms, according to the cabler/streamer. Season 4 promises more tension as the Russells try to maintain their wealth and status while Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) tries to regain her position, all while the show’s various relationships face challenges, ultimatums or bittersweet developments. Ahead of this week’s second episode, I spoke with Sonja Warfield, who is co-showrunner of the series alongside creator Julian Fellowes, about how Season 4 kicks off — including that unexpected cameo from David Letterman and Matt Damon.
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Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our writers recommend a new stand-up special from everyone’s favorite sitcom principal and a sports drama chronicling the life of Muhammad Ali. — Yvonne Villarreal
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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
Janelle James at the Vic Theatre in Chicago, where her Netflix comedy special was filmed.
(Elizabeth Sisson / Netflix )
“Janelle James: How Romantic” (Netflix)
Among the many gifts “Abbott Elementary” showered upon the culture was bringing Janelle James to national prominence. As work-averse principal Ava Coleman — a selfish, insulting character one is always delighted to see — she is as attractive as she is difficult. And as the show has gone on, the actor has found layers to play, including hints of a kind of existential melancholy. James began in stand-up — her biggest brush with fame was touring with Chris Rock in 2017 — and now she’s headlining her own, first hourlong special, which debuts Tuesday on the streamer and was filmed at Chicago’s Vic Theatre. Hang on through an opening salvo of political jokes that elapsed time and Tuesday’s election results have rendered stale (Rudy Giuliani, anybody? Joe Biden?) as James, laughing and dancing, unwinds into her real material — spending 24 hours in labor, the problems and perks of being suddenly famous, men and how they are, having money with a poor person’s mind. Of the power of comedy (and being on a hit sitcom) to unite a diverse audience, she says, “There’s one of everything in here. … We can all be in here and share a laugh, then everyone goes back to their respective neighborhoods, never to speak again. But for a small moment in time we were all friends. Because of me. So that’s nice.” — Robert Lloyd
Jaalen Best as Muhammad Ali in Prime Video’s “The Greatest.”
(Brooke Palmer / Prime)
“The Greatest” (Prime Video)
The multitude of projects about Muhammad Ali just received a new entry with Prime Video’s limited series “The Greatest,” starring newcomer Jaalen Best as the legendary boxer. The project traces Ali’s breakthrough as a gold medal boxer through his brutal battle with Sonny Liston. Viewers looking for a companion piece to the drama can check out Ken Burns’ 2021 epic documentary “Muhammad Ali.” Burns called the four-part miniseries an extensive look at a “man who may be the most iconic figure of the 20th century.” The filmmaker added that Ali was also a “very complex, dynamic man” who had an immeasurable impact stretched into politics, culture and religion.” — Greg Braxton
Guest spot
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching
Morgan Spector and Carrie Coon in Season 4 of “The Gilded Age.”
(Karolina Wojtasik / HBO)
Clocks have rolled back and “The Gilded Age” Sundays have returned — the perfect couch rotting combo for fall. Lingering crises and fresh new scandals collide in Season 4 as our favorite New York elite navigate a fracturing power marriage, perilous childbirth, a horse-carriage breakdown that ignites a night of forbidden passion, and a titan‘s struggle to maintain his empire. Even Jack’s new invention, the electric mixer, couldn’t whip up a more delicious start. Episode 2 airs Sunday on HBO and will stream on HBO Max. I spoke with Sonja Warfield, the co-showrunner of the drama, about the premiere, that David Letterman and Matt Damon cameo and what’s ahead this season. — Y.V.
You said you were looking at social media a bit after the premiere. What stood out to you about what fans were responding to?
Marian. Someone had a lot of thoughts about some of Marian’s costumes. But then I read something about Marian and Larry having sex, and they don’t want to hear about her complaining about him this season — something like, “She just needs to go over there to his house and get her ring back.”
It’s been interesting to see the conversation around Marian’s freak-out the morning after she had sex with Larry — and the ramifications of premarital sex at that time.
Louisa [Jacobson, who plays Marian] did an amazing job conveying the gravity of the transgression; it just was all over her face. And Harry’s reaction, because he’s kind of surprised. They just had this roll in the hay, but it transmits to him as well. So really, kudos to Louisa for selling that. Wonderful actors like Louisa Jacobson help the viewer along in their understanding that this is about the worst thing that you can do, and then we have the scene afterwards. That walk of shame back and the aunts even say, “Oh, it was better that you took a cab because the impropriety of that.”
We also see Gladys survive this traumatic, life-threatening breach birth, ultimately welcoming a baby boy. Some of us have PTSD from Lady Sybil’s death in “Downton Abbey” and were very nervous about where it was going.
One of the first things I said to Julian when we first started working together was, “I might never forgive you for what you did to Lady Sybil.” I remember every frame of what Lady Sybil went through. … We wanted to make sure that [“The Gilded Age”] was different, so we worked closely with a doctor who specializes in Victorian medicine to figure out how we can make it traumatic, her life is salvaged, but she’s forever changed. It’s women’s health. There’s still more questions than answers, and especially back then when they had not even surfaced. Maternal mortality rate has been lowered in recent years in America. It’s real jeopardy, and it happens all the time and every day.
Women’s health and decisions surrounding it are not the only timely modern parallel. Something that looms large is wealthy business titans trying to exert profound, direct influence over American politics and policies. How was it to dig into that history this season, given the current real-world backdrop?
As we got the research in, and we started having conversations with Dr. Dunbar [Erica Armstong Dunbar is a co-executive producer and lead historical consultant on the series], it became abundantly clear that the reason why there have been so many regulations in business is because of the Gilded Age. We’re just right back where we started. I love this argument that is being used today that was being used back then, which is “let us regulate our ourselves.” That’s ridiculous. They changed America, and brought in wealth and industry and the railroad and all of that; at the same time, it has to be regulated. They cannot regulate themselves. Greed is one of the seven deadly sins.
Audra McDonald, left, and Denée Benton in “The Gilded Age.”
(Karolina Wojtasik / HBO)
Were you nervous about having this plot about anti-monopoly legislation or how it would be received by studio brass, given the Paramount and Warner Bros. merger?
It was not in my mind because it is the real history. We are being historically accurate.
There is a moment eight minutes into the premiere episode that, if you blinked, you missed it: David Letterman and Matt Damon made cameos as background actors. Apparently, David has long wanted to be a background actor, and this stunt was filmed as a field segment for the new season of his Netflix interview show; Damon got his start as a background actor. Were you in disbelief when you heard about this request?
I am a huge David Letterman fan. When I heard that there was a possibility that I could meet David Letterman, I was ecstatic and really kind of selfish. We shoot tandem sets, so there are two sets going at a time. My mandate was, “I’m on the David Letterman set that day. Take me there.” All the way in Long Island. I had an event that night. I didn’t care. I waited for David.
Forget Matt Damon.
What was so funny was that my dad is a huge Matt Damon fan, and whilst I was awaiting David Letterman, I had an audience with Matt Damon, who is the most lovely, kind person ever. So empathetic and gracious and wonderful, and game whatever they had cooking on Letterman’s show. Then I met David Letterman. It was an absolute blast. I was like, “This is a the best day at work in a long time.” It all started because someone on our staff was friends with someone on David Letterman’s show.
We see them casually crossing the street. Was it hard to decide what scene to plop them into?
It was really about scheduling. And what would be the least conspicuous because David Letterman does have that long beard. We held on to it for so long. We shot that back in May.
I want all good things for Peggy, in life, love and career. Her wedding to William is on the horizon. What did you want out of that moment for her?
Well, once I knew we had a bigger budget, I wanted all of it too. I really do think we deliver. I want to be mindful here. The location of where she gets married is exquisitely beautiful. We enter the wedding and the marriage with trepidation because there is real conflict, inherent conflict with this family in the form of Elizabeth Kirkland, played by the incredible Felicia Rashad. I think all weddings are fraught because you’re bringing together these different factions, and people want different things and have ideas and dreams. I think Peggy’s wedding delivers on all fronts. I think it delivers in terms of dramatic tension. I think it delivers in terms of set decoration. It delivers in terms of costume and, of course, performances and direction. I can’t wait for the audience to watch it and then watch it again. Accompanying the wedding will be some beautiful photography done by the Tyler Twins. Their work is really just exquisite, and I’m excited for the world to see all this. We’ve been holding all of this in.
Peggy and William are at the dawn of their relationship, just as Bertha and George are navigating a major stress point in their union.
Marriage is a journey. I’ve been married and divorced, and I just remember my dad’s advice early on was that there are always going to be these trials, and if you can make your way through them and end up together, you will be stronger for it. For Bertha and George, who’ve been married for many years now — he didn’t make a lot of money when they were first together, and now they they’re in this place of extreme wealth, and their lives have changed. And now he is going through something that couldn’t have been predicted. And Bertha rides for her husband. There are times when couples can go their separate ways, and, like my dad said, if you can find your way back together through the storm, and you’ve weathered it together, you’re stronger. I want that for Peggy and William. They want a Bertha-George marriage — if Bertha and George make it through.
I really worry about Agnes’ stress levels this season. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that. Later in the season, she delivers one line — “That article was poppycock!” — in a way that will live in my head as a GIF forever.
I even said something to Christine during the season — “We’re really putting you through it this season.” I love it, and she loved it too. She had a ball, and especially in Episode 3, which I got to write with Julian. I loved writing some of that dialogue because she just has so many highs and lows throughout the season, and it was like a masterclass for me to watch Christine go from the highest high to the lowest low. She wants revenge; she is out for blood because someone is attempting to take away her opportunities. It was delicious, and I’m glad that you liked it, and I hope the greater audience enjoyed it.
Is there a moment coming up from Episode 2 that you’re excited for people to see?
I’m excited for people to see more of the Black elite in Newport.
What’s the film or TV show that you’re recommending to everyone right now?
Well, I’m behind, but I love “Nobody Wants This” [Netflix]. I have not been able to watch all of it; we had a premiere for “The Gilded Age” and lots of things going on. But I love that show. I got to meet the whole cast at the Emmys. I’m a free advertisement for that show.
Kansas City Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, claiming nearly $3.5 million in debts to just over $677,000 in assets.
According to a bankruptcy petition filed Wednesday in the Northern District of Texas, much of the money Rice owes stems from civil litigation tied to his role in a 2024 vehicle crash that left multiple people injured and assault allegations made earlier this year by his ex-girlfriend and mother of his two children.
In July 2025, Rice pleaded guilty to third-degree felony charges of collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He was suspended for the first six weeks of the 2025 season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Rice owes more than $2 million following civil lawsuits by six people who were injured in the accident, according to the bankruptcy petition, with some of that amount coming from settlements and some still being disputed by Rice.
The largest amount he owes in debt is $979,837 to crash victim Kathryn Kuykendall, the remainder of a $1 million settlement from last year that has not yet been garnished from Rice’s wages.
Rice also owes $200,000 to ex-girlfriend Dacoda Jones tied to a civil lawsuit she filed in February, accusing him of physically assaulting her multiple times during their relationship between December 2023 and July 2025. That debt is also listed as disputed by Rice, who was not suspended by the NFL following Jones’ allegations.
The fourth-year player is in the final season of his rookie contract, which has a total value of $6.5 million and a base salary of $1.6 million this season. According to the bankruptcy filing, he receives a total monthly income of $59,512.44 but only nets $3,610.31 a month after payroll deductions and expenses. His total wages and commission since Jan. 1, 2024, adds up to more than $4.7 million, with no listed income source other than the Chiefs.
His assets are valued at $677,054 and include a 2023 Mercedes Benz ($53,800) and his Super Bowl LVIII ring ($160,000), the latter of which is being held as collateral by one of his attorneys, according to the document. Rice caught six passes for 39 yards in that game, a 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11, 2024. Overall, he has 176 receptions for 2,040 yards and 16 touchdowns.
It was Angel City’s fifth match of the season and Anderson, the team’s goalkeeper, made a crucial error in stoppage time that led to a winning goal. And while that was significant, what really made the game stand out is what happened next.
When she carried the weight of the loss home with her, her boyfriend, Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Thomas Booker, staged an intervention. Every time she make a mistake, Booker told Anderson, she would beat herself up. Yet when she played well, she simply considered that part of her job.
“We came to this conclusion that is not sustainable,” Anderson said. “I’m putting way too much pressure on myself so I had to figure out a way to care, not less, but care optimally. As athletes, we’re always like ‘what more can I do?’ when really I think it’s ‘what’s optimal for you?’
“That kind of gave me more freedom on the pitch.”
Playing with that freedom, Anderson gave up just one goal per game during the rest of the season, pitching a league-best nine shutouts since May 17 and leading Angel City (15-8-7) to its second playoff appearance. Anderson and Angel City will meet Kansas City (16-9-5) on Saturday morning at CPKC Stadium, where the Current is unbeaten in its past 32 games.
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Aaron Donald works on fumble recovery
From Gary Klein: Since coming out of retirement before this season, Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald adopted a humble approach, always allowing younger, less-accomplished players to go ahead of him during drills.
But on Thursday, the future Hall of Famer enthusiastically moved to the front of the line.
The Rams practiced scooping fumbled footballs off the turf.
“I needed that,” Donald said Thursday, chuckling. “Learn bending and getting down.”
Last Sunday against the Chargers, Donald missed the opportunity to score his first NFL touchdown when, with a clear shot to the end zone, he failed to come up with a fumble, albeit in hilarious fashion.
From Kevin Baxter: Angel City heads into this weekend’s NWSL playoffs with the youngest starting lineup in the league. And with a 10-game unbeaten streak, it has the hottest team in the league as well.
On Thursday, that team got a little younger and potentially a bit better when it announced the signing of 17-year-old Maddie DiMaria, the leading scorer in the U-17 women’s World Cup. Financial terms of the four-year deal were not released.
“This person is special,” sporting director Mark Parsons said of DiMaria, who signed with Angel City before scoring 12 goals in four games in the age-group World Cup. “But she also represents what Angel City football is about and what Angel City is trying to do over the so many years, which is win.
“And she’s a winner.”
A two-time Gatorade girls’ national soccer player of the year, DiMaria scored 24 times in 23 appearances with the U-17 team, with her 12 goals in Morocco breaking Michelle Akers’ 35-year-old American record for most goals in a World Cup. Before graduating from Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis, she scored 67 goals and had 25 assists as a junior, leading her team to a 25-0 season and a state championship.
James, who is the third year of a four-year contract worth $7.9 million ($4.4 million guaranteed), played only 12 minutes this season across five games, scoring four points on two-of-three shooting while missing his only three-pointer.
Carr, who was the 24th overall draft pick this summer, has played only four minutes in three games, missing the only shot he took.
Sienna Betts scored 17 points on eight-of-10 shooting and No. 11 UCLA used a big start and strong finish to roll to a 78-42 win over UC Irvine on Thursday night.
The Bruins never trailed after Betts hit a short basket 12 seconds into the game. It was 23-8 after one quarter. The Anteaters were only outscored by seven in the middle quarters and then UCLA had a 14-0 advantage in the fourth quarter when Irvine went 0 for 11 from the field and committed seven turnovers.
Cutter Gauthier became the first Ducks player with nine goals over a four-game span, scoring and adding an assist in a 5-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.
Gauthier — coming off consecutive hat tricks — has seven power-play goals in the four-game span. Dating to 1933-34, the only other NHL players to accomplish the feat are Dave Andreychuk (eight, Nov. 7-14, 1992) and Teemu Selanne (seven, Oct. 25-31, 2008).
Pavel Mintyukov and Beckett Sennecke each had two goals and an assist for the Ducks, and Laurent Brossoit made 23 saves. They have three in a row to improve to 8-7-1.
1869 — First U.S. college football game played, Rutgers 6, Princeton 4.
1934 — Joe Carter scores four touchdowns and Swede Hanson rushes for 190 yards as the Philadelphia Eagles crush the Cincinnati Reds 64-0.
1966 — Philadelphia’s Timmy Brown returns kickoffs 93 yards and 90 yards for touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a 24-23 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
1981 — Larry Holmes knocks out Renaldo Snipes in the 11th round to retain the world heavyweight title in Pittsburgh.
1983 — James Wilder of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rushes for 219 yards and a touchdown in a 17-12 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
1988 — Britain’s Steve Jones win the New York City Marathon in 2:08:20, the fastest time in the world this year. His margin of victory, 3 minutes and 21 seconds over Salvatore Bettiol, is the largest in the history of the five-borough race. Grete Waitz wins an unprecedented ninth women’s title, finishing in 2:28:07 well ahead of Italy’s Laura Fogli (2:31:26).
1992 — Manon Rheaume of the Atlanta Knights becomes the first woman to suit up for a regular-season pro hockey game. The 20-year-old goalie doesn’t play in Atlanta’s 3-2 overtime loss to Cincinnati in the IHL game.
1993 — French-based Arcangues stages the biggest Breeders’ Cup upset, rallying to beat Bertrando by 2 lengths in the $3 million Classic at Santa Anita. Arcangues went off at 133-1 and returned $269.20 on a $2 bet.
1993 — Evander Holyfield regains the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships from Riddick Bowe in a fight disrupted by a parachutist. During the seventh round at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the chutist tumbles into the ringside seats and stops the fight for 21 minutes. Holyfield becomes the fourth man to become a heavyweight champion at least twice.
1995 — Art Modell officially announces Cleveland Browns are moving to Baltimore.
1999 — Charles Roberts rushes for 409 yards and five touchdowns to lead Sacramento State past Idaho State 41-20, setting a new NCAA record for a single-game rushing performance.
2005 — Annika Sorenstam becomes the first player in LPGA Tour history to win a tournament five straight times, shooting an 8-under 64 for a three-stroke victory in the Mizuno Classic.
2010 — Michigan wins the highest scoring game in its 131-year history by stopping a 2-point conversion attempt in the third overtime for a 67-65 victory over Illinois.
2010 — Zenyatta comes within a head of finishing a perfect career. Horse racing’s biggest star closes from dead last, but Blame holds off the 6-year-old mare and wins the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic under the lights Churchill Downs. Zenyatta entered the race hoping to improve to 20-0 on her career.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Third-year guard Bronny James and rookie guard Cameron Carr have been assigned to G League Coachella Valley, the Lakers announced Thursday.
James, who is the third year of a four-year contract worth $7.9 million ($4.4 million guaranteed), played only 12 minutes this season across five games, scoring four points on two-of-three shooting while missing his only three-pointer.
Carr, who was the 24th overall draft pick this summer, has played only four minutes in three games, missing the only shot he took.
James has played in 74 games during his young career, including 42 last season when he averaged 2.9 points and 1.2 assists in 8.9 minutes.
The Lakers moved their G League affiliate to Coachella Valley, where they will open the season Friday at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert against Salt Lake City.
Since coming out of retirement before this season, Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald adopted a humble approach, always allowing younger, less-accomplished players to go ahead of him during drills.
But on Thursday, the future Hall of Famer enthusiastically moved to the front of the line.
The Rams practiced scooping fumbled footballs off the turf.
“I needed that,” Donald said Thursday, chuckling. “Learn bending and getting down.”
Last Sunday against the Chargers, Donald missed the opportunity to score his first NFL touchdown when, with a clear shot to the end zone, he failed to come up with a fumble, albeit in hilarious fashion.
“I saw what he was thinking because it’s going right in front of you and he’s thinking, ‘I’m going to scoop and score,’” coach Sean McVay said after the game. “Then he knocks that … out of bounds. I mean, what the hell?
“His face, he couldn’t even look at me and make eye contact after that. But at least we can laugh about it right now.”
Donald was still laughing about it Thursday.
“I should have slowed down, but I felt people behind me and I’m like, ‘I’m going to get hit in my back. That’s going to hurt,’” he said. “So I tried to go full speed and scoop it. I thought the ball was going to bounce this way but it bounced that way, and it just looked all damn silly.
“Then I hit the ball out. I just laid down. ‘I can’t believe I just did that.’”
Donald was grinning throughout his session with reporters while replaying the missed opportunity — and the new opportunity on the horizon with edge rusher Myles Garrett back at practice.
McVay has not said whether Garrett will be activated from injured reserve and play for the first time since undergoing knee surgery after the season opener.
But Donald sounded as if that could happen Sunday when the Rams play the Washington Commanders in Landover, Md.
Donald did not play in the opener, so whenever Garrett returns would mark the first time the future Hall of Famers will play together.
“If Myles is 100% ready to go, and plays this week, that’s going to be amazing for us,” Donald said. “It’s always good when you have all the pieces of the puzzle.”
Donald, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, and Garrett, a two-time winner, have a combined 236½ sacks. Last season with the Cleveland Browns, Garrett set an NFL season record with 23 sacks.
Donald has played in six games for a team that opened the season as the Super Bowl favorite but is 4-4 after its win over the Chargers.
Donald does not have a sack, but he has 12 tackles, three for losses.
Will Garrett’s return free Donald from double teams and other schemes?
“I’m pretty sure,” Donald said. “The guy did have 20-something sacks last year.”
Donald said the season has not gone as expected, but he is enjoying it.
“I’m enjoying the process, I’m enjoying myself week in and week out getting better, enjoying being out there with the guys,” he said. “And just playing this game.”
Etc.
The Rams activated kicker Joshua Karty to the roster from the practice squad and signed cornerback David Long to the practice squad. The Rams selected Long in the third round of the 2019 draft and he played three-plus seasons before stints with four other teams. … For the second day in a row, cornerback Trent McDuffie (back), tight end Colby Parkinson (ribs) and safety Kam Curl (foot) did not practice.
Angel City heads into this weekend’s NWSL playoffs with the youngest starting lineup in the league. And with a 10-game unbeaten streak, it has the hottest team in the league as well.
On Thursday, that team got a little younger and potentially a bit better when it announced the signing of 17-year-old Maddie DiMaria, the leading scorer in the U-17 women’s World Cup. Financial terms of the four-year deal were not released.
“This person is special,” sporting director Mark Parsons said of DiMaria, who signed with Angel City before scoring 12 goals in four games in the age-group World Cup. “But she also represents what Angel City football is about and what Angel City is trying to do over the so many years, which is win.
“And she’s a winner.”
Maddie DiMaria, second from right, accepts the Gatorade National Players of the Year award during the ESPY Awards in July.
(Mike Coppola / Getty Images)
A two-time Gatorade girls’ national soccer player of the year, DiMaria scored 24 times in 23 appearances with the U-17 team, with her 12 goals in Morocco breaking Michelle Akers’ 35-year-old American record for most goals in a World Cup. Before graduating from Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis, she scored 67 goals and had 25 assists as a junior, leading her team to a 25-0 season and a state championship.
Her father, Jeff DiMaria, played briefly for the Colorado Rapids in MLS and her mother, Sara, played college soccer, as did both of her older siblings. DiMaria trained with Angel City for a week this summer and Parsons, who has been scouting her for nearly two years, said the team was impressed by what it saw.
“She had a big impact,” Parsons said. “Not just on the field by being super fun and talented, but as a senior player [told] me, ‘we love Maddie. She’s got great vibes. We really liked her as a person.’”
Angel City (15-8-7), which set franchise records for wins, goals, points and goal differential this season, makes its second appearance in the NWSL playoffs Saturday when it travels to Kansas City to meet the Current in the quarterfinals.
Justin Herbert famously loves Subway subs. During his rookie season in 2020, the Chargers quarterback told GQ magazine he was “living off” the sandwiches, consuming both a Steak Philly sub and a Chicken & Bacon Ranch sub each night for dinner. He has since appeared in at least eight TV commercials for the restaurant franchise.
But the Chargers quarterback was making his own sandwiches Sunday — or at least that’s how it seemed to an opposing defender who picked off one of his passes that afternoon.
“He was throwing deli meat out there,” Rams safety Quentin Lake said this week on the “St. Brown Podcast,” apparently joining the current inclination of using sandwich-related metaphors to describe bad passes.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but like we knew we were going to get a couple [interceptions], at least one,” Lake added.
The Rams snagged two during their 24-9 victory over the Chargers. Midway through the first quarter, Lake stepped in front of a pass intended for Charlie Kolar and returned it 45 yards to the Chargers’ 19-yard line, setting up a Rams field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Late in the third quarter, Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie also got a pick in front of Kolar and returned it 26 yards to the Chargers’ 22-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with receiver Puka Nacua for an 18-yard touchdown and a 24-9 lead.
Herbert completed 24 of 32 passes for 257 yards with no touchdowns. His struggles under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniels are seen as a large factor in the Chargers’ unexpected 0-7 record.
The seventh-year quarterback has thrown for five touchdowns and a league-high 10 interceptions this year, with at least one pick in each of this season’s seven games. In 2024, Herbert finished the 17-game season with 23 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
This week wasn’t the first time this season Herbert’s passes have been described like a lunchtime menu item.
On Sept. 27, after Herbert threw a floater to then-Buffalo Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, former NFL quarterback and current Fox broadcaster Tom Brady offered this on-air analysis: “Poor awareness. Poor decision. Throws him a meatball sub.”
This season, random social media users have given other quarterbacks the Subway treatment, including New England’s Drake Maye, Denver’s Bo Nix, Cleveland’s Deshawn Watson and even Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, a two-time league MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion.
Herbert told reporters on Wednesday that he hadn’t “heard anything about” Lake’s comments.
“We’re really just focused on what’s going on in this building and playing football and doing what we can and doing our best to go put our best effort out on Sunday,” Herbert said. “That’s all that really matters. Anything outside of that is out of our control.”
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh didn’t agree with Lake’s assessment of Herbert’s performance on Sunday.
“I don’t see that,” Harbaugh said. “Everybody’s entitled to their opinion, [but] it’s not what I see.”
He added that he thought Herbert “did his job exceptionally well” against the Rams, except for “two throws he would have liked to have back.”
One of the biggest revelations was Reed’s involvement in a historic mission in Berlin, which went disastrously wrong due to Reed’s rash actions. Wildflower had been Reed’s codename during the operation, and viewers witnessed the seasoned undercover agent’s past secrets unravel through various flashbacks.
Fans also discovered that whilst in Berlin, Reed had a daughter called Vita, who went missing after the botched mission. Here is all you need to know about what happened at the end of Black Doves season two.
Helen told Wallace the truth
Away from Reed’s storyline, newly appointed Prime Minister Wallace (Andrew Buchan) was growing suspicious of his wife after officer Jim Perryman (Adam Best) warned him that Helen was not who she said she was. Perryman had received tip-offs about Helen’s true identity, which he passed on to Wallace.
One of the biggest pieces of evidence that exposed Helen was a photo of her best friend Sam, who had been present at the killing of Russian oligarch Alexi Chernov (Goran Kostić). Alexi had been poisoned by Sam and fellow agent Eleanor (Gabrielle Creevy) during a dinner with Wallace and Helen. Wallace immediately recognised Sam and therefore confronted Helen about her real identity.
Later, when Reed’s daughter Vita (Sylvia Hoeks) threatened Helen with the deaths of her children, she admitted she had hidden a lot from him and he was right to have been suspicious of her, but in that moment, he needed to trust her.
Wallace lied for Helen when Perryman asked him what had happened between them both, so he chose to protect her rather than give her up. As the season ended, Wallace and Helen were seen sitting down to talk about Helen’s identity when the screen cut to black.
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Reed’s daughter Vita was unveiled
In the final episode, it appeared Sam, who had been tasked with killing Reed under rogue organisation Kestrel’s orders, had completed his mission. He was offered a place at Kestrel, which he rejected, as it transpired he had actually handed Reed over to Kestrel alive.
During an attack at the peace summit, Alexi Chernov’s wife Katia (Hoeks) was captured and taken to where Reed was being held. In a major twist, it was revealed Katia was in fact Reed’s estranged daughter, Vita, who had come back to get revenge on her mother for abandoning her as a child.
Vita explained how she had been forced to grow up in a Soviet orphanage and she wanted to make the Black Doves pay. In another vengeful act, she told Helen to kill her husband, the Prime Minister, and own up to who she really was, otherwise her children would die.
Her son and daughter’s childminder, Marie (Molly Chesworth), was a rat Reed had planted to get inside information about the family, and Katia used this as a threat against Helen, who she knew would never put her children at risk. Helen pretended to shoot Wallace before she and Sam let him escape and went to save her children from Marie.
Meanwhile, agents Williams (Ella Lily Hyland), Eleanor and Laila (Ambika Mod) took on Kestrel to save Reed, and she managed to get away unscathed. She found her injured daughter, who asked why she never looked for her.
Reed admitted she’d hoped her daughter had just become a normal person and she wanted her to have peace, which she would never have with Reed in her life. After being caught in the crossfire, Vita died from her injuries.
With the immediate threats out of the picture, Sam proposed that he, Helen and her children run away, but Helen knew she wasn’t out of the woods yet. Sadly, Sam was not of the same mindset, and he told Helen he was leaving as he had no reason to stay.
While Sam was seen returning to Italy, Reed asked Helen to take down Kestrel leader Patrick (Sam Riley). Viewers will have to wait and see whether Helen completes her mission, confesses all to Wallace, and Sam returns to offer assistance once more.
Jeff and Matt have opened up about the big problem they faced during the show.
Appearing on Wednesday’s episode of BBC’s Morning Live, Matt said: “I was so misguided, to be honest; it’s so different from just going backpacking where you could take everything at your own pace, and if something went wrong, well, you could just go book into a hostel and go again the next day.
“We didn’t have that luxury at all whilst we were racing, and we’re constantly thinking on the race, ‘where are we going next and how are we going to get there.'”
Jeff added: “When you’re backpacking with someone like me, one big problem is that a lot of hostels will not let you in if you’re over 35. We were turned away from hostels because I was over 35- well, only just.”
When you launch a sports program at the high school level and find a way to reach a Southern Section championship game in your inaugural season, that’s impressive. St. Monica has pulled off the feat in girls’ flag football.
The Mariners will face Heritage in the Division 6 championship at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Huntington Beach. Here’s the complete schedule for finals.
Coach Miriah Lopez put together a team from scratch and it’s led to a championship appearance.
Quarterbacks Sophia Cook and Lamya Gaston have been able to deliver clutch passes.
St. Monica’s success shows how schools new to a sport can get up and running fast with organization and participation.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
