Match of the Day pundits Nedum Onuoha and Stephen Warnock analyse Manchester United’s performance after their 4-1 Champions League defeat to Como, and discuss midfielder Bruno Fernandes’ criticism of team tactics.
Dodger Stadium was eerily quiet on Wednesday, as a light rain fell over the already-yellowing grass. A crow perched on an empty seat. Scattered lights flickered in mostly-dark hallways.
Before the World Series had begun, the stadium was closed down for the season, hosting just one last event before officially wrapping up the 2026 slate.
In the interview room, tucked away at the entrance to the clubhouse, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes took their seats at the podium for their end-of-season press conference.
There was the usual end-of-season checklist. Are you expecting any changes to the coaching staff or front office? “I expect status quo,” Friedman said. Is Shohei Ohtani going to undergo offseason surgery? “That’s not on the table,” Friedman said.
“I welcome it,” Friedman said of such claims. “For us, and we’ve talked about this a lot, even after successes and we winning a World Series and then winning back to back, everything we do is for our fans. And there’s a lot of noise around us in general. We don’t really pay much attention to it. It’s a partnership we feel with our fans, and so people saying that we’re done and we’re on the downside of this run — it’s just more noise to us because everything for us is about the motivation we have to have a parade in the streets of Los Angeles next November.”
Friedman also didn’t seem to anticipate any trickle down from Walter’s outside ventures — Walter’s insurance companies are under federal investigation and face several lawsuits — affecting the Dodgers’ offseason budget.
“It’s been business as usual for us,” Friedman said. “We talked to Mark after we lost, and he was obviously really disappointed. But so much of his focus was on, ‘OK, what can we do? What are our plans? What are our thoughts for the off season?’ And our brains weren’t quite there yet, but so much of his focus was how do we put ourselves in the best position to win in ‘27?”
How will the Dodgers go about picking themselves up from their NLCS exit?
The Dodgers’ 2026 season wasn’t exactly a failure. They won 100 games in the regular season and lost in the playoffs to the only team that won more than that — the Brewers. But the Dodgers, with their star power and payroll, aren’t in the business of accepting moral victories.
Though plenty went wrong in the postseason, from Ohtani’s struggles following hisinjured list stint, to stalwart Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s surprising short start in Game 2 of the NLCS, the overarching theme in the Dodgers’ four straight losses to the Brewers was a lack of offensive execution, especially with runners in scoring position.
“Obviously throughout the latter part of the year, it was stuff we were talking about and trying to put our finger on,” Friedman said of the offense. “And in a lot of ways, it’s a little bit of a game of whack-a-mole, where it can be one thing for some period of time, and then it’s something else, and then it’s something else. Sometimes it’s noise, and sometimes it’s real. And what’s important for us is to be able to sift out the noise and isolate what’s real and what things we can improve upon. We’ll spend a lot of time really focusing on that in the off season.”
Asked if the age of the lineup could be a contributing factor, Friedman pointed to the strong finishes of some of the more veteran players on the roster.
“I don’t think it’s as easy as to paint it with that broad of a stroke,” he said.
Friedman, in an effort to continue to extend the Dodgers’ run of success, has kept in mind the cliff that successful veteran teams can fall off of, if the roster isn’t properly backfilled.
“This isn’t something that we just woke up and were like, ‘Oh wow, the age of our position player group,’” Friedman said. “We knew what things were going to look like in ‘26, ‘27, but also how talented these guys are, the way they prepare. And so much of our long-term contract bats are betting on the human — betting on the person, betting on the work ethic, betting on them doing everything they can to keep themselves in the best position to have success. But when you couple the core talent that we have at the major league level with the position-player strengths that we have in our farm system, that’s what makes us excited, is the art of how to onboard some of these young, talented minor league players.”
The Dodgers had the No. 1 ranked farm system as of mid-August, according to MLB Pipeline. But many of those prospects, including the three outfielders who the Dodgers’ Top 3 (Josue De Paula, Eduardo Quintero and Mike Sirota), are blocked by veteran players.
“For us, it’s just about having as many many talented players as we can, and things tend to sort themselves out,” Friedman said.
This offseason, the Dodgers will also have to figure out what to do about their soon-to-be free agents, a group headlined by left-hander Tarik Skubal. The two-time Cy Young winner was not only the best pitcher available on the trade market when the Dodgers acquired him from the Tigers at the trade deadline, but he’s in line to be the best pitcher available this offseason as well.
“It’s not easy for a guy to get traded in the middle of a season to come to a new city, new clubhouse,” Friedman said. “You have set routines, and you have to make those adjustments. It’s not easy. The way he was able to seamlessly transition, not just in terms of on the field, but in the clubhouse, I can’t say enough good things about the impact that he made in such a short period of time.
“We have a tremendous amount of respect for him on and off the field. … He’s put himself in this position to go out and be a free agent. And for us, it’s, continue to talk to [his agent, Scott Boras]. But he and his family have to make a choice over where they want to spend the next X number of years, and obviously we wish him nothing but the best.”
When asked about negotiations, however, Friedman spoke generally, saying the Dodgers were still “wrapping [their] arms around” their offseason strategy.
The impending lockout, which is expected to go into effect on Dec. 1 as soon as the current CBA expires, and uncertainty over changes in the next CBA, will certainly affect the free agent and trade markets this offseason. And though MLB navigated a lockout just five years ago, the owners’ push for a salary cap has many around the industry bracing for a longer work stoppage and murkier landscape on the other side.
“I never have any feel for how a market’s going to play out,” Friedman said. “We’ve kidded ourselves in the past that, like, ‘Hey, we think this is going to happen,’ and it just takes on its own life form. So for us, it’s just about being as prepared as we possibly can be, and pouncing on opportunities.”
Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing was scheduled to undergo elbow surgery Wednesday, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
To address a partial UCL tear, he was expected to undergo a hybrid internal brace procedure, which would set him up to return to catching full time in nine months. He would be able to hit well before then.
Rushing had two stints on the injured list with a flexor strain in his right forearm, along with the UCL tear. He said last month that imaging suggested the slight tear in his UCL hadn’t worsened since 2022.
Rushing took on a larger role this season when primary catcher Will Smith was sidelined for three months by a nagging neck injury. By Aug. 1, Rushing had already logged 245 plate appearances, dwarfing his 2025 rookie season’s total in the majors (155).
Though he’d carried high workloads in the minors before, being a major-league starting catcher comes with added responsibility. Rushing went through a learning curve juggling his defensive and offensive responsibilities, and navigating intense online scrutiny of his outbursts on the field and in the dugout.
He’d settled into the role, and owned an .809 OPS, when his elbow injury flared while throwing before a game on Aug. 2. He landed on the IL the next day and returned at the beginning of September in a pinch-hitting role.
Rushing logged just four at-bats (0-for-4) before he aggravated the injury trying to build up in a throwing program. He returned again for the last series of the regular season, firmly in a battle for a postseason roster spot as a bat off the bench, and went hitless in three at-bats.
Rushing had initially been hopeful he’d be able to avoid surgery.
“My main plan moving into playing every day in the future is, make sure that my body can hold whatever stress or whatever is needed for this team — first base, behind the plate, whatever they need,” Rushing told the Times last month. “I want to make sure my body can handle it and do it for 162.”
A day after the Tennessee Titans released defensive tackle Jordan Elliott after an alleged incident involving a gun at the team’s practice facility, coach Robert Saleh defended the veteran player as “a good man” who “had a terrible lapse in judgment that I recognize as a call for help more than a criminal act.”
The Titans announced Elliott’s dismissal on Tuesday but provided no details on the incident that prompted it. The NFL confirmed Wednesday that it was looking into the matter.
“The league’s firearm policy prohibits any personnel from bringing a firearm to club facilities, stadiums, and team hotels and on team planes or buses,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in an email. “The club promptly notified the league of the matter which is under review.”
Details have since emerged that Elliott got into an altercation with offensive lineman JC Latham at practice last Thursday, then went out to his car in the players’ parking lot to get his gun, according to reports by multiple media outlets. Latham told reporters Wednesday that the incident between him and Elliott just happened in the “heat of the moment” and “we’d actually never had an argument leading up to it.”
“It’s no bad blood,” Latham said. “Nothing personal on my end.”
Defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers reportedly helped Elliott regain his composure before anything happened involving the gun. Latham said he was still on the practice field and not with Elliott when Franklin-Myers intervened.
“The D-line room is really close,” Saleh told reporters Wednesday, “and for JFM to go out there and just kind of help Jordan with whatever he was dealing with at that moment I thought was really admirable on JFM’s part.”
Elliott played five seasons with the Cleveland Browns and two with the San Francisco 49ers before signing a two-year, $8-million deal with the Titans this past offseason. Saleh, who was the 49ers’ defensive coordinator last season, told reporters Wednesday that the Titans and the league provided Elliott “with clinicians he needed to speak to help him in that moment.”
“He’s never committed a crime in his entire life, and he pulled a gun in the parking lot,” Saleh said. “And the first question that I think everyone forgets to ask is why would a great man, a great father, a man who shows up on time every day, works his ass off every day, contributes the way he’s supposed to contribute, is well-liked in the locker room — why did he go off the rails and grab a gun?
“To me, those are small signs of a cry for help, in terms of obviously there’s something greater happening,” he continued. “And I thought the team and the NFL did an outstanding job with regards to pausing and asking those questions and checking every single box with regards to getting him the help that he needs.”
Saleh added: “I will stand on the table for Jordan’s character. Unfortunately, rules are rules with regard to guns on property, and sometimes it’s far greater than the knee-jerk reaction of kicking somebody when they’re down. My message to 31 other teams would be: If you need a hell of a run-stopping D-tackle that can help you on a playoff run, give me a call. I’ll tell you everything you need to know about him.”
LeBron James scored 14 points on his debut for the Philadelphia 76ers as they defeated champions the New York Knicks on the NBA season’s opening night.
The 41-year-old James, entering a record-extending 24th season in the league with his fourth team after his summer move from the LA Lakers, also racked up seven assists as his new side triumphed 106-100.
Tyrese Maxey top-scored with 28 points for the 76ers, while Jaylen Brown, who also made his debut after joining the 76ers from the Boston Celtics in a high profile trade for Paul George, scored 19 points with eight rebounds and six assists.
The Knicks enjoyed title celebrations prior to the match, raising their third title banner to the rafters at Madison Square Garden in the presence of a crowd that included celebrity Knicks fans Ben Stiller and Spike Lee.
The Knicks ended a 53-year title drought with their victory over the San Antonio Spurs in last season’s NBA Finals but were unable to open their season with a win as the 76ers held out after taking the lead in the third quarter.
Jalen Brunson led the scoring for the Knicks with 21 points and Karl-Anthony Towns picked up 19 points with 12 rebounds.
“I could be a lot better,” James told broadcaster NBC. “Still getting my rhythm, obviously just a little bit over two weeks with the new squad.
“But I like the way we played. I think we played exceptionally well, especially defensively.”
In the opening match of the NBA’s 81st season, the Detroit Pistons fought back in the second half to win 121-113 against the Boston Celtics.
Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren added 22 points each and Duncan Robinson scored 15 of his 21 in the fourth quarter as the home side secured their victory with a 23-0 scoring run.
Celtics debutant Paul George scored 38 points for his new side in a match between last season’s top two regular-season teams.
In the night’s final encounter, back-to-back NBA most valuable player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they completed a 116-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Stephon Castle top-scored for the Spurs with 24 points but his side were unable to match the form that saw them put out defending champions Thunder in last season’s Western Conference finals.
Victor Wembanyama made just one basket in 13 attempts for the Spurs but contributed 13 rebounds and six blocked shots and scored 12 points largely thanks to 10 free throws.
“Obviously, this is the team that eliminated us from achieving our goal,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
“But for us, I think it was more like we’re just happy to be back. It’s a longer summer when you don’t win and we felt that this summer.”
Ever since Uefa announced its plans to alter the format of the Champions League in 2021, the impact on matches has been a hot topic. Scrutiny has only increased since the changes were implemented in time for the 2024-25 season.
After beginning life as a six-team invitational tournament in 1955-56 before growing to a 32-team knockout tournament in 1967, the Champions League as we know it began in 1992.
A group stage was added, with the last 16 entering a knockout phase. There was a brief spell with two group stages, but this was reverted back to the single group-stage format for the 2003-04 tournament.
The group stage previously featured 32 teams in eight groups of four, with the top two sides from each of those groups qualifying for the last 16.
For the start of the 2024-25 season, the group stage was replaced with a 36-team league phase, with each side playing eight one-off fixtures instead of six games against three teams.
The top eight finishers qualify directly for the knockout stages, with those placed ninth to 24th entering a two-legged play-off stage.
The bottom eight are eliminated, meaning that after eight matches, 24 sides are still in the competition. Some argue that that creates a lack of jeopardy, which encourages teams to play more expansively.
But do more goals equal better quality?
“I think the entertainment has gone up, although I’m not sure the quality has gone up,” The Times football writer Tom Arnott told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“If I’m looking at the games it’s brilliant to watch and thrilling because the football itself is fantastic – but what do they mean?
“The lack of jeopardy, why would PSG and Barcelona play for a draw, why not go for it? If you need five wins from the eight games you know you’ve got some margin there. If you lose it’s OK. I think the format allows all the teams to loosen up.
“The entertainment value is there but I think you come away from these matches sometimes and still think ‘what does it all mean?’. The lack of jeopardy early on does deliver entertainment.”
The Rams moved to augment their struggling special teams on Tuesday, signing veteran kicker Brandon McManus.
The Rams worked out McManus and veteran Matt Prater on Tuesday and then chose McManus to replace Blake Grupe, who is on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury during his Rams debut in an 18-16 defeat by the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
McManus will be the third kicker on the roster this season for a team that opened as the favorite to win Super Bowl LXI but is now struggling with a 2-4 record heading into Sunday’s game against the Raiders in Las Vegas.
Harrison Mevis, signed by the Rams at midseason in 2025, was released last week after making only five of nine field-goal attempts this season. Grupe kicked a 44-yard field goal against the Cardinals but was injured on the ensuing play when he knocked a Cardinals kick returner out of bounds.
Punter Ethan Evans kicked an extra point that put the Rams ahead, 17-15, with less than a minute remaining before the Cardinals kicked a winning field goal.
McManus, 35, has made 297 of 362 field-goal attempts (82%) during a 12-year career that has included stints with the Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers. In 2025, he made 24 of 30 field-goal attempts for the Packers.
The Rams also placed receiver Davante Adams and defensive lineman Poona Ford on injured reserve because of hamstring and triceps injuries, respectively. Coach Sean McVay said Monday that Adams would be sidelined six to 10 weeks and that Ford is out for the season.
To many observers, the Manchester United left-back situation was one that could have been anticipated and should have been addressed in the summer.
The fact United spoke to Manchester City about Algeria international Rayan Ait-Nouri on deadline day suggests they did view it as a potential issue.
After starting all 38 Premier League games last term and the first three this, Shaw has played only twice since, and the number of games missed could reach double figures before the 31-year-old returns.
When Diogo Dalot lined up at left-back against Leeds, he became the fifth different player to start there for United in six games.
Aside from Shaw, none of the quintet could be regarded as a natural left-back.
However, after it was suggested Martinez’s post-match outburst following the defeat by Atletico Madrid was partly down to 20-year-old Ayden Heaven playing at left-back, sources did point out the youngster played more often in that role than in the centre during his youth days at Arsenal.
It was also suggested in the summer that United’s coaching team did not believe 19-year-old Harry Amass, who was Shaw’s stand-in during pre-season, was yet at the right level.
Amass’ single appearance so far this season, as a substitute for the final 18 minutes against Sabah, backs up that view, although Carrick has countered it.
“He’s right in contention,” Carrick said.
“At some point, young players need an opportunity. It’s just finding the right time.
“Sometimes it’s because there’s an unfortunate thing happened to somebody else. Sometimes it’s just you’re doing so well we have to give you a chance.
“All the young players are in a similar boat. There’s maybe four, five, or six of them trying to make that next step in terms of getting into the team and trying to start games, and Harry’s definitely one of them.”
Six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has called an early finish to what she described as “one of the most challenging” seasons of her career.
Poland’s Swiatek failed to qualify for the end-of-season WTA Finals – for the first time since 2019 – after pulling out of the Ningbo Open on Tuesday with a thigh injury.
Shortly afterwards, the 25-year-old announced she was bringing a largely barren season to a close, in order to recharge over a longer period of time before returning in 2027.
Former long-time world number one Swiatek – who has ended a season without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2021 – has dropped to ninth in the rankings.
“The past few months, or actually the past couple of years, have been incredibly intense,” said Swiatek, who will have an opportunity to complete the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January.
“I feel I need to rest and recover my body fully, so that’s exactly what I will do – [for] a bit longer this time.”
Her most recent Grand Slam triumph came at Wimbledon last year.
Swiatek has managed one WTA title this season – the Canadian Open in August – and ends 2026 with a 42-16 win-loss record.
On Saturday, she lost to fellow Pole Maja Chwalinska in the Wuhan Open semi-finals, only her fourth defeat in 23 matches.
“I’m especially proud of the work we’ve done in the second half of the year and the progress that came with it,” said Swiatek, who needed treatment on her thigh but played on against Chwalinska.
“It gives me a lot of confidence in what’s ahead.”
Their face is gone, LeBron James getting kicked to a Philly curb.
Their voice is gone, longtime public address announcer Lawrence Tanterdying last month at age 76 after more than four decades of dulcet downtown tones.
Meet the 2026-27 Lakers, a team that will look different, sound different, feel different, play different and behave different from their recent predecessors in every way but one.
They’re still not winning a championship.
They’re still not getting to the conference finals.
Lakers guard Luka Doncic enters this season as the face of the franchise after LeBron James’ departure.
(Luke Hales / Getty Images)
They’re still destined to a sixth seed and a first-round knockout in the impossible West, a mediocre finish that is sure to convince new ownership to make massive changes — look out Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick! — and start all over again next season.
So call this a gap year.
They’ve graduated from LeBron, but they’re still not quite sure what they want to do with the rest of their life.
They’re planning on majoring in Luka Doncic, minoring in Austin Reaves and specializing in Walker Kessler, but there are flaws in all three, and the rest of the proposed curriculum is an unknown collection of ideas that have yet to be put together in a cogent package.
For now, the league’s biggest roster overhaul includes names that are just names, the likes of Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Kevon Looney. Who knows where they will fit? Who knows what they can do?
Then there’s the name Bronny James, whose future here took a nosedive when his pops moved to Philadelphia and he had a lousy training camp. Who knows how long Bronny will stick around, but at least the Lakers are out of the LeBron family drama business, which is good, because this team will create enough drama on its own.
First, there’s Doncic, and the risk in building around him, considering he’s missed an average of 20 games a season the last three years. He’s appeared in a total of five playoff games since leading the Dallas Mavericks to the Finals three years ago. He’s 27, but sometimes he trudges around the court like he’s 50.
Lakers guard Bronny James dribbles during a preseason game against the Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 8.
(Luke Hales / Getty Images)
Now that this is Doncic’s team, will he act like it?
Every centerpiece player in Laker history — from Mikan to West to Kareem to Magic to Kobe to Shaq to Pau to LeBron — has carried their group to a championship. They’ve not been considered a true Laker until they have done so. In the case of LeBron, one was not even enough.
Is Doncic prepared to shoulder this burden? He says yes. He says he’s done this before, although he’s never won an NBA title, so, um …
“It feels great,” he told reporters at media day last month. “Obviously, it’s a new challenge. I was in this position in my career a lot of times, so it’s not new to me. But I feel great. I feel excited, and like I said, I’m ready to go. It’s been a long time since I played basketball, so I’m ready.”
He got off to a good start this summer when he flew the team to his native Slovenia to spend a few days bonding. He is already acting like a captain. Now he needs to play every day like one.
“I see myself in this role, nothing new, but it’s very important,” Doncic said. “Everybody on the whole team, you know, look up to me, I have to look up to them. And it’s just, there should be many leaders, you know. You should be able to hold each other accountable.”
Lakers guard Austin Reaves dribbles past the Kings’ Nique Clifford during a preseason game at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 8.
(Luke Hales / Getty Images)
Many leaders? Probably only two, Doncic and his newly minted $180-million running mate Reaves.
The Lakers were 30-11 when the two gunners were on the court last season, and no NBA duo averaged more points, but, again, this year is different.
Last year they both had LeBron as a safety net. This year, it’s all on them.
Just like Doncic, Reaves said he is ready to help guide his new teammates on this arduous journey.
“The expectation here of being a Laker is higher than it is anywhere in the world,” Reaves said. “The media presence, you know, every day something is going to come out about us, and just being able to know how to navigate that and help others navigate that is the main thing. One second we’re going to be the best team in the world. And the next you lose two in a row, you’re the worst team, you can’t figure it out. So, helping these guys understand that none of that really matters, it’s all about what goes on within these walls, is the main thing.”
Actually, for Reaves, the main thing is the postseason, where he has mightily struggled, even taking into account the slight guard usually enters each spring with all sorts of bumps and bruises. He’s been a lousy playoff shooter. He’s been a clumsy playoff playmaker.
But one of the greatest undrafted free agents in recent league history appreciates and embraces every chance to change the narrative, and he’ll have no greater chance than this season.
“You’re going to have failures within this long season,” he said. “But every single night you’re going to have an opportunity when you take the floor, especially for this organization, for this fan base to show the world what you’re capable of. So, you’re going to have every single opportunity to do good with the opportunities that you’re given.”
No Laker, it seems, will have a greater nightly opportunity to write his legacy than Kessler, who was acquired this summer from the Utah Jazz for the princely sum of two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps.
He is being projected as a perfect lob and pick-and-roll partner for Doncic and a long-awaited rim protector, but let’s be real.
He played in five games last year and never started a full season in his four years in Utah and even for a perpetually tanking team, that’s not a big resume. What sort of NBA center he will be is anybody’s guess.
The Lakers are guessing huge, and at least he sounds like he’s ready for it.
Laker Walker Kessler fouls the Warriors’ Yaxel Lendeborg during a preseason game on Oct. 13 in Las Vegas, Nev.
(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
“And as far as the belief that they’ve shown in me, I mean, it makes me excited for this year,” he said. “It makes me feel like I can run through the wall for this organization, this team, my teammates, so yeah, I’m just so excited.”
Good thing about that wall, because with this unsettled bunch, there will be plenty of them.
But, hey, at least one looming question has been answered. During media day, new power forward Mamukelashvili gracefully explained how to pronounce his last name.
“So, a lot of people think it’s hard, but I don’t think so,” he said. “It is Mamu-kela-shvili. So if you take like, I feel like, two letters at a time, and “shvili” at the end, it’s not that hard.”
If only the rest of this season would go so smooth.
He is unwavering in his belief that the newly constructed Lakers can compete for an NBA championship this season and that is the conviction coach JJ Redick has instilled into his group.
It is why the Lakers play the game, Redick mused, and it is the standard this organization has set.
The Lakers have won 17 NBA championships — the second most in the league — with the last coming in 2020.
So, as the Lakers prepared to open the regular season Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena, Redick explained why he believes these Lakers are championship contenders.
“Well, I think that every season,” he said. “Unless somebody blatantly tells me that we’re not trying to win, I think that every year. That’s why I say I’m confident. I said the same thing last year and for all of January and February that we were going to figure it out at some point and we did. And then we had some injuries. So, being a championship-level team or being a — I don’t like the word ‘contender’ — but being a team that can make a run and can play in the playoffs and can play different ways in the playoffs, those things take time and it doesn’t mean you’re going to be in the NBA Finals.
“It’s just not the way this works, particularly with the way the playoffs work in terms of just matchups and what you can exploit and what you can’t exploit versus certain teams. But I think because of our talent, because of our fit, because of our depth, I really like our team.”
Luka Doncic said his first glimpse of what the Lakers could become was when he invited his teammates to his home country of Slovenia for a bonding experience.
As the unquestioned leader of the Lakers now that LeBron James has departed to Philadelphia, Doncic organized the trip. It was basketball, golfing and rowing. It was dinners and get-to-know-you conversations.
It was over these four or five days in August that Doncic also saw a Lakers team with championship potential.
“Since the first day. That simple,” Doncic said. “Since the first day everybody came together in Slovenia, I believed that we can win a championship.”
Yet this is a team with nine new players and Redick is trying to incorporate them on a Lakers team that is playing in the uber-tough Western Conference that most experts believe the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are the creme de la creme of the NBA.
The Lakers acquired Walker Kessler, a 7-foot-2 center they received from Utah in a sign-and-trade deal in which he was paid $130 million over four years and in which L.A. sent two unprotected first-round picks and two first-round swaps to the Jazz.
Lakers center Walker Kessler tries to block a shot by Warriors center Yaxel Lendeborg during a preseason game last week.
(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
The Lakers added depth in Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Kevon Looney.
They join Doncic, Austin Reaves, Jake LaRavia, Adou Thiero and others to form the 2026-27 Lakers.
“I think in terms of integrating all the new guys that have been available, which I think is everybody except for Collin in live play, it’s been pretty seamless,” Redick said. “It’s a smart group. … We’ve been able to probably install more, particularly on the defensive end, than we have in the last couple years.
“Last year we had six total practices in the preseason because of the amount of games and the back-to-backs and the travel and all that. And we played opening night, so that’s another day that we didn’t get to practice. So I think we end up with 12 [practices] this year. We get double the amount of practice time, so I think that’s a blessing when you have new guys.”
The starting five is still unclear.
Doncic, Reaves and Kessler are the sure things, but the other two spots are not certain. Those three started alongside Williams and Thybulle in the final preseason game against the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Grimes started the first four preseason games.
Lakers guard Luka Doncic, left, bring the ball upcourt under pressure from Nuggets guard Christian Braun their final preseason game on Friday.
(Ben Liebenberg / Associated Press)
“I think we have a lot of guys that could start,” Reaves said. “Unfortunately there’s five guys that are gonna start. Like JJ said a while back, he’s pretty sure of three of them. The other two, regardless of who we roll out there, we have high confidence in.”
Reaves is the longest-tenured Laker entering his sixth season and he knows the high expectations that come with playing for the iconic franchise.
Last season, he had James to lean on, Marcus Smart was steady and Rui Hachimura was part of the fabric.
But they are all gone and now Reaves, who signed a four-year, $180-million contract extension, is one of the leaders.
“Yeah, I don’t know anything else,” Reaves said. “This is what I came to, but obviously it’s the Lakers, and it’s one of the most covered sports organizations in the world. So they’re gonna praise you when you’re doing good and not when you’re not.
“So you just gotta [know] whatever that goes on outside these walls doesn’t really matter. It’s just what goes on inside these walls. And if anybody has any questions, I’ll give them the best knowledge I have. But like I said, they’re high character guys that care about the right things. So, I think that’ll take care of itself.”
Lakers guard Austin Reaves gets past the Warriors defense for a left-handed layup during a preseason game last week.
(David Becker / Associated Press)
The Lakers were 53-29 last season, finishing fourth in the West and getting knocked out in the second round by the Thunder.
They have two more days of practice before the journey begins.
“I think you’re always trying to get better,” Redick said. “And even later in the season, you tweak plays, you tweak the offense and you tweak coverages. It’s just constantly evolving. There’s no like, ‘Oh, we’re done. Now we’re going to go play.’
NEW YORK — Sean Durzi scored 78 seconds in, Dylan Garand made 29 saves and the New York Rangers defeated the travel-weary Ducks 5-2 on Monday night to improve to 6-0-0 at home this fall.
The Rangers (7-3-1) did not pick up their sixth victory at Madison Square Garden last season until Jan. 26, their 23rd game there. They lost 27 of 41 at home on the way to missing the playoffs and finishing last in the Eastern Conference.
There is hope of a turnaround given this start, even missing franchise goaltender Igor Shesterkin for the rest of the season. Garand was making a fifth consecutive start since Shesterkin went down, and he has allowed two or fewer goals in nine of 10 NHL appearances dating to his debut last spring.
He got support early and often, with Durzi’s goal making it three home games in a row where the Rangers have scored in the first two minutes. That has only happened once before for New York, in March 1989.
The Ducks scored twice in the final 69 seconds, on goals by Nick Jensen and A.J. Greer, their first goals with Anaheim, to ruin the shutout bid.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, captain J.T. Miller and Gabe Perreault each had a goal and Alexis Lafreniere recorded two assists. Pavel Dorofeyev, the team’s most notable trade acquisition over the summer, came close on several occasions but remained stuck on two goals for the season.
Putting goalie Ville Husso in a tough spot with sloppy play, the Ducks (4-4-0) looked every bit like a group that endured a 15-hour, delay-filled travel ordeal to the East Coast from Southern California. They did not arrive at their hotel until 2:30 a.m., were on the ice for their morning skate less than nine hours later and were getting shut out until scoring twice in the final 70 seconds.
The Lakers waived former first-round pick Dalton Knecht on Monday to reach the NBA’s maximum roster requirements before the season begins this week.
The 17th overall pick in the 2024 draft had fallen out of the rotation in the last two seasons but had a chance to prove himself during training camp and the preseason, when the Lakers had 16 players on guaranteed contracts. Knecht, who averaged 4.2 points per game and 10.2 minutes per game last season, played just 14 combined minutes in the last two preseason games.
Knecht’s role had greatly diminished since he flashed his scoring potential as a rookie. After scoring 37 points in a win over the Utah Jazz in November 2024 and tying the single-game rookie record with nine made three-pointers, Knecht looked as if he could have been the steal of the draft. But after a trade to Charlotte for center Mark Williams was rescinded, Knecht never settled back into the rotation.
The Lakers brought in nine new players during an offseason roster overhaul, further burying Knecht on the forward depth chart.
“The team changed,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of Knecht ahead of the Lakers’ preseason finale last Friday. “The needs changed, the fit changed. I think he got better as a player over the last two years.”
The Lakers looked into acquiring center Jericho Sims from the Milwaukee Bucks during the preseason in exchange for Knecht, sources close to the situation but not authorized to speak publicly told The Times. But talks broke down when the Lakers were unwilling to part with multiple second-round draft picks.
The Lakers, who wanted to solidify their backup center position behind Walker Kessler, have only three second-round draft picks (2031, 2032 and 2033) available to trade. They already don’t control their first-round pick until 2032 after sending two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to Utah to acquire Kessler this summer.
Knecht was given an “excused absence” from practice Monday, Redick said. The deadline for teams to reach the maximum of 15 standard contract players was 2 p.m. PDT Monday before regular-season games begin Tuesday. The Lakers open their season Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena against the Golden State Warriors.
Redick also said guard Bronny James was excused from practice, noting there were players who were “under the weather.” The third-year guard who was picked 55th overall in the same draft as Knecht remained on the Lakers’ updated roster.
James worked his way into the postseason rotation last season while the Lakers were struggling with injuries to their backcourt. He averaged 2.9 points and 1.2 assists during the regular season while shooting 38.6% from three.
Injury update
Lakers guard Collin Sexton speaks during the team’s media day in El Segundo on Sept. 28.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
For the first time since training camp started, Collin Sexton was a full participant in practice with the Lakers on Monday. Still, Sexton wasn’t ready to fully commit to playing in the Lakers’ season-opener Wednesday.
Sexton missed all five preseason games and a lot of practices with a lower right leg injury.
Sexton, who said he felt good at practice, was asked about playing against the Warriors.
“We’ll be taking it day by day,” he said. “At the end of the day, I had a really good practice today, felt good. Super excited to be back out there with the guys, so I look forward to it.”
Sexton said he had some “tightness and stuff” in his lower leg, “but I feel pretty good.”
He was asked what caused the injury.
“Nothing particular,” Sexton said. “I think we figured it out and now we’re just moving forward and just continue to get these reps in, continue to play five on five, and get out there as soon as possible.”
Sexton is a 6-1 point guard the Lakers signed to back up Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves in the backcourt. The Lakers signed him to a two-year, $19.2-million deal.
“He’s another guy that can bring the ball up and can create his own [mismatch],” Doncic said. “So we’re excited to have him back.”
Second-year forward Adou Thiero and rookie guard Cameron Carr both missed practice Monday.
But having Sexton back was a good sign for the Lakers.
“It felt good, super excited to be back out there, honestly, just getting out there and getting up and down, legs felt a little heavy, but it was great,” Sexton said. “It was definitely a great day, great practice for the team as well, and the guys were really competing.”
Ben Simmons’ comeback attempt with the Sacramento Kings generated more than one blip on the basketball radar during the preseason before it came to an abrupt end Sunday when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon during practice.
Injuries had restricted the former No. 1 overall draft pick to appearing in only 107 games the last five seasons, but his return on a one-year $3.5 million, non-guaranteed contract had gone well enough that he was set to start in the regular-season opener Wednesday against the Clippers.
Simmons, considered the greatest player to come out of Australia, made news in August by taking part in the national team’s player-driven minicamp in Melbourne, a precursor to the 2027 FIBA World Cup and 2028 Olympics. Simmons, 30, has never played in a major tournament for his home country.
He also became an unwitting part of an embarrassing episode three weeks ago at Kings media day when open microphones captured an off-air conversation between female reporters discussing the physical appearance and personalities of Simmons and teammates.
A woman’s voice said, “That’s what comes with being Ben Simmons. He is cringe, cringe,” and another woman added that he is “lucky he’s so fine.” The first media member agrees, saying, “He’s a good-looking dude. His skin is, like, so smooth, I was like, damn, no tattoos?” The media members have yet to be identified.
He refrained from commenting on the exchange except to back teammate Zach LaVine, whose personality also was criticized by the reporters. But Simmons will be in street clothes from now on. The Kings said he will undergo surgery to repair the tear, which normally requires a recovery period of six to 12 months.
“I’ve faced challenges before that tested me mentally, physically, and emotionally, and I’ve found a way through every single one of them,” Simmons said in a statement posted to his Instagram Stories.
Being sidelined is nothing new for Simmons. He missed his entire first NBA season with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016-2017 with a foot injury, missed the entire 2021-2022 season with a back injury and the entire 2025-2026 season to focus on his physical recovery from back and leg issues as well as his mental well-being. He last played for the Clippers in the spring of 2025, averaging 16.4 minutes and 2.9 points over 18 games.
That production was a far cry from the promise he displayed coming out of LSU, where in his one season was a consensus All-American after averaging 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists a game. A 6-foot-10 point guard, Simmons was NBA Rookie of the Year in 2017-2018, joining Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson as the only rookies to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists. And Simmons was an All-Star the next three seasons before injuries began mounting.
His return this preseason was intentionally low key, sliding onto the roster of the lowly Kings (22-60 last season) without much fanfare. Simmons was quietly repairing a reputation marred by his succession of injuries and the performance anxiety and emotional burnout he has openly discussed.
He also seemed keen on representing Australia for the first time. Simmons was forced to miss the 2024 Paris Olympics with a back injury after passing on the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021 Games even when relatively healthy. Now any sort of return is again in jeopardy.
UCLA football fans are accustomed to watching the Bruins struggle, so it took some time to believe new coach Bob Chesney really could back up his inspirational messages.
After a big road win against longtime nemesis Oregon, video posted online showed Chesney delivering a fiery speech to his team in the tunnel before facing the Ducks. He relayed the story of Hernán Cortes telling his crew to burn boats behind them so that there was no way out but forward. The Bruins, he said, had to burn the boats and fight through the Ducks.
“His speech before the Oregon game — where he talked about burning boats — that just fires you up. It makes me want to run through a wall,” said Brian Jacobsen, a 1987 UCLA graduate.
A fan with a UCLA themed Star Wars storm trooper mask dances during the Bruins’ win over Wisconsin at Rose Bowl on Saturday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
UCLA fan Luis Flores, 54, grew up watching the Bruins and said he can’t recall feeling this excited about the team.
“It’s the culture and the way the coaches have these kids going the right direction. Where they are disciplined, they believe in [Bob] and they believe in the Bruins,” Flores said.
Jacobsen and Flores were among the 36,045 fans at the Rose Bowl Saturday during UCLA’s 17-7 win over Wisconsin. The Chesney train is picking up steam, but the Rose Bowl was still far from sold out Saturday.
Joel Fierberg, music director of the UCLA Alumni Band, has seen the football program’s highs and lows during his 30 years leading the band.
“There have been some up-and-down years, but I am excited for what’s been happening,” Fierberg said.
Fierberg values fans who have stayed with the Bruins through thick and thin, especially now that the program has given them wins to celebrate.
“There are a lot of fans, including a lot of my band [members], who are here every week regardless,” Fierberg said. “It’s always exciting for them, having lived through the difficult times, to have something to be excited about.”
UCLA fans haven’t seen this kind of dominance since the Bruins opened the 2022 season 6-0.
Jeremiah Calvillo, 15, said he remembers the Chip Kelly era, but he couldn’t be more excited about what this UCLA team has done for him.
“[Chesney] is a very good coach who is leading this program to better things,” Calvillo said.
UCLA running back Anthony Woods and quarterback Ty Dieffenbach celebrate after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Wisconsin at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
UCLA alum Garry Sakson enjoys seeing all the praise the Bruins have received on social media after beating Oregon in Eugene. Sakson attended as many games as possible during the Kelly era at UCLA.
“The mindset this team has is different,” Sakson said. “With Chesney, it’s the way he acts and carries himself.”
Fans are cautious about discussing UCLA’s chances of making the College Football Playoff, despite the Bruins becoming the last undefeated team in the Big Ten and SEC. That superstitious approach shows how quickly Chesney has raised expectations.
“I’m very optimistic about Chesney in his first year, but talking about the playoffs already is wild. Still, it’s amazing that we’re even in this position,” said 2009 UCLA alum Tim Dawson.
Dawson was a freshman when the Bruins started the 2005 season 8-0 and finished 10-2, during coach Karl Dorrell’s third year.
That season, the Bruins were known for their high-scoring offense and their ability to pull wins out, until they fell to Arizona in Week 9.
This season, the Bruins have a potent rushing game, a dynamic new starting quarterback and defense that has delivered explosive plays. Dawson said this feels different than the 2005 team because the defense is strong.
The players are proud of how quickly they shifted from going 3-9 last season to a 6-0 start.
Fans watch UCLA face Wisconsin at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
“Think the progress that we made from January, when we all arrived, till now is just out of this world,“ UCLA wide receiver Landon Ellis said. “It’ll be hard to look back into history and find teams that have turned it around this fast. So if you’re not all the way in, I don’t know what you are doing,”
Chesney said a bruising win over Wisconsin that shows UCLA can hold its own against brawny Big Ten terms should win over more fans unaccustomed to success.
“I think this win changes things a little bit,” Chesney said. “We won games in different ways, whether it be the offense or defense, but I think [Saturday] was a tough, physical game of football that you got to have a lot of pride in. And I think this should be the one that gives them a lot of confidence to understand just exactly what we are doing.”
After spending years as an assistant football coach at Sylmar and San Fernando, Boo Williams arrived at Sun Valley Poly this season with a mission to turn around a program that always seemed to have talent but rarely put together many victories.
In his rookie season, Williams has Poly with a 7-1 overall record and a 5-0 mark in the East Valley League going into the final games against Verdugo Hills and Arleta.
Justice Brown has rushed for more than 1,000 yards. King Exudus has been an impact player on defense.
Two things can be true: The Dodgers’ season ended prematurely and, for Shohei Ohtani, the offseason couldn’t come soon enough.
Thursday’s elimination — a no-doubt-about-it sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers, who vanquished the Dodgers in the same fashion Ohtani and Co. had summarily eliminated them last season — was apparently the only way to get the two-way superstar out of the lineup.
Now he can get some much-needed rest and recovery, a reality check and, possibly, some surgical procedures to repair the knee and biceps injuries that plagued him this season.
Ohtani didn’t rule anything out in his postgame scrum, several rows deep, in front of his locker after the Dodgers’ 6-4 defeat in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.
“Hard to tell at this point,” the 32-year-old Ohtani said in Japanese, via interpreter Will Ireton. “It’s something that’s going to be analyzed, discussed over the offseason, and see if that’s a viable thing to do.”
Hopefully, for the Dodgers’ sake and for baseball’s, Ohtani and his team will see their way to a reasonable load management plan. Hopefully they’ll find a viable injury management strategy.
Especially if he continues to pitch, as Ohtani said he plans to: “Yes, definitely, and looking forward to having a better season.”
Hopefully this bumpy season — his first as a Dodger to end short of the championship following the 2024 and 2025 title runs — will make Ohtani better. Wiser. More willing to listen to his body and to communicate what it’s telling him with the ball club that relies on him so much.
“I’ll always trust Shohei,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s the best player on the planet, and he’s not completely healthy. But I just give him a lot of respect for not running from it, still wanting to participate, still wanting to play when he’s not 100%.”
But hopefully when Ohtani’s knee barks next time, he won’t pitch through it. Hopefully when his right arm tightens up, he’ll step out of the box. Even — or especially — if it takes longer than a 15-day IL stint to make him right.
Hopefully he’s learned that irrespective of a sense of duty or pride or a selfish streak, the cold-hitting fact is that a compromised version of Ohtani leaves the Dodgers’ whole team — a $400 million investment — compromised, as it was this postseason.
“I don’t really want to take it for granted for the opportunity to be able to play with these guys,” Ohtani said. “But honestly, I think I’m just very disappointed.”
In eight playoff games against the Atlanta Braves and Brewers, Ohtani hit .192 (five for 26). He struck out 10 times. He didn’t get an extra-base hit or drive in a run until Thursday, in the season finale, which reminded us of Ohtani’s power — he walloped his first home run since Aug. 18, a three-run missile in the second inning that traveled 428 feet — and his pain.
Roberts looked, for a moment, like a genius for continuing to keep Ohtani in the lineup — and to pencil him in as the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter after batting him sixth on Wednesday.
For that one shining moment.
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run in the second inning of the Dodgers’ 6-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
But Ohtani also struck out three times Thursday — made to look foolish in a much-too-familiar way.
The Dodgers needed a healthy Ohtani to deal with a young, hungry ballclub like the Brewers.
To have a chance against a team that was, as Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernández said, “almost playing perfect baseball,” they needed him dialed in and not tinkering, not staying late searching.
They need the version of him that delivered the perfect game a year ago, his three-home-run, 10-strikeout masterpiece that sent Milwaukee home in Game 4 of the NLCS.
“Ohtani is arguably the best player in the world,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
“He’s proven that to us. He had the greatest game I’ve ever seen played by an individual player last year against us.”
The Dodgers need that guy striking fear into opponents. Not him striking out, or getting stranded helplessly on base.
Shohei Ohtani tosses his bat after hitting a three-run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the Dodgers’ 6-4 loss in Game 4 of the NLCS on Thursday at Dodger Stadium.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
And they got a glimpse of that guy Thursday with that second-inning home run, a shot that had him throwing his arms up and screaming toward his dugout, as emotive as we’ve seen him, relieved and exulting after giving the Dodgers a 4-0 lead — and a fleeting expectation that they’d play a Game 5 on Friday.
“It was a lot of pent-up anger, frustration,” Roberts said. “It was the best ball he hit in probably two, three months, and it was a big hit.”
“It was like,” Max Muncy said, “that’s the swing we’ve been waiting for.”
Now we all wait for baseball to return — and then to learn what this season taught Ohtani, one of the most unique athletes in the history of the game.
“Not quite satisfied with how things shaped up on the pitching side at the end of the year,” Ohtani said. “… I haven’t been able to really come to grips in terms of what I’ve learned overall. It’s something that I’m going to kind of go back to the drawing board in terms of treatment, training program, and see what I can come up with for next season.”
EXCLUSIVE – boss of hit Disney+ show Rivals says plans are well underway for filming of Season three and he was able to discuss some big story ideas with Jilly before her sad death in 2025.
09:37, 19 Oct 2026Updated 09:37, 19 Oct 2026
Alex Hassell and Bella Maclean are two of the central stars of Rivals, and their characters could have a romance in future seasons.(Image: PA)
Rivals bosses have confirmed Season three is heading to Disney+ in 2027 – with more changes expected from the book’s storylines.
Fans of the hit series, based on Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles novels, are eagerly awaiting episodes 7-12 of Season two which will launch on the streaming platform on November 11. And now it seems there won’t be too long to wait for even more episodes.
Speaking at a special tribute night to Jilly Cooper at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Rivals executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins praised the cast and crew for being so close and creating a fantastic atmosphere on set. He also says big upcoming storylines already had Jilly’s approval before her death.
Dominic said: “I’ve never worked on a show where everyone has come back for season two. All the heads of department came back. Almost everyone is coming up with season three. That just doesn’t happen. But we are ambitious, and we look at every scene rigorously and say, how could it be better?”
“We had Jilly’s notes for season one and all the way through season two. We talked to her about our plans for season three and beyond. So she’s checking on us, and we’ve got her seal of approval on big, things, big story points. We start filming in March and it is odd writing without Jilly.”
Referring to Jilly, who died in October last year, he added: “She was a friend and she became a sort of fairy godmother to all of us. And how lucky we were to have Jilly Cooper as our friend.”
Rivals has been a huge success since it launched in October 2024 with cast including David Tennant, Alex Hassell, Aidan Turner, Emily Atack and Katherine Parkinson.
At the same event Jilly’s daughter Emily Tarrant added that her mum had loved Rivals and the way it gave her books a new lease of life. She added: “She was joyous about it, so thrilled to see all her characters come to life.”
Disney+ have said Season Three will see the stakes become even higher for some of the characters. Announcing Season Three earlier in the year they said: “New romances blossom, old flames rekindle and shocking secrets will be spilled in this third series which takes everyone’s favourite rivalries to the next level. In a world of power, passion and betrayal, everyone has something to lose.”
Jilly’s agent Felicity Blunt, who also acts as en executive producer on Rivals, insisted the late writer understood that the TV version of her books couldn’t be exactly the same and would feature shock deaths or new characters.
Felicity said: “She really understood what it takes to take a book and translate it to screen, and then it can’t be this sort of slavish reproduction of what works in the text, like it has.
“There is a totally different three-dimensional quality to making a piece of great television, and she was the first person to bless any decision that deviated from the book, and really understood why.”
* Rivals Rivals Season 2, Part 2 will premiere on Wednesday, November 11 on Disney+.
What we don’t know: What the future holds, in what could be a turbulent winter for the Dodgers and for all of Major League Baseball.
Here are four things we don’t know about the Dodgers, but well worth keeping an eye on:
Shohei Ohtani
Just three short months ago, we wondered whether Ohtani would win his fifth most valuable player award and his first Cy Young Award. Has the time come for the Dodgers to consider curtailing his pitching?
As the Dodgers trudged through the playoffs, we endured daily drama over where in the lineup Ohtani would bat (first, second, fourth, fifth or sixth) and what he could produce despite playing through multiple injuries.
We’ll soon get a better understanding of those injuries, and whether rest, rehabilitation and/or surgery might be recommended for each one. We’ll also get a better sense of what the future might hold for Ohtani as a two-way player, and for his potential to perform at an elite level on both sides of the ball.
Ohtani said he plans to resume pitching next year. He is 32. He just completed his 14th professional season.
Ohtani has pitched more than 132 innings once since 2016, when he was 22 and playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters.
In his three seasons with the Dodgers, this was the first that did not involve rehabilitation from elbow surgery. He started 14 games before a knee injury prevented him from pitching any more this season.
Payroll
Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal walks off the field during Game 1 of the NLDS.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Major league owners are poised to shut down the sport this winter, in pursuit of a salary cap designed to restrain the Dodgers, since they won’t restrain themselves.
The owners’ initial proposal set a salary cap of $245 million next year. The Dodgers already have $347 million committed to 14 players next year, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts.
Under a cap, the owners have promised a transition period to account for existing commitments, and an actual negotiated cap could be higher.
Even if the players do not agree to a cap — and they insist they won’t — whatever economic system that would emerge from collective bargaining would be almost certain to make it painful for the Dodgers to spend so freely.
Whatever the case, the Dodgers could face the kind of difficult roster choices they often have papered over with money this decade. Two closers for $141 million? Good luck with that.
And would they be able to fit soon-to-be free agent Tarik Skubal into their payroll? Skubal might well sign before the lockout is expected to start in December, but there is nothing agent Scott Boras loves more than pitching a marquee free agent to a new owner. The two other Southern California teams — the Angels and San Diego Padres — both have one.
Age
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, left, and general manager Brandon Gomes have decisions to make about their aging roster.
(Luke Hales / Getty Images)
When Andrew Friedman made his name as the general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, he did it in large part by taking advantage of one market inefficiency within the American League East: He beat up on the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees because they were stuck with rosters crowded with aging stars on big contracts. The Rays couldn’t have done that even if Friedman had wanted to.
He didn’t want to do it too much in Los Angeles, because it compromises roster flexibility. But, after seven National League West titles and no World Series championships, ownership went all in: Mookie Betts (12 years, $365 million), Freddie Freeman (six years, $162 million), Ohtani (10 years, $700 million), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12 years, $325 million), Tyler Glasnow (five years, $137 million), Blake Snell (five years, $182 million), Will Smith (10 years, $140 million) and Kyle Tucker (four years, $240 million).
It worked: three rings in six years. Now the bill comes due.
The Dodgers fielded the oldest group of position players in the major leagues this season. Ohtani and Betts are under contract through their age-39 seasons; Smith will be 38 when his deal’s up, Yamamoto and Max Muncy 37, Snell 36, Glasnow 35.
Something to watch this winter: Freeman is 37, signed through next year. He would like to play until 40 and finish his career here. That would take a two-year extension. Would the Dodgers say no?
Ownership
Mark Walter’s insurance empire is under investigation by federal authorities — and the subject of discussions with state regulators — over allegations the businesses he controls failed to properly follow laws designed to protect investors.
Walter’s company has denied wrongdoing, and neither Walter nor his businesses have been charged with a crime. He is, however, a defendant in multiple civil lawsuits in which insurance policyholders claim he and several of his companies committed fraud and breach of contract.
Walter may need more than $20 billion to satisfy regulators by recapitalizing insurance companies. He abruptly sold the Lakers in August, in a deal that valued the team — not just Walter’s controlling interest — at $12.5 billion. He and fellow Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly also sold a small stake in English soccer club Chelsea FC last month for about $1.27 billion, the Financial Times reported. It is uncertain how Walter would provide the rest of the money for recapitalization.
“Regarding the Los Angeles Dodgers, to be clear, the team is not being sold,” Walter’s holdings company said in a statement last month.
It is uncertain whether a resolution with insurance regulators would satisfy the Department of Justice, which reports to President Trump. In July, when the Dodgers visited the White House, Walter presented Trump with an official World Series championship ring with his name engraved on it. He also sold the Lakers to former Disney chief Bob Iger and venture capitalist Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law.
Major League Baseball is monitoring the situation and could conduct its own review after the state and federal matters are concluded.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chargers hit the road to face the undefeated, AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs, still looking for their first victory of the season.
They were unsuccessful, falling 22-6 on Sunday evening at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chargers are 0-6 to start the season for the first time since 2000, when they finished 1-16. They’ve also lost nine straight games since last season, tying a franchise mark for most consecutive losses.
“I truly believe and was confident that we would win this game,” coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters. “We have to address everything, guys, and especially offensively.”
The Chargers’ offense, already weakened by a series of injuries to its offensive line and receiving corps, struggled mightily, recording their second-lowest output of the season at 259 total yards. They also lost wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who was ruled out midway through the second quarter with a concussion. He had just one catch in his return from a foot injury that kept him out last week against Denver.
Additionally, it marked the first time the Chargers failed to score a touchdown this season, likely putting first-year offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s job in further jeopardy. They have just five touchdowns through six games.
Harbaugh did not give a conclusive answer when asked directly if McDaniel would continue calling plays, saying the team would review “everything.”
“I see the effort, I see the work being put in in the meetings, on the practice field, to get that to transfer to the field is what’s necessary,” Harbaugh said.
Chiefs quarterback and two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes was in exceptional form, completing 23 of his 30 passes for 272 yards. He did not score a touchdown, either, opting to hand off to running back Kenneth Walker for two scores. Walker finished with 128 yards in 19 carries.
Justin Herbert led the Chargers in rushing with 26 yards and threw for 204 yards on 22-for-37 passing. Quentin Johnston had a team-high 57 receiving yards — all from one catch.
The Chiefs had a chaotic first drive that included two offensive penalties, but took a 3-0 lead with a 44-yard field goal by Harrison Butker. After a Chargers punt, the Chiefs struck again with a 33-yard scoring run up the middle by Walker. The Chargers caught a small break with Butker missing the extra point, but they never got back to within a possession of the Chiefs.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert listens to a question during a news conference after a 22-6 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday.
(Ed Zurga / Associated Press)
The Chargers did get on the board later in the first quarter with a 23-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker off an 11-play, 60-yard drive. The Chargers forced a punt on the Chiefs’ next possession and traded interceptions in the second quarter before giving up an 80-yard drive that ended with a two-yard run by Walker.
After another punt, the Chargers left the Chiefs with the ball and 25 seconds left in the half. Mahomes completed two more passes and Butker nailed a 50-yard field goal to push the lead to 19-3.
Starting from their own 45-yard line, the Chargers began the second half with their most promising drive of the game. Herbert completed passes to KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Johnston and Kimani Vidal to take them down to Kansas City one-yard line, but an offensive hold and two incomplete passes meant they had to settle for another field goal.
Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill, center, tackles Chargers running back Kimani Vidal during the fourth quarter Sunday.
(Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
The Chargers’ defense stopped Kansas City at the goal line in the third quarter, forcing a turnover on downs at the one-yard line before Caleb Murphy recovered a fumble on a Chiefs punt return. But the Chargers went nowhere on the ensuing possession.
Butker kicked a 30-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. The Chargers then had one final chance to score, driving to the Kansas City eight-yard line, but Herbert could not find a receiver on back-to-back throws and was sacked twice, leading to a turnover on downs.
In addition to McConkey’s injury, cornerback Deane Leonard left in the third quarter with a concussion.
In case it wasn’t already clear: Debora Cahn, the creator of “The Diplomat,” likes to leave viewers in suspense.
The Netflix political thriller has followed Kate Wyler (Keri Russell), the highly competent, intensely impulsive, deeply flawed and incredibly relatable career diplomat, as she’s cleaned up backroom deals, navigated volatile international crises and unstable government leadership — all while managing a topsy-turvy marriage tangled up in it. And the stakes escalate with each season’s finale, forcing Kate to test her limits. But the fourth season has brought her breaking point.
Alarmed by the questionable decision-making by President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) — as the bullying tactics used against the U.K. to ensure their cooperation against Russia become untenable — Kate resigns in unplanned, but grand fashion at the G7 summit in front of world leaders. She’s eventually joined by other members of Penn’s administration: chief of staff Billie Appiah (Nana Mensah), Secretary of State Miguel Ganon (Miguel Sandoval) and, most notably, her husband, Vice President Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell).
“We like a good cliffhanger,” Cahn says during a recent video call.
Cahn’s thought about how “The Diplomat” will ultimately conclude. But like the show’s savvy titular character, she perfectly executes the art of the charming evasion when pressed for answers — namely, how close are we to getting there?
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler, left, Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler, Allison Janney as Grace Penn in Season 4 of “The Diplomat.”
(Netflix)
“I don’t know — maybe it just did,” she teases. Cahn then turns more serious: “I’ve always had an idea of what the end is. As with everything on the show, I’m always delighted to have that idea blown out of the water by a better idea, but so far it hasn’t happened.”
Cahn began her television writing career on Aaron Sorkin’s acclaimed political drama, “The West Wing,” spanning seasons 4 through 7. After working on shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Vinyl” and “Homeland,” she took the helm as creator and showrunner for the first time with “The Diplomat.” And writing a political drama today meant grappling with a creative responsibility she hadn’t faced before.
“I didn’t have to figure out what ‘The West Wing’s’ political position was going to be or what ‘The West Wing’ thought about the world,” she says. “I want to make a show that is compelling for a lot of different people. And there are certain things that are happening in the world that, as much as I try or would like to be even-handed, … [are] really difficult to ignore when you’re living at a time when you feel like democracy is crumbling.”
On a recent afternoon from her home in New York, Cahn spoke more about the new season of “The Diplomat.” These are edited excerpts from the conversation, which includes spoilers.
The marriage between Kate (Keri Russell) and Hal (Rufus Sewell) is tangled with their work.
(Netflix)
So much of the show, but particularly this season, is about lines that are drawn and the crossing of them. How did you and the writers decide what would be the line for Kate?
It took months and months and months to decide because we wanted to treat the question as realistically as possible. A lot of good people don’t quit. And so, why? What’s the reasoning? The whole season is examining that question for Kate and, in a way, for all of them. I didn’t want to be like, “Well, she doesn’t like the president, so she walked on out.”
What did you want out of that final moment of the season?
The moment when she stands up, she has come to a clarifying realization that her line has just been crossed. It happens in that room. And we argued about that a lot. We ended up feeling really strongly that it be what was happening right there. That this was a question she had wrestled with, but when you see that you are off the cliff, it will become clear what you have to do. So for her, Grace’s speech was that moment. She then walks out of the room and thinks: “What the mother f— did I just do? I’ve just ended my career. Have I ended my husband’s career?” That’s how she feels until she hears the door open and sees Billie walk out, and both of them go through a similar moment when they hear the door open, and Ganon walks out; then obviously the last one [is Hal] that really nobody was expecting. But for Kate, there is a big difference between having realized that you can’t go forward because your own line has been crossed, to realizing that you have started a movement, and that there is a contagion in that action.
How much did the real world, particularly international relations, inform or shape the season?
I don’t ever like to do a ripped-from-the-headlines show, particularly because we write it and then a year or two passes before it gets on air. But it did feel like, at a time when this administration was coming back into power again, and their first move was to fire people and really obliterate the institution that we were writing about, it didn’t seem like a story that we could walk around and ignore.
Bradley Whitford as Todd Penn and Allison Janney as Grace Penn in Season 4 of “The Diplomat.”
(Nick Wall/Netflix)
We haven’t had a woman president. We know the sexism around this topic:Women are too weak, women can’t make tough decisions. What was the lay of the conversation in the writers’ room about who Grace Penn would be as president?
The situation that we wanted to sustain throughout the season was she’s not doing these things because she got shot, her stomach hurts and she’s mad. She’s doing things because she became president, and she thinks this is how the country needs to be run. Is there an overcompensation around her making sure that people don’t think that she’s too weak and afraid to be a foreign policy hawk? I think in plenty of circumstances, women in positions like that are more likely to take a strong decisive military action because there is this looming concern of, “Well is she tough enough? Is she gonna try and have everybody hold hands and make up?” There is an instinct to make sure that people realize that that isn’t your plan. Every one of the decisions that she made, we made sure that there was a smart, strategic, security mandated argument for doing what she was doing.
What Grace says at the top of that summit regarding the U.K. and Russia, if you didn’t know what was going on behind the scenes, it would seem reasonable and strategic.
I’m happy to hear you say that because that was very deliberate. We went round and round with different versions of what she said in that speech because some people would listen to it and say, “Oh, my God, she can’t say that. It’s just overwhelmingly reprehensible.” Then we would show our Washington people, and they were like, “It’s not so bad.” Democrats who were like, “This isn’t crazy. This is kind of middle of the road these days.” We realized that we couldn’t have her saying things that have become accepted in Washington because the public would view it as monstrous, and we didn’t want to be portraying a villain.
Is that the most difficult thing for you as the showrunner of a political show today — a president as a villain?
It’s trickier than I hoped it would be. I’m not really interested in the presidency as much as I’m interested in the thousands of people who interact with the president and perhaps don’t, as individuals, wield as much power in their hands as that office holder does. But real power, particularly in numbers, can make things happen or stop really disastrous things from happening. Whether or not we think that there’s a villain in the White House, what does everybody else do to try to manage it?
Rory Kinnear, who plays Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge, sings opera in a scene where his character is having a hallucination.
(Clifton Prescod / Netflix)
There’s a surreal interlude with Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear) and his hallucinations — he’s singing opera, at one point. How did you arrive at that turn for him?
I would be lying if I didn’t say one of the big reasons I wanted to do that was because I found out Rory Kinnear sings opera. When we knew we were going to have this situation where he was going to through something even more stressful than everything that he’s been through up until now, it felt like it would be really great to see what’s going on in there [his mind]. I called him up and I said, “I’d like to have you singing ‘Pagliacci’ — is that OK?” And he was like, “Well, let’s start warming up now.”
For a brief moment, with Grace shot, Hal is acting president. I’m curious how you arrived at the length of time he’d fill in for Grace. It’s a few hours. And it reveals so much.
There’s a gravitational pull that we’ve been resisting ever since we made the president a big role, and then placed one of our leads in the role of vice president. There’s this pull toward the White House. But I’ve never wanted to be like, “Oh, well, then Hal’s president. Then, Hal dies, and Kate’s president! Everybody gets a chance.” Once he was VP, it started to seem equally absurd to not have a taste of that because it is, in fact, the reality in that job.
Making Hal a president for a long period of time wasn’t all that interesting to me, but I did want a little bit of a window into it. We think we really know what Hal Wyler is going to do in that role — and by we, I mean Kate, really —and it just isn’t true at all. It also turns out she really had no idea who he was as a vice president, and he’s a much different person than she thought. She thought he was going to continue to be a bull in a china shop, big swings and big ideas and asking for forgiveness, not permission. That’s not who he’s been in that job.
Billie (Nana Mensah), left, Kate (Russell), Hal (Sewell), Grace (Janney), Fitzwilliam (Neil Pearson) and Todd (Whitford) in “The Diplomat.”
(Nick Wall/Netflix)
Both couples faced questions like: Who is this person I married or how am I responding to who they are at this moment? What were you interested in exploring in both these dynamics?
The conversation that we were just having is in a way relevant for all four of them. Not only is Hal different than Kate thought he would be, Hal’s different than Hal thought he would be. I haven’t run a show before. This is this is my first time in that position, and I am absolutely different than I thought I would be. I was 100% sure I knew exactly how I would handle things, and it didn’t happen. That’s an idea that we wanted to keep alive for Hal and definitely for Grace. You can prepare for it all you want and still not know.
You can’t help but feel for Todd as he tries to figure out Grace. But then he nearly dismantles NATO and you’re like, Todd!
Todd goes through two phases. He has this terrible feeling of helplessness that is eventually supplanted by this terrible feeling of power that he’s unable to manage. In a lot of ways, the Todd story is the most realistic one we’re telling because a lot of people who’ve never done this before are making the most consequential decisions, literally in the world. And Todd’s not a dumb guy, and I don’t think the people that we’re watching do this are dumb people, but, boy, are they in over their head really fast.
I want to talk about Grace and Todd and the use of “babe.” There’s something so intriguing to me about what they’ve done with that pet name across the season.
You’re thinking about all my favorite things. I don’t know what to say other than I’m glad it’s reading. You take a term of affection, and, at a certain point, it just becomes a name. The affection that it carries with it is just a horrible memory of a moment that is clearly gone.
