season

The award-winning series returns for its fifth and final season soon, with fans calling it ‘awesome’

Fans of the series are wishing it would never end.

Fans of comedy dramas are in for a delight as an acclaimed dark comedy is poised to return with a brand new season soon.

The series first premiered on HBO Max back in 2021 and it charts the journey of a stand-up comedian and her comedy writer as they grapple with the shifting dynamics of their partnership.

The popular comedy was renewed for a fifth and concluding season, set to air on April 9, and it features Jean Smart as Deborah Vance and Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels.

HBO Max has just unveiled the trailer for the final season of Hacks, and within 24 hours it amassed over a million views.

Fans flocked to the YouTube comments to express their opinions, with one viewer exclaiming: “I never want it to end!!!”

Another commented: “I love when a series announces the final season, even though I adore Hacks, to end it’s inevitable, and to conclude with full control and a solid script is even better.”

A third chimed in: “I freaking love this show, I can’t wait for this final season.” Whilst a fourth enthused: “This is gonna be amazing!!!!!!”

A fifth declared: “Hands down, one of the best comedy series ever! Why does it have to end?”

Whilst numerous fans were disheartened that the series was drawing to a close, others were content that the show was concluding on its own terms.

One stated: “I’m so glad they’re going to be able to finish it knowing it’s the end.”

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Season five was confirmed to be the final season at the 2025 Emmy Awards, with star Hannah Einbinder revealing: “I think it will feel different.

“We’re going to start [filming] next week, and knowing it’s the last season is really bittersweet. But I think it’s right, you know?”

Einbinder expressed that it was the appropriate time to conclude the show, stating it’s crucial not to “overstay your welcome.

“I think it’s nice to do something as many times as it should be done,” she further commented. “Not overstay your welcome. Rip it and do it and laugh and cry.”

All four preceding seasons of Hacks have garnered critical praise and on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series as a whole boasts an impressive 99 per cent rating.

Hacks airs on HBO Max.

The Major League Baseball Players Assn. is arguably the strongest union in the United States whose members include some of the most conservative athletes in professional sports. The owners of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams, who made their wealth through the workings of free enterprise capitalism, want to limit what players can be paid. This apparent political and philosophical irony will most likely lead to a shutdown of baseball at the end of this season.

Wednesday is opening day for the 162-game major league season. The 2025 season ended Nov. 1 with an 11-inning Dodgers victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in what was one of the most mesmerizing World Series ever. Last season, the Dodgers attracted more than 4 million fans for the first time. The Dodgers weren’t alone. More than 71 million fans attended major league games — the third straight season of growth. Over the last decade, league revenue has increased 33%.

And yet, despite all this good news about the health of baseball’s finances, team owners have threatened to lock the players out — essentially an ownership strike — at the end of this season over terms of a new collective bargaining agreement soon to be negotiated with the players union.

Major League Baseball, unlike the NFL, the NBA and the NHL, does not have a hard salary cap that limits what teams can spend on players. This is the key issue for the 30 team owners and Commissioner Rob Manfred, who argues that the system is “broken.” Small-market teams can’t effectively compete, Manfred insists, with economic behemoths like the Dodgers and Yankees. But over the past 10 seasons, 14 teams have made it to the World Series, so the league is not dominated by only a few big spenders.

Major leaguers and fans have weathered five player strikes and four owner lockouts since 1972. The 1994-95 strike lasted 232 days, canceling more than 900 games, including the World Series. Unlike in the NFL, where top players like San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana crossed a picket line during the 1987 NFL Players Assn. strike, unionized baseball players have remained united. So far, no star players have been strikebreakers in baseball. Both Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers — the 2025 Cy Young Award winners for their respective leagues — also serve in players union leadership roles.

A recent report analyzing major league ballplayers’ political affiliation found that among those who live in states that allow public access to voter registration records, nearly 54% of the players were Republicans compared with 8% Democrats. Why does a rightward-leaning membership retain such strong union loyalties?

For Miami Marlins pitcher Pete Fairbanks, who is also a member of the players union leadership, it comes down to recognizing that they stand on the shoulders of players who challenged the baseball establishment.

“If you look at the history of the union, we’ve had a foundation set for us,” Fairbanks said. “They fought for players’ rights and for the general betterment of the whole and it’s the job of the veteran players to pass that history on to the younger players.”

Marvin Miller, a former Steelworkers Union leader, revolutionized the players’ union and baseball when he led the association from 1966 to 1982. He told the New York Times in 1999 that he was “irked” that many players did not know that it was the union that made their enormous salaries and benefits, arbitration and free agency possible. “When you don’t know your history, you tend to relive it,” Miller said.

Miller, who died in 2012, was a labor history buff who realized that highly skilled workers often developed elaborate ethical codes that promoted solidarity with other employees.

Bruce Meyer, the current executive director of the players association, puts the union’s fractious history with the owners at the center of his communications with players. He spent weeks talking with union members during spring training in Florida and Arizona, emphasizing the importance of unity in the ranks. “The bottom line is that our players have always been of the view that they are fighting not just for themselves but for their teammates and for the players that come after them,” Meyer said.

Manfred’s strategy as commissioner of Major League Baseball has been to talk directly with the players himself, especially the lower-earning younger players who he claims are being shortchanged. He argues that “10% of our players make 72% of the money,” numbers that Meyer disputes.

The commissioner is essentially telling players that their union has engaged in malpractice, losing touch with its own members while the economics of baseball changed around them. Meyer regards Manfred’s attempt to divide players as “standard management-labor tactics.”

Top agent Scott Boras said that, unlike in the NFL, baseball’s open salary system works for players because “your talent allows you to earn what you can earn without taking money from anybody else’s pocket.”

Paradoxically, the union has embraced the principles of Adam Smith: Let the free market work. No one forced the Dodgers to pay Shohei Ohtani $700 million. Good for Ohtani, great for Dodger fans. And this year, the Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo will be a field sponsor at Dodger Stadium. The owners, who embrace team revenue sharing and luxury taxes and demand restrictions on salary competition, sound like socialists.

When labor-management disputes interrupt baseball, many fans undoubtedly feel like they are victims of a squabble between “millionaires and billionaires.” Ryan Long, a 26-year-old minor league pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles system and a union leader, thinks the players association should try to understand how regular working people feel about a potential lockout. “Whether it’s people selling hot dogs at stadiums or cleaning rooms at local hotels, the union should help in whatever way it can for other workers who may be hurt if baseball shuts down,” he said.

In late February at the Yankees spring training field in Tampa, I spoke with season ticket holder Richard Barnitt, who wore a shirt designed like a baseball, looking like he could be scuffed up and pitched. “There has to be some kind of cap because the Dodgers and the New York Mets had unlimited money,” he said. Another fan, Carlos Rodriquez, an airplane mechanic living in Tampa, disagreed. “I don’t think a salary cap would be fair to the players,” he said. “The players association does magical work for those guys.”

If locked out, the players are going to want support from fans, to whom a salary cap might sound reasonable. Owners will do what owners do: maximize profits and franchise values. The players union should find ways to show the fans they are not forgotten.

During a previous owners lockout, the association created a million-dollar fund to help pay the bills of stadium concession workers who were thrown out of work. They can do the same again, letting fans know that they understand that most Americans struggle paycheck to paycheck. And maybe Ohtani can chip in a couple hundred bucks — like former Dodger Mike Piazza did decades ago — for each home run.

Kelly Candaele produced the documentary “A League of Their Own,” about his mother’s years playing in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Salah has played a key role in reviving Liverpool‘s fortunes on the pitch during the past nine years.

He helped the club to two Premier League titles, the Champions League, Fifa Club World Cup, Uefa Super Cup, FA Cup and two EFL Cups, as well as the Community Shield.

Salah’s tally of 255 goals in 435 appearances for the Reds has him third in the pantheon of all-time leading goalscorers for the club, behind Ian Rush (346) and Roger Hunt (285).

He has won the Premier League golden boot on four occasions and been named the Professional Footballers’ Association player of the year three times – in 2018, 2022 and 2025.

Salah also hailed the support he has received from Liverpool fans who “showed me through the best time of my career” and also “stood by me in the toughest times”.

“It’s something I will never forget and something I will take with me always. Leaving is never easy,” he added.

“You gave me the best time of my life, I will be always one of you. The club will always be my home, to me and to my family. Thank you for everything. Because of all of you I will never walk alone.”

Liverpool said that Salah’s time at Anfield had been a “remarkable nine-year chapter” and plans to show their appreciation will come at a later date.

“With plenty still left to play for this season, Salah is firmly focused on trying to achieve the best possible finish to the campaign for Liverpool,” the club added.

“Therefore, the time to fully celebrate his legacy and achievements will follow later in the year when he bids farewell to Anfield.”

Some major Tiger Woods news broke Monday night.

It had nothing to do with the Masters — not directly anyway.

The 50-year-old golfing legend will be playing competitively for the first time in more than a year as his Jupiter Links team competes against Los Angeles in the second match of the best-of-three TGL finals Tuesday night in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

TGL is a high-tech, indoor golf league that uses simulators and real surfaces, founded by Woods, Rory McIlroy and Mike McCarley in 2022. While a TGL match doesn’t present the same physical challenge as a PGA Tour event, the team event could serve as Woods’ first step toward playing at Augusta National on April 9-12.

Woods last played competitively March 4, 2025, in Jupiter’s final TGL match of that season. He missed all of the PGA season last year as he recovered from a 2024 back surgery and surgery in March 2025 for a ruptured Achilles tendon. Last fall, he underwent disk replacement surgery in his lower back.

A five-time Masters winner, most recently in 2019, Woods is listed as a 2026 invitee on the tournament website but has yet to confirm his participation.

Last month at the Genesis Invitational, a reporter asked Woods if the Masters was “off the table” for him this year. Woods answered simply, “No.”

In the opening match of the TGL finals Monday night, Jupiter lost 6-5, with Kevin Kisner narrowly missing a birdie chip from 20 feet that would have won the match. Woods was on hand as a team captain and supporter, roles he has served all season.

After the match, Woods told reporters he felt bad for his players — Tom Kim, Max Homa and Kisner — but expressed optimism that Jupiter could still come back and claim the title. If Jupiter wins Match 2, a third match will take place immediately afterward to determine the TGL champion.

“We have possibly two more matches,” Woods said. “We’re not out of this.”

Woods didn’t mention the possibility of placing himself in the next day’s lineup. After the news conference, however, TGL posted a graphic on X that showed what appears to be Woods’ torso and the words “He’s back,” along with the viewing information for Tuesday’s match.

Moments later, Jupiter Links posted a graphic on X that featured a photo of Woods and the quote, “I’m back.”

Woods will be replacing Kisner in the lineup for at least Match 2. It is unclear if Woods would take part in a possible third match.

Last week, after Jupiter clinched a spot in the finals, Woods told reporters he has been trying to play all season “but it just hasn’t worked out that way.” He added that the players had done well without him and implied that he didn’t foresee any changes ahead of the finals.

“I really don’t want to screw up the lineup,” Woods added. “I just want these guys to keep playing.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. If you told me five years ago that right now we would ‘ be discussing whether the Dodgers could win their third consecutive World Series, I would have laughed. How fortunate we are.

Opening day is Thursday, with the flag ceremony that day and the ring ceremony Friday. So, let’s take a look at the opening day roster, barring an injury or implosion by someone.

Catchers

Will Smith — Some Mariners fans took umbrage that I said Smith was the best catcher in the game with Cal Raleigh second. Consistency lifts Smith to No. 1. If Raleigh has another season like last season, he could move up. And did you notice who started the key games for the U.S. in the WBC? Smith, not Raleigh.

Dalton Rushing — An important season for Rushing, who failed to impress last season. Far too early to throw in the towel on him. Can he become a consistent hitter while playing twice a week? Would Ben Rortvedt have made the team instead of Rushing?

Infielders

Mookie Betts — Remember, last season he was very sick around opening day and lost 20 pounds in two weeks. And he’s not exactly a physical giant to begin with. He then had to come back and learn a new position on the fly. It’s possible he never reaches the MVP heights of the past, but it’s also possible he hits much better than last season.

Santiago Espinal — Hitting .372 this spring and played steady defense, more than earning his way onto the team. Hasn’t had a good season on offense since 2021, but is a career .291 hitter against left-handers, so expect to see him against lefties.

Alex Freeland — He won the utility job over Hyeseong Kim despite having a terrible spring in which he went five for 45, though with 13 walks. There must be something about Kim the Dodgers do not like, though they say they sent him down so he can get consistent daily at-bats. Freeland will get a big opportunity here. Can he deliver?

Freddie Freeman — Here’s betting he becomes a .300 hitter again this season and that his mobility improves at first now that his ankle has had more time to heal.

Max Muncy — Everyone knows what Muncy will provide each season between stints on the IL, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t provide it again.

Miguel Rojas — Shohei Ohtani asked him not to retire. He will be the defensive glue for the infield, will get some key hits, and will help everyone on the infield become better defensively.

Outfielders

Alex Call — Exactly what you want in a fourth outfielder: Good defense with the ability to get on base and spell someone in the lineup without a huge dropoff in quality.

Teoscar Hernández — Says he never felt quite right after his injury early last season. Judging by his spring numbers (.468 with five homers), I’d say he was correct.

Andy Pages — Dave Roberts says Pages is his “pick to click” this season. Considering he hit 27 homers last season, you have to wonder what his numbers will be if he does click.

Kyle Tucker — Will the pressure of a big contract cause him to start slow as it has so many others?

Two-way player

Shohei Ohtani — Just think, Ohtani could hit 40 homers this season and be accused of having a disappointing season.

Tommy Edman will be back at some point, and Kiké Hernández will be back around the midpoint of the season, perhaps sooner.

Rotation

Yoshinobu Yamamoto — There are certain guys who should never be booed later in their playing career after what they have done in the past for the team. Fernando. Orel Hershiser. With his 2025 postseason, Yamamoto has claimed a spot on that list.

Tyler Glasnow — Fans still like to call him Glass-now. Pitched only 90 1/3 innings last season. Has pitched in 100 or more innings in only three of his 10 major league seasons. It would be a miracle if he makes 25 starts this season, but when he does pitch, he’s usually very good and the Dodgers will protect his arm as much as they can to make sure he can pitch in the postseason.

Shohei Ohtani — Will Ohtani win the MVP and Cy Young Award? The only time he came close was in 2022 with the Angels, when he was second in MVP voting and fourth in Cy Young voting. Last season he made 14 starts and pitched 47 innings. My prediction is he receives votes for both, but doesn’t win both as some pitcher will put up better or similar numbers in more innings.

Roki Sasaki — One of the big mysteries of the season. Can Sasaki harness his ability? His emotions seem to overwhelm his ability at times. But he’s only 24. When I was 24, I had just started working at The Times and my emotions overwhelmed my ability at times. It’s easy to forget these are men, not machines. However, after a disastrous start Monday against the Angels, giving up four runs in the first inning, you have to wonder if he will indeed start the season in the majors.

Emmet Sheehan — Went 6-3 with a 2.82 ERA last season before he was moved to the bullpen for the postseason and pitched terribly (8.59 ERA). When Blake Snell is ready to come back, hopefully in May, either Sasaki or Sheehan will either move to the bullpen or get sent down. They are in effect using April to battle for a permanent spot in the rotation.

Bullpen

Ben Casparius — He can be a starter, a short guy, a long man, an opener. He’s a jack-of-all-trades, or, a Ben of all trades. Has walked nine in 7.2 spring innings, so that’s something that can’t continue.

Edwin Díaz — The closer job is his. Mets fans say Dodgers fans should get used to Díaz walking a tightrope when he pitches. We’ll have to wait and see, but as of right now, this is a terrific signing.

Jack Dreyer — Had a solid rookie season and pitched four scoreless innings in the postseason.

Edgardo Henriquez — An electric arm that hasn’t always translated to electric results. He bounced back and forth between the minors and the Dodgers last season and could again this season.

Will Klein — Sometimes one outing transforms a player from being an average player to being a good-to-great one. Was Game 3 the pivot point for Klein, who has a career 5.16 ERA? He has been great this spring. And apparently Klein jerseys have become a top seller, so there will be a lot of people pulling for him.

Tanner Scott — He is in the second year of a four-year, $72-million deal, and he was terrible in Year 1 of the deal. The comment for Treinen below applies to Scott as well. Will the Dodgers use Scott and Treinen as their first non-closer option in high leverage roles at the start of the season?

Blake Treinen — Will the Treinen of 2024 return, or will it be the Treinen of 2025? And if it is the Treinen of 2025, how much leash will the Dodgers give him before giving up? Those will be two key things to watch early in the season.

Alex Vesia — After what he and his wife went through, is anyone rooting against this guy? He will wear his emotions on his sleeve as always and will neutralize left-handers.

Justin Wrobleski — Can give them some length out of the bullpen, plus can step into the rotation if Sasaki or Sheehan prove too unreliable before Snell returns.

Some teams say the Dodgers have an unfair advantage, because Ohtani being a two-way player means the Dodgers can carry nine relievers while most teams can carry only eight. Funny how those teams never complained about this when Ohtani was with the Angels.

At some point, Snell, Brusdar Graterol, Evan Phillips and Brock Stewart will be back.

Also keep in mind that last season the Dodgers used 40 pitchers, so there will be a lot of churn among that part of the roster. They will start April with these 14 pitchers, but it’s unlikely the same 14 reach the end of April, or maybe even mid-April.

They used 25 position players last season, but it seems like the opening 13 will stay together for a little bit, at least until the first injury.

How many games will the Dodgers win?

It’s that time of year where I ask you how many games the Dodgers will win, and this year I will also ask if the Dodgers will win the World Series again?

So, how many games will the Dodgers win this season?

They will finish under .500 (this will tell me how many Padres/Giants fans subscribe to the newsletter)

They will win 81-90 games

They will win 91-95 games

They will win 96-100 games

They will win 101-110 games

They will win 111-116 games

They will set the record with more than 116 wins

Click here to vote in this survey and the World Series survey. Results will be announced Thursday.

The experts say

Most experts point to the fact the the Dodgers are favorites to win it all among oddsmakers. If you look around at the various oddsmakers, the Dodgers are given about a 28% chance to win the World Series, far ahead of any other team (Seattle usually is second).

But, look at it another way. You could also say there is a 72% chance the Dodgers won’t win the World Series. We have been spoiled the last two seasons. Really, compared to most teams, we have been spoiled ever since Guggenheim bought the team. Winning a World Series is really difficult, even if you have the best team during the season.

I’ll give my predictions on Thursday. In the meantime, Bill Plaschke gave his prediction, which you can read here.

Andrew Friedman speaks….

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman sat down with our new Dodgers reporter, Maddie Lee (we’ll meet her officially soon) and answered some questions. You can read the whole thing here. A couple of highlights:

Q: It’s such a cliche to say you can never have too much pitching, but with this group, are you close?

Friedman: I’ve learned my lesson to never say that we have enough pitching. But I do feel like we are breaking camp with the most talented one through 20 arms — which gets at, obviously, who we’ll break with, and then depth behind it — that we’ve ever had.

Q: The Dodgers are very much caught in the middle of CBA posturing with the current agreement expiring this year. You hear a lot of players saying the Dodgers are doing it the right way and other teams could be doing something similar. On the other hand, the league appears to be floating a salary cap, and plenty of fans are accusing the Dodgers of “ruining baseball.” What’s it been like to see those conflicting narratives?

Friedman: Obviously see it, come across it, hear it quite a bit. But we’re just not that focused on it. We’re a really healthy organization, and the partnership we have with our fans is our guiding light. And we’re doing everything we can to put a team out there that our fans really connect with, and that they feel that partnership with all that they pour into us, and don’t really think about it in any other terms.

And so obviously, there’s a lot of narratives that get extrapolated from that. But our sole focus is on ourselves and the partnership we have with our fans and the rest of it to us, it’s kind of just noise.

The Q&A, which covers several topics, can be found here.

In case you missed it

Swanson: The Dodgers are chasing a three-peat. They can take some cues from the 2002 Lakers

Why the Dodgers are preaching patience as Roki Sasaki continues development

NL West preview: The Dodgers should be heavy favorites, but the Padres could surprise

Ohtani. Yamamoto. Sasaki. A 12-story ‘cultural bridge’ between L.A. and Japan to debut in Torrance

Alex Freeland edges Hyeseong Kim for a Dodgers opening day roster spot

For two-time defending champion Dodgers, the goal is simple: ‘They want to keep winning’

Plaschke: The Dodgers and their fans are geared up for a three-peat. Why the quest will fall short

Yoshinobu Yamamoto smooth in his final spring start before Dodgers opening day

Q&A: Andrew Friedman on team culture, the upcoming season and ‘noise’ around the Dodgers

And finally

Shohei Ohtani hits three homers and strikes out 10 in Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS. Watch and listen here.

Until next time….

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Paapa Essiedu is set to appear in a ‘tender yet urgent love story’ starting on BBC One next week

The Capture favourite Paapa Essiedu is set to star opposite Siobhán Cullen, known for The Dry and Obituary, in a powerful new drama.

Babies, starting on BBC One next week, is the actor’s first role since his unexpected exit from The Capture. It comes after his character, Home Secretary Isaac Turner, was killed off just minutes into season 3, despite being a main figure on the show since 2022.

Written and directed by multi-award-winning Stefan Golaszewski (Mum, Marriage, Him & Her), Babies is a gripping, warm and urgent love story about a couple struggling through the experience of pregnancy loss.

A synopsis for the new series reads: “At the heart of the series are Lisa (Cullen) and Stephen (Essiedu), a couple in their 30s whose dream of becoming parents is tested as they endure multiple miscarriages. While confronting unimaginable grief, their bond shines through with humour, warmth, and unwavering commitment.

“Charlotte Riley (The Peripheral, Press) and Jack Bannon (Pennyworth, Pulse) also star as Amanda and Dave – a new couple navigating their own challenges and testing their compatibility. Their complex relationship, set against Lisa and Stephen’s ongoing pregnancy journey, begins to expose cracks in Stephen and Dave’s long-standing friendship.”

Describing the series, and what drew him to the scripts, Paapa said: “It’s a six-part drama about two couples who are navigating all the complications and nuances of their relationships and the process of trying for children. The characters are all in their mid to late 30s and at this new stage of life. I’ve always been a huge fan of Stefan’s work. I loved Him & Her, as well as Mum and Marriage.

“He writes with such compassion, detail, specificity, humanity and humour. Scripts with that level of complexity, depth and dimension rarely arrive in your inbox. I never thought twice about it.”

Outlining the premise of the show, writer Stefan Golaszewski, said: “It’s a love story about a couple going through the process of trying to have their first baby. Although it is not autobiographical, I have some personal experience of these issues, and I thought it was a good idea to create a show that talks about a subject that feels quite taboo, but that so many people go through in a painful secrecy. “

Describing the characters at the centre of the show, Stefan said: “Stephen is a kind, gentle soul who has some complications with his notions of masculinity. He loves Lisa very much, and has had a well-oiled problem-free life up until this point. This is his first time experiencing tragedy.

“Lisa is a funny, clever, outgoing, confident person, who again, hasn’t really had to deal with much in her life. She’s had smooth sailing throughout her youth and is now experiencing the first emotional hurdle.

“Dave is a complicated soul. He’s gotten by so far in life by not letting anything deeper than banter in but depth is starting to happen around and to him. He’s finding it hard to navigate that with his old tricks.

“Amanda has suffered great loss in her life. Her fiancé died a few years ago, and she’s now with Dave. She’s starting to step out into the world again, and she’s trying to find a new future for herself.”

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, said: “Babies has everything we love about Stefan Golaszewski’s work – a tender, authentic, emotional and human look at couples navigating a time in their lives that is rarely covered on television.

“It’s no surprise that this very special series has attracted such an outstanding cast, and it’s been an honour to see them bring Stefan’s scripts to life.”

All episodes of Babies are on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Monday, March 30, with the series airing on BBC One from 9pm that night.

Absolutely, this is the best team in UCLA women’s basketball history.

Not the best team in the country this year, but truly a testament to teamwork and hard work and talent retention.

Whether UCLA wins it all this season or not, the Bruins are the envy of teams everywhere, including Oklahoma State, whose season they ended with an 87-68 second-round victory Monday. Afterward, UCLA’s six seniors joined their teammates in one last victory lap around the court, waving to fans, soaking in the adoration, on their way to the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season.

“Seeing a team who gets to host, a team who has stayed together, for the most part, they get to experience all the things that all of us want, and that is so incredibly rare and hard and special,” Oklahoma State coach Jacie Hoyt said.

But how much further those things will take these Bruins in the NCAA tournament after they fought off Oklahoma State?

Maybe all the way, but maybe not.

The road ahead is treacherous. And the Bruins aren’t barreling toward it with the same momentum as the teams they’re likely to face. This deep UCLA team will need to dig even deeper.

They will have Lauren Betts, though, and no one else will. UCLA’s great 6-foot-7 center and cheat code saved the day Monday, scoring 21 of her career-high 35 points in the second half, when the Bruins got tight and the Cowgirls got closer.

Not close, but closer. Much closer than UCLA’s fellow top seeds’ opponents did.

UConn beat ninth-seeded Syracuse 98-45 in a second-round game that featured a killer 31-0 run by the defending champion Huskies.

South Carolina dismissed ninth-seeded USC, 101-61.

Texas blew out eighth-seeded Oregon like a candle, 100-58, on Sunday.

Even the second-seeded Louisiana State Tigers — likely UCLA’s Elite Eight date if both teams win their way to a third consecutive NCAA tournament meeting — got in on the demolition derby Sunday. They routed seventh-seeded Texas Tech 101-47 while setting an NCAA record by scoring 100 points in their 16th game this season.

But this is not a tournament that takes into account point differential. So no harm and no foul when it comes to the scores of the Bruins’ first two wins — and the first round against California Baptist turned into a rout, 96-43, after the Bruins woke up and outscored their guests 52-9 in the second half.

What might matter is that while UConn and South Carolina, Texas and LSU delivered their best spirit- and soul- and confidence-crushing blowouts, the Lancers and the Cowgirls left Pauley Pavilion feeling good about themselves.

The 16th-seeded Lancers can tout that they trailed a top seed by just 10 at halftime. The eighth-seeded Cowgirls (24-10) can crow about outscoring the Bruins 42-41 in the second half.

“UCLA has lost one game all season, right? The majority of those wins were blowouts, like, real blowouts, and it would have been really easy for us to fold after that first quarter,” said Hoyt, referencing the fact that UCLA beat teams by an average of 28.9 points per game this season, fourth-best in the nation.

“But we never did. They were tough and had a resilience and a grit to them that I was really proud to coach.”

That the Bruins (33-1) couldn’t put more significant distance between themselves and a physical Cowgirls team posed some questions about why adjustments didn’t come quick enough, UCLA coach Cori Close said, taking accountability for her part of that. She also saw her players start to let calls and miscommunications frustrate them: “I didn’t think our next-play speed was as good as it has been, and it affects you,” she said.

UCLA coach Cori Close waves to the crowd after Monday’s win over Oklahoma State in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

That doesn’t inspire additional confidence in the Bruins’ path forward. It’s a thorny gauntlet created by seeding rules that bar conference opponents from playing in the Elite Eight — and that could require UCLA, as the No. 2 overall seed, to beat three of the top-five seeded teams if it’s going to win a national championship for the first time since the Bruins won the AIAW title in 1978.

Close hasn’t quibbled with her team’s seeding despite its impressive 31-1 regular-season record against a loaded schedule. But she said Monday she doesn’t like the route that’s been drawn up for her team.

In Sacramento on Friday, the Bruins will play Minnesota, a familiar foe from the Big Ten — one of a dozen conference teams that earned NCAA tournament bids — whom they defeated 76-58 on Jan. 14.

But after that, to reach the championship game the No. 2 team in the nation could meet LSU (the fifth overall seed in the tournament), followed possibly by Texas (No. 3 overall). And then, of course, they’d likely meet No. 1, undefeated UConn in the final, where the Huskies would be trying to win a second consecutive title.

An unenviable assignment, even for a team that seems to have it all.

“You know what does bother me?” Close said. “That the No. 1 and No. 2 overall seeds are not being rewarded because of a guideline that you can’t play a person in your conference in the regional finals. That is an antiquated, poor rule that advantages the wrong teams and the people who haven’t done the work.”

But on Monday, while saying a victorious goodbye to Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins were still mostly unbothered.

“I told ‘em in the locker room,” Close said, “we can talk about your wins and losses all day, but that will always pale in comparison to the way that you’ve affected this community, the way that you’ve touched people’s hearts, the way that you’ve grown as young women.”

The Astros had been a mainstay atop the AL West for eight years — claiming seven division titles during that time — but now the division appears to be under new management.

Last season, the upstart Mariners finally broke through after years of promise, winning 90 games and claiming their first division crown since 2001. This season, the club hopes to take the next step forward and reach the World Series for the first time in franchise history. Seattle locked up cleanup man Josh Naylor to a five-year, $92.5-million contract, solidifying their lineup. The M’s also traded for super utilityman Brendan Donovan, who, as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, was named an All-Star for the first time in his career last season.

The Astros, in their third year under manager Joe Espada, are hoping to return to the top of the division. They’ll have their work cut out for them, with just seven players remaining from the Astros’ 2022 World Series team.

Even after a pair of mediocre seasons, the Rangers remained aggressive this winter, making a pair of blockbuster trades, acquiring frontline starter MacKenzie Gore from the Nationals and outfielder Brandon Nimmo from the Mets. Ex-Marlins manager Skip Schumaker will take the reins from four-time World Series champion Bruce Bochy, who did not return as the club’s skipper.

Entering their second season playing in Sacramento, the Athletics grabbed veteran Jeff McNeil from the New York Mets in a trade, while locking up promising youngsters Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson to long-term extensions. The Angels installed rookie manager Kurt Suzuki, replacing Ron Washington.

1 | Seattle Mariners

2025 | 90-72, 1st in West

Last year in playoffs | 2025

After bidding farewell to Eugenio Suárez and Jorge Polanco, the Mariners are betting on young infielders Cole Young and Colt Emerson. Newcomer Brendan Donovan should provide a nice spark to the M’s lineup. 26-year-old Bryan Woo emerged as the club’s ace last season while George Kirby missed the first two months with shoulder inflammation and was never quite right. A healthy Kirby could make a huge difference this season for an already formidable M’s rotation.

2 | Houston Astros

2025 | 87-75, 2nd in West

Last year in playoffs | 2024

Even after an offseason in which the Astros lost stars Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander, the team still led the West for most of the season in 2025. One player to watch will be second-year outfielder Cam Smith, who the Astros acquired as the centerpiece of the Tucker trade. It was a tale of two seasons for Smith, who dazzled with a .297/.357/.443 slash line through his first 75 big league games, but hit a snag over his next 59 games, slashing just .153/.248/.232.

3 | Athletics

2025 | 76-86, 4th in West

Last year in playoffs | 2020

Two years after losing 112 games, the A’s showed encouraging progress in their first season in Sacramento. First baseman Nick Kurtz ran away with AL rookie of the year honors, winning the award unanimously, with shortstop Jacob Wilson placing second. Between Kurtz (36), catcher Shea Langeliers (31), designated hitter Brent Rooker (30), left fielder Tyler Soderstrom (25) and right fielder Lawrence Butler (21), the A’s had five players hit for 20 or more homers last season.

4 | Texas Rangers

2025 | 81-81, 3rd in West

Last year in playoffs | 2023

The Rangers have posted just one winning season over the last 10 years, and it came in 2023, the same year that the club won its first-ever World Series. In order for new manager Skip Schumaker to return the Rangers to form, he’s going to need his position players to bounce back in a big way. Freshly-acquired MacKenzie Gore should add length to the Rangers’ rotation, while former Vanderbilt teammates Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker will have an opportunity to establish themselves as formidable major league starters.

5 | Angels

2025 | 72-90, 5th in West

Last year in playoffs | 2014

The Angels upped their win total by nine games from 2024 to 2025, and the club could continue to progress in its first season under rookie manager Kurt Suzuki. General manager Perry Minasian enters the final year of his contract, after the Angels failed to post a winning record in each of his first six seasons.

Netflix has confirmed Bridgerton’s fifth season is currently in production but fans aren’t happy about the direction of the hit period drama

Bridgerton season five will officially focus on middle daughter Francesca with Hannah Dodd taking the lead in Netflix’s popular period romance drama.

Dodd will be starring alongside Masali Baduza as Michaela Stirling, marking the first time the hit streaming series will spotlight a same-sex couple.

The upcoming instalment, which is currently in production, will be set after the death of Francesca’s husband John Stirling (played by Victor Alli) as she begins to explore her complex feelings for his outgoing cousin.

A synopsis confirms: “The fifth season of Bridgerton spotlights introverted middle daughter Francesca.

“Two years after losing her beloved husband John, Fran decides to reenter the marriage mart for practical reasons.

“But when John’s cousin Michaela returns to London to tend to the Kilmartin estate, Fran’s complicated feelings will have her questioning whether to stick to her pragmatic intentions or pursue her inner passions.”

A first-look teaser for the upcoming season has given fans a tantalising glimpse of the pair together, giving each other a tender glance as inspiring music swells.

While countless fans are thrilled to see Fran and Michaela’s romance develop, others have criticised the decision to delay Eloise Bridgerton’s (Claudia Jessie) storyline to season six.

In Julia Quinn’s original novels, 28-year-old Eloise finds love in the fifth book, To Sir Phillip, With Love, after exchanging letters with widower Sir Phillip Crane, played by Chris Fulton in the TV adaptation.

“Big mistake it should have been Eloise next, no buzz here l’m sorry to say,” one viewer fumed on X, adding a shrug emoji.

Someone else exclaimed: “BIG Mistake! should’ve been Eloise first, Fran should’ve had time to grieve.”

Another said: “im actually mad because wdym im not seeing [Eloise’s] season till 2030.” A third wrote: “THEYRE DOING FRANCESCA BEFORE ELOISE?? WHATTT.”

The conversation continued on Reddit, where one user reasoned: “I’m not sure how to feel about this I’m excited for them and their story but honestly what are they going to do with Eloise for another season, i just can’t see what they do with her.”

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“I mean great but I have mixed feelings. I just really wanted Eloise to be the next,” another agreed.

Though someone else argued: “Ayyy, my girls!! So excited to see them lead, I know it’s going to be a fantastic season! Hopefully they can advance Eloise’s plotline as well, like how Fran’s story got a headstart in S3.”

Production starting this spring indicates the next season should arrive on Netflix at some point in 2027.

Hopefully that also means fans won’t be waiting too long before Eloise finally gets her time to shine.

Bridgerton is available to stream on Netflix.

The Dodgers’ rotation order is set for the first homestand of the season.

To round out the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, after Yoshinobu Yamamoto takes the mound Thursday on opening day, he’ll be followed by Emmet Sheehan and Tyler Glasnow. Roki Sasaki is penciled in for Monday against the Cleveland Guardians, followed by Shohei Ohtani on March 31.

Off days on Sunday and April 2 make it possible for the Dodgers to give all their pitchers at least five days’ rest between their first and second starts without needing a sixth starter.

Left-hander Justin Wrobleski is pegged to be that additional starter when the schedule features less frequent days off. In the meantime, he’ll be available to throw multiple innings out of the bullpen.

After starting the season for the Dodgers in Tokyo last year, Yamamoto is looking forward to opening day at Dodger Stadium.

“It’s going to be a different game, and with a different atmosphere,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter. “And then we’re coming off the championship year, then this is the first time I’ll be pitching in front of the Dodgers fans [since then].”

Yamamoto, who was on the mound for the final out of the 2025 season, hasn’t pitched at Dodger Stadium since Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Sheehan claimed a regular spot in the rotation after returning last June from Tommy John surgery rehab. He had a 2.82 earned-run average through 15 appearances last season.

“I was maybe throwing bullpens right now a year ago,” Sheehan said after his last spring start. “So it’s definitely nice. That’s the main thing, to have my health. Grateful for that every time.”

Sheehan wrapped up Cactus League play with a 5.91 ERA in three starts, but he was encouraged by the progress he made in syncing up his delivery.

Glasnow capped his strong spring with five innings of one-run baseball against the Angels on Sunday.

“When everything’s lined up and feeling good … I think a lot of the other stuff follows,” Glasnow said. “And I was just able to go out and be myself.”

He recorded 11 strikeouts against the Angels, leaning on his curveball as his putaway pitch. It generated a 72% whiff rate, according to Statcast.

“Having my curveball feel so good, I kind of just leaned on it,” Glasnow said. “I’m sure things will change in-season, game to game. But tonight, it was a pretty obvious game plan for me.”

With just over five minutes left in UCLA’s first-round win over California Baptist on Saturday, freshman Sienna Betts took a shot. She missed. She grabbed the rebound. She missed again. Then, she put it in the basket.

On the bench, her older sister, Lauren Betts, was laughing. No. 1 seed UCLA was up big late, the Bruins were going to advance and Lauren was getting joy from seeing her sister succeed — and fail.

“I’m like, Sienna, just make the shot, and she’s laughing; she’s not serious,” Lauren said.

The sisters recorded double-doubles during the 96-43 win that secured the Bruins a second-round date with Oklahoma State. Sienna had 10 points and 12 rebounds, six of them offensive, and Lauren had 22 points and 10 rebounds.

UCLA freshman forward Sienna Betts plays tight defense on California Baptist guard Sofia Alonso during the Bruins’ first round NCAA tournament win Sunday at Pauley Pavilion.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“She is so hard on herself and she’s so driven, I think her humor is actually a saving grace for her,” UCLA coach Cori Close said of Sienna. “It’s sort of a light moment. It’s laughter. Because when she’s not smiling and bringing joy, she’s usually beating herself up for a mistake. As she continues to grow in that, I hope it doesn’t have to be her escape, but I just have absolutely enjoyed Sienna so much.”

The sisters have only this season to play together before Lauren, a senior, graduates. They played just one season together in high school in Colorado, and this season might be the last time they are ever on the same team.

“It’s this weird thing, on the one hand, I want them to enjoy this connection they have,” Close said. “I want them to enjoy this year. They will look back on this year and just really treasure it.

“Simultaneously, I want to especially treat Sienna on her own journey, and to not make her feel like she’s in the shadows of anything that Lauren is doing.”

Sisters have posted double-doubles in the NCAA tournament before. At Stanford, Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike did it multiple times in the early 2010s. In the 1980s, USC twins Pamela and Paula McGee averaged double-double their senior years.

But it’s a rarity, and one that could only happen this season for the UCLA sisters.

Sienna, though, didn’t want to make a big deal of it. Sitting to the side in the locker room after the win over California Baptist, she was critical of her own game, just the way Close expected.

“I’m trying to focus more on just that game and just taking what we can learn from our mistakes in the first half, especially, and trying to move on,” Sienna said. “But, I mean, I think in an hour, I’ll take that in and be more excited about that.”

Lauren said she thought Sienna played one of her better games of the season.

“Honestly, besides her scoring, I thought her defense was a lot better today and I know that’s something she wanted to get better at,” Lauren said Saturday. “She was just really proud of her slides. Like she didn’t say anything about her points. She was like, I’m so glad that I can guard them. I worked so hard on that.”

Sienna has had back-to-back strong efforts, with 14 points against Iowa in the Big Ten tournament championship game two weeks ago. She has done so without being hounded by her big sister.

“I think [Lauren] respects my boundary to figure it out on my own,” she said.

Lauren, meanwhile, has averaged 16.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest this season. The projected WNBA lottery pick is considered one of the best centers in the nation.

UCLA center Lauren Betts drives to the basket under pressure from California Baptist forward Grace Schmidt during the NCAA tournament on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“I love the moments you catch when they have a connection and an eye contact or a smile that is different than everybody else because they are sharing it as sisters and I just think how special that is,” Close said. “That’s so wonderful.”

Charlisse Leger-Walker played with her sister, Krystal Leger-Walker, at Washington State for two seasons. There, the duo shared time in the backcourt for an up-and-coming Cougars squad.

“It’s just a different connection,” Charlisse Leger-Walker said. “Out there, you have someone who is your blood and unconditional love and support. And it’s just awesome to be able to see [Lauren and Sienna] in their journey, and have so much success early.”

Sienna will carry the torch for the Bruins beyond this season when the majority of the veteran roster graduates and many go pro.

That’s when she could be the face of the program on her own. But first, she is working to extend an NCAA tournament run alongside her sister.

“I want Sienna to feel like she’s Sienna,” Close said. “She’s not Lauren’s sister. She can enjoy that, but for our team, she’s Sienna Betts.”

In the summer of 2025, Walt Disney Co. executives placed a big bet on a reality TV star prone to high drama: messy personal relationships and allegations of domestic violence.

Now, Disney’s ABC network could lose at least $70 million with a nearly finished season of “The Bachelorette” sitting on the shelf.

Last week, ABC yanked this season of “The Bachelorette,” which features 31-year-old Taylor Frankie Paul, just three days before the premiere episode was set to air Sunday night. Disney pulled the plug after the emergence of a three-year-old video that showed Paul — the protagonist of Hulu’s massive hit series, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” — physically attacking her ex-partner.

Paul can be seen screaming and throwing metal chairs, one of which apparently struck one of her children who witnessed the altercation. Her onetime partner, Dakota Mortensen, recorded the video of the attack on his cellphone.

Trouble has been brewing around “The Bachelorette” for weeks as Paul was doing publicity for the show.

Draper City, Utah, police have separately confirmed an investigation into a subsequent domestic violence incident in February between Mortensen and Paul. As part of that inquiry, Paul, 31, has temporarily lost custody of the couple’s son, Ever, who turned 2 last week — the day the troubling video came out.

“Taylor is very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security. After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm,” said a spokesperson.

Representatives of Mortensen could not immediately be reached for comment. In a statement to People magazine, a representative for Mortensen said that “his number one priority here is protecting” his son, Ever.

Last month, Disney requested an investigation to sort out Paul’s and Mortensen’s differing accounts of the February incident, according to people close to the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly about the sensitive situation.

The scandal has become the first big test for Dana Walden, who last week was installed as Disney’s president and chief creative officer — the day before the video showing a violent Paul was leaked to TMZ.

The episode has raised uncomfortable questions about why Disney made Paul the face of one of ABC’s marquee franchises.

It also has shined a light on the decision-making of Walden’s newly anointed ABC team: Debra OConnell, the chair of Disney Entertainment Television; Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich; and Rob Mills, Disney TV’s executive vice president of unscripted and alternative entertainment.

Disney declined to comment.

The network has not said whether it plans to eventually air Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette.”

But the network made a huge investment, paying a license fee of about $5 million an episode for the season to Warner Bros., said sources familiar with the matter. The season includes nine episodes and other programming elements, including a special that ran immediately after ABC’s Oscar telecast this month, which attracted 5.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

Dakota Mortensen, left, and Taylor Frankie Paul are stars of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”

(Fred Hayes / Disney)

ABC also orchestrated a huge marketing blitz — billboards for the show had sprouted around the country, social media channels were crackling and Paul appeared on ABC’s stalwart “Good Morning America,” where she discussed her role on “The Bachelorette,” where she dated nearly two dozen men in search of her soulmate.

She also acknowledged simultaneously facing domestic abuse allegations, which she called a “heavy time.”

“For me, dating as a mom of three is extremely difficult,” Paul told ABC anchor Lara Spencer. “I was like, I get to go out, get away from my toxic cycle here in Utah, go date, and also have my kids come out and visit me. That to me seemed like, why not?”

Advertisers, including Cinnabon, have also pulled back in light of the controversy.

Viewers have long been fascinated by Paul, who earned notoriety on TikTok and formed a community there called MomTok. Her combative relationships added to the intrigue.

Hulu’s “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” has been a massive hit, developing a loyal following and an alternative to the “Real Housewives” franchise on the rival network, Bravo. A clip from the show was included in a Disney video montage of movies, TV shows and other headlining attractions shown to investors last week.

Mills and other Disney executives who oversee ABC and Hulu programming had been looking for ways to reinvigorate “The Bachelor” franchise, and they had taken notice after fans latched on to a playful video that Paul had posted on TikTok, expressing her desire to join the long-running ABC show, which is produced by Warner Horizon.

Comments posted about Paul’s video were intriguing, particularly for viewers who said that they would return to watch “The Bachelorette,” if it featured her.

“I flew out to Utah and met with her and she was serious [about joining],” Mills told The Times two weeks before the controversy. “Then I sent her roses the next day and said, “Would you be ‘The Bachelorette’ and the rest is history.”

Disney recognized that Paul’s relationship with Mortensen was messy.

Disney executives were aware of the altercation in 2023 and briefly debated internally whether to move forward with Paul in a prominent role in “Mormon Wives,” according to a source close to the situation but not authorized to comment. Paul is an executive producer on that show.

The first episode of the first season of “Mormon Wives,” which debuted in September 2024, featured Utah police bodycam footage from the February 2023 fight that was the subject of the just-released video.

The final moments of the most recent season ended with Paul and Mortensen sleeping together again, the night before she was scheduled to fly to L.A. to begin filming “The Bachelorette.” She missed her initial flight, but took a later flight.

Disney also has paused filming on “Mormon Wives” during production of its fifth season.

Over the show’s four-season run, there have been tensions among the castmates, which accelerated as Paul and the other wives pursued fame in other venues, including on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

When the recent allegations of domestic violence surfaced, castmates expressed concerns about working with her, which contributed to the decision to hire an outside law firm to investigate.

The firm was hired, at Disney’s request, by the show’s production firm, Jeff Jenkins Productions, based in Sherman Oaks.

Times Staff Writer Yvonne Villarreal contributed to this report.

Michael Jordan didn’t seem too upset.

Hours after Kevin Durant knocked him out of the top five on the NBA’s all-time scoring list , Jordan was all smiles as he walked to Victory Lane to greet Tyler Reddick after the driver’s win Sunday at Darlington Raceway.

Reddick — who drives for 23XI Racing, which is co-owned by Jordan and veteran driver Denny Hamlin — joined NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott as the only Cup Series drivers to win four of the first six races in a season.

To do so, Reddick had to overcome a malfunctioning battery and a large deficit in the final 50 laps. Afterward, Jordan jumped the track’s safety barrier to greet Reddick and his team with some hard high fives and enthusiastic cheers.

“I think the key to him winning was just keeping his head,” Jordan said after the race. “We just had to get the car right, and I think he did an unbelievable job. I just wanted everything to be good, because once he gets back out there, then I feel like his competitive juices are going to carry him all the way to the end. He earned it all week, and I’m real proud of the team.”

Earlier this year, Reddick became the first NASCAR driver to start the season with three consecutive wins. He stands atop Cup Series standings, leading second-place Ryan Blaney of Team Penske by 95 points. Reddick’s 23XI teammate Bubba Wallace is currently in third place.

One night earlier, Durant scored 27 points in the Houston Rockets’ 123-122 victory over the Miami Heat to overtake Jordan for fifth place on the NBA’s all-time leading scorer list. In his 18th season, Durant has 32,294 points — two more than Jordan, who played 13 seasons for the Chicago Bulls and two for the Washington Wizards. Durant and the Rockets play the Bulls in Chicago on Monday.

Jordan has yet to comment publicly on the matter, but Durant had plenty of praise for the man considered by many to be basketball’s GOAT on Saturday during his postgame news conference.

“It’s kind of crazy passing him up because he’s meant so much to the game,” said Durant, who passed Wilt Chamberlain and Dirk Nowitzki on the scoring list earlier this season and now trails only Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and all-time leader LeBron James.

“I’ve been inspired by all of these players that I’m either coming close to or passing up, and MJ is in a world of his own,” Durant added. “He’s in a galaxy of his own as somebody that I look up to, respect and who basically shaped the game for me.”

Durant also pointed out that Jordan would have scored many more points had he not taken multiple seasons off during the span of his playing career.

“He left a few, I want to say, thousand or so points on the table, too, with the amount of games he missed,” Durant said. “… He scored points quickly, man. So he set the bar high, and it’s pretty cool to reach that bar.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

In less than two months, six UCLA women’s basketball players might be working out with WNBA teams. The draft is April 13, a week after the NCAA national championship game, and the season starts less than a month later.

One of the most consequential pieces of the new WNBA collective bargaining agreement for current college players, including the UCLA super senior class, is expanded rosters.

Not only are two new teams — Portland and Toronto — entering the WNBA this season and adding 24 roster spots, but the new CBA will allow each team to have 12 traditional roster spots and two developmental player spots.

The new developmental players will get housing assistance and can practice and travel with their respective WNBA squads.

UCLA’s Charlisse Leger-Walker, left, and Angela Dugalic, back, swarm California Baptist forward Grace Schmidt during an NCAA tournament game at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Across the country during the NCAA tournament, players and coaches have noted how much the new WNBA CBA changes the future for the next generation of players.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley noted to reporters last week that it’s one of the first times many women’s basketball players will be able to accumulate generational wealth. And they can do so without necessarily having to play in other leagues around the world during the WNBA offseason.

“The WNBA will make you make a choice because you have to be on time in training camp.” Staley said. “It’s worth it now. It’s worth it to actually have your body recover and just play in the WNBA season.”

Last season, just 20 rookies made rosters out of training camp. The fight for those spots might get more competitive for some young players now that the league offers higher salaries and some high-end international players might find it more worthwhile to sign in the WNBA.

Teams are now required to roster 12 players, compared with the option to have 11 instead of 12 under the previous CBA, which allowed franchises to spend more on top players and have less of a cap hit by triming their roster size.

But likely, more players who otherwise wouldn’t have gotten looks or would have been cut during past training camps will now have a realistic shot a developmental player spot.

“I just feel a lot of pride,” said UCLA sixth-year forward Angela Dugalic. “Because of them, I’m able to have a lot of things that they maybe weren’t able to have at the start of their career. And some of them, like, they’re either at the end of their career or they’re even finished right now, they’re still fighting for us.”

The entire UCLA starting lineup — Charlisse Leger-Walker, Kiki Rice, Lauren Betts, Gianna Kneepkens and Gabriela Jaquez, plus Dugalic off the bench — project as WNBA picks, most as early as the first round.

Kneepkens or Leger-Walker (though she was recovering from an ACL injury) would have been WNBA draft-eligible after last season. Their rookie salaries would have been around $70,000, depending on where they were selected. This year, the rookie minimum will be $270,000, and top picks, which Betts and Rice are projected to be, will make as much as $500,000.

“Just like the growth we’re even experiencing now in college, we have so many people before us to thank that. [They] fought for better exposure and TV rights … fought for Title IX and resources to be allocated appropriately,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “I think it’s similar right now in terms of the CBA. We need to really thank the people in that room that fought hard.”

UCLA guard Kiki Rice dribbles up the floor under pressure from California Baptist guard Filipa Barros Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA players are understandably locked in on the NCAA tournament, but they haven’t ignored an important moment.

“I think it’s awesome for women’s basketball and the progress going forward,” Leger-Walker said. “I love that we have players who are willing to advocate and really stand on what they believe in. We’re making steps forward.”

Where they all fit on individual teams or in respective mock drafts will all be more clear after free agency begins in the week ahead of the draft. Around 80% of the league are free agents, so there are going to be plenty of new-look teams.

UCLA players will soon get a chance to join those roster makeovers under working conditions past players never enjoyed.

“I’m just grateful for all the women who fought for what they’ve earned,” Kneepkens said. “That’s just super cool for anyone that’s a WNBA fan and anyone that’s part of it. They made this happen.”

PHOENIX — By the time Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki reached the blue backdrop set up in the Surprise Stadium interview room, he’d diagnosed the issue.

“I think it’s because of the two-seamer,” Sasaki said through an interpreter. “It kind of caused my forearm to pronate a little more. Also my arm slot was a little down.”

Those arm-side misses had, after three straight walks, prompted manager Dave Roberts to temporarily pull Sasaki from his most recent spring training appearance. But even though that start, marred by a wild third inning, brought Sasaki’s Cactus League ERA to 13.50, he’ll enter his Freeway Series start Monday with a spot in the regular-season rotation already secured.

Roberts has repeatedly made that point clear.

However, when asked directly if Sasaki was one of the Dodgers’ 13 best pitchers right now, Roberts gave an indirect answer: “He is going to start the season in the rotation.”

Answering why the organization has been so bullish on the decision requires zooming out.

“As we look out two, three, four, five, six years, it is imperative for us to integrate talented young players under our roster,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said during an interview with The Times last week. “And that requires patience. And we have to have that even with the insanely high expectations we have.

“We have to be able to balance those two things, or there are a lot of cautionary tales of large-revenue teams who have had a run of success, and then they fall off the cliff.”

Sasaki, 24, is one of those young players the Dodgers are counting on to bridge the gap.

When Sasaki was posted by Nippon Professional Baseball’s Chiba Lotte Marines before last season, upward of 20 teams expressed their interest in the young phenom who was coming to the United States through amateur international free agency.

In his debut season, he produced a 4.72 ERA through eight starts — before an injury the Dodgers described as a right shoulder impingement sidelined him for much of the rest of the season. When Sasaki returned, it was as a reliever, a role he thrived in through the postseason.

Sasaki enters Year 2 with just 47 major-league innings under his belt, including the regular season and playoffs.

“On top of all those other things that you’re adapting to and learning, you’re also learning a new ball,” Friedman said. “Roki could really command his fastball in Japan, and right now it hasn’t been as good. So how much of that is the ball, how much of it is mindset, how much of it is delivery just getting out of whack? All of those are fair questions, but I think it speaks to, we have to have a level of grace with this and work with him to continue his development.

“Because we’ve seen it at an extremely high level, and now it’s on all of us to help him get back to that.”

NPB baseballs are slightly smaller, tackier and have higher seams than MLB baseballs. Players making the transition to MLB also have to adjust to a different strike zone, style of play and the off-the-field challenges of living in a foreign country.

The season before Sasaki signed with the Dodgers, his future teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Cubs’ Shota Imanaga set the bar high with relatively smooth transitions. But they were also coming over at later stages in their careers.

“We’re very mindful that this guy is essentially two years, three years behind Yamamoto,” Roberts said, “as far as on the progression side, the development side.”

Sasaki has shown he can be effective out of the bullpen, but pigeonholing him in a relief role at this stage of his career would be a disservice to him and the organization.

The Dodgers have identified the addition of the two-seamer as a development that could help Sasaki stick as a major-league starter.

“It’s our job as coaches to get a player to understand the value of having a ball bear in and get in on right-hand hitters to keep them off the outside part of the plate,” Roberts said. “There’s a little bit of trying to pronate too much — trying to make the ball move, versus trusting his grip and his throw. But that’s a coach’s responsibility to [figure out,] how do we get him there, along with him feeling comfortable.”

The Dodgers have decided that, at least for now, the best setting for that growth is the major leagues. Across the industry, there’s an understanding that the gap between Triple-A and the big leagues is bigger than ever. That makes evaluating players in Triple-A all the more difficult.

“He’s not close to a finished product,” Roberts said. “But he’s 24. … You could look at a team that would potentially sign a veteran, turnkey starter, but we’ve got to get him to cut his teeth and deal with some things. That’s part of the growth.”

Season over for UCLA men

From Jon Marks: The question will remain unanswered.

Would UCLA have beaten Connecticut if Tyler Bilodeau was healthy? That’s what will haunt the Bruins and their fans for the rest of March Madness.

Even without their leading scorer the seventh-seeded Bruins battled valiantly, briefly taking the lead in the second half. But in the end they simply didn’t have enough firepower to knock off No. 2 Connecticut, which surged late in its 73-57 win in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday.

“My message to our team is no excuses,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “Somebody brought up Tyler. We didn’t bring it up. It’s five-on-five. Sadly, I’ve got a lot of practice in dealing with that in NCAA tournament play, but it sucks for him.

“At the end of the day, someone said to me what would have happened if you had your guy? You never know. But I thought the bottom line was they played harder than us. Their defense was better than our offense, and I take responsibility for that.”

UCLA (24-12) failed to reach the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season. The Bruins struggled with their shooting most of the night, going 19 for 49 (39%) in comparison to Connecticut’s 23 for 49 (47%). Both teams had the same number of free-throw attempts (21), but the Bruins made just 67% of their shots and the Huskies made 90%.

Continue reading here

UCLA box score

A future building win for USC?

From Chaunte’l Powell: When you look at the USC Trojans, one might think they’re setting the table for next year.

Buying time until JuJu Watkins returns. Keeping the ship afloat until the talented recruiting class that includes Saniyah Hall makes its way to campus.

But the Trojans showed Saturday that’s not the case. They’re making a plate and eating now.

The No. 9 seed Trojans gutted out a 71-67 overtime win over No. 8 seed Clemson in what USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb described as “a culture win.”

That game featured many tests for a young team in March and the Trojans responded well to the challenges. They are advancing on the back of freshman Jazzy Davidson’s 31 points and senior Kara Dunn’s 22.

Continue reading here

Why the Dodgers will not win the World Series

From Bill Plaschke: The truth of this Dodgers season was recently found in a place where all sports truths are clipped and tapered and styled into reality.

The barbershop.

Of course, the barbershop, where ball talk is real talk, and where the expectations around the Dodgers upcoming quest for a three-peat recently smothered me like a hot towel to the head.

I was sitting in the chair in mid-shave when a bald gentleman barged into the shop searching not for a cut, but a promise.

“Say it!” he shouted to me from just inside the door. “Say what everybody around here believes!”

What, that LeBron James is not a real Laker?

“No, say it about the Dodgers!” said the man, and he was serious. “Say that they have the best team in history and they’re going to win another championship! Say it, because that’s what everybody thinks!”

The shop quieted, chairs swiveled, and suddenly everyone was looking at me, at which point I said the one word I’ve never written in any of the last dozen or so Dodger preview columns.

“No.”

Continue reading here

Alex Freeland edges Hyeseong Kim for a Dodgers opening day roster spot

Luka Doncic avoids suspension

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: He’s the hottest player in the NBA. Not even the NBA’s technical foul rule can slow Luka Doncic down.

The NBA rescinded Doncic’s 16th technical foul, the league announced Sunday, allowing Doncic to avoid a mandatory one-game suspension that would have kept him out of Monday’s game against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons.

Doncic and the Lakers appealed the call after he was given a technical for taunting against Orlando Magic forward Goga Bitadze in Saturday’s Lakers win. Bitadze’s technical foul was also rescinded after the European players were arguing while Doncic was shooting free throws. Doncic claimed Bitadze made a vulgar comment toward Doncic’s family in Serbian while Bitadze said he first heard inappropriate comments from Doncic and only repeated what he heard the Lakers guard say.

Continue reading here

Kings lose to Mammoth

Nick Schmaltz scored his second goal of the game at 1:46 of overtime to give the Utah Mammoth a 4-3 victory over the Kings on Sunday night.

Schmaltz carried the puck in on a two-on-one rush with defenseman Mikhail Sergachev on his left and fired a snap shot between goalie Darcy Kuemper‘s legs.

After the Kings controlled play in the three-on-three overtime and nearly ended it on Alex Laferriere’s shot that went off the right post, Kevin Stenlund won a faceoff against Quinton Byfield to set up Schmaltz’s seventh winning goal of the season.

Continue reading here

Kings summary

NHL standings

Ducks rally past Sabres

Troy Terry scored on a breakaway 1:29 into overtime for his second goal of the game after Mikael Granlund tied it late in regulation and the Ducks rallied to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 6-5 on Sunday night.

Anaheim ended Buffalo’s seven-game road winning streak when Tage Thompson couldn’t keep in the puck in the Ducks’ zone and Terry held on a 2-on-0 break to score on a backhander.

Granlund tied the score at 5 with 1:44 remaining in the third period on a power play with Ville Husso pulled for an extra attacker.

Continue reading here

Ducks summary

NHL standings

Galaxy draw with Portland

Portland’s Kristoffer Velde scored in the 13th minute and Timbers defender Kamal Miller picked up a red card seven minutes later, but James Pantemis surrendered only a João Klauss goal to help them hold on for a 1-1 draw with the Galaxy on Sunday.

Velde scored for the second time this season to give Portland (1-3-1) a 1-0 lead early. But things became difficult from the 20th minute on when Miller received his card for a foul on Klauss.

Antony Alves Santos notched his first assist this season on the score and Joao Ortiz picked up his second.

Klauss came up with the equalizer in the 30th minute with assists from Marco Reus and Gabriel Pec. It was the fifth goal for Klauss, who has certainly helped ease the loss of superstar Riqui Puig for a second straight season because of injuries. Klauss spent his first three seasons with St. Louis City, where he scored 25 goals in 79 appearances.

Galaxy summary

MLS standings

This day in sports history

1939 — Long Island University finishes the season undefeated after a 44-32 victory over Loyola of Chicago in the NIT championship.

1944 — Maurice Richard, playing in his second Stanley Cup playoff game, scores five goals in a 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup semifinals. Toe Blake has five assists.

1948 — Kentucky, behind Alex Groza and Ralph Beard, defeats Baylor 58-42 for the NCAA basketball championship.

1956 — Bill Russell leads San Francisco to an 83-71 victory over Iowa in the NCAA basketball championship.

1957 — North Carolina defeats Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas in triple-overtime to win the NCAA men’s championship. The Tar Heels win 54-53 to finish the season with a 32-0 record.

1968 — Lew Alcindor scores 34 points to carry UCLA to a 78-55 win over North Carolina in the NCAA basketball championship.

1974 — N.C. State ends UCLA’s streak of seven national championships with an 80-77 victory in double overtime of the NCAA tournament semifinals. David Thompson leads the Wolfpack with 28 points and 10 rebounds while teammate Tom Burleson scores 20 and pulls down 14 rebounds.

1991 — London beats Frankfurt 24-11 in the first World League of American Football game.

1994 — Wayne Gretzky scores his 802nd goal, passing Gordie Howe as the top goal scorer in NHL history. The Kings center scores in the second period for his 62nd NHL record.

1996 — Michelle Kwan caps a nearly perfect season by winning the women’s title at figure skating’s world championships for the United States’ first singles sweep since 1986.

2002 — Brendan Shanahan of the Red Wings scores his 500th goal, breaking a scoreless tie at 7:48 of the third period. Detroit beats Colorado 2-0.

2002 — Iowa State’s Cael Sanderson becomes the first undefeated four-time NCAA wrestling champion at the NCAA championships. Sanderson beats Lehigh’s Jon Trenge 12-4 to win at 197 pounds and finish his career with a 159-0 record.

2007 — Kobe Bryant becomes the second NBA player to score at least 50 points in four straight games when he has 50 in the Lakers’ 111-105 win at New Orleans. Only Wilt Chamberlain has more, scoring at least 50 points in seven consecutive games during the 1961-62 season.

2010 — The NFL changes its overtime rules for playoff games to give both teams an opportunity to get the ball.

2014 — Quardell Young drives the length of the court for a go-ahead layup with 0.9 seconds left and Wisconsin-Whitewater holds off Williams to win the NCAA Division III men’s championship 75-73. The Warhawks (29-4), whose football team took the national championship in December, win the basketball championship for the second time in three years and fourth time in four trips to the final.

2016 — Guard Russ Smith of the Delaware 87ers scores an NBA D-League-record 65 points in a 140-129 loss to the Canton Charge.

2022 — After 114 consecutive weeks as world #1 female tennis player, 25 year old Australian Ash Barty makes unexpected retirement announcement.

2023 — Harry Kane overtakes Wayne Rooney’s record to become England’s all-time greatest goalscorer in 2-1 victory over Italy with his 54th goal.

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.

Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where, as colleague Chaunte’l Powell pointed out after Saturday’s thrilling win, you’d be forgiven for having already looked ahead to the next women’s college basketball season.

After all, as the USC women stumbled into this NCAA tournament on a four-game losing streak, they hadn’t offered much reason for optimism. When coach Lindsay Gottlieb added another five-star prospect — 6-4 forward Sara Okeke — to the mix for ‘26 last week, it only made it more enticing to close the book on this season and start dreaming of where USC might end up in the next one.

But this team, the one set to face No. 1 South Carolina on Monday night for a spot in the Sweet 16, has been limited from the start without an injured JuJu Watkins.

Through most of three quarters of Saturday’s first-round matchup with Clemson, the same issues that bothered USC through much of the season were bothersome once again. The Trojans had hit just three of 17 from three-point range heading into the fourth quarter. They made six free throws. They were outrebounded. And the bench had contributed all of two points. Gottlieb was frustrated.

But Saturday’s final quarter, plus overtime, would prove to be the defining stretch of this USC women’s basketball season. During those 15 minutes, we saw exactly what Gottlieb meant when she insisted her team had another level to unlock in the tournament.

This was the team Gottlieb had envisioned when building for a JuJu-less roster.

“We’d play with a lot of grit,” Davidson told reporters after the game, “and a lot of heart.”

That came through on the defensive end most, as USC forced six turnovers and scored eight points off of them in the fourth quarter alone. Clemson didn’t manage a single second-chance point in the second half. Kara Dunn, who’d barely been a factor, found herself in the final minutes and blew up for 11 points in a seven-minute stretch. And freshman Jazzy Davidson turned things up another notch as well, scoring 13 over fourth quarter and overtime.

There were others, too. Kennedy Smith hit a tying jumper late, in addition to her relentless defense. Malia Samuels drained a late free throw to put Clemson away. Laura Williams had a late block with the game tied. That sort of alchemy had been rare through this season.

“We were playing for each other,” Dunn said. “We made the changes we needed to make, and we didn’t repeat the same mistakes we had probably in the past. I really felt like we came together.”

Even still, it might have all been for naught, had Clemson’s Mia Moore lifted off a couple milliseconds later for her final buzzer beater. Her successful last-second heave — as well as the whistle on USC — were both called off after a lengthy review so close it required a stop watch.

Those few milliseconds turned out to be the break USC hadn’t gotten all season. They told each other in the sideline huddle that they would take advantage.

“When we heard it was overtime,” Dunn said, “we said we don’t get second chances in life.”

So the Trojans defense turned up yet another notch, while its star freshman went nuclear in overtime. A pair of clutch 3-pointers from Davidson would be the dagger. She would finish with 31 points, six rebounds and five assists in a performance that seemed to announce that this was just the start of her star turn.

She — and everyone else — will have to be special Monday to even have a shot against South Carolina, a team that beat USC by 17 in November. The Gamecocks are the more talented team. Their opponents shot 34.5% on average against them this season, the fifth-best mark in the nation, while they shoot better from 3-point range (36.5%) than all but three teams left in the tournament.

Chances are that’ll prove too much for the Trojans, who enter this game as 22-point underdogs. But even if it does end here, USC found something on the court Friday, something that should in the very least help next season, when its ceiling will be higher than ever before.

Times of Troy poll

Eric Musselman

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Two years into Eric Musselman’s tenure with the Trojans, the USC men have yet to return to the NCAA tournament. This season, they totally unraveled, losing their last eight games to finish 18-14.

I’ve heard varying feelings from fans about the nascent Musselman era. So let’s make the conversation a bit more scientific with a poll:

What’s your confidence level in Eric Musselman as USC’s men’s basketball coach after two seasons? (with 1 being “Let me off the Muss Bus” to 5 being “I’m still riding shotgun on the Muss Bus”

1 — let me off the Muss Bus

2

3

4

5 — Riding shotgun on the Muss Bus

Click here to vote in our survey

Matt Leinart with USC in 2004.

(Los Angeles Times)

—Five-star St. John Bosco forward Christian Collins committed to USC. The No. 9 overall forward, per 247 Sports, Collins is the highest-rated player to join USC under Musselman and the highest-rated player Musselman has signed since 2022. Collins has all the tools to be a force on both ends, if he can put it all together. But he’s not necessarily the type right now to be the center of a team’s offensive attack. Expect him to get off to a slow start when he does arrive this summer.

—USC hoops assistant Todd Lee is finalizing a deal to become Cal State Bakersfield’s coach, a source says. Lee has been one of Musselman’s most trusted assistants since they first worked together with the Rapid City Thrillers of the CBA back in the early 90’s. Musselman hired Lee to join his Arkansas staff, then brought him along to USC. Now he heads to Bakersfield, where he inherits a program that’s been through a lot this last year.

—Matt Leinart won’t unretire his jersey. Good for him. Leinart’s podcast went viral last week, when he noted that USC asked him on multiple occasions if an incoming transfer or freshman could wear his No. 11 jersey. It’s his prerogative if he wants to allow that. But I completely understand why he wouldn’t. Why bother retiring jerseys at all if it doesn’t actually mean anything?

—Mason Edwards’ dominance on the mound continues. The Trojan ace struck out 12 in his most recent start against Washington and gave up just one hit. Through 36 innings, Edwards now has given up just one run and seven hits. His fellow starter, Grant Govel, has been no slouch either. Govel leads the nation in wins (6) and, after a two-run outing, now has an ERA of 0.69 and he hasn’t been the best starting pitcher on his team. Wild.

Olympic sports spotlight

It has been a tough few weeks for USC women’s lacrosse. Through their most difficult stretch of the season, the Trojans have lost four straight, all to ranked teams, by a margin of 67-31. That’s the first time in program history that USC has had a losing streak that long.

That’s a concern when you consider that USC lost five out of seven to finish out last season, too. The Trojans gave up 20 goals in a game for just the first ever against Johns Hopkins last week and were trounced by Maryland in the follow-up.

With one more loss, USC would match its loss total from 2025 … with five games still remaining.

What I’m watching this week

PJ and Anthony in “Jury Duty.”

(Courtesy of Prime)

When it premiered in 2023, “Jury Duty” was one of the most surprising and unique shows I could remember airing on TV. The first season followed Ronald, an unsuspecting, totally normal guy who was called to jury duty. What he didn’t know is that everyone else involved was an actor. Hilarity ensued.

The second follows Anthony, another unsuspecting normal guy on a company retreat for his new temp job.

I figured it was impossible to make a second season, what with everyone’s familiarity with the first go-round. But somehow Amazon has managed to make this work for another season. And that’s a hell of an accomplishment in itself.

In case you missed it

Jazzy Davidson’s huge game delivers USC to thrilling overtime win in NCAA tournament

USC reaches settlement in Mike Bohn racial harassment and discrimination lawsuit

How far will USC’s women’s basketball team make it in the tournament?

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 ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

It’s the Dodgers, and everyone else, in the National League West this season.

The two-time defending World Series champions ponied up a combined $309 million to sign two free agents, world-class closer Edwin Díaz and four-time All-Star corner outfielder Kyle Tucker.

The second-place San Diego Padres continued to cut payroll, bidding farewell to free agents Dylan Cease, Robert Suarez, Luis Arraez and Ryan O’Hearn. The San Francisco Giants’ offseason highlight: becoming the first MLB team to make a college coach with no professional baseball coaching experience their manager. The 47-year-old Tony Vitello comes on board after coaching the Tennessee Volunteers for the past eight seasons.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are attempting to bounce back after following up a 2023 World Series appearance with two underwhelming seasons. And the Colorado Rockies are starting fresh yet again, replacing general manager Bill Schmidt with Paul DePodesta, who, after working for the Dodgers and other MLB teams, most recently served as the Cleveland Browns’ chief strategy officer for the past 10 years.

SALT LAKE CITY — Nick Schmaltz scored his second goal of the game at 1:46 of overtime to give the Utah Mammoth a 4-3 victory over the Kings on Sunday night.

Schmaltz carried the puck in on a two-on-one rush with defenseman Mikhail Sergachev on his left and fired a snap shot between goalie Darcy Kuemper‘s legs.

After the Kings controlled play in the three-on-three overtime and nearly ended it on Alex Laferriere’s shot that went off the right post, Kevin Stenlund won a faceoff against Quinton Byfield to set up Schmaltz’s seventh winning goal of the season.

Artemi Panarin tied it for the Kings with 3:30 left in regulation with his 25th goal of the season. His shot from deep on the far right side eluded goalie Karel Vejmelka.

Schmaltz pushed his career-high goals total to 26 and reached 63 points to match his career high set in 2024-25. Lawson Crouse scored twice in the first period and added an assist, and Vejmelka made 33 saves to help Utah end a four-game home losing streak. The Mammoth hold the first wild card in the Western Conference, five points ahead of Nashville.

Byfield had a goal and an assist, and Laferriere also scored for the Kings. Kuemper stopped 30 shots.

The Kings are two points behind Nashville for the final wild-card spot.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland’s Kristoffer Velde scored in the 13th minute and Timbers defender Kamal Miller picked up a red card seven minutes later, but James Pantemis surrendered only a João Klauss goal to help them hold on for a 1-1 draw with the Galaxy on Sunday.

Velde scored for the second time this season to give Portland (1-3-1) a 1-0 lead early. But things became difficult from the 20th minute on when Miller received his card for a foul on Klauss.

Antony Alves Santos notched his first assist this season on the score and Joao Ortiz picked up his second.

Klauss came up with the equalizer in the 30th minute with assists from Marco Reus and Gabriel Pec. It was the fifth goal for Klauss, who has certainly helped ease the loss of superstar Riqui Puig for a second straight season because of injuries. Klauss spent his first three seasons with St. Louis City, where he scored 25 goals in 79 appearances.

Reus earned his first assist this season after posting a career-best nine last year. Pec’s helper was his third to begin the season.

Pantemis totaled six saves for the Timbers, including four in the first half.

JT Marcinkowski stopped two shots in his first start of the season for the Galaxy (1-2-2).

The Galaxy lead the series 14-12-11, but are 5-10-11 in Portland. The two clubs played to a 1-1 draw in Portland last season before the Timbers posted a 4-2 victory on the road.

DETROIT — He’s the hottest player in the NBA. Not even the NBA’s technical foul rule can slow Luka Doncic down.

The NBA rescinded Doncic’s 16th technical foul, the league announced Sunday, allowing Doncic to avoid a mandatory one-game suspension that would have kept him out of Monday’s game against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons.

Doncic and the Lakers appealed the call after he was given a technical for taunting against Orlando Magic forward Goga Bitadze in Saturday’s Lakers win. Bitadze’s technical foul was also rescinded after the European players were arguing while Doncic was shooting free throws. Doncic claimed Bitadze made a vulgar comment toward Doncic’s family in Serbian while Bitadze said he first heard inappropriate comments from Doncic and only repeated what he heard the Lakers guard say.

Often criticized for arguing with officials, Doncic remains at 15 technical fouls this season, second in the NBA behind Phoenix’s Dillon Brooks. In 2023, Doncic also had his 16th technical foul rescinded, avoiding a one-game suspension.

Doncic’s historic scoring run has fueled the Lakers’ nine-game winning streak, their best since the 2019-20 season that ended with an NBA championship. Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, is averaging 40 points per game during the winning streak while shooting 40.3% from three-point range. His 60-point outburst against the Miami Heat last Thursday was the first 60-point game in Lakers history since Kobe Bryant’s last game in 2016. He was just the seventh Lakers player to record a 60-point game, joining legends Bryant, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, George Mikan, Jerry West and Shaquille O’Neal.

The winning streak has vaulted the Lakers from sixth in the West to third. They have navigated the most difficult stretch of their schedule with seven wins over playoff-bound teams.

The Pistons, poised to earn the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2007, are without their own star player as guard Cade Cunningham is sidelined for at least two weeks with a collapsed lung. Detroit is 2-0 without him with wins over Washington and Golden State.

Note: Rui Hachimura (right calf soreness), Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain) and Marcus Smart (right ankle soreness) are questionable for Monday’s game.

Coaching high school basketball since the 1979-80 season and being the second-winningest coach in state history with 1,127 victories, Mike LeDuc is one of those old-school coaches who likes to push his players forward and fade into the background when team success comes.

This season at Damien, LeDuc can take a bow for guiding the Spartans to the state Division I championship with little size but a group of players who loved to shoot threes, never stopped hustling on defense and executed close to perfection on the biggest stage at Golden 1 Center and during his team’s playoff run.

For turning a group of players he fondly called “overachievers” into champions, LeDuc is The Times’ boys’ basketball coach of the year.

Through his many years of coaching at Damien and previously at Glendora, he’s mentored such outstanding players as Tracy Murray, Casey Jacobsen and Cameron Murray. Now Cameron’s sophomore son, CJ, plays for Damien. It’s a full circle moment for LeDuc, who was holding his granddaughter at the awards ceremony in Sacramento.

As the years go by and the game keeps changing, LeDuc continues to adapt, adjust and power on.

LeDuc‘s answer is, “Basketball is a real simple game. It’s a game of repetition and if you do it over and over, you expect it to be done perfectly.”