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Fans of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs might want to hold their ears when the wrongful death trial brought by his widow and parents against the Angels resumes Monday.

The Angels are about to present their defense and, according to people with knowledge of the Angels’ strategy, their attorneys plan to portray Skaggs as a selfish, secretive opioid addict who for years manipulated teammates and team communications director Eric Kay into obtaining illicit pills for him to chop up and snort.

Skaggs, a first-round draft pick of the Angels in 2009 out of Santa Monica High, was one year away from free agency when he died of an overdose July 1, 2019. He died after snorting a counterfeit opioid pill laced with fentanyl in his hotel room during an Angels trip to play the Texas Rangers in Arlington.

The left-handed starter was 27 and in the midst of his best season of seven in the big leagues when he died. His performance has been pointed to by Skaggs family lawyers as evidence he wasn’t a drug addict, but instead an athlete who took pain pills to stay on the field.

So far, testimony in a small, spare courtroom on the ninth floor of the Orange County Superior Court has favored the plaintiffs — Skaggs’ widow, Carli, and parents, Debbie Hetman and Darrell Skaggs.

Their lawyers called 21 witnesses over 24 days in court, attempting to establish that the pitcher’s fatal overdose was the result of the Angels’ negligent supervision of Kay, an admitted longtime opioid addict who is serving 22 years in prison for providing Skaggs with the pill.

The plaintiffs are asking for about $120 million in future earnings as well as additional millions for pain and suffering and punitive damages. Neither side is optimistic that a settlement can be reached ahead of a verdict.

Transcripts of trial testimony and interviews with people on both sides not authorized to speak publicly about the case provided a glimpse of the Angels’ defense strategy and what the plaintiffs have accomplished so far.

The Angels pared down their witness list at the request of Judge H. Shaina Colover, who has insisted the case go to the jury by Dec. 15. The Angels complained that two weeks might not be long enough to present their case, giving the plaintiffs an unfair advantage, even suggesting the issue could lead to a mistrial.

Skaggs’ lawyers, however, pointed out that the defense has taken longer to cross-examine witnesses than it took them to conduct the direct examinations. And Colover said a reason for the difference in the number of witnesses is that 12 people called by Skaggs’ lawyers were on the witness lists of both sides.

Like an MLB manager constructing a lineup, Skaggs lawyers led by Rusty Hardin were purposeful in the order they presented witnesses. They began their case by calling a string of Angels executives to poke holes in the team’s contention that they knew nothing about Kay’s addiction. Key witnesses refuting those denials included Kay’s wife, Camela, and Hetman.

Skaggs’ lawyers also presented text messages that indicated Kay’s supervisor, Tim Mead, and Angels traveling secretary Tom Taylor not only were aware of Kay’s addiction, but did not act decisively to isolate him, get him into inpatient rehab or terminate his employment.

The plaintiffs called witnesses to establish that not only were the Angels negligent on how they dealt with Kay’s addiction, they put his interest ahead of other employees and the organization by allowing him to continue working despite his bizarre behavior on the job.

The last witness before the court went into recess until Dec. 1 was human resources expert Ramona Powell, who testified that the Angels did not follow their own policies in evaluating and responding to Kay’s behavior. She said that had the team done so, Kay could have been terminated well before 2019.

Expect Angels lead attorney Todd Theodora to counter that Skaggs violated his contract and was guilty of fraud by concealing his drug problem for years. Furthermore, Skaggs allegedly continued to pressure Kay to procure opioids for him even after Kay completed drug rehab shortly before the fateful trip to Texas.

During opening arguments, Theodora stated that the Angels “know right from wrong,” but he is expected to assert that the case is more about what the team didn’t know. Kay and Skaggs have been described as masters at concealing their drug use. The Angels contend that had the team known of their addiction, officials could have provided them with treatment and perhaps Skaggs would be alive.

Testimony has already established that the Angels immediately informed MLB that Kay told co-worker Adam Chodzko that he was in Skaggs’ hotel room the night the pitcher died. Expect the Angels attorneys to take it a step further and assert that Kay might not have been prosecuted if the Angels hadn’t acted so swiftly.

Witnesses expected to be called by the defense include Angels president John Carpino and former MLB general manager Dan Duquette. The jury will view video of depositions given by former Angels players C.J. Cron, Matt Harvey, Cam Bedrosian and Blake Parker if they cannot testify in person.

The testimony of players can cut both ways, as evidenced by statements made by two players who testified for the plaintiffs — current Angels outfielder and three-time most valuable player Mike Trout and former relief pitcher Mike Morin.

Trout testified that Skaggs was “like a brother” to him, that he cried when told he’d died and that he had no clue about drug use. But Trout also hedged when asked whether he had offered to pay for Kay’s rehab, saying he just told him he’d help any way he could.

Morin, who pitched for the Angels from 2014 to 2017, said Kay sold him opioids “five to eight times” after an arm injury made him desperate to overcome pain and return to the mound. Yet under cross examination, Morin conceded that Skaggs was responsible for his own actions.

Carpino is responsible for the Angels’ day-to-day operations and his office is adjacent to those of Mead, Taylor and formerly Kay. Duquette, former general manager of the Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, is expected to testify that Skaggs’ future career earnings would have been no more than $30 million because of his drug use and history of injuries.

Skaggs’ lawyers called earnings expert Jeff Fannell, a former labor lawyer for the MLB Players Assn., who testified that Skaggs would have earned between $109 million and $120 million and could still be pitching.

Everton’s last visit to Old Trafford triggered Ruben Amorim’s infamous ‘the storm is coming statement’ even though his Manchester United side won 4-0.

Twelve months on, their visit brought more words of caution from Amorim about his side’s evolution that proved equally perceptive.

From a United perspective, the jaw-dropping clash between Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane can be forgotten beyond the knowledge it left them facing 10 men for 77 minutes.

What followed backed up Amorim’s pre-game view his side is “far from perfection”.

For 77 minutes the United head coach watched his players toil.

He watched young defenders Patrick Dorgu and Leny Yoro needlessly give the ball away under no pressure as the home side were building attacking momentum.

He watched Amad Diallo take the wrong option as he tried to cause a nuisance, first as a number 10 replacement for Matheus Cunha – who was badly missed due to the injury that initially forced him to forgo switching on Altrincham’s Christmas lights on Saturday evening.

He watched as the normally reliable Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes failed to execute correctly as chances went begging.

He watched as Joshua Zirkzee, given his first start of the season, and Kobbie Mainoo, given an extended run as a second-half replacement for Casemiro, failed to press their claims for more game time as is being demanded to maintain their respective World Cup hopes.

He also watched as goalkeeper Senne Lammens made a questionable attempt to save Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s first-half effort that ultimately proved decisive.

Zirkzee did force Jordan Pickford into a full length save with a header near the end.

But there was nothing more.

As Amorim said on Friday, what had been a five-match unbeaten run could quickly turn into a three-game one without a win with a trip to Crystal Palace to follow on Sunday.

“I know which point we are in,” he said. “I have that feeling during this run. I always talk about that.

“We are not there, not even near the point we should be to fight for the best positions in the league.

“We have a lot to do and we need to be perfect to win games. We were not perfect today.”

It is worth recapping United’s last three games.

At both Nottingham Forest and Tottenham, they led. If they had maintained the advantage, United would have been second in the ‘as it stands’ table. On both occasions, they failed the test and actually needed late equalisers to salvage anything after falling behind.

This time round, completing the Premier League match round, United knew a win would take them fifth. If they had matched last season’s result, it would have lifted them to fourth.

While it was certainly eye-catching to hear a former player so recently of the inner sanctum talk in such a way about the expectations around the side, the comments fed into the debate about Ireland’s current standing in the world game after a decade when they have consistently punched above their weight.

Coming into the month ranked third in the world – Ireland have since fallen to fourth below England – more competitive showings against those around them in the rankings are surely now viewed as a base, not an ambition.

While Ireland have not lost to a side lower than fifth in the present rankings since defeat by Wales in the 2021 Six Nations, Saturday’s loss means they have won just three of their past nine against England, New Zealand, South Africa and France, a run that dates back to the end of the 2023 World Cup and the retirement of talismanic skipper Johnny Sexton.

When considering the victories came against a 14-man France, an England side not then at the level they are now, and thanks to a last-kick drop-goal in South Africa, it all feeds into a concerning trend.

Without stripping the losses of similar context, that the reverses come with an average margin of defeat of 9.5 points feels instructive too.

At present, rather than the worst of the best or best of the rest, Ireland feel in a tier all of their own, still far from flat-track bullies but certainly struggling when expected to make the step up.

They start their 2026 Six Nations against France in Paris and visit England in round three. Between now and those testing February away days, direction of travel will continue to be the dominant theme.

Japan had double the number of carries and forced Wales to make almost 100 more tackles than the visitors.

The Brave Blossoms were the more impressive team on show, although head coach Eddie Jones avoided a couple of attempts to say that afterwards.

“The only thing anybody ever remembers is the scoreboard,” said Jones. “That tells the story and is all that matters.”

Jones has suffered previous defeats in Cardiff inflicted by superior Welsh sides and has close-up knowledge of the current squad, having played them three times this year.

“Having spoken to a few people, the big thing Wales has to look at is the development system,” said Jones.

“Coaches can only coach the players they have got and Wales for a long period of time had a strong and tough team under Warren Gatland.

“It is obvious the young players have not been developed enough or as quickly as you would like, because now you have a gap in the team.”

Jones believes Wales can return to rugby’s top table.

“There are plenty of good players in Wales,” said Jones.

“Wales is one of the traditional hotbeds of rugby in the world, albeit it’s a small country.

“If they can improve the development pathway and get that right, Wales will get its place back in rugby.”

When the clock struck 90 minutes in Slovakia, the visitors were on course for a point that would have left them in pole position for second spot and qualifying from Group A’s own spot in the play-offs without the need to rely on their Nations League success.

Had they held on, or had referee Istvan Kovacs ruled out Tomas Bobcek’s stoppage-time winner for a push on Daniel Ballard, it would not have changed the reality that this was their worst performance of what has been an otherwise encouraging campaign.

Such an outcome always felt a distinct possibility given their notable absentees for the game.

In Kosice, Shea Charles was a massive loss but nobody who has watched Northern Ireland during O’Neill’s second tenure would have expected anything less.

Brad Lyons and George Saville performed determinedly in the middle of the park throughout but arguably, outside of Conor Bradley, there is no player more important to the cause than classy Southampton midfielder Charles.

Not to say that Northern Ireland have not tested the theory through the campaign.

They have been without Bradley and Ethan Galbraith for a game apiece because of suspensions while, when all is said and done, Sunderland centre-back Daniel Ballard will have played in only three of the six fixtures.

Throw in Ali McCann’s absence for this window, and the fact that first-choice goalkeeper Pierce Charles has missed the entire campaign, and you get a sense of how O’Neill’s depth has been tested.

It is surely no coincidence that their strongest performance – the 2-0 home win over Slovakia last month – was produced by their strongest team on paper.

“The one thing we’ve learnt during this campaign is that you can lose a player at a moment’s notice,” said O’Neill.

“You’re never in control of that, but hopefully come March, the challenges we’ve had through this group with players missing, we’ll not have and we’ll be as strong as we can be.”

Clarke was not so laidback. McGinn revealed that half-time of the Belarus match was the “wildest” he had ever seen the head coach.

After a record-breaking 72nd match in charge, Clarke said: “If you’d said at the start of this camp we’d come out with six points, everyone would’ve been really happy.

“But, I have to be honest, tonight I was really, really disappointed in my team.”

So how does he address that for arguably his most significant qualifiers to date?

Off the bench, Billy Gilmour subtly brought some control to Scotland’s play against Greece, who were threatening to run riot at Hampden for the second time in seven months.

But the injured Napoli midfielder will not be an option for Clarke in Athens, although he could return for the potential group decider with Denmark.

Fellow Serie A midfielder Lennon Miller, also capable of dictating and bringing composure to a game, will be missing as well after withdrawing injured.

Having faced 37 shots in two games at Hampden against Greece and Belarus, it is clear Scotland have been exposed in recent outings.

Clarke’s side rode their luck at times in their group opener in Denmark, but they looked a far more cohesive unit out of possession in a rigid 4-4-2 shape.

Christie, McGinn, Ferguson and Scott McTominay occupied a compact and energetic midfield four, with Dykes and Che Adams providing intense work rate and physicality as a forward pairing.

Bold decisions to not start Gilmour and Ben Gannon-Doak paid off as the Scots left Copenhagen with a well-earned point.

Knowing a draw would set up a winner-takes-all showdown with the Danes on Tuesday, might the Scotland boss revert to that formula in Greece?

If the ads are any indication, Proposition 50 offers Californians a stark choice: “Stick it to Trump” or “throw away the constitution” in a Democratic power grab.

And like so many things in 2025, Trump appears to be the galvanizing issue.

Even by the incendiary campaigns California is used to, Proposition 50 has been notable for its sharp attacks to cut through the dense, esoteric issue of congressional redistricting. It comes down to a basic fact: this is a Democratic-led measure to reconfigure California’s congressional districts to help their party win control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026 and stifle President Trump’s attempts to keep Republicans in power through similar means in other states.

Thus far, the anti-Trump message preached by Proposition 50 advocates, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other top Democrats, appears to be the most effective.

Supporters of the proposal have vastly outraised their rivals and Proposition 50, one of the most expensive ballot measure campaigns in state history, leads in the polls.

“Whenever you can take an issue and personalize it, you have the advantage. In this case, proponents of 50 can make it all about stopping Donald Trump,” said former legislative leader and state GOP Chair Jim Brulte.

Adding to the drama is the role of two political and cultural icons who have emerged as leaders of each side: former President Obama in favor and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger against, both arguing the very essence of democracy is at stake.

Schwarzenegger and the two main committees opposing Proposition 50 have focused on the ethical and moral imperative of preserving the independent redistricting commission. Californians in 2010 voted to create the panel to draw the state’s congressional district boundaries after every census in an effort to provide fair representation to all state residents.

That’s not a political ideal easily explained in a 30-section television ad, or an Instagram post.

Redistricting is a “complex issue,” Brulte said, but he noted that “the no side has the burden of trying to explain what the initiative really does and the yes side gets to use the crib notes [that] this is about stopping Trump — a much easier path.”

Partisans on both sides of the aisle agree.

“The yes side quickly leveraged anti-Trump messaging and has been closing with direct base appeals to lock in the lead,” said Jamie Fisfis, a political strategist who has worked on many GOP congressional campaigns in California. “The partisanship and high awareness behind the measure meant it was unlikely to sag under the weight of negative advertising like other initiatives often do. It’s been a turnout game.”

Obama, in ads that aired during the World Series and NFL games, warned that “Democracy is on the ballot Nov. 4” as he urged voters to support Proposition 50. Ads for the most well-funded committee opposing the proposition featured Schwarzenegger saying that opposing the ballot measure was critical to ensuring that citizens are not overrun by elected officials.

“The Constitution does not start with ‘We, the politicians.’ It starts with ‘We, the people,’” Schwarzenegger told USC students in mid-September — a speech excerpted in an anti-Proposition 50 ad. “Democracy — we’ve got to protect it, and we’ve got to go and fight for it.”

California’s Democratic-led Legislature voted in August to put the redistricting proposal that would likely boost their ranks in Congress on the November ballot. The measure, pushed by Newsom, was an effort to counter Trump’s efforts to increase the number of GOP members in the House from Texas and other GOP-led states.

The GOP holds a narrow edge in the House, and next year’s election will determine which party controls the body during Trump’s final two years in office — and whether he can further his agenda or is the focus of investigations and possible impeachment.

Noticeably absent for California’s Proposition 50 fight is the person who triggered it — Trump.

The proposition’s opponents’ decision not to highlight Trump is unsurprising given the president’s deep unpopularity among Californians. More than two-thirds of the state’s likely voters did not approve of his handling of the presidency in late October, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll.

Trump did, however, urge California voter not to cast mail-in ballots or vote early, falsely arguing in a social media post that both voting methods were “dishonest.”

Some California GOP leaders feared that Trump’s pronouncement would suppress the Republican vote.

In recent days, the California Republican Party sent mailers to registered Republicans shaming them for not voting. “Your neighbors are watching,” the mailer says, featuring a picture of a woman peering through binoculars. “Don’t let your neighbors down. They’ll find out!”

Tuesday’s election will cost state taxpayers nearly $300 million. And it’s unclear if the result will make a difference in control of the House because of multiple redistricting efforts in other states.

But some Democrats are torn about the amount of money being spent on an effort that may not alter the partisan makeup of Congress.

Johanna Moska, who worked in the Obama administration, described Proposition 50 as “frustrating.”

“I just wish we were spending money to rectify the state’s problems, if we figured out a way the state could be affordable for people,” she said. “Gavin’s found what’s working for Gavin. And that’s resistance to Trump.”

Newsom’s efforts opposing Trump are viewed as a foundational argument if he runs for president in 2028, which he has acknowledged pondering.

Proposition 50 also became a platform for other politicians potentially eyeing a 2026 run for California governor, Sen. Alex Padilla and billionaires Rick Caruso and Tom Steyer.

The field is in flux, with no clear front-runner.

Padilla being thrown to the ground in Los Angeles as he tried to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the Trump administration’s immigration policies is prominently featured in television ads promoting Proposition 50. Steyer, a longtime Democratic donor who briefly ran for president in 2020, raised eyebrows by being the only speaker in his second television ad. Caruso, who unsuccessfully ran against Karen Bass in the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral race and is reportedly considering another political campaign, recently sent voters glossy mailers supporting Proposition 50.

Steyer committed $12 million to support Proposition 50. His initial ad, which shows a Trump impersonator growing increasingly irate as news reports showing the ballot measure passing, first aired during “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Steyer’s second ad fully focused on him, raising speculation about a potential gubernatorial run next year.

Ads opposing the proposition aired less frequently before disappearing from television altogether in recent days.

“The yes side had the advantage of casting the question for voters as a referendum on Trump,” said Rob Stutzman, a GOP strategist who worked for Schwarzenegger but is not involved with any of the Proposition 50 campaigns. “Asking people to rally to the polls to save a government commission — it’s not a rallying call.”

Ireland’s 40-29 win in Chicago nine years ago was one of the apogees in the team’s history, while the intensity and stakes of the World Cup quarter-final extracted herculean efforts from both sides in what is widely considered the rivalry’s apex.

But Saturday’s entry did not resemble either of those games.

Neither team reached anywhere near their maximum, and with a raft of protracted stoppages for tackle reviews and injuries, it failed to deliver an interest-generating spectacle in a country which is hosting the World Cup in six years.

Ultimately, New Zealand will not care. For them, a long-awaited fifth Grand Slam of the northern hemisphere remains in play after a second-half surge that yielded three tries in 15 minutes.

Ireland, however, have much to stew on.

Last year, they opened their autumn campaign with a loss to the All Blacks. Their performance in Dublin that night was one of the flattest of the Farrell era and they were not much better here.

There were, at least, some positives. They responded strongly to Tadhg Beirne’s highly controversial early red card to lead 10-0 thanks to a Jack Crowley penalty and Tadhg Furlong’s first try since 2021.

Elsewhere, Stuart McCloskey, a surprise inclusion at inside centre, shone in his first appearance against the All Blacks before being forced off injured, while Ryan Baird staked his claim to be a regular fixture in the back row.

But while they led for 57 minutes, Ireland never seemed fully in control. Having lost a tenacious operator in Beirne, they were bested at the breakdown and missed crucial tackles, while a creaky lineout blunted their ability to create opportunities and ramp up scoreboard pressure.