Jamie Smith, with a majestic 166, has now scored a century in each of Surrey’s opening two County Championship matches as he bids to hold on to his England Test place this summer.
And Ollie Pope, dropped during the winter Ashes series defeat in Australia, also hit 103 as Surrey piled up 412-6 against Leicestershire in front of a 5,000-plus day one crowd at the Kia Oval.
Smith and Pope put on exactly 200 for the third wicket, after Leicestershire had decided to bowl first on a green-looking pitch and initially reduced Surrey to 42-2.
Pope’s hundred, the 25th of his first-class career, was more of a workmanlike affair as he looked to spend time at the crease following two low scores in Surrey’s high-scoring draw at Warwickshire in the season’s opener last week.
Smith, however, looked in prime touch throughout his high-class innings after making a six-hour 132 on the final day against Warwickshire on Monday. Overall, he faced 240 balls and struck 19 fours and two sixes before edging seamer Ben Green to slip seven overs before stumps.
Intriguingly, Smith has been handed the number three specialist batter role by Surrey despite playing his 20 Tests to date as a wicketkeeper batting in the lower middle order.
In those Tests he averages a credible 41.48 with the bat, with two hundreds, but in Australia he managed only a disappointing 211 runs at 23.44, passing fifty just once and drawing criticism for the manner of several of his dismissals.
Surrey, who have Ben Foakes as their long-established number one keeper, clearly see Smith’s powerful stroke-making as a key asset in their top order – particularly when he can concentrate solely on his batting – as they start a quest to reclaim the championship after being pipped to a fourth successive title by Nottinghamshire last September.
Dan Lawrence briefly enjoyed himself with a 36-ball cameo of 31, smashing New Zealand Test spinner Ajaz Patel straight for six from the second ball he faced, and also swinging Green over the deep mid-wicket ropes before chopping on against Rehan Ahmed’s leg-spin.
Foakes, meanwhile, also showed he is in fine form with the bat, unfurling some lovely strokes in a poised unbeaten 62 to follow up scores of 128 and 36 not out against Warwickshire and add a further 105 with Smith.
Leicestershire, who won promotion from Division Two last year, struggled to contain the commanding Smith and a busy Pope once they came together in the 15th over.
That followed Dom Sibley’s second-over departure, leg-before for four to an inswinger from left-arm paceman Josh Hull, and Rory Burns chipping Tom Scriven’s medium pace to mid on after a largely untroubled cruise to 24.
Pope finally fell in the 60th over, caught behind pushing at one tossed up by slow left-armer Patel, and by the end of a long day in the field Leicestershire – who lost by 222 runs to Sussex last week on their return to the top flight – are up against it once more.
Report by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay.
Jannik Sinner cruised past Felix Auger-Aliassime to set up a semi-final with Alexander Zverev in the Monte Carlo Masters.
The Italian second seed defeated his Canadian opponent 6-3 6-4 to extend his winning streak in Masters 1000 events to 20 matches – a run during which he has lifted titles at Paris, Indian Wells and Miami.
“I feel like it was a step forwards today,” said Sinner, who dropped a set at a Masters event for the first time in 186 days during his last-16 win against Tomas Machac.
“It was a very tough match. I knew I had to get better in certain areas. The serve is not there yet, where I would love it, but all things considered I’m very happy.
“But in any case, very happy to be back in the semis.”
Following a highly successful Rugby World Cup last year, supporter numbers in the UK climbed from 7.94m pre-existing fans of women’s rugby to 13.21m, according to research commissioned by BBC Sport.
England’s victory over Canada in September’s final took place in front of 81,885 fans at Allianz Stadium – a record for a women’s rugby match and the second-highest attendance for a men’s or women’s World Cup final.
It was the most-watched women’s rugby match on UK television, with a record-breaking peak audience of 5.8m viewers. It also beat both the Six Nations and the British and Irish Lions’ winning tour of Australia to become the most-watched rugby match of last year.
Rugby union was the second most-watched women’s sport in 2025, so with momentum at an all-time high, this year’s Women’s Six Nations is set to be comfortably the biggest yet in terms of crowd numbers.
Pre-tournament demand has already broken records, with all four home nations staging fixtures at their national stadiums.
The record crowd for a Women’s Six Nations game is 58,498 for the Grand Slam decider between England and France in 2023.
That record is set to fall, with more than 75,000 tickets sold for England’s opener against Ireland at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
“There is probably a line of thinking that audiences will just keep growing, but they are actually hard to maintain,” Rugby Football Union director of women’s rugby Alex Teasdale told BBC Sport.
“The role of the Red Roses as ambassadors has helped sustain some of that strong buy-in, and the fans have had a brilliant time.
“It has been really pleasing to see, but anyone involved in women’s sport knows it is not a given.
“You have to work hard to give fans a brilliant experience so they want to keep coming back.”
Scotland will play their first Women’s Six Nations match in front of fans at Murrayfield when they host England next weekend.
Scotland women’s record home attendance of 7,774 was set at Hive Stadium in 2024, but more than 25,000 tickets have been sold for the fixture.
The expected record crowd will be the biggest for a standalone women’s sporting event in Scotland.
Ireland’s game against Scotland on the final weekend will be their first at the 51,711-capacity Aviva Stadium and their record home attendance of 7,754 is set to be smashed, with more than 16,000 tickets already reported to have been sold.
Wales, who play Scotland at Principality Stadium on the opening weekend, are aiming to better last year’s record crowd of 21,186 for a Wales women’s team event on home soil.
Meanwhile, France will host England at the 42,115-capacity Stade Atlantique in Bordeaux in the final round, where they will hope to have a full house for a possible Grand Slam decider.
But will the entertainment on the pitch match the clamour for tickets?
O’Neill was speaking as the Scottish FA announced sports event consultant Mark Blackbourne will lead its investigation into the disorder that followed the Scottish Cup quarter-final between Rangers and Celtic in March.
Tensions have arisen between elements of Celtic’s support and the board about such matters as summer transfer activity, managerial appointments and crowd safety.
Discussions have been held between the Green Brigade and the club and Celtic said earlier this week that Glasgow City Council’s Safety Advisory Group was happy for the suspension to be lifted.
“I think that the safety regulations have been sorted,” O’Neill said. “We’ve got to just see how it goes and see what the end of the season brings. Let’s have a proper conversation at the end.”
Defending champions Celtic go into Saturday’s game three points behind leaders Heart of Midlothian and two adrift of Rangers.
Hearts have been handed a visit to Celtic Park on the final day of the season following the publication of the post-split Scottish Premiership fixtures, but O’Neill said “it’s certainly a long way off for us” to be thinking of that possibly being a title decider.
Celtic’s goal difference is worse than both their title rivals, but the Northern Irishman said “it’s too late now” to think about that and “I would just be delighted to win the games”.
Meanwhile, O’Neill revealed on-loan right-back Julian Araujo had suffered a recurrence of his hamstring injury after returning to Bournemouth for treatment and would miss the rest of the season – and possibly the World Cup with Mexico.
Fellow right-back Colby Donovan also has a hamstring injury that will rule him out for perhaps the next two weeks, but Canada international Alistair Johnston could return next weekend for the first time since October.
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Fans from New Zealand and Australia held signs toward the camera proclaiming they had traveled thousands of miles to watch Warriors star Stephen Curry play.
On one sign, “play” was crossed out and replaced with a frowning face.
LeBron James instead gave fans a glimpse at a generational star, leading the Lakers to a 119-103 win over the Warriors on Thursday with 26 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.
After missing the Lakers’ last game, the 21-time All-NBA player returned as the guiding force amid a season threatening to fall off the rails. The Lakers (51-29) ended a three-game losing streak and kept pace with the Houston Rockets in a tight race for home-court advantage in the Western Conference.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.’s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads.
“We just had a sour taste in our mouths, obviously, for last week,” James said, referencing injuries to stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves and the recent skid. “… And just none of us wants to continue to lose, and then we hurt for our two main guns. So, just a mindset of just trying to figure out how we can be great as a team, how we can figure out how to play well on the road and try to get a win.”
Trying to avoid their longest losing streak of the season, the Lakers relied on James to steady the ship. After the Lakers gave up a 9-0 run to start the second quarter, he hit a contested three out of a timeout to get them back on track. He fed the ball to Deandre Ayton, keeping the big man engaged for 21 points on nine-of-11 shooting with five rebounds.
Luke Kennard had 14 points and eight assists. The sharp-shooting guard has 28 assists in the last three games, adapting into the team’s emergency point guard to compensate for the loss of Doncic and Reaves.
“Talking as a group this morning like this is what we have right now, and we gotta figure it out,” Kennard said. “We’re trying to win games. Worked this hard to get where we are, to be in the position that we’re in right now, and we don’t want to just throw it away.”
An aerial view of the Coliseum, which will host track and field events during the 2028 L.A. Olympic Games.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
From James Rainey: Los Angeles officials are expressing growing fears that taxpayers and the city treasury could be hit with a round of crippling costs to support the 2028 Olympic Games if the city doesn’t ink a rigorous deal to assure a “zero-cost” Games.
Some city officials have long been concerned that taxpayers could be left with massive bills if the Olympics don’t generate the income organizers have promised. Delays in finalizing a deal between City Hall and the Olympics committee have heightened those tensions.
The exact costs to L.A. and other local governments remain unknown, as officials wait to hear from LA28 and federal security agencies about exactly what services they will need. Recent controversy over the ties between Casey Wasserman, the head of the L.A. Olympics, and Jeffrey Epstein have added to the uncertainty over the finances in the minds of some city leaders.
City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto and Councilmember Monica Rodriguez both issued letters demanding a contract pledging that LA28 cover any of the city’s future costs that arise as the city plays host to hundreds of thousands of athletes and fans.
UCLA women’s basketball lands first transfer since title
UCLA coach Cori Close addresses fans during an NCAA national title celebration at Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
From Marisa Ingemi: The UCLA women’s basketball program made its first move of the transfer portal season with the addition of Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas, who averaged nearly a double-double in her first season in the SEC.
The 5-foot-9 combo guard averaged 10.2 points and nine rebounds last season with the Razorbacks along with 1.5 steals per game. The Australian will have three years of eligibility remaining and could be in the Bruins’ starting lineup next season.
Coach Cori Close said before the team’s NCAA tournament championship win that she expected to bring in at least five transfers to replace the six senior and graduate students who exhausted their eligibility, including the full starting lineup.
Rory McIlroy hits from the 16th tee during the first round of the Masters on Thursday.
(Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
From Sam Farmer: After the career grand slam, a grand entrance.
Rory McIlroy, who last year became the sixth man to win all four major championships, got off to a spectacular start at the Masters on Thursday to claim a share of the lead with a five-under-par 67.
In one sense, the pressure is off. No more wondering about winning a green jacket. Yet he was relieved to feel those familiar butterflies on the first tee.
“Look, we’re playing the first major of the year, it’s the Masters,” he said, having overcome a slightly wobbly start to collect five birdies in his final 11 holes. “If I felt absolutely nothing on that first tee, that’s not a good sign.
“So it was nice to feel my hand shaking a little bit when the tee went into the ground, and struggle to put the ball on top of the tee. So I knew I was feeling it. That’s a good thing. That’s why we want to be here. We want to be able to play our best golf when we’re feeling like that.”
John Carlson scores hat trick as Ducks end losing streak
Ducks defenseman John Carlson celebrates after scoring to complete a hat trick in the third period of a 6-1 win over the San José Sharks at Honda Center on Thursday night.
(Ryan Sun / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press:John Carlson scored three goals for the first hat trick of his 17-year NHL career, and the Ducks ended their six-game losing streak with an emphatic 6-1 victory over the San José Sharks on Thursday night at Honda Center.
Leo Carlsson, Alex Killorn and Frank Vatrano also scored and Beckett Sennecke had two assists for the Ducks, who jumped to a 4-0 lead and dominated their Pacific Division rivals for their first win since March 26.
Carlson scored two power-play goals in the third period, connecting with 5:57 left to secure the first hat trick of his 1,156-game career. The veteran defenseman has been exactly what the Ducks needed when they acquired him at the trade deadline, scoring 12 points in 13 games while steadying the back end for one of the NHL’s worst defensive teams.
From Stephen Battaglio: The Department of Justice is investigating the NFL’s media deals with streaming companies as more of its games go behind subscription pay walls.
The investigation first reported by the Wall Street Journal centers on the financial impact of live sports streaming on consumers and whether the league’s traditional broadcast partners are getting fair treatment.
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment. A government official told NBC News the department’s investigation into the NFL is “about affordability for consumers and creating an even playing field for providers.”
In the Dodgers’ 4-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, it took him 22 pitches to navigate a scoreless first inning. But he escaped unscathed.
“Made some adjustments and finished strong at the end,” Ohtani said through Japanese interpreter Will Ireton, after pitching six innings and not giving up an earned run.
Regardless of the unearned run Toronto scored in the third inning, Ohtani holds the longest active streak of innings pitched (26⅔) without allowing an earned run in the majors, according to MLB.com and Elias Sports Bureau.
1934 — The Chicago Black Hawks edge the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 in overtime to win the Stanley Cup in 4 of the best-of-5 series. Charlie Gardiner gets the shutout and Mush March scores the winning goal at 30:05 of overtime. It’s the final NHL game for Gardiner, who dies of a brain hemorrhage two months later.
1947 — Jackie Robinson becomes first black player of the 20th century to sign an MLB contract.
1949 — Sam Snead wins the Masters, beating Lloyd Mangrum and Johnny Bulla by three strokes.
1953 — NBA Championship Finals, Minneapolis Auditorium, Minnesota, MN: Minneapolis Lakers beat NY Knicks, 91-84 for a 4-1 series victory; Lakers’ 5th title in 6 years.
1955 — Cary Middlecoff beats Ben Hogan by seven strokes to win the Masters.
1955 — 9th NBA Championship: Syracuse Nats beat Fort Wayne Pistons, 4 games to 3.
1956 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 to win the Stanley Cup in five games.
1960 — 24th U.S. Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: 1958 champion Arnold Palmer birdies the final 2 holes to win by 1 stroke over runner-up Ken Venturi.
1961 — South Africa’s Gary Player becomes the first foreign player to win the Masters, edging Arnold Palmer and Charley Coe by one stroke.
1977 — Tom Watson pulls away in the final four holes to beat Jack Nicklaus by two strokes in the Masters.
1983 — Baltimore’s Eddie Murray hits his 1,000 career hit.
1988 — Scotland’s Sandy Lyle sinks a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a one-shot victory in the Masters, becoming the first British player to win the tournament.
1990 — Dave Taylor, Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato score three goals apiece as the Los Angeles Kings pound the Calgary Flames 12-4, marking the first time in NHL playoff history that three hat tricks are recorded in one game.
1991 — LA King Wayne Gretzky scores NHL record 93rd playoff goal.
1993 — Manon Rheaume, pro hockey’s only female goaltender, allows six goals in her first International Hockey League start for the Atlanta Knights, an 8-6 loss to Cincinnati.
1994 — Jose Maria Olazabal wins the Masters by two strokes over Tom Lehman. It’s the sixth time in seven years a non-American has prevailed.
1996 — Norm Duke sets a Professional Bowlers Association record with three consecutive 300s. Duke, who finished the first round with consecutive 300s, opens the second round with his third perfect game of the day.
2005 — Tiger Woods wins the Masters with a spectacular finish of birdies and bogeys. Woods turns back a surprising challenge Chris DiMarco with a 15-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to capture his fourth green jacket.
2010 — The Boston Bruins clinch a playoff berth after scoring three short-handed goals in 64 seconds on the same penalty during a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s the first time in NHL history that a team accomplishes the feat as Daniel Paille, Blake Wheeler and Steve Begin score the goals in the second period to make it 3-0.
2011 — 75th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Charl Schwartzel of South Africa birdies the final 4 holes to win his first major title, 2 strokes ahead of Australian pair Adam Scott and Jason Day.
2016 — Danny Willett wins the Masters after a stunning collapse by Jordan Spieth. Willett shoots a closing 67 for a 5-under 283 is assured his first major title when Spieth bogies the 17th hole. Spieth, nine holes away from another wire-to-wire victory, throws it away with a collapse around Amen Corner that is shocking even by Augusta National standards. Spieth was five shots ahead on the 10th tee and three shots behind when he walked to the 13th tee.
2016 — Chicago’s Patrick Kane wins the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer. He is the first American-born player in NHL history to capture the Ross since it has been awarded, dating back to 1947-48. Kane wins the scoring title with 106 points, which includes 46 goals and 60 assists, both of which were career highs.
2022 — 86th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: World #1 golfer Scottie Scheffler wins first career major title; beats Irishman Rory McIlroy by 3 strokes.
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.
El-Shenawy was incensed after Al-Ahly’s appeal for a penalty following a handball in stoppage time was denied.
Published On 10 Apr 202610 Apr 2026
Al-Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy has been handed a four-match ban after striking a referee on the head following a 1-1 draw with Ceramica Cleopatra, the Egyptian Pro League said on Thursday.
The Egypt international, who was on the bench for Tuesday’s game, was incensed after Al-Ahly’s appeal for a penalty following a handball in stoppage time was denied.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
“He handed a four-match ban and fined 50,000 Egyptian pounds [$942] for assaulting the referee by pushing or pulling,” the league said in a statement.
The ban means El-Shenawy, who is expected to be Egypt’s starting goalkeeper at the World Cup in North America, will be sidelined until the final week of the league playoffs.
Al-Ahly are third on 41 points, five points behind leaders Zamalek.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Today, we remember a Dodgers icon.
Are you a true-blue fan?
Get our Dodgers Dugout newsletter for insights, news and much more.
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads.
Sad news in Dodgersland this week as Davey Lopes, member of the famed Garvey-Lopes-Russell-Cey infield, died at the age of 80.
“Even though Davey may have been the less visible of the famous long-running Dodger infield with Cey, Russell and Garvey, his impact on the team’s success was huge,” former Dodgers owner and president Peter O’Malley told The Times. “All Dodger fans will always remember the excitement he gave us on the basepaths and I admire his commitment to the game managing, coaching and instructing after his playing days.”
Lopes was born May 3, 1945, in East Providence, R.I. He did not remember his father, who died when Lopes was 2. His mother, Mary Rose, supported Lopes and his nine siblings on the meager salary she earned as a maid. Lopes found solace in baseball.
“If it hadn’t been for sports, there’s no telling what I’d be or where I’d be,” Lopes told former Times baseball columnist Ross Newhan in 1973. “I had one glove until I got to high school. I guess I can admit now that I confiscated more than a few bats and balls.”
Lopes found a mentor in baseball coach Michael Sarkesian, who usually coached the team Lopes was playing against while growing up. Sarkesian remembers Lopes, though, and brought him to Iowa Wesleyan when Sarkesian became the athletic director there.
“Whatever I missed by not really having had a father, Sarkesian provided,” Lopes told Newhan. “He could relate to my problems, my environment. The drive, the determination, not to give in to the ghetto, to make something of my life, stems from my relations with him.”
Lopes was an NAIA All-American at Wesleyan and then followed Sarkesian to Washburn University in Topeka, Kan. He hit .380 and was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the seventh round of the 1967 MLB draft. He turned them down, then signed with the Dodgers when they chose him in the second round of the secondary phase of the 1968 draft.
He played his first two seasons at Class A Daytona Beach, hitting .247 with 26 steals in 82 games in 1968, then hitting .280 with 32 steals in 72 games in 1969.
Davey Lopes steals second while Reds shortstop Davey Concepcion awaits the throw in a 1980 game.
(Joe Kennedy / Los Angeles Times)
Lopes was promoted to triple-A Spokane in 1970, and it was there that he met Tommy Lasorda, who was managing Spokane, and where the Dodgers converted Lopes from an outfielder to a second baseman under the tutelage of Monty Basgall. He was focused on learning a new position and stole only 11 bases, but rebounded in 1971 to hit .306 with 27 steals.
After another standout year in 1972, the Dodgers called him up to the majors for the first time for the final two weeks of the season. He stole four bases in four attempts.
At spring training in 1973, Lopes battled with Lee Lacy for the second base job and lost. But Lacy got off to a terrible start and Walter Alston made Lopes the starting second baseman on April 22. And he remained the starting second baseman until the 1982 season.
Eventually, Bill Russell, Ron Cey and Steve Garvey found their way into the starting lineup and on June 23, 1973, the foursome started together for the first time and stayed together for nine seasons, the longest-running infield in MLB history.
Lopes was the spark plug atop the lineup, becoming one of the best base stealers in the game. “I realize that when I’m running and stealing bases, I’m setting the momentum and getting the adrenaline going for the rest of the lineup,” Lopes told Newhan in 1974. “And until someone proves he can stop me, or the situation dictates I don’t run, I’m going to be stealing all the time.”
Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench once called Lopes the best base stealer in the game.
Beginning in 1975, Lopes racked up some impressive stolen base numbers:
In those five seasons, he stole 276 bases and was caught only 42 times, an amazing 86.8% success rate. He is the best base stealer in Dodger history. Maury Wills stole more often, but Lopes was more successful.
In 1975, Lopes stole 38 bases in a row from June 10 to August 24 to break Max Carey’s mark of 36 in a row set during the 1922-23 seasons. He was finally thrown out by Montreal’s Gary Carter in the 12th inning of a game.
In postseason play for the Dodgers, Lopes hit .241 with six home runs, 22 RBIs, 28 runs scored and 20 steals in 50 games, as the Dodgers lost in the World Series to Oakland (1974) and the Yankees twice (1977-78) before finally breaking through against the Yankees in 1981.
Lopes’ mentor with the Dodgers was Jim Gilliam. One day after the Dodgers won the 1978 NLCS, Gilliam died, leaving Lopes distraught. He channeled his emotions into an incredible Game 1 of the World Series, hitting two home runs and driving in five in an 11-5 rout. After his first homer, Lopes pointed to the sky to acknowledge Gilliam. A couple of years later, “The Bronx Zoo” by Yankees reliever Sparky Lyle was published. In it, he wrote about Lopes, saying, and I’m paraphrasing here, that it was bush league for Lopes to put up “We’re No. 1” while circling the bases, that the Dodgers had no class and that the Red Sox were better than the Dodgers. He had missed the point completely.
“They can do anything they want with us now,” Lopes said after the 1981 World Series victory. “I’ve got the ring. They can’t take that away from me.”
From left, Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Davey Lopes and Steve Garvey reunite in 2013.
(Los Angeles Times)
His comments contained a bit of foreshadowing. Lopes had his worst season in 1981, hitting .206 in 58 games of a strike-interrupted season (though he still stole 20 bases while being caught only twice). The Dodgers had prized prospect Steve Sax waiting in the wings. So, on Feb. 8, 1982, the Dodgers traded Lopes to Oakland for Lance Hudson. If you’ve never heard of Hudson, that’s OK, because he never made it to the majors. In essence, the Dodgers gave Lopes away for nothing.
Lopes was far from through, though. He hit .242 with the A’s in 1982 and .277 with 17 homers and 22 steals in 1983. Oakland sent him to the Chicago Cubs near the end of the 1984 season for pitcher Chuck Rainey. And in 1985, Lopes had a season for the ages, or at least, aged. At the age of 40, he stole 47 bases and was caught only four times while hitting .284/.383/.444 with 11 homers and 44 RBIs in 99 games. It is still the record for most stolen bases at age 40. Rickey Henderson is next with 37 in 1999.
Lopes finished his career with two seasons with the Astros, retiring after the 1987 season. He then began a long career as coach and manager, including a stint as first base coach for the Dodgers from 2011-15. Then GM Ned Colletti made it his mission to bring Lopes back as a coach.
Colletti had this to say after learning of Lopes’ death: “Davey Lopes transformed coaching at first base. His situational awareness and intricacy of coaching first base was the best I have ever watched. He changed a coaching position and how it was executed — base running, secondary leads, pitch tipping, cutting your steps from first to third.
“His contract has expired in Philadelphia [after the 2010 season] and I went and recruited him back. He helped players and, therefore, teams, get better. He could find any advantage and he was a great teacher. He was one of my favorite people.”
Former Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer, who played with Lopes on the 1981 championship team, had this to say: “Davey was 15 years older than me and he was quiet with us new guys. But he treated us as equals and was helpful. It had to be tough seeing Sax come up and knowing his days were numbered.”
Among the 112 players with at least 350 stolen bases, Lopes is fifth in stolen base percentage:
1. Tim Raines, 808 steals, 146 caught, 84.7% 2. Willie Wilson, 668-134, 83.3% 3. Barry Larkin, 379-77, 83.11% 4. Tony Womack, 363-74, 83.07% 5. Davey Lopes, 557-114, 83% 6. Jimmy Rollins, 470-105, 81.7% 7. Carl Crawford, 480-109, 81.5% 8. Ichiro Suzuki, 509-117, 81.3% 9. Joe Morgan, 689-162, 81% 10. Vince Coleman, 752-177, 80.9%
Rickey Henderson is 11th with an 80.8% success rate. Maury Wills is 42nd at 73.8%. Steve Sax 49th at 71.4%. Ty Cobb 81st at 64.3%.
How was Lopes so successful? In an interview with Ross Porter, he said, “Well, it’s just not running by chance. I studied the pitchers. I tried to look for idiosyncrasies in their bodies that tell me when they go to first base compared to going home. Try to pick that up, react to it as quickly as I possibly can.”
He also told Porter his favorite moment of his career: “Actually, the first time I ran on the field. It was like I had reached a goal I set as a kid — to be a Dodger. I always wanted to be a Brooklyn Dodger, but for some reason, they left Brooklyn. We won’t get into that. But to do it as a Dodger — that meant everything. It was kind of like second best, but it was like I arrived.”
As a leadoff hitter, Lopes would often bat after the pitcher. I always enjoyed watching Lopes stall for time when the pitcher had to run hard during his at-bat. To give the pitcher ample time to rest in the dugout, especially if there were two out, Lopes had a variety of delay tactics before getting to the batter’s box. He’d give a couple of extra swings in the on-deck circle. He’d walk to the plate, then stop and go back to the on-deck circle to get some extra pine tar. He’d “have trouble” getting the weighted circle off his bat. He’d take the first pitch and then call time. It was a master class in looking at the big picture.
Our best wishes to Lopes’ family, friends and former teammates. He will be missed.
More sad news
Miguel Rojas was all set to play Tuesday against Toronto when he learned that his father had passed away in Venezuela.
“There’s nothing I could do being this far,” Rojas told reporters Wednesday. “Just support my family, and trying to understand a little bit of what’s going on. I found out that my dad, on the way to the hospital, passed away. He couldn’t live through the heart attack that he had. So it was suddenly that he passed away; he was feeling good. Really hard to understand. I’m still trying to process the whole thing.”
Micky Rojas’ funeral was Wednesday. “That’s how they do things in Venezuela,” Miguel Rojas said. “It happens quick because they have to. They don’t have many places to hold these funerals.”
Rojas played Wednesday and wanted to play Tuesday until a couple of Dodgers talked him out of it. He said later he was glad that Dave Roberts and Freddie Freeman took that decision out of his hands. But Rojas was adamant about playing Wednesday.
“It’s going to be emotional, yes, for me, I understand that,” Rojas said. “But I’ve been through moments like this before with my mom, my grandparents. I know what they want me to do is play baseball. They raised me up and they gave up everything in their life for me to be a baseball player. This is what they want me to do. They know how much pride I take in showing up every day, and not letting my teammates down.”
We send out best wishes to Rojas and his family. You can read more about the situation in this story by Maddie Lee.
What about the team?
We will discuss the team in detail starting next week. It has been a strange two weeks with Charley Steiner, Lopes and Rojas, and sometimes life is more important that baseball. I received over 500 emails about Steiner, and some of them will appear in a special edition of this newsletter in the next couple of weeks.
Davey Lopes hits two home runs in Game 1 of the 1978 World Series. 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.
Daly, 33, recently agreed a new deal to stay with Saracens until the end of the 2027-28 campaign.
This is the second time he has fractured an arm within the space of 10 months, having suffered the same injury during a warm-up game for the British and Irish Lions last July which ruled him out of the rest of their tour of Australia.
For Onyeama-Christie, 27, this is also the latest in a series of injuries he has had in recent seasons, having twice previously broken his arm and also fracturing and dislocating his ankle.
He has played in 19 games for the London club this campaign and, like Daly, also agreed new terms to extend his stay in February.
Saracens return to Prem action on 19 April away at Sale, with six games of the regular season to go.
They have, however, been boosted by the return of prop Alec Clarey, who has been out since November with injury.
Flanker Max Eke is also “nearing availability for selection” having not featured since February 2025, while fellow back row Toby Knight is also returning to training from a long-term knee injury, a club statement said.
If you go with Option 1, you are taking the top four batters, in order, in the lineup of what was billed as the best team this country ever had to offer: the United States entry in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
But, with the Dodgers off to another hot start, this would be an opportune moment for fans to take a step back from whatever concerns they might have about pitching depth and the injury list to appreciate the star-studded championship lineup of the home team.
Their opening day lineup started with Option 2. Betts is injured now, but the Dodgers just took a series from the defending American League champion Toronto Blue Jays without him. Twelve games into the season is a small sample, but no team has a better record than the Dodgers (9-3).
They lead the majors in batting average (.287), home runs (21) and OPS (.841). That OPS is the same as Tucker put up for the Chicago Cubs last season, which means their lineup essentially consists of nine guys putting up the OPS that earned Tucker a Dodgers contract for $60 million per year. (That won’t last, but the Dodgers did put up a .768 OPS over the full season last year, the best in the National League.)
Hall of Famer Pedro Martínez took to social media this week to call this “the best Dodgers team I’ve ever seen” and call the lineup “absolutely loaded.”
And, yes, the Dodgers lineup just might be better than the Team USA one.
“I’ll take our guys against anybody,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “How about that?”
The Dodgers’ lineup on opening day finished, in order, with Will Smith, Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages and Miguel Rojas. The Team USA lineup in the WBC championship game finished with Alex Bregman, Roman Anthony, Smith, Brice Turang and Byron Buxton.
“There were probably more accolades and all that on that USA team,” said Smith, the Dodgers’ catcher and the only man in both lineups. “It was more of an all-star team type of thing, the best guy at his position.”
In that Team USA lineup: five MVP awards and 28 All-Star appearances. In that Dodgers lineup: six MVP awards and 33 All-Star appearances.
Dino Ebel, the Dodgers’ third-base coach, throws batting practice as well. He coached for Team USA and threw batting practice there, too.
“I was like, ‘This lineup I’m throwing to is familiar to what I see every night for 162.’ Pretty cool,” he said. “You compare the Dodger lineup, all the way from 1 to 9, to Team USA, I thought we matched up pretty well.”
For the opinion of someone never employed by the Dodgers, I checked in with Blue Jays and Team USA infielder Ernie Clement.
“It’s tough to compare a WBC team with an actual MLB team,” Clement said. “The Dodgers have a really great lineup, obviously. I think they have learned how to win when they don’t have their best stuff. That’s what great teams do.
“Our lineup on Team USA was pretty stacked. It’s tough to do when you only play seven games. You don’t go through that whole grind of a season. The Dodgers have had the same guys on their team for quite some time, with some pieces added here and there. But, for the most part, they have those main guys that have been there and know each other really well.”
Those main guys are international stars now, Ohtani and the rest of his constellation. Everyone watches them. Everyone outside Los Angeles blames them — nothing personal, mind you, but as a symbol of the gaping financial disparity in baseball and a trigger for the almost certain lockout to follow the World Series.
Those four guys at the top of the Dodgers lineup — that Option 2 above — carry contracts worth a combined $1.5 billion. Would your team do that?
The thought that the Dodgers lineup matches up well against the Team USA lineup presents a marketing idea for Major League Baseball.
Of all the major sports, baseball boasts the one All-Star Game that has largely resisted gimmicks, but then again last year’s game ended with a home run derby. So why not lean into the Dodgers hate by turning this year’s All-Star Game into a Dodgers-against-the-world affair?
The game is in Philadelphia. Nowhere else do people boo like they do there.
And, if the Dodgers can match up with Team USA, they can take on the best lineup the other 29 major league teams have to offer.
Seriously, then, your 2026 All-Star Game: The Dodgers vs. Everybody Else.
Roberts laughed, but the twinkle in his eye was genuine.
“I’m repeating myself a lot, but I feel a lot of support. Not only from the owners but from Richard [Hughes] and Michael [Edwards]. A lot of support from them but as weird as it might sound, I also feel the support from the fans,” said Slot.
“In Paris when the players went out for the warm-up and after the 4-0 loss [against Manchester City] the fans immediately started singing ‘we love Liverpool‘.
“I think it’s fair to say we were outplayed for 90 minutes and they were still singing and clapping for us.
“I’ve said it many times, the club knows the period of time we’re in and in the meantime, I feel complete support.”
He added that Wednesday’s defeat to PSG would serve as motivation during this “defining” period of the season, which starts with Fulham‘s visit to Anfield on Saturday.
“We faced the champions of Europe and we experienced that we were not on the level we should have been.
“The good thing is we have four or five days to show we can be much more competitive. It also tells us we want to keep improving and playing at that level next season.
“I think if you experience that two days ago, you want to be involved next season to show we can do even better. Therefore, we have to perform in the league as well.”
Fly-half Sam Costelow will miss the rest of the Scarlets’ season after ankle surgery and faces a race to be fit for Wales’ Nations Championship campaign in July.
The 25-year-old had been recalled to start against the Scots and was impressive in the narrow defeat before being forced off injured. Ospreys outside-half Dan Edwards returned for the rest of the competition.
Costelow will be absent for the final four games of the Scarlets’ season in the United Rugby Championship (URC) which finishes in mid-May.
Former world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury says he’s “still got it” as he pledged to focus on the task at hand in his latest return to the ring.
Following a 15-month absence, 37-year-old Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) is up against 36-year-old Russian-born heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs) in a bout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
The pair spoke during a pre-fight news conference in London on Thursday, hours after the chief executive of Croke Park said the 80,000-capacity Dublin venue wanted to stage the long-awaited Battle of Britain super-fight between Fury and fellow former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
Fury and Joshua have almost fought on several occasions, only for contract disputes, fitness issues and losses elsewhere to derail previous attempts to get them into the same ring.
Their camps had reportedly been close to an agreement before Joshua decided to take time out from boxing following a car crash which led to the deaths of two close friends in December.
The 36-year-old Joshua is now back in training and was at Derek Chisora’s defeat by Deontay Wilder last Saturday.
Fury insisted on Thursday: “I don’t want to mention names when I’ve got a dangerous fighter in front of me. The rest can get a hiding but I need to give Makhmudov a hiding first.”
He added: “Like I said when Daniel Dubois was fighting Anthony Joshua [in 2024], everybody said and all the boxing brains said, ‘AJ will knock him out inside three rounds,’ and they were overlooking him. ‘Are you going to fight Tyson next?’
“And I said you better put some respect on Dubois’ name because he’s going to chin him and that’s what happened. So, I won’t fall down that same hurdle and trap.”
Nevertheless, he did hint at future plans for 2026 when he spoke on Ring’s YouTube channel later on Thursday.
“As far as I am concerned, I will focus on this big Russian fella, then Anthony Joshua and maybe a third fight [with Oleksandr Usyk],” Fury said.
‘Bored of the normal life’
Fury retired after his second successive loss to world champion Usyk at the end of 2024 and went a year without a fight before revealing his latest comeback on January 4.
“People always question retirement for me,” said Fury, who on Thursday reiterated the inspiration for this return was the death of Joshua’s friends because “you have got to live every day like it is your last”.
He added: “I’ve retired five times before and meant it wholeheartedly. I’ve come back four times successfully and we’ll see if it’s five.
“Make no mistake when I retire I have zero intention of returning but I miss the game. However, after a few months I am bored of the normal life. Dropping the kids off at school, taking the dogs for a walk, that kind of stuff. I miss everything that comes with big fights.”
John Fury, Tyson’s father and long a familiar figure in the corner as his son rose through the boxing ranks, said last month that a trio of gruelling fights against Deontay Wilder meant the ‘Gypsy King’ is “past his best”.
“Tyson has been gone since the Deontay Wilder fights, they finished him … Makhmudov is a problem for Tyson, said John Fury.
But Tyson said on Thursday: “I’ve never lost my speed of reactions. I’ve still got it. 100 percent.”
Makhmudov says wrestling a bear once was ‘enough’
The Russian-born fighter, meanwhile, played down suggestions that Fury, “a great boxer”, would be hampered by a recent lack of competitive ring time.
“It’s not a problem for him because of his experience,” said Makhmudov, who briefly grabbed Fury in a playful bear hug.
“Maybe it’s the opposite because he can recover from hard fights in the past.”
Makhmudov picks up Fury during a news conference in central London [Toby Shepheard/AFP]
Makhmudov has created some buzz ahead of the fight by posting a video that showed him wrestling a 2.9m (9 feet 8 inch), 419kg bear in woods outside of Moscow nearly two years ago – an encounter he says taught him to confront fear.
“It was very terrible. Not just scary, but really crazy terrible,” Makhmudov told the Press Association this week.
“Since I was a kid I have liked a challenge, that’s why I did that just to test myself to see how I would feel in that crazy situation.
“You only understand its strength when you’re close to it. In one second you can become like meat, just meat, just like that.
“It’s not comparable with human stuff. It’s like a natural disaster, I cannot explain it, it’s crazy.
“It is good preparation for boxing because you have to control your emotions and your fear. You have to beat your fear, beat your phobias. For that it was good, but one time is enough!”
John Carlson scored three goals for the first hat trick of his 17-year NHL career, and the Ducks ended their six-game losing streak with an emphatic 6-1 victory over the San José Sharks on Thursday night at Honda Center.
Leo Carlsson, Alex Killorn and Frank Vatrano also scored and Beckett Sennecke had two assists for the Ducks, who jumped to a 4-0 lead and dominated their Pacific Division rivals for their first win since March 26.
Carlson scored two power-play goals in the third period, connecting with 5:57 left to secure the first hat trick of his 1,156-game career. The veteran defenseman has been exactly what the Ducks needed when they acquired him at the trade deadline, scoring 12 points in 13 games while steadying the back end for one of the NHL’s worst defensive teams.
Lukas Dostal made 16 saves, but the Ducks fell 7:20 short of their first shutout in 160 games since last season’s opener on Oct. 12, 2024 — also against San José.
Shakir Mukhamadullin scored and Yaroslav Askarov stopped 27 shots for the Sharks, who had won five of seven to surge into playoff contention.
Carlsson put the Ducks ahead less than three minutes after the opening faceoff, driving the net and finishing for his 28th goal.
Carlson scored only his second goal in a Ducks uniform later in the first, blasting it home around Sennecke’s screen. San Jose didn’t get its first shot on goal until 13 minutes into the period.
Killorn tapped in a pass from Sennecke off a two-on-one rush for his 14th goal in the second.
Neither team was called for a penalty until San José’s Collin Graf was binned for hooking with 10:20 to play, and Carlson fired home his second goal on the ensuing power play.
Vatrano scored only his second goal since Dec. 7 in the waning minutes.
Up next for the Ducks: vs. Vancouver at Honda Center on Sunday.
The Kings came into the night already controlling its path to the postseason, and Nashville’s 4-1 loss at Utah on Thursday created breathing room.
Marcus Pettersson scored and Nikita Tolopilo made 22 saves for the Canucks, who have lost 10 of their last 11 games.
The Kings started strong for the second consecutive game, with Kempe opening the scoring after 1:29 by getting to the slot and burying Brandt Clarke’s centering pass. After Pettersson tied it late in the first, Armia needed just 1:31 to put the Kings back up.
Kempe netted his second goal with 28.2 seconds left in the middle period by redirecting Joel Edmundson’s slap shot for a 3-1 lead. Kempe has been the main offensive catalyst during the Kings’ five-game point streak, collecting seven goals and two assists in that span with three multigoal efforts.
The switch to Forsberg in net is also paying dividends, as he has won three straight starts while allowing four goals total.
The Kings had played four straight games decided in overtime or a shootout, setting an NHL single-season record for games going past regulation along the way, but Moore ensured there would be no chance of extra hockey with his goal midway through the third period.
Up next for the Kings: vs. Edmonton at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.
SAN FRANCISCO — Fans from New Zealand and Australia held signs toward the camera. They had traveled thousands of miles to watch Warriors star Stephen Curry play.
One sign crossed out “play” and replaced it with a frowning face.
They were instead treated to a steady performance from LeBron James, who led the Lakers to a 119-103 win over the Warriors on Thursday, with 26 points and 11 rebounds. The Lakers kept pace with the Houston Rockets in a tight race for the No. 4 seed in the West.
Battling a chronic knee injury in the latter stages of the season, Curry watched from the sideline. His absence in the Warriors’ last home game of the season also put a damper on what could have been another enthralling matchup between the league’s two biggest stars.
Between the artistry of Curry and the physicality of James, they’ve been faces of the NBA, Lakers coach JJ Redick said. But with the 41-year-old James not under contract after this season, the generational stars may never compete on an NBA court against each other again. Redick called the idea “dark.”
“It’s been fun to watch as a fan,” Redick said of the rivalry between Curry and James, “and it’s been fun to be a part of it the last couple years.”
Curry greeted James before the game. Now a sneaker free agent after his high-profile departure from longtime sponsor Under Armour, Curry honored his contemporary with a blue and yellow version of the LeBron X iD sneakers.
Trying to avoid their longest losing streak of the season, the Lakers (51-29) relied on James to steady the ship. After the Lakers gave up a 9-0 run to start the second quarter, he hit a contested three out of a timeout to get the team back on track. He fed the ball to Deandre Ayton, keeping the big man engaged for 21 points on nine-of-11 shooting with five rebounds.
Losing James before Tuesday’s game against the Thunder added to an emotional week for the Lakers. They lost Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves in the same game in a blowout loss in Oklahoma City last week and had to face the Thunder again without James. Jaxson Hayes was a late scratch Tuesday and remains day-to-day after missing Thursday’s game as well.
Lakers star LeBron James shoots during a win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.
(David M. Barreda / Los Angeles Times)
Redick admitted the Lakers were not prepared to compete against the Thunder at home Tuesday. He recognized trying to inject some energy into his team by calling early timeouts and subbing out veterans such as Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt perhaps didn’t help, especially after a heated exchange with Vanderbilt was caught on camera.
“What I told the team today — I think this is important — is we have had a very disjointed season because of all the injuries and throughout the year, we, collectively, staff, players, we’ve had to figure out the best path forward with whatever group is available,” Redick said. “And that’s no different right now. We have to figure out over these next three games and over next week, the best path for this team to play winning basketball.”
Through the emotional ups-and-downs, Redick checks in with Reaves and Doncic daily. Doncic, currently in Spain receiving treatment on his injured hamstring, is in “relatively — relatively good spirits,” Redick said. Doncic is “attacking” his rehab, Redick said, but being away from the team has taken a toll on his psyche. Reaves, who is out with a Grade 2 left oblique strain that is expected to take four to six weeks to heal, has benefited from staying with the team.
“I think for both of those guys, there is, like, a carrot,” Redick said. “If we can get this season extended, they can come back and they can play. Those guys love playing basketball.”
The Lakers lost the No. 3 seed, and are fighting to maintain home-court advantage over Houston, which won its eighth straight game Thursday. Both teams have two games remaining and the Lakers have the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Almost all the talk about Rory McIlroy in the build-up to this year’s Masters related to the pomp.
In comparison, discussion about whether his game is there to secure a rare back-to-back Masters win felt somewhat neglected.
When last year’s winner was finally able to focus on his golf on Thursday, McIlroy reminded everyone he is not in Augusta this week simply to serve up the Champions’ Dinner.
He is here to play. And he is here to win.
The 36-year-old from Northern Ireland shares the first-round lead with American Sam Burns after carding a five-under par 67, ensuring anybody who was sleeping on his chances has been stirred.
McIlroy was among only 16 players in the 91-man field to finish under par, with conditions expected to get even firmer and faster over the next three days.
England’s Justin Rose, who was agonisingly denied his first Green Jacket by McIlroy in a nerve-jangling play-off last year, is three shots behind the leaders and alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler on two under par.
“I think winning a Masters makes it easier to win your second one,” said McIlroy, who is aiming to join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only men to retain the Masters.
“It’s hard to say because there are still shots out there that you feel a little bit tight with, and you just have to stand up and commit to making a good swing and not worry about where it goes.
“But it’s easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know that I can go to the champions’ locker room and put on my Green Jacket.”
AUGUSTA, Ga. — After the career grand slam, a grand entrance.
Rory McIlroy, who last year became the sixth man to win all four major championships, got off to a spectacular start at the Masters on Thursday to claim a share of the lead with a five-under-par 67.
In one sense, the pressure is off. No more wondering about winning a green jacket. Yet he was relieved to feel those familiar butterflies on the first tee.
“Look, we’re playing the first major of the year, it’s the Masters,” he said, having overcome a slightly wobbly start to collect five birdies in his final 11 holes. “If I felt absolutely nothing on that first tee, that’s not a good sign.
“So it was nice to feel my hand shaking a little bit when the tee went into the ground, and struggle to put the ball on top of the tee. So I knew I was feeling it. That’s a good thing. That’s why we want to be here. We want to be able to play our best golf when we’re feeling like that.”
Among those two shots off the lead is 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, who said the warm and dry conditions figure to make a difficult course even more challenging.
“It definitely has the teeth in it to make it really, really tough,” Reed said. “The greens are already getting firm, crusty, and bouncy.”
He said the 17th green, typically one of the firmest on the course, is a good example of that.
“I actually broke one tee on the hole trying to fix a ball mark,” he said. “You already know it’s going to get crusty. You know it’s going to get fast, and it’s going to take a lot of patience.”
Some stars struggled. Two-time champion Bubba Watson shot four-over, as did the long-hitting Bryson DeChambeau, who tied for fifth last year.
Said Shane Lowry, who finished two under: “This might be the toughest Masters we’ve played in a while.”
Bryson DeChambeau reacts after his tee shot on the 12th hole Thursday at Augusta National.
(Eric Gay / Associated Press)
There’s something about this storied tournament that can make even the steeliest of players weak in the knees. Mason Howell, the 18-year-old amateur playing with McIlroy, was taking such vicious swings at the ball that his hat came off three times during his round, including on the opening tee.
“That hasn’t happened in a while,” said Howell, who last year became the third-youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur. “I mean, I was going to swing out of my shoes to see if I could cover that right bunker [on No. 1].”
Even the legendary Jack Nicklaus, who won the Masters a record six times, duck-hooked his ceremonial tee shot early Thursday morning, sending it over the head of patrons lining the left side of the downward slope in front of him.
“I got it high enough to hit it about 110 yards over their heads to the left,” said Nicklaus, 86, who won his last green jacket 40 years ago. “I don’t know what was running through my mind other than not hurt anybody.”
Fred Couples, 66, the oldest competitor in the field, went from a tie for eighth to a tie for 43rd … on one hole. He had a nine on the par-five 15th, landing in the water twice.
Couples, who had been two under to that point, finished quadruple bogey, double bogey, double bogey.
Collin Morikawa, who shot a 74 at two over, said he doesn’t feel quite right, physically, although it doesn’t feel like a back issue to him.
“Physically there’s no pain,” he said. “It’s just a trust thing. My legs don’t want to trust that it’s going to hold up the back and the rest of the body. When that’s feeling wobbly, plus you add the adrenaline and the nerves, it’s just not — it’s not easy…”
He called Thursday “the toughest round I’ve ever played,” and said he could not remember waking up quite as nervous as he was before the start of this tournament.
“I honestly didn’t know if I was going to make contact,” he said.
Rory McIlroy plays a shot from the 12th tee during the first round of the Masters on Thursday.
(Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
McIlroy, playing in his 18th Masters, said he leaned heavily on his experience to maintain an even keel. A year ago, he had two double-bogeys on Thursday, and two more on Sunday, yet never panicked.
So this time, when he found himself hitting out the trees on some early holes, he resisted the urge to get too “guide-y” on his shots and instead kept swinging away.
“Even though I wasn’t hitting fairways the first few holes, I still kept swinging,” he said. “I didn’t try to get the tee down and hit fairway finders. I just trusted that eventually I’ll start to make some good swings. So that was a little bit different.”
The biggest difference? What he achieved a year ago.
“It’s easier for me,” McIlroy said, “to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know that I can go to the Champions Locker Room and put my green jacket on and have a Coke Zero at the end of the day.”
Los Angeles officials are expressing growing fears that taxpayers and the city treasury could be hit with a round of crippling costs to support the 2028 Olympic Games if the city doesn’t ink a rigorous deal to assure a “zero–cost” Games.
Some city officials have long been concerned that taxpayers could be left with massive bills if the Olympics don’t generate the income organizers have promised. Delays in finalizing a deal between City Hall and the Olympics committee have heightened those tensions.
The exact costs to L.A. and other local governments remain unknown, as officials wait to hear from LA28 and federal security agencies about exactly what services they will need. Recent controversy over the ties between Casey Wasserman, the head of the L.A. Olympics, and Jeffrey Epstein have added to the uncertainty over the finances in the minds of some city leaders.
City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto and Councilmember Monica Rodriguez both issued letters demanding a contract pledging that LA28 cover any of the city’s future costs that arise as the city plays host to hundreds of thousands of athletes and fans.
The contract, more than six months overdue, is needed “to foreclose any scenario in which funds might go back to the wealthy backers and investors of the LA 28 organization without reimbursing taxpayer funded extraordinary costs,” the city attorney wrote to council members.
Rodriguez agreed in a separate letter this week that the city needs a contract that assures that the Olympics organization will pay any excess costs for policing, transportation, trash pickup and more, so that taxpayers are not burdened or “core city services” slashed.
That should take priority over the private nonprofit LA28 building a “Legacy Fund” to bankroll future youth sports programs, public sports facilities and the like, argued the city officials, who are both up for reelection this year.
“Bankruptcy cannot be the legacy of these Games,” Rodriguez wrote, without elaborating on what she meant, though L.A.’s top budget official recently projected a deficit, unconnected to the Olympics, of “several hundred million” dollars.
LA28 officials responded with a statement they issued previously, saying, in part, that “LA28 remains committed to delivering the safest, most secure, and fiscally responsible Games that will benefit Angelenos for decades to come,” adding, “We remain engaged in good faith negotiations and look forward to our continued partnership with the City of Los Angeles.”
LA28 Chief Executive Reynold Hoover said at a press event Wednesday that ticket sales were one vehicle for the host committee to assure that taxpayers didn’t get stuck with a big bill down the road.
The stakes remain high for both sides. The private LA28 group needs the city’s police, fire, sanitation, streets and transportation services to deliver a successful event. The city wants the sports extravaganza to succeed, not only to burnish its image on an international stage, but also to assure there is enough money to pay for all the extra tasks city workers will perform.
The LA28 leaders project the Games will cost more than $7.1 billion. They say that money will come from a variety of sources: nearly $1 billion from the International Olympic Committee, $437 million from international marketing rights, $2.5 billion from corporate sponsors in the U.S., $2.5 billion from ticket sales and hospitality packages, $344 million from licensing and merchandise and $405 million in other revenue.
LA28 reports being ahead of schedule on the revenue front. But city officials worry that unforeseen events — including an economic downturn or natural disaster — could blow up the income model, with one of many wild cards being the willingness of President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress to follow through with a funding pledge to the Democratic-controlled city.
L.A. officials have long expressed concern that Trump and Congress might belatedly yank away $1 billion already set aside to reimburse state and local governments for security, planning and other Olympics-related costs.
While the two elected officials and some others, including an attorney representing city employees, raised alarms, an individual with knowledge of the talks between the city and LA28 said that a tentative agreement would likely be before the City Council “within two or three weeks.”
The knowledgeable individual, who asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the discussion, said negotiators on both sides must bear in mind how a third party, the federal government under Trump, is integral to the financing model.
The source tracking the negotiations said that both sides needed to make sure the pact creates a path to “maximize federal resources, which were dedicated by Congress for the Games,” adding: “The contract needs to avoid saying that LA28 is going to pay, for example, for all of the LAPD’s extra costs in such a way that the federal government says, ‘Fine, then you don’t get any of the federal money.’ We can’t afford to leave a billion dollars on the table.“
City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, one of those bargaining for the city, struck a positive note.
“We are invested in a successful Olympics. The organizing committee knows that it needs the city and city services to have a successful Games,” said Szabo. “It’s in both the city’s and the organizing committee’s best interest to have a successful Games. We’re joined at the hip and we’ll succeed together, or not.”
The 2028 Games have been designated a National Special Security Event, placing it in the same category as major party political conventions and Super Bowls. The U.S. Secret Service sets the security plan for those events.
Officials in L.A. have said they are still waiting to learn from the Secret Service how broad the security “blast area” should be around each athletic venue. The federal agency will then dictate how many police and federal agents will flood those zones, which include the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Exposition Park and Crypto.com Arena.
Attorney Connie Rice, who represents L.A. city employees concerned about how the city will pay for the Games, said that her clients still had questions. Rice, whose past litigation helped force LAPD reforms, said that employees helping to plan for security said they had estimated that the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, alone, would need at least $1 billion to pay for extra security during the Games.
The current federal allocation would not get the city and county of Los Angeles $1 billion since many other jurisdictions, including Long Beach, Oklahoma City and the state of California also will be competing for U.S. funding. And the federal government has not yet released its “notice of funding opportunity” — laying out the parameters for claiming a part of the $1 billion.
Rice argued that the city gave up its best leverage when it signed an earlier agreement to host the Games. “Who is going to pay the bill, or who are they even going to send the invoices to, when the Games are over and LA28 is dissolved?” Rice asked. “LA28 has no obligation to raise money once the event is over.”
Los Angeles city officials expect to have requests by October from LA28 for the services the Games organization needs at each venue. The Games organizing group has agreed to pay any costs that exceed the city’s typical expenditures. But there is not a clear understanding of what constitutes a customary level of service. The massive event is expected to require an array of services, including trash pickup, bus service, street closures, park maintenance, drinking water stations and building inspections of temporary Olympic structures.
In her letter late last month to City Council members, the city attorney raised a slew of questions about the fiscal contract with LA28. Feldstein Soto contended the Games had a “heightened risk exposure … given the recent claims against LA 28 Chairman Casey Wasserman.”
Wasserman’s name appeared in the files about convicted sexual predator Epstein, with records showing the then-28-year-old sports marketer had gone on a two-week tour of Africa sponsored by Epstein and later exchanged risque emails with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Though some activists demanded Wasserman leave his post as LA28 chair and called for a Games boycott, there has been no apparent reduction in sponsorships or ticket sales because of the furor.
As city attorney, Feldstein Soto is advising the city officials negotiating the Olympic contract. Her letter says she will insist that “transparent audit rights and procedures” be put into place to assure the city treasury does not take a hit in supporting the Games.
The letter raises the possibility that natural disasters or other emergencies could cut into LA28’s bottom line. It also asks: “What happens if the federal government does not pay the assume $1 billion [or] … [w]hat happens if the city’s actual expenses exceed $1 billion?” Feldstein Soto’s answer: “In either situation, this office believes that all surplus funds must reimburse the city and its taxpayers first, as promised, before any surplus funds are available for a [LA28] legacy or tribute fund.”
Xander Schauffele made par on the eighth hole Thursday at Augusta National.
What was noteworthy about that accomplishment is he did it after his tee shot landed in a most unusual spot: A fan’s merchandise bag.
During the opening round of the 2026 Masters tournament, Schauffele’s shot on the par-5 hole sailed just left of the fairway and somehow came to rest inside a woman’s clear plastic shopping bag, which appeared to be sitting on the ground.
Spectators chuckled as Schauffele and an official made their way to the bag and located the ball within it. After Schauffele used a tee to mark the ball’s location on the ground, he retrieved the ball and returned the bag to its owner. He was able to continue play without penalty.
“It just flew straight into the bag,” Schauffele said after finishing his round with a 2-under 70. “It was a great break. That bounce would’ve put me in the pine straw and who knows if I would’ve had a shot to hit up the hill.”
“So thanks to the lady on 8,” added Schauffele, the two-time major championship winner whose best Masters finish was a tie for second in 2019.
No doubt, Schauffele got lucky — but not as lucky as Louis Oosthuizen in the final round of the 2016 Masters. Oosthuizen sent his tee shot on the 16th to the green, where the ball collided with that of J.B. Holmes, changed direction and rolled in for a hole-in-one.
Schauffele’s shot also brings to mind another, perhaps even more bizarre, play from the first round of the 2021 Masters. Playing from partially behind a tree on the seventh hole, Rory McIlroy missed the right side of the fairway with a high shot that ricocheted off the back of his father’s leg on the way down.
Luckily, Gerry McIlroy was unharmed. His son, however, bogeyed that hole on his way to a 4-over 76 for the round.
England might not play again until the summer but Thursday night would have brought a smile to Thomas Tuchel’s face.
The England manager watched his side labour for goals without captain and record goalscorer Harry Kane during last month’s friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.
It once again underlined Tuchel’s limited options when it comes to an alternative for 32-year-old Kane, with the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico a little more than two months away.
So he would have been very happy to find out Ollie Watkins had come up with two more goals for Aston Villa in their 3-1 win against Bologna in the Europa League quarter-final first leg in Italy.
The Villa forward was left out of the expanded 35-man England squad by Tuchel in March, having scored just one goal in his previous nine Premier League matches.
“Watkins is not with us but this is more down to the fact that I know what he can bring to the group – I know him very well,” Tuchel said during the squad announcement.
Despite the comments, the striker’s hopes of making it to the World Cup were left in doubt.
Watkins’ response to the setback has been nothing short of emphatic, with the 30-year-old adding to the goal he scored against West Ham in the Premier League just before the international break.
“It’s the back end of the season and I’m raring to go,” Watkins told TNT Sports after Villa moved one step closer to a place in a European semi-final.
“I could play another 90 minutes. I’m excited for the next few games. I’m hungry.”
After Ezri Konsa’s opener against the run of play in Bologna, Watkins eased Villa’s nerves with a second early in the second half as he pounced on a mistake from Torbjorn Heggem and finished through the legs of goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia.
After the Serie A side then scored a late goal through Jonathan Rowe in the 90th minute, Watkins restored Villa’s two-goal advantage in the 94th minute from a corner, before the return leg at Villa Park next Thursday (20:00 BST).
One player who will carry Brazil’s World Cup hopes on his shoulders is Vinicius Jr.
The forward has eight goals in 47 appearances for Brazil and has been influential for Real Madrid again this campaign with 11 goals in La Liga and five more in the Champions League.
“Vinicius is a football star because of his talent,” Ancelotti said.
“He’s one of the most talented players in the world, so he carries this weight because everyone expects him to win the game alone and the expectations on him are higher than any other player – maybe only Kylian Mbappe right now.”
The 25-year-old has also had to deal with discrimination since moving to Spain, where he has faced 20 incidents of alleged abuse in eight years.
The latest incident came in Real Madrid’s Champions League knockout phase play-off tie at Benfica in February, following which the Brazilian winger said “racists are cowards”.
“Having a manager like my father is really good – in being close to the stars,” the Brazil assistant said.
“We just focused on what he [Vinicius] could improve and he has room for improvement. Even if he’s one of the best, maybe personal opinion, the best player in the world, but everyone has room for improvement.
“So we focus on that because we have a manager who is a specialist in making stars not feel alone and he always did that with stars like Didier Drogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski.”
The Italian, however, has continued to work with his father, who was named Brazil boss in May 2025 after four years at Real Madrid, where he won three Champions League titles and two La Liga titles over two spells.
Five-time World Cup winners Brazil have not lifted the trophy since their last triumph in 2002 but Ancelotti believes the Selecao “will be ready for the World Cup”.
“It will be difficult because it will be after a really long season,” said Ancelotti.
“There are players that will reach the World Cup with more than 60 games and this is not good. It will be not good for the show or the people that are watching.
“So we will take care of the players physically. It will be important because the weather will be so hot. It will be a competition that will be decided by small details.
“But I can say that we have a really competitive team that can play football that could be efficient in a competition like that. So we are positive.”
Brazil will face Morocco in their World Cup opener on 13 June in New Jersey before taking on Scotland and Haiti in Group C.
