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The second ballot we sent out for the L.A. Times Sports Report Hall of Fame was the NBA ballot, with 24 names appearing. People were able to vote for up to 10 candidates.
Reminder: Whoever is named on at least 75% of the ballots will be elected. The five people receiving the fewest votes will be dropped from future ballots for at least the next two years. A person must be retired to appear on the ballot.
There were 12,725 ballots cast in the NBA voting, and six candidates received at least 75% of the vote, and a worthy six they are.
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Inductees
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, appeared on 99.3% of ballots
Magic Johnson, 96.2%
Jerry West, 94.7%
Kobe Bryant, 90.1%
Elgin Baylor, 76.2%
Chick Hearn, 75.8%
Didn’t make it, but will remain on ballot
Shaquille O’Neal, 72.8% Wilt Chamberlain, 59.9% Pat Riley, 58.4% Jerry Buss, 53.3% James Worthy, 49.5% Phil Jackson, 41.6% Gail Goodrich, 24.4% Jamaal Wilkes, 12% Michael Cooper, 10% Pau Gasol, 8.1% Jack Kent Cooke, 7% Blake Griffin, 5.2% Ralph Lawler, 4.4%
Bottom five, dropped from ballot for two years
Chris Paul, 4.1% Derek Fisher, 3.8% Byron Scott, 3% Elton Brand, 2.5% Stu Lantz, 1.9%
Thanks to everyone who voted! There is still time to vote in our other active categories. The next ballot will be released Thursday morning.
To vote in the Rams/Chargers/Raiders ballot, click here.
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.
Donald Trump’s appearance courtside at Madison Square Garden was supposed to be a historic moment, as, for the first time, a sitting president of the United States was attending an NBA Finals game.
Instead, his arrival became part of the story, drawing boos from sections of the crowd and triggering a massive security operation that reshaped the atmosphere around the storied New York arena on Monday night.
Trump watched from an executive suite as the New York Knicks hosted the San Antonio Spurs in a series that gripped the city and revived memories of the Knicks’ glory years.
When his image flashed up on the big screen during the national anthem, many fans jeered, underlining how sharply divided the country remains even in a space usually reserved for shared celebration.
Outside, Manhattan’s streets were locked down. Metal fencing, airport-style screening and a heavy Secret Service and police presence kept ticketless fans blocks away.
Long queues formed as supporters queued early, while others gathered at public viewing areas across the city.
Inside, however, the spectacle went on. Hollywood actors, musicians, former players and New York fixtures filled the front rows, turning the event into a star-studded night out.
Between the celebrity sightings, the political undertones and a tense 115-111 Spurs win, this was a New York basketball night unlike any other – on and off the court.
George Russell’s admission after qualifying that he has been struggling to maximise the Mercedes car all season felt like a seminal moment in the championship fight.
Until then, Russell had looked for external reasons to explain his difficult start to the season.
There have, indeed, been many.
He suffered a gearbox problem and then a front-wing issue in qualifying in China, which may well have denied him pole.
The safety-car timing in Japan handed the victory to Antonelli, and vaulted him ahead of Russell.
It’s a bit of a stretch, however, to claim Russell would have won in Japan without that, because McLaren’s Oscar Piastri led the first stint, and stopped in the same window as Russell before the safety car, and Russell didn’t pass the Australian all race.
And in Canada, Russell was leading when his MGU-K failed to cause his retirement.
At the same time, the reason Russell’s admission felt important is the impression for some time is that he has been struggling to keep up.
In China, Antonelli had the same front-wing issue as Russell on his final run – albeit his session was not disrupted in other ways, as Russell’s was – and still claimed pole.
And after both dropped behind the Ferraris at the start, Antonelli’s race-craft was much more decisive in passing them.
In Japan, Antonelli was on pole, and dropped back only because of a poor start. And such was his pace on medium tyres in the first stint of the race that Mercedes felt he was on target to run longer and claim the lead anyway, even without the safety car.
In Miami, there was no argument, Antonelli was simply faster. And although Russell took pole for the sprint and grand prix in Canada, won the sprint and was leading the grand prix when he broke down, Antonelli was all over him in both races and looked faster. The destiny of the win in Montreal was far from certain when Russell retired.
In a way, Russell’s decision to finally admit he is struggling might be a good thing.
Last year, Lando Norris was in a similar position at McLaren. Having beaten Piastri convincingly in 2024, and so entered 2025 as favourite, Norris struggled with the characteristics of the car in the early part of the season.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
With assiduous work from Norris himself, and also from the team – both technically in terms of making changes to the car, but also psychologically in helping Norris get on top of his situation mentally – he bounced back and won the title.
Russell is in a difficult place, 68 points behind Antonelli, but it is far from unrecoverable.
As he put it on Sunday: “I want to get racing now. The season has been disjointed. I still very much believe in myself and know what I can do. I think we’re not even 30% of the way through, but there’s a lot of points down the drain.
“When I look at things objectively, if things were balanced out a little bit more, I still think it would have been very, very close. He’s doing an amazing job, but I think I’d have at least two more victories to my name.
“I still very much believe in myself. I still believe we’re going to be fighting for race wins for the end of this year.”
NEW YORK — Donald Trump is set to be the first sitting U.S. president to attend an NBA Finals game, bringing strict security measures that will require New York Knicks fans to navigate an extensive safety perimeter around Madison Square Garden and an expected lengthy wait to get inside the building.
The security for Game 3 between the Knicks and San Antonio Spurs and the scene around the arena more closely resembled New Year’s Eve in Times Square, and for fans, it might seem more akin to a trip to the airport. They were asked to get to the game two hours early and will be required to provide a ticket to get past various checkpoints along with passing through a TSA-style magnetometer.
Trump’s appearance led the New York Police Department and Secret Service to establish a multi-block security perimeter around the arena, cancel a watch party outside and institute a no-bag policy for ticket-holders. Fans had gathered around the Garden to watch games during this playoff run, during which the Knicks have won 13 games in a row to reach the final for the first time since 1999 and move two victories from their first NBA title since 1973.
“The NYPD in coordination with the Secret Service made the decision for Game 3, where we have a presidential visit, that we could not support watch parties right outside of the Garden,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Monday. “We are looking forward to bringing back watch parties for Game 4. But I think New Yorkers are used to presidents coming to town, and they understand that that generally means lockdowns of areas and that’s what you’re going to see tonight at the Garden.”
Trump has attended several major sporting events in his time as president, and the security measures have created major hassles for fans.
Thousands of fans missed the start of last year’s U.S. Open men’s singles final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner because of lengthy security lines. Even though the U.S. Tennis Association pushed back the start of the match by a half-hour, many fans still couldn’t get in because added measures meant that they had to go through screening not only when they arrived at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center but again in front of the steps into Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Trump watched from a suite.
Asked his thoughts on Trump attending, Knicks center Mitchell Robinson said: “Cool, I guess. We can still get out there and play (no matter) who’s here and who’s not.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other dignitaries are also expected to be at the game Monday night.
It was already hard enough for Knicks fans to get inside Madison Square Garden because of astronomical ticket prices. The get-in price for a ticket is higher than the average cost of monthly rent in New York, surging over $6,000. The best seats are tens of thousands of dollars. Mamdani said he bought his ticket for about $1,000 directly from Madison Square Garden.
The difficulty of seeing the game in-person has prompted fans to crowd bars, streets and watch parties all over the city. The watch party near the Garden has become a major event all through the playoffs, but with Trump attending, that event will be moved a few blocks away outside the security perimeter, at Bryant Park.
“We improvise,” said Knicks guard Jose Alvarado, who is a New York native. “We’re New Yorkers. We’re going to find a way to watch a game, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Whyno writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.
With its World Cup opener just four days away, the U.S. team moved into its temporary home in Irvine on Monday, where the players found thousands of new Southern California neighbors waiting in line to watch them kick a ball.
After the U.S. announced that Orange County Great Park would be its base for at least the group stage of the tournament, the City of Irvine held a raffle for passes to see the team train in its only public workout.
Thirty-two thousand people applied and 5,500 received access on a warm Monday morning to watch the team rush through a light 45-minute practice that was notable primarily because it was the first in which injured center back Chris Richards was fully involved. Richards tore two ligaments in his left ankle playing for Crystal Palace, his English club team, on May 17 and hadn’t played or fully trained since. The team is rushing to get him ready in the hopes he can play at some point in the three-game group stage.
But the practice was also notable because it was the first at Championship Soccer Stadium, about 50 miles southeast of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, where the U.S. will open its World Cup on Friday against Paraguay.
“[The] environment and facilities are crazy. It’s more than we expect,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said of the venue. “We are so grateful.”
Championship Soccer Stadium is owned and managed by the city, which has leased it to the Orange County Soccer Club of the second-tier USL Championship. But the club was temporarily evicted in late April to make space for the national team — which is just fine with them.
U.S. men’s soccer player Chris Richards autographs the shirt of a young fan during a team practice Monday.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
“How can you not be excited about the host nation training in your facility?” said Dan Rutstein, president of business operations of the Orange County club.
“We’re proud to be associated with the U.S. national team. We wouldn’t want to ever block anything, even if we could.”
(And they couldn’t, the city said.)
The Great Park is a sprawling 500-acre complex built on the site of the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, which closed in 1999 after 56 years training pilots for conflicts from World War II through the first Gulf War. In 2001, voters approved a proposal to convert the space into a public park and nature preserve, one which now includes, among other things, five sand volleyball courts, four basketball courts, 25 tennis courts, 12 softball and baseball fields, the ice arena where the Ducks practice and 25 soccer fields, including the pristine one FIFA just installed inside the 5,500-seat stadium.
“The idea was that this would be a quality facility, a great park that we hope will rival San Diego’s Balboa Park and other great parks across the country,” Irvine mayor Larry Agran said. “It took a lot of nurturing, a lot of time, a lot of work.”
Bringing the World Cup — or at least a World Cup team — to Irvine also took a lot of time and work. Agran said the city put out feelers about hosting a training base five years ago and made the first cut in 2024 when the Great Park was placed on a list of options distributed to tournament qualifiers.
Over the next two years, Rutstein said, about a dozen national teams sent representatives to have a look while Sam Zapatka, the operations manager of the USMNT, said he scouted 27 facilities from Seattle to San Diego. After his first visit to the Great Park, however, he said he stopped looking and in March, the team announced it would train in Irvine.
On Monday, when the players filed out of the stadium’s locker room, which FIFA expanded and upgraded, they were greeted by rhythmic clapping and chants of “USA! USA!”
1
2
3
4
1.U.S. men’s soccer player Weston McKennie takes part in a training session at Orange County Great Park.(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)2.(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)3.U.S. men’s national soccer team coach Mauricio Pochettino waves to fans attending practice on Monday.4.Pochettino speaks to players after drills at Orange County Great Park on Monday.(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
“I think we’ve all been, I wouldn’t say overwhelmed, but possibly surprised by the excitement and the buzz,” said captain Tim Ream, who led the team onto the field. “Pulling up here with 5,500 fans ready to watch a training session is incredible.
“We get to train in an actual stadium with a good pitch. The support, really, from all the kids out there is amazing. You want to feel like you have a good home base, right? So really, we’re looking forward to being here.”
Especially after 5,000 of your neighbors show up for the housewarming party.
Angels first baseman Trey Mancini, a cancer survivor and former Baltimore slugger, had three hits in his first major league game since 2023 on Monday night in a 5-4 loss to the Houston Astros in 10 innings.
Mancini delivered a run-scoring single in the second inning in his first at-bat. He singled again leading off the fourth before adding a third single in the eighth.
The Angels selected the contract of Mancini and put him in the lineup at first base against the Astros after putting infielders Vaughn Grissom (left oblique strain) and Adam Frazier (right elbow inflammation) on the 10-day injured list.
Mancini, 34, agreed to a minor league contract with the Angels in February, a deal that included an invitation to major league spring training. Mancini hit .273 with six homers, 29 RBIs and three steals for triple-A Salt Lake this year.
Mancini has batted .263 with 129 homers and 400 RBIs over parts of seven seasons in the majors. He played parts of six seasons with the Orioles and hit a career-high 29 homers in 2019.
Mancini then missed the 2020 season after surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his colon. He made a successful return to the Orioles in 2021, and he won a World Series ring in 2022 after Baltimore traded him to Houston.
He spent part of the 2023 season with the Chicago Cubs. He has since played in the minor league systems of the Reds, Marlins and Diamondbacks.
Mancini opted out of a minor league deal with Arizona last July after batting .308 with 16 homers for triple-A Reno.
Grissom’s move to the IL was retroactive to Friday. Frazier’s move was retroactive to Saturday.
The Angels also recalled infielder Denzer Guzman from Salt Lake and transferred infielder Yoán Moncada to the 60-day injured list.
Award-winning Somali referee, Omar Abdulkadir Artan, has been removed from the World Cup roster after being denied entry to the United States despite holding a valid visa.
As soccer fans await the FIFA World Cup kickoff Thursday — and as criticism of the organization’s ticketing practices and social impact on local communities circulates across North America, where the games will be held — longtime aficionados want to remind the sports community of the real beauty beneath the game.
Last Friday at Espacio 1839 in Boyle Heights, visitors were greeted by the thumping bass of cumbia sonideras, earthy scent of leather trinkets and clothing racks featuring silky screen-printed soccer jerseys. The Latino-centric gift shop reached maximum capacity with a new pop-up art exhibit titled “El Fútbol Es del Pueblo,” featuring over 30 artworks that provide commentary on the global sport.
“It’s reclaiming the sport again, reminding folks that the essence of the game belongs to the people,” said Nico Aviña, owner of Espacio 1839. “With everything that’s going on with the World Cup, everybody’s giving FIFA credit, but I think that we need to reclaim that power. This is a people’s sport and it belongs to us.”
Nico Avina gets ready to start a soccer match at Mariachi Plaza at “El Futbol es del Pueblo,” a community soccer event hosted by Espacio 1839.
(Jill Connelly/For De Los)
Every four years, soccer fans around the globe go berserk over the World Cup, but in host cities like Los Angeles, the worldwide spectacle feels bittersweet and financially out of reach. Fans have paid thousands of dollars for non-premium seating at SoFi Stadium; this does not include parking, which is estimated to be about $250 near the venue.
“ I’m not interested in going into those games or paying these ridiculous amounts,” said Aviña. “It’s more about greed. It’s more about wealth extraction than anything else.”
That sentiment resonated with 42-year-old Antonio Rivera, a Bay Area local who recalled the excitement he felt as a child in Jalisco watching the 1986 World Cup, which Mexico hosted. He remembers his little toy bank shaped like Pique, the anthropomorphic jalapeño pepper that was Mexico’s tournament mascot.
“You hear stories of people going to the World Cup with their whole family. Now you can’t even get a ticket,” he said. “ It’s an important opportunity for people to talk about some of the discomforts that they may have with an organization like FIFA.”
Rivera was at Espacio 1839 on Friday accompanying his son, Marc Rivera, one of the youngest exhibitors, alongside his classmate Miguel Yanez. The tweens came down from Napa, Calif., to showcase their acrylic comic-strip painting featuring Mexican soccer player Alexis Vega, who channels his Mesoamerican ancestors when scoring the victory goal.
Marc Rivera explains the meaning behind his painting on display at “El Futbol es del Pueblo.”
(Jill Connelly/For De Los)
“It’s important to expose our next generation and give them an opportunity to express themselves a little bit,” Antonio Rivera said.
Tijuana artist Vianney Harelly’s piece was hard to miss on the wall. It featured a bloody cross with the Spanish words for “soccer comes with blood and tears.” It also included headlines from articles regarding the Naupan artisans who were allegedly underpaid by Adidas and social-impact brand Someone Somewhere, during its work on the latest embroidered Mexican soccer kit.
“I wanted it to be a piece showing kind of the dark side of the World Cup, because there’s so many things that are buried underneath the whole spectacle,” Harelly said.
The 30-year-old said they are not interested in tuning into the World Cup activities because of the close relationship between FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President Trump. Human rights organizations have called on the FIFA leader to request that the Trump administration declare a moratorium on ICE raids during the soccer tournament; SoFi stadium workers threatened to strike if agents aren’t kept out of the venue.
Artwork on display at “El Futbol es del Pueblo.”
(Jill Connelly/For De Los)
“I know people want to be seen and celebrated and they wanna feel love,” Harelly said. “But I don’t want them to settle and think that the only option for them to feel love and be seen is through corporations that hate us.”
Gerardo Gómez looked mesmerized as he glanced at the wall. Some of his favorite pieces included a scarf that read “Siempre Antifascista” and a banner that featured a masked Indigenous soccer player with the words “Futbol Libertad.”
“I think a lot of us here love the sport, but we are against FIFA,” Gómez said. “What you’re seeing here is a representation of the people’s struggle that comes with the sport.”
The 46-year-old said the soccer organization, as well as the Olympic Games, have a history of displacing marginalized communities; for example, ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, at least 19,000 families were displaced to make way for sporting infrastructure.
That’s why he’d rather put his focus on the Homeless World Cup, an annual international street football tournament that advocates an end to homelessness globally. Players are individuals who have experienced some form of homelessness or social exclusion in their life.
“People that came together [for the Homeless World Cup] recognized that soccer brings people together,” said Gómez. “And it’s the most beautiful thing I have experienced.”
A soccer match at Mariachi Plaza on June 5, 2026.
(Jill Connelly/For De Los)
As the sun went down, the crowd shifted over a block to Mariachi Plaza where a 3-vs.-3 cascarita, or scrimmage, began on the pavement. Onlookers gathered around the makeshift field, which had no clear outer bounds, as the pulsating drumming and anti-ICE chants led by Lxs Tigres del NorthEnd (an independent LAFC supporter group) filled the air.
“It’s very bittersweet,” said 30-year-old Claudia Llontop. “With families being deported.”
Llontop, who grew up watching the World Cup, arrived at the pick-up match with her two children — and even documented her journey getting there on TikTok to her more than 50,000 followers. She had been trying to find ways to kick a ball around when she heard about “El Fútbol Es del Pueblo,” which allowed her to put on a red mesh jersey and run like the wind.
“This is for single moms, this is for kids, this is for high schoolers,” said Llontop. “ I think this alone is a lot more powerful than FIFA, because this is us.”
NEW YORK — Donald Trump was booed loudly by fans inside Madison Square Garden when he was shown on video screens during the national anthem prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night.
Trump was shown for several seconds giving a military salute. The boos ended when the U.S. flag followed him on the screens, and fans cheered when New York Knicks players were shown. Mentions of the San Antonio Spurs also elicited loud boos.
Trump is watching from Knicks owner James Dolan’s suite, along with granddaughter Kai, personal adviser Boris Epshteyn and Cabinet secretaries Lee Zeldin, Sean Duffy and Doug Burgum. He is the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.
Trump’s Marine One helicopter flew from his home in New Jersey and landed near Wall Street before his motorcade made its way up through Manhattan and to the arena roughly an hour before tipoff. He encountered a handful of people making rude gestures, and outside the area, one group held signs saying “Trump must go.”
He settled into Dolan’s suite shortly afterward.
During the afternoon before Trump’s arrival, the New York Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service set up a large perimeter surrounding Madison Square Garden. Fans lined up to get inside the arena more than four hours before tip-off, in a scene more closely resembling New Year’s Eve in Times Square than the usual leadup to a basketball game.
They were required to provide a ticket or pass to get past various checkpoints, along with going through a Transportation Security Administration-style magnetometer. Secret Service personnel and police were positioned at every corner and in large numbers. Daily commuters, tourists and fans were all confounded at various times as they tried to maneuver the security.
New Yorkers forced to adjust
After traveling from his new home in Florida for the game, Knicks fan Greg Weldon said the main inconvenience he’s faced so far has been the lack of information.
“We’ve asked so many cops, Secret Service, guys with machine guns, what to do, where should we go,” he said. “Nobody knows.”
Knicks coach Mike Brown and Spurs counterpart Mitch Johnson downplayed any concept of being inconvenienced by the closures and enhanced security because of Trump.
“There’s a lot going on, and I’d much rather be a part of it than not,” Johnson said.
With security stepped up, a watch party outside was canceled, and ticket holders were not allowed to bring bags inside the Garden. Fans had gathered near the arena to watch games during this playoff run, during which the Knicks have won 13 games in a row to reach the Final for the first time since 1999 and move two victories from their first NBA title since 1973.
“We are looking forward to bringing back watch parties for Game 4,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Monday. “But I think New Yorkers are used to presidents coming to town, and they understand that that generally means lockdowns of areas and that’s what you’re going to see tonight at the Garden.”
Incidents heighten attention to Trump’s security
This is the latest major sporting event Trump has attended during his time as president, and the security measures have created major hassles for fans.
Thousands of fans missed the start of last year’s U.S. Open men’s singles final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner because of lengthy security lines. Even though the U.S. Tennis Assn. pushed back the start of the match by a half hour, many fans still couldn’t get in because added measures meant that they had to go through screening not only when they arrived at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, but again in front of the steps into Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Trump watched from a suite.
Federal law enforcement officials have been reexamining Trump’s security in light of three incidents in the past two years: a shooting at a 2024 rally in Butler, Penn.; the discovery of a man armed with a rifle as Trump played golf in West Palm Beach, Fla., later that year; and the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner.
Asked Sunday his thoughts on Trump attending, Knicks center Mitchell Robinson said: “Cool, I guess. We can still get out there and play [no matter] who’s here and who’s not.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other dignitaries were also at the game.
It was already hard enough for Knicks fans to get inside Madison Square Garden because of astronomical ticket prices. The get-in price for a ticket is higher than the average cost of monthly rent in New York, surging over $5,000. The best seats are tens of thousands of dollars. Mamdani said he bought his ticket, which he said was standing room only, for about $1,000 directly from Madison Square Garden.
The difficulty of seeing the game in person has prompted fans to crowd bars, streets and watch parties all over the city. The watch party near the Garden has become a major event all through the playoffs, but with Trump attending, that event was moved a few blocks away outside the security perimeter, at Bryant Park.
“We improvise,” said Knicks guard Jose Alvarado, who is a New York native. “We’re New Yorkers. We’re going to find a way to watch a game, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Watch the best of the action as Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise scores a hat-trick in France’s 3-1 victory over Northern Ireland in their final World Cup warm-up match in Lille.
The 35-year-old played 160 times for Newcastle after joining from Atletico Madrid in January 2022, and made 54 appearances for England between 2017 and 2024.
“We know what we’ve lacked this year, and we know what we need next year – experience, leadership, resilient characters and strong characters,” said head coach Rob Edwards, external.
“That’s what we’re going to need in abundance, and Tripps ticks every box.”
Jimenez, 35, was listed by Fulham on Monday among a group of players set to leave the Premier League club when his contract expires at the end of the month.
It is understood negotiations have begun over a return to Molineux, where he scored 57 goals in 166 games between 2018 and 2023.
His 40 Premier League goals make him Wolves’ top scorer in the English top flight.
Jimenez is on international duty with World Cup hosts Mexico, who begin the tournament against South Africa on Thursday.
Wolves are looking to rebuild after finishing bottom of the Premier League last season and being relegated to the Championship.
Aaron Donald has made no public pronouncements that he will remain retired or return to play for the Rams.
But the three-time NFL defensive player of the year and future hall of famer remains a hot topic, and Rams players are aware of the buzz.
“When you have a guy that’s that serious about even considering coming out, it’s like ‘OK, we might have a chance,’” safety Quentin Lake said Monday after the Rams completed an organized-team activity workout.
The possibility of pairing Donald with Garrett — a two-time defensive player of the year — continues to intrigue both in and out of the Rams’ facility.
Like Lake, defensive lineman Kobie Turner insistently cautioned that whatever Donald decides to do or not do was his former teammate’s prerogative.
But the possibilities…
“To just have two historic, if you will, defensive players on that line together,” Turner said of pairing Donald and Garrett, “and to have the rest of us who are trying to build up our reputations, and to build to that level of greatness that they’ve been able to garner, I think that would be cool for L.A.”
Said defensive coordinator Chris Shula: “Would love to have him back — with open arms.”
Shula enters his third season overseeing a defense remade by the March trade for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, the signing of cornerback Jaylen Watson and the trade for Garrett.
With or without Donald, the Rams are regarded as a favorite to win Super Bowl LXI, which will be played in February at SoFi Stadium.
But the Rams are not hoisting the Lombardi Trophy just yet, Lake said.
“Some people say if he were to come back, just hand the Lombardi to us on a silver platter — but that’s never the case,” Lake said. “Is he a fantastic player? Yes.
“Are there so many things we could do in terms of pressures and blitzes and all that stuff? Of course. … It would be a fun year, I’ll say that.”
With quarterback Matthew Stafford — the NFL most valuable player — back to lead the offense, and McDuffie and Watson solving the team’s greatest weakness, the Rams already were regarded among the favorites to play in the Super Bowl for the first time since winning Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in 2022.
Then general manager Les Snead engineered the deal for Garrett, sending edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round draft pick and future second- and third-round picks to the Cleveland Browns for a player who has 125½ sacks in nine seasons.
Lake, Turner and Shula lamented losing Verse — “a brother for life,” Turner said — but they have welcomed Garrett.
“You give a great player to get a great player,” Lake said, “and luckily, we’ve got arguably the best defensive player in the NFL. … We’re not asking Myles to do anything but just be himself.”
Last season, Garrett amassed an NFL season record 23 sacks.
Rams defensive end Myles Garrett sits between Rams general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay, right, during a news conference on June 2.
(Ric Tapia / For The Times)
“We’re going to let him do what he does best,” Shula said, “and we all know exactly what he does best.”
McDuffie and Watson were part of Kansas City Chiefs teams that played in three consecutive Super Bowls, winning titles in 2023 and 2024. Those teams featured dominating pass rusher Chris Jones, so McDuffie knows how a player such as Garrett enables the defense to “flip the script” and attack offenses.
“You just talk about mentality,” McDuffie said, “and a swag.”
Donald, who has 111 sacks, would certainly add to that.
Not every player in their mid-30s could return and play at a high level after sitting out two seasons.
“I don’t think you do that if you’re a normal person,” Turner said, chuckling. “But A.D.’s not a normal person.”
Peter Laviolette will be the next head coach of the Kings, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told the Associated Press on Monday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Kings hadn’t yet announced the results of their lengthy search for a permanent replacement for interim coach D.J. Smith, who replaced Jim Hiller in March.
The 61-year-old Laviolette is expected to get a three-year contract to take over his seventh NHL team. The Kings have made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons, but they’ve also endured five straight first-round exits under three head coaches and two general managers.
Laviolette is returning to the NHL after being fired by the New York Rangers in April 2025. He has also led the New York Islanders, Carolina, Philadelphia, Nashville and Washington during a 23-year head coaching career highlighted by a Stanley Cup championship with the Hurricanes in 2006.
Laviolette’s teams have reached the postseason in 11 of the past 14 seasons he finished behind a bench, and he also led the Flyers (2010) and the Predators (2017) to the Stanley Cup Final. His 1,594 career games coached are the ninth most in NHL history.
In his first West Coast NHL job, Laviolette is taking over a good team that is stuck in a profound rut, unable to become a Stanley Cup contender.
General manager Ken Holland fired Hiller shortly after the Olympic break in the coach’s second full season in charge, and the Kings went 11-6-6 after Smith stepped up from his assistant’s role. Smith, who was a candidate for the permanent job, got the Kings into the final Western Conference playoff spot — but Los Angeles was swept out of the first round by the Colorado Avalanche.
The Kings’ four previous first-round exits were all at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, leading to the departure of general manager Rob Blake a year ago.
The Kings still haven’t won a playoff round since raising the Stanley Cup in 2014, but the roster has a solid core of talent despite the retirement of longtime captain Anze Kopitar.
Holland acquired high-scoring forward Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers last winter, and high-scoring forwards Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield and Kevin Fiala are all returning.
The intense Laviolette became known for creating aggressive offensive attacks and making quick franchise turnarounds in his previous stops. He could be part of an organizational shift for the Kings, who have spent two decades as a philosophically defense-first team — to the regular detriment of their offense.
The Kings finished 29th in the NHL in scoring last season with just 220 goals, easily the fewest among playoff teams. They are in the bottom half of the NHL in scoring over the past five seasons despite making the playoffs every year.
Holland publicly wondered whether the Kings are too defensive-minded after they scored just five goals in their four-game sweep at the hands of the Avalanche, but he didn’t commit to a change in team philosophy.
Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has been granted a temporary injunction that allows him to practice and play with the Red Raiders in 2026 despite having been permanently banned by the NCAA for wagering on college sports.
Texas judge Ken Curry ruled Monday that the NCAA cannot block Sorsby’s final year of eligibililty. The Cincinnati transfer will have to miss the first two games of the season as one of the conditions of the ruling.
In his ruling, Curry stated that Sorsby would “suffer a probable, imminent and irreparable injury” without the injunction by missing out on the “elite coaching, training resources, camaraderie, and regimen that only being a member of a Division I college football team can provide.”
“I’m very grateful for the endless support I have received throughout this entire process. I am also grateful for the chance to rejoin my teammates,” Sorsby wrote in a statement posted Monday on Instagram. “This opportunity comes with the responsibility to remain focused on my personal growth, the ability to learn from this experience, and to be able to use my situation to help others going forward.”
The NCAA can appeal the injunction but did not immediately indicate its next steps in the matter. It is unclear how long such a process would take. Texas Tech’s season starts Sept. 5, with Sorsby first eligible to play when the Red Raiders host Houston on Sept. 18.
“The NCAA strongly disagrees with the court’s ruling in Sorsby’s case and is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome — which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports,” the association said in a statement.
“The NCAA is committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one’s own sport.”
Last month, Sorsby’s attorneys filed a lawsuit in Lubbock County District Court requesting that he be declared eligible for all team activities because the NCAA “failed to comply with its contractual commitments” to him as a student athlete and therefore “is precluded from enforcing its gambling bylaws against Mr. Sorsby to deny or withhold his reinstatement.”
Sorsby spent two years at Indiana and two at Cincinnati before transferring to Texas Tech this offseason for a reported multimillion-dollar deal. In late April, he and Texas Tech jointly announced that he had entered a residential treatment program for gambling addiction and would be away from the team for an indefinite period of time.
According to court records, Sorsby has admitted to betting at least $90,000 during his time as an NCAA student athlete, including 40 bets on Indiana football games he was not participating in as a freshman backup with the Hoosiers in 2022.
NCAA guidelines state that student athletes who bet on their own games or on other sports at their school could “potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility.” Texas Tech was informed of an NCAA investigation into Sorsby’s gambling activity in March, according to court records, and declared him ineligible according to the association’s bylaws.
The NCAA has since denied two petitions from Texas Tech to have Sorsby’s eligibility reinstated.
“As we have said before, we do not believe that the circumstances of Brendan’s case warranted permanent ineligibility,” Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said Monday in a statement. “As he returns to our football program, we remain committed to supporting Brendan’s recovery and ensuring his compliance with the court’s order. A comprehensive support structure, including clinical care, monitoring, and compliance checks, will remain fully in place for the duration of Brendan’s time as a student at Texas Tech.”
Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks, a member of the NCAA Football Oversight Committee, told Yahoo Sports that there should “be serious conversations about not playing Texas Tech in any sports” as a result of Monday’s decision.
“This is not about Texas Tech. It’s about protecting our own locker room,” Brooks said. “We cannot in good conscience put our student-athletes on a field where the competitive integrity of the contest is compromised and overridden by the courts.
“All [Football Bowl Subdivision] schools should only take the field against programs operating under a uniform, trustworthy standard of fairness. We’ve officially reached the point of no return.”
The shuttle of the Iran World Cup team between Mexico and the United States took root Sunday in Tijuana with an accessory.
The players arrived in Tijuana wearing gold-colored lapel pins on their jackets acknowledging victims of a missile strike on an elementary school that took place Feb. 28 at the outset of the war in their country.
The pins simply read “#168” — replicating the hashtag of the number of people killed in the daytime strike in Minab in southern Iran. Most of the victims were girls attending Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School.
The Iran delegation flew on a private jet from Turkey to Tijuana. Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, said two weeks ago that the training base would be in Mexico instead of Tucson.
FIFA has not given a reason for the change, although delays have occurred in processing U.S. visas for some Iranian players and other members of the delegation that allegedly have ties to the Revolutionary Guard.
Iran is preparing to play its three group-stage games in the United States, with the first scheduled June 15 against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium (called Los Angeles Stadium during the World Cup). Its second game, June 21 against Belgium, is also scheduled in L.A. and the third game will take place June 26 in Seattle against Egypt.
It is unclear whether FIFA — the governing body of the World Cup — would allow the pins to be worn by anyone on the sidelines during matches. That would include coaches and other team personnel in addition to players.
FIFA took no action in response to earlier displays of remembrance by the Iran players and has not commented on the legality of wearing the pins. FIFA regulations state that “equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images.” The rule applies to players, coaches and officials on the sidelines during matches.
The Iran team twice acknowledged victims of the airstrike during the Iran national anthem before warmup matches in March. In the first, players held purple school backpacks decorated with bows. In the second, players held images of those who had died.
Before more recent warmup games, the Iran team stood with their right hands across their chests during the anthem. And earlier in March, some members of the Iran women’s soccer team remained quiet during the national anthem at an Asian Cup match, leading Iranian state TV to call them “wartime traitors.”
Video footage analyzed by investigative group Bellingcat appears to show a U.S. Tomahawk missile striking the school, which was adjacent to a compound associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and barracks for its naval brigade. The United States has not accepted responsibility for the attack, although the military is investigating.
Upon arriving in Tijuana, Iran team captain Ehsan Hajsafi criticized FIFA about the delay in obtaining visas.
“First of all, we’re very happy that the team has finally arrived, and we’re delighted about that,” Hajsafi told reporters. “Thank God, the team’s condition is very good.
“With everything that happened, visas were eventually issued. Personally, however, I do have a complaint about FIFA. Why did it take so long? As far as I understand, visas were issued only to the players and a few members of the coaching staff.”
Ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Hajsafi spoke boldly about the government crackdown on mass demonstrations in Iran.
“Before anything else, I would like to express my condolences to all of the bereaved families in Iran,” Hajsafi said. “They should know that we are with them, we support them and we sympathize with them. “We cannot deny the conditions — the conditions in my country are not good and the players know it also.”
The UFC White House event scheduled for Sunday, 14 June has been challenged by a federal lawsuit which alleges it is unlawful.
UFC Freedom 250 is set to take place on the White House’s South Lawn on US President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, as part of celebrations to mark 250 years of United States independence.
However, the Public Integrity Project has filed a lawsuit – seeking an emergency temporary retraining order – against the event billed as the first professional sporting event to be held on the White House grounds.
“We think that this is a profound misuse of our sacred national monuments for private gain. And we think that needs to be stopped because it breaks the law,” said Brendan Ballou, lead attorney for the Public Integrity Project.
The Public Integrity Project is a self-described anti-corruption law firm based in Washington.It is led by Democrats including former Senator Russ Feingold and politician Zephyr Teachout, and has brought several suits against Trump, including one to undo the sale of the social media app TikTok and another to stop a billion-dollar “anti-weaponisation” fund.
The group argues that Trump and the UFC believe they do not have to apply for a permit to use the National Mall, ask Congress to approve construction of “The Claw” at the White House, or conduct an environmental review, because the fight is part of special semiquincentennial celebrations.
But it says that the event does “not in any material sense” celebrate the anniversary of the country’s founding and is not being carried out by the federal government or the official commission steering the anniversary’s observance.
The Trump administration issued a response to the BBC: “This is an obstructionist, baseless and dilatory lawsuit brought simply to prevent President Trump from hosting what will undoubtedly go down as one of the most historic sporting events in our nation’s history during our semiquincentennial celebration.”
The Football Association of Ireland [FAI] says it will “continue to meet to discuss the operational aspects” of hosting Israel in the Nations League.
On Monday, RTE reported, external the game, scheduled for Dublin on 4 October, is set to be moved to a neutral venue pending Uefa approval – seven days after the teams meet at a neutral venue for Israel’s home Group B3 fixture.
A number of protests in the Republic of Ireland have taken place calling for the team to boycott the fixtures because of the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
In February, the FAI confirmed the team will fulfil the fixtures as “Uefa regulations outline that if an association refuses to play a match then that fixture will be forfeited and further disciplinary measures may follow – including potential disqualification from the competition”.
An announcement on the issue was expected on Monday, but with the Republic of Ireland women’s crunch World Cup qualifier against France in Grenoble on Tuesday, the FAI has said it “will not be releasing a statement on any decision on this matter until after the board meeting scheduled for 11 June, due to the hugely significant game taking place on Tuesday for our women’s national team”.
It looks increasingly likely both games against Israel will now take place on neutral territory, with the FAI stressing its decision will not be swayed by outside opinions.
“The association reiterates that it is the responsibility of the board of the FAI to protect the future interests of football in Ireland,” the statement added.
“Any decision around the game is solely a matter for the association.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board is investigating an incident in a nightclub involving captain Ben Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson following the first Test against New Zealand.
An ECB statement said the pair were involved in a “breach of team protocols” in the early hours of Monday morning, after the conclusion of England’s win at Lord’s on Sunday.
It is the latest controversy to hit the England team following an Ashes tour dogged with allegations of a drinking culture.
Before the Ashes, white-ball captain Harry Brook was punched by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington on the eve of a one-day international against New Zealand.
As a result, England imposed a midnight curfew on all players and staff.
“The ECB is currently investigating a breach of team protocols following the conclusion of the first men’s Test against New Zealand,” said the statement.
“Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were present at a nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning when an incident took place.
“We are currently seeking further information, and an announcement regarding the squad for the second Test will be made in due course.
“The Cricket Regulator has been informed and we will provide a further update when possible.”
England were criticised for their off-field conduct during the 4-1 defeat in Australia, particularly a boozy mid-series holiday to the coastal town of Noosa.
In the aftermath of the trip to Noosa, a video of Ben Duckett was posted on social media, with the opener appearing to be intoxicated.
Director of cricket Rob Key investigated the time in Noosa, but denied the team had a drinking culture.
At the end of the Ashes series in January, details of the incident involving Brook in October were revealed.
There’s no crying in baseball, but Kim Ng works in softball now. And as commissioner of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, the former Dodgers assistant general manager has been fielding lots of tearful feedback from fans overcome by the fact that softball players finally, finally have a big league of their own.
“I can’t even tell you the number of people that have approached me, just openly sobbing with happiness,” she said. “It’s been incredible, experiencing all of that and understanding how long people have been waiting for something like this.”
It really is like that. Ask Lisa Fernandez, softball pioneer and total boss: “I’ll be watching and get emotional, just looking at how far this game has come.”
With MLB backing the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, or AUSL, for a second season and Ng back to steer it, sustainable professional softball is starting to feel real.
Former UCLA pitcher Rachel Garcia plays for Athletes Unlimited Team McQuillin.
(Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
Fernandez remembers when it was a huge deal to get one softball game on TV, and now ESPN will broadcast 50 AUSL games and ABC will carry the championship. And after last year’s four-team 10-city barnstorming tour, the league will add two teams and anchor itself to locations in North Carolina, Illinois, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Utah.
The ball gets rolling on Tuesday, just days after the conclusion of the Women’s College World Series — which last season averaged a record 1.3 million viewers on ESPN, including pulling 3.9 million for UCLA’s thriller against Tennessee.
Big steps, baby steps. All going the right direction.
“I would hope that we are the major league baseball of softball,” Ng, 57, said in a phone conversation. “That is a good number of teams, spread out across the country, with a huge following, all of our games televised.
“That’s the goal. To be the MLB of softball.”
Ng spent more than 30 years in the MLB, including a decade-long stint with the Dodgers. She was also the first woman to serve as a big-league general manager, leading the Miami Marlins from 2020 through the 2023 season. She declined her option after the team made its first full-season playoff appearance in two decades and then announced plans to introduce a president of baseball operations position that would’ve siphoned away some of her say-so.
Miami Marlins general manger Kim Ng, left, sits in a golf cart and talks with manager Marlins Skip Schumaker during a 2023 spring training workout.
(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)
“Breaking that glass ceiling, that’s special to me,” Ng said. “But I think in a different way, this [work with the AUSL] is for sure one of the more meaningful things I’ve done.”
She said a former MLB colleague recently asked her about the AUSL: “I said, ‘I’m working for the women now.’”
The former co-worker corrected her: “You were always working for the women.’”
Before that, as a kid, she was a softball infielder in Long Island and then at the University of Chicago. “I was scrappy,” Ng said, “which is definitely how I describe my personality and the way I approach most things in life.”
It’s served her well. And now it’s serving softball, a sport that for decades has been among the most popular for girls in America, even without long-term playing prospects or pro players to strive to emulate.
Compare it with basketball: About three-quarters of the WNBA’s current players have never even lived in a world without an established professional women’s basketball league in America.
UCLA star hitter Megan Grant will play in the Athletes Unlimited softball league after wrapping up her record-setting college career.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
The NBA-backed WNBA is celebrating its 30th season this summer with a lucrative new CBA and 15 teams, two of them expansion franchises, including one in Canada, and the Bay Area-based Golden State Valkyries valued at $850 million.
The AUSL is about to embark on Year 2.
There have been attempts to start up professional softball leagues before. Those weren’t just long shots, more like Megan Grant moonshots.
But now we have Bryanna Lopez, a 12-year-old catcher from Alhambra, sitting in the Easton Stadium stands at UCLA, watching her heroes play and telling me, without hesitation: “I want to play professional softball. It’s a really big dream.”
And a really big deal.
For players and a growing audience of folks like Kaitlyn Laabs, the superfan in a chef’s hat at UCLA games, who want to watch the home run queen Grant continue to mash. To see her teammates Jordan Woolery keep flaunting her flashy slash line and Taylor Tinsley sharpening her wicked arsenal of pitches.
UCLA starting pitcher Taylor Tinsley and first baseman Jordan Woolery are poised to start their professional softball careers this week.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“A lot of times, seniors come in their last year thinking it’s the end of their career, and that puts a lot more pressure,” UCLA’s Woolery said earlier this month, before the Bruins advanced to the Women’s College World Series for the third straight season. “So, for me, Megan, Tins, [the AUSL] opens us up a little bit to play free, knowing it’s not the end of the road.”
Ng’s presence, first as an adviser and starting last season as commissioner, is helping legitimize the new league.
“She’s the right person at the right time,” said Fernandez, the UCLA associate head coach, who is also the general manager of the defending champion Utah Talons. “Knowing Kim’s background in baseball, having her know the business of how to run a league, a no-brainer for me.”
Ng’s team-building acumen is helping her coach up first-time general managers. Her experience at MLB’s league office, working to grow the game internationally, ensures she’ll be patient, methodical — which is to say, the AUSL is not rushing to join the Sparks and the National Women’s Soccer League’s Angel City FC in the complicated, competitive L.A. market until it’s good and ready.
“Softball just has had its ups and downs in terms of creating a solid foundation,” Ng said. “Why has it taken so long? It’s hard to say, but obviously the revenue is a huge piece of it. Now, with MLB as a major investor, they’re understanding of the idea that we’re complementary.”
MLB has invested a reported $10 million in the AUSL — in addition to offering its massive promotional platform. So after Grant hit an NCAA record-extending 39th home run, the No. 4 overall pick was interviewed by Harold Reynolds on “MLB Tonight.”
Beside Grant, who is bound for the Portland Cascade, there will be 12 other former Bruins sprinkled among the league’s six rosters. Woolery and Tinsley will team up with a few other former Bruins on the Talons.
“You’d lose a generation of players if the growth is capped,” said Laabs, the softball fan. “But right now, softball is on a rocket ship. Let’s keep on cooking, let’s keep on flying, let’s show that if you build it, they will come.”
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A pilot and co-pilot from the United States have died in a fiery plane crash as they attempted an emergency landing in the Dominican Republic, authorities said.
The incident occurred Sunday near the southern coastal town of La Romana, according to a statement by the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation, which identified the pilot and co-pilot as U.S. citizens. It wasn’t immediately known what caused the crash. No passengers were aboard.
Major League Baseball All-Star former catcher Yadier Molina said on social media that the plane was bound for Texas to pick him up, along with family and friends.
“My condolences to the pilots and their family!” he wrote. Molina and his group were headed to Puerto Rico.
Officials said the plane had departed from Puerto Rico and landed in the Dominican Republic to refuel before heading to Texas.
The pilot and co-pilot reported an emergency shortly after taking off from the Dominican Republic, authorities said.
Sweaty, shirtless football players lying on the pitch have seldom raised eyebrows as they did last week when photographs of European players struggling to train in the heat sparked concerns over sweltering US summer temperatures at the World Cup.
Scientists have long cautioned that extreme heat could disrupt sporting events. Last month, climate experts warned that one in four World Cup games could be played in very hot conditions, affecting fans and players alike.
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Those warnings materialised last week; social media was abuzz with sunburnt players — mostly from European teams used to cooler climates — dousing themselves with water to cool off. Norway’s team even opted to wear ice collars around their necks during the friendly against Morocco.
But England captain Harry Kane quickly dismissed speculation over how much the heat would affect players, saying it “won’t be a factor”, thanks to his team’s World Cup training regimen.
So, how much will higher temperatures actually affect players at the World Cup? Al Jazeera takes a look.
What have experts said about heat during World Cup matches?
Th 2026 World Cup could be the hottest on record since the tournament began in 1930 due to a sharp rise in global temperatures, explained Al Jazeera weather presenter Everton Fox.
“Around half a dozen of the venues are prone to extreme heat; places like Dallas, Houston, Miami and the Mexican venues are all likely to swelter,” Fox said.
Daytime temperatures there are expected to average 28C, though the stadiums in Dallas, Houston and Atlanta have air conditioning.
Approximately 26 of the 104 matches could reach at least 26C in the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index — which measures how effectively the body can cool itself — while five games are expected to be played in conditions of 28C WB or higher, according to World Weather Attribution (WWA), a network of climate scientists.
Of those 26 matches, 17 will be played in stadiums with cooling systems, reducing risks for players and fans.
But more than a third of the games with a one in 10 chance of exceeding 26C will be in venues without air conditioning.
How do hotter temperatures impact athletes’ performance?
Heat stress due to increased humidity, exposure to solar radiation and the effects of wind speed will impact players running around in direct sunlight, Fox said.
“All this makes it harder for the body to cool down as it becomes harder for sweat to evaporate as quickly,” said Fox, a senior meteorologist with more than 30 years of experience.
Physical performance coach Raiyan Abbasi explained that, although the body sweats to achieve thermoregulation – a process that allows the body to maintain its core internal temperature – excessive sweating due to heat could lead to dehydration, cramps and increased fatigue.
Are athletes used to such high temperatures?
“Yes, the majority of athletes will know how to deal with this kind of heat since they’re elite players training and competing in various conditions,” said Abbasi, who has worked as a physical performance coach for British clubs Swansea and West Ham, as well as the Pakistan national side.
Teams will have a performance coach and medical staff to make sure players are ready for the tournament, including through acclimatisation, Abbasi explained – echoing what Kane said over the weekend after his side beat New Zealand 1-0 in Tampa, Florida, where temperatures soared beyond 30C.
Do athletes from hotter nations have an advantage?
World Cup nations whose players train in hotter climates may have a slight advantage when it comes to adjusting to high temperatures in the US.
“But essentially, countries that prepare and perform well can minimise that difference,” Abbasi said, adding that heat can be used positively too.
“Heat is a significant factor in creating good athletes; one way to improve athletic capabilities is to train in the heat.
“It can make big adaptations in your body to improve body temperature.”
Could the World Cup have been held before or after summer in the US?
Fox noted that international tournaments are traditionally in the European domestic off season, which is when the 2026 World Cup is being held.
“Ideally, US weather is most conducive in the spring and autumn, but you’d then be looking at the tornado season in spring and hurricane late summer through autumn before you even begin to think about their domestic sports which locals have more interest in,” Fox said.
What measures has FIFA taken for players and fans?
FIFA said it has carried out heat-risk planning, with measures including three-minute hydration breaks in each half of games, cooling infrastructure for fans and players, adapted work-rest cycles, and enhanced medical readiness that scale according to real-time conditions.
“The hydration breaks probably need to be longer to gain full benefit, but then you risk turning it into a game of four quarters,” Fox said jokingly, although he argued that FIFA could have confined games to northern parts of the US and Canada.
FIFA has also delayed kickoff times for some matches to start outside the hottest afternoon hours.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It’s awards time for baseball and softball as school ends and summer workouts begin.
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And the winner is . . .
Shortstop James Tronstein went four for four on Tuesday in Harvard-Westlake’s 8-0 win over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
(Craig Weston)
When the high school baseball season began, James Tronstein of Harvard-Westlake was focused and eager to show what he learned after not being selected for the U18 national baseball team in the fall. He proceeded to bat .531 with 52 hits and 10 home runs. Here’s his story as The Times’ player of the year.
St. John Boscoo pitcher Julian Garcia (right) celebrates with shortstop James Clark after throwing a one-hit shutout to beat Norco 2-0 in the Division 1 final.
The Birmingham co-coaching duo of Gus Rico (left) and Matt Mowry guided the Patriots to league and City titles for the first time in Mowry’s 20 seasons of coaching.
(Birmingham HS)
This season, Birmingham coach Matt Mowry added co-coach duties to pitching coach Gus Rico. The two guided the Patriots to their first West Valley League title in 20 years, followed by a sixth City Open Division title. Here’s a look at why they are the coaches of the year.
St. John Bosco is No. 1 in The Times’ final top 25 rankings. Here’s a look.
Liliana Escobar is The Times’ softball player of the year.
(Dylan Stewart)
Liliana Escobar was the pitcher to watch all season, and she helped JSerra win their first Southern Section Division 1 softball championship. She is The Times’ player of the year. Here’s a look at what she accomplished.
Softball coach Katie Stith of JSerra is The Times’ coach of the year for 2026.
(JSerra)
When it comes to future college softball players, The Times’ all-star team is filled to capacity. Here’s a look at the All-Star team.
Jared Grindlinger, center, stands with his older brothers Trent, left, and Bradley after Huntington Beach’s 5-3 win over San Diego Cathedral in the Southern California Regional Division I final on June 6, 2026.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
It’s the end of an era at Huntington Beach, where three Grindlingers made an impact on and off the baseball diamond and the final one, Jared, saved the best for last, delivering a two-run home run and getting the final out so the Oilers could win the Southern California Division I regional title over Cathedral Catholic 5-3. Here’s the report.
Jared Grindlinger leaves Huntington Beach a hometown hero. Two-run home run in DI regional final. Got the final out. Wanted to win one final title with his best friends. It happened. Courtesy Interscholastic Films. pic.twitter.com/jgv4PGnK3a
The example Jared set, ignoring that he’s going to be a first-round draft pick next month and deciding to play with his best friends to the very last game, will be long remembered by Oiler faithful.
Another Sunset League team, Newport Harbor, won the Division II regional title with UC Santa Barbara-bound Gavin Guy leading the way on the mound.
Then there was Glendora rallying to win the Division III championship over Kaiser. North Torrance won Division IV with Sei Nagashima going four for four in the final.
Verdugo Hills appeared headed to the Division V final with a 5-1 lead over Roosevelt in the bottom of the sixth. That’s when a rundown play happened, and both benches emptied. Both schools were disqualified from playing in the final. Under CIF rules, players are not allowed to leave the bench. They faced a one-game suspension. Coast Academy in Oceanside was awarded the title.
In softball, San Bernardino won Division V over Arroyo Valley. Riverside Prep took Division II.
Steve Baik is back
Steve Baik coaching Chino Hills in 2015.
(Los Angeles Times)
Steve Baik, who guided Chino Hills to an unbeaten basketball season in 2015-16 when the Ball brothers were playing, is returning to high school basketball as the new head coach at Calabasas.
There will be extensive passing tournaments in June and July. Saugus is hosting its annual tournament at Central Park on June 20 beginning at 4 p.m.. Simi Valley has its tournament on June 27. The Edison Battle at the Beach is July 11. Ocean View has its own tournament on that day. The Mission Viejo tournament is July 18.
Gardena Serra is hosting weekly seven-on-seven competitions on Wednesdays beginning June 17 with some great teams dropping by.
Chaminade won the Western tournament last weekend.
The Bonita and Murrieta Mesa softball teams are facing sanctions from the CIF after pulling out of the regional softball playoffs and having to forfeit their opening games. Each had the option of opting out but didn’t and are especially in trouble for not pulling out before seedings were made. Doubtful either will be invited to next year’s state playoffs when the first state championship in softball will be held…
David Armendariz is the new baseball coach at Sierra Canyon. He’s been an assistant the last three years and was a standout player at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and played briefly in MLB with Cleveland….
Warren Snyder is the new boys water polo coach at Agoura…
John Gabriel is the new girls lacrosse coach at St. Margaret’s….
James Tronstein of Harvard-Westlake has been named the Gatorade state player of the year in baseball….
Offensive lineman Amaziah Siale of Mission Viejo has committed to Cal….
Point guard Earl Bryson is leaving JSerra for Crean Lutheran, which returns two top guards….
Mater Dei’s basketball team has added two large transfers, 6-9 Ryan Doane from JSerra and 6-11 Ender Berg from Legacy Christian….
The Southern Section has decided not to move from its office in Los Alamitos and will remodel to handle its additional employees approved by membership….
Corona Santiago pitcher Striker Pence announced he has reclassified to become part of the class of 2027….
Justin Torres is out as baseball coach at West Covina….
Joe Wyatt, who coached El Camino Real and Sun Valley Poly to City Section basketball championships, has resigned at Poly to become head coach at rival North Hollywood….
Bob Hart, Burbank’s longtime baseball coach, is no longer head coach….
Girls point guard Madison McDonald from Westlake has committed to Arizona Western….
Sierra Canyon has hired Camarillo coach Michaeltore Smith to be its first flag football coach. He had great success coaching quarterbacks, and he’ll have the best this season in Orange Lutheran transfer Makena Cook….
The high school football transfer portal is about to gain more steam with school out and players switching before the fall semester. Here’s the list that keeps growing…
Nick Hernandez is the new baseball coach at Glendale….
Infielder Justin Lopez from Villa Park has committed to Cal State Fullerton.
From the archives: Nate Castellon
Nate Castellon, a former Calabasas shortstop, helped Cal Poly reach the Super Regionals. He entered this week as the team’s second-leading hitter with a .328 batting average, including 14 doubles.
The sophomore has been as consistent as he was at Calabasas, where he hit .500 his senior year. He was a freshman All-American for the Mustangs.
When a league picks you MVP and your team doesn’t win the league, that says respect. Nate Castellon of Calabasas MVP of the Marmonte League for baseball. Respect.
From The562.org, a story on Anthony Razo, the new Lakewood baseball coach who’s agreed to replace the legendary Spud O’Neil.
From Yahoo, a story on New Mexico nearing a final decision to allow one free transfer for high school athletes.
From Ouresquina.com, a story on former Cypress and current USC shortstop Abbrie Covarrubias and his Latino background.
From Texashsfootball, a story on a school district spending $6 million to cover a sports facility to help with hot weather.
Summer vacation
Prep Rally will be taking the next couple of weeks off. Everyone enjoy your break — if you get one. And if you don’t, please find a way for a day off or two to refresh, regroup and prepare for 2026-27.
Tweets you might have missed
Jed Sandler of Brentwood has the greatest deal ever. He gets P.E. credit for announcing games. Only a sophomore. Also doing games for NFHS Network. pic.twitter.com/cbk1EKEPpd
For the first time I have found a kicker who says he’s normal. Gabriel Goroyan of Westlake. But he does use his left foot to kick. Starts summer No. 1. pic.twitter.com/wz0d6CB9YF
The 6’3 G was the best player for the Mexican side tonight putting together some tough buckets against a really good Brazil squad pic.twitter.com/t9vd24EK8O
The new head football coach at Narbonne, Patrick Goodpaster, is commander of Gardena Police Department’s Homicide unit. Narbonne grad. Tough challenge rebuilding but he looks ready to build from bottom up. pic.twitter.com/GQ56OtoZVd
Everyone playing sports in California needs a reminder. In every sport, if you leave your bench during an incident, it’s an automatic one-game suspension. It takes discipline but that’s the rule. You want to support a teammate. Talk to your coach how to do it. pic.twitter.com/ykbCqBHlg3
My underrated baseball players who won’t be in first round but will pass everyone by one day. P Julian Garcia, St. John Bosco; OF James Tronstein, Harvard-Westlake; 3B Malakye Matsumoto, SO Notre Dame. The tweet I will be right on.
Everyone has a choice. Pros or college. Leave early or stay in high school to enjoy every minute of your only time with friends of a lifetime. The threeGrindlinger brothers of Huntington Beach chose to stay. They will be forever saluted for their loyalty and commitment.
Johnathan Maldonado, who’s playing football at Ole Miss, donated to boys football & basketball at Arcadia High. Played both sports at Arcadia. pic.twitter.com/pB31Nn4yS6
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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