A college football recruiting dead period has begun, which means Servite will be a lot quieter after college recruiters visited during the past two weeks making sure they stop by to evaluate the team’s outstanding starting offensive tackles, Drew Fielder, a junior, and Elisha Mueller, a sophomore.
Let’s just say that Fielder, the 6-foot-6, 280-pound starting left tackle, has “blown up” as a college prospect as coaches recognize his growing size, strength and ability entering his senior year. Mueller, 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds, has been attracting big-time interest since his freshman season as a right tackle starter and was a sophomore All-American.
Together, they should form quite a duo in the Trinity League this fall.
“You feel real confident in your ability to win in the trenches,” coach Chris Reinert said.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Not the sinister kind, who give away state secrets for money or revenge; Buckley is privy to much lower-level intelligence. But that doesn’t mean it’s not just as valuable to the people involved.
Buckley is the Kings’ goaltender coach and his chief pupil is Darcy Kuemper, who will be playing for Team Canada in the Milan Cortina Olympic hockey tournament. Buckley will be in Milan coaching for Team USA. And if the competition goes to form, Canada and the U.S. will meet in the final.
You can see where this is going.
So would Buckley give up the goods on his NHL goalie if it meant helping his national team win a gold medal?
“I probably have a little bit more insight being with him on a day-to-day basis. But at the end of the day, the players still have to execute,” said Buckley, like Kuemper, a first-time Olympian. “So if I tell someone to shoot somewhere at a certain time or a certain spot, they’re going to have to be able to execute that.”
The answer then is maybe.
Still, that’s a dilemma Buckley will probably never face since Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues, who was spectacular in goal in last year’s Four Nations Face-off, will probably start for Canada in Milan. But with the Kings sending four other players (defenseman Drew Doughty, Canada; and forwards Adrian Kempe, Sweden; Kevin Fiala, Switzerland; and Joel Armia, Finland) plus Canadian equipment manager Darren Granger to the Olympics, there’s a good chance guys who have shared a dressing room since September will be competing against one another.
Kings forward Kevin Fiala controls the puck while playing for Team Switzerland at the 2025 world championships.
(Michael Campanella / Getty Images)
The same goes for the Ducks, who are sending four players — goalie Lukas Dostal and defenseman Radko Gudas, Czechia; forward Mikael Granlund, Finland; and defenseman Jackson LaCombe, U.S. — to Milan. Ducks star Leo Carlsson, who was expected to start for Sweden, will miss the Games after undergoing surgery to repair a rare injury in his left thigh last month.
So while the Olympics may bring countries together, it also has the potential to turn teammates against one another — at least temporarily.
In the group stage of the tournament, for example, Armia and Finland will play against Kempe’s Sweden. And Canada, with Kuemper and Doughty, will face Switzerland, which is led by Fiala.
“It’s obviously going to be a little strange,” Gudas said. “It’s only for a few games. For that amount of time, you can put things aside a little bit.”
Those kinds of match-ups were rare in the last two Olympic tournaments since NHL players didn’t take part, sidelined by a dispute over insurance, travel costs and scheduling issues. This year 147 NHL players are on the 12 Olympic rosters, with all 32 NHL clubs represented.
Not all the top NHL players will be in Milan, however. Russia has been banned from the tournament because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, meaning Alexander Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, won’t play.
Granlund, who won a bronze medal with Finland in 2014, the last time NHL players participated in the Olympics, is glad to be back.
“It was such a cool experience,” he said. “It’s one of the biggest honors I can have as a hockey player, playing for a country in the Olympics. There’s no player in the NHL who wouldn’t go.”
That’s due in large part to the rush that comes with wearing your country’s colors on your chest.
“It’s tough to explain how much it means,” he said. “You grow up in a country like Finland, watching the national team play. As a kid you’re dreaming to play for that team.
“Every single time you put that jersey on, it’s such a pride you feel.”
Doughty, who already has two gold medals, agreed, saying the only time he sings along with the Canadian anthem is at the Olympics.
Kings defenseman Drew Doughty controls the puck while playing for Canada in the Four Nations Face-Off last year.
(Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
“When we hear it in the NHL, I’m not singing,” he said. “But when you’re wearing a Canadian jersey, that’s one of the biggest moments you can have.”
Not just for the guys on the ice. Granger, the equipment manager, will be making his third trip to the Olympics with Canada. And the journey never gets old.
“It’s not something that you apply for. It’s something that you’re asked to do,” he said. “So I don’t take that lightly. It’s an honor.”
The equipment managers may have the most difficult job in the Olympic hockey tournament since they must prepare and maintain the sticks, skates, gloves and uniforms for 25 players, some of whom they’ve never met. That means checking in with the equipment managers of rival NHL teams to get prepared.
“We have quite a few players that are particular about certain things,” he said. “After a while, you just kind of get used to what those things are. If it’s a player that likes to use three sticks a game, then making sure he has that. If it’s a guy that likes to change gloves every other game, making sure you have enough.”
Yet if Canada wins the tournament, Granger’s reward won’t be a gold medal. Olympic rules say medals only go to the players, leaving the equipment managers, trainers and coaches — even coaches with inside information like Buckley — out in the cold.
“That’s OK,” Buckley said. “I just want the players to get one.”
Coach JJ Redick acknowledged he felt “stressed” knowing about the trade before the Lakers played the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden that night in 2025.
While his stress may have faded, Redick couldn’t have liked what he saw from the Lakers on the same floor one year later.
Despite a strong effort from Doncic, the Lakers struggled with their shooting and lost 112-100 to the Knicks on Sunday night.
Doncic finished with 30 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Lakers’ 45% shooting from the field and 29% shooting from three-point range.
With the Lakers in sixth place in the uber-competitive Western Conference at 29-19, Doncic was asked where he thought they stood in their pursuit of an NBA championship.
“We’re in a good spot,” Doncic said. “Obviously, got some work to do. But I think today we obviously missed a lot of good looks, but I think we have a great group.”
Leonard, who was left off the Western Conference All-Star reserves announced earlier Sunday, had eight rebounds as well as his 27th consecutive game with 20 or more points. Ivica Zubac had 20 rebounds as the Clippers bounced back from a loss at Denver on Friday and dominated the inside, outrebounding Phoenix 63-35 and outscoring the Suns 64-18 in the paint.
Jordan Miller had 20 points, John Collins scored 16, Zubac had 14 and Kobe Sanders had 12 for the Clippers, who shot 51.8% from the field. Sanders started for Harden, who missed the game for personal reasons.
No. 2 UCLA women have little problem with No. 8 Iowa
From Steve Galluzzo: Angela Dugalic scored 22 points off the bench, Kiki Rice had 17 and Lauren Betts added 16 as the UCLA women’s basketball team recorded its eighth win against a ranked opponent with a dominant 88-65 victory over No. 8 Iowa on Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.
“I’m proud to be part of this team,” Dugalic said. “It’s fun to play with these girls. We’re not taking any team for granted. At the end of the day, if you’re our next opponent, that’s who we’re concentrating on.”
The No. 2 Bruins (21-1 overall, 11-0 Big Ten) won their 15th straight game and improved to 10-0 at home. They lead the conference by one game over No. 9 Michigan, which beat No. 13 Michigan State in overtime Sunday.
Charlisse Leger-Walker finished with 10 points, five assists and five rebounds. Gianna Kneepkens added 10 points, four assists and four rebounds, and Rice dished out seven assists for UCLA, which improved to 3-1 all time against Iowa and 3-0 under coach Cori Close.
The Trojans (13-9, 5-6 Big Ten) got off to a slow start, ending the first quarter trailing by three points. Rutgers (9-13, 1-10) held the lead until the 5:39 mark in the second quarter when Kara Dunn hit a pair of free throws.
USC picked up its defensive pressure in the second quarter, which helped ignite its offense.
From Bill Shaikin: In 1970, two years before he died, Jackie Robinson spoke at his son’s high school graduation.
“In a land where we declare that we have liberty and justice for all,” Robinson said, “it seems that slogan really means liberty and justice for all as long as you do and say what some people want you to do and say.”
Those words ring uncomfortably true today.
Robinson often spoke out on civil rights, challenging both political parties. If you visit the Jackie Robinson Museum, as the Dodgers did when the museum opened in 2022, you see displays on civil rights and economic opportunity and social justice before you get to the baseball showcases.
“Jackie’s passion was civil rights and equality, and more so than baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said then. “It was more of, baseball was just a vehicle for him to use his voice, which is pretty cool to see and actually pretty inspiring.”
In these perilous times, in which “indivisible” has been replaced by “you’re with us, or you’re the enemy within,” Robinson’s team will have the opportunity to celebrate its latest World Series championship at the White House.
From Kevin Baxter: Tai Babilonia’s life changed forever when she was asked to hold a boy’s hand.
At first she resisted.
“I didn’t want to,” she remembered. “He’s a yucky boy.”
But Mabel Fairbanks, Babilonia’s skating coach, wouldn’t take no for an answer, bribing the 8-year-old with stickers and a Barbie doll if she would just reach out and grab the hand of 10-year-old Randy Gardner.
It would be another 40 years before she let go.
By then Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner had become one of the most decorated pairs in U.S. figure skating history, their individual names eventually melding into one.
Sebastian Aho scored early in overtime to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 win over the Kings on Sunday.
Brandon Bussi made 11 saves on just 13 shots by L.A. to continue his dominant rookie season, while Jordan Staal and Alexander Nikishin also scored for the Hurricanes, who have earned at least a point in eight straight games (6-0-2).
Samuel Helenius and Quinton Byfield scored for the Kings and Anton Forsberg made 31 saves. The Kings wrapped up their road trip with a 3-1-1 record with one game (last Monday at Columbus) postponed because of severe winter weather.
Chris Kreider scored two goals, Lukas Dostal made 27 saves and the Ducks swept their three-game season series with the Vegas Golden Knights with a 4-3 victory on Sunday night.
Cutter Gauthier scored and Ryan Poehling added an empty-net goal for the Ducks, who earned their eighth victory in 10 games overall despite nearly blowing an early 3-0 lead during a third period dominated by Vegas.
Ducks right wing Troy Terry returned from an 11-game absence with an upper-body injury, and center Mason McTavish also returned after missing five games.
The Ducks had their eighth consecutive sellout as they returned from a five-game trip to begin a nine-game homestand. Anaheim doesn’t play another road game until March 10.
The Rams have a successful season and other NFL teams raid his coaching staff.
Mike LaFleur, the Rams’ offensive coordinator for the last three seasons, is the latest to parlay his time with McVay into an NFL head coaching opportunity.
Sunday at Santa Clara Seattle vs. New England 3:30 p.m. PT, NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, KLAC AM 570 Halftime show: Bad Bunny National anthem: Charlie Puth Odds: Seahawks favored by 4.5 points Over/Under: 45.5 points
This day in sports history
1876 — The National League forms, consisting of teams in Philadelphia, Hartford, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis and New York.
1936 — Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson are the first members elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1954 — Bevo Francis of Rio Grande College scores 113 points in a 134-91 victory over Hillsdale. Francis, breaking his own record for small colleges (84) set two weeks earlier against Alliance College.
1959 — Vince Lombardi signs a five-year contract to coach NFL’s Green Bay Packers.
1962 — Using a fiberglass pole, John Uelses becomes the first man to vault more than 16 feet, indoors or out. Uelses, a Marine Corps corporal, clears 16¼ during the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden in New York.
1970 — Pete Maravich becomes first to score 3,000 college basketball points.
1977 — Toronto’s Ian Turnbull scores five goals to set an NHL record for defensemen, leading the Maple Leafs past the Detroit Red Wings 9-1.
1991 — New Hampshire’s basketball team ends its 32-game losing streak at home with a 72-56 win over Holy Cross. The NCAA-record streak started on Feb. 9, 1988.
1994 — Lenny Wilkens gets his 900th NBA victory, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic 118-99. Wilkens runs his regular-season mark to 900-760, trailing only Red Auerbach’s 938 in NBA regular-season victories.
1999 — Austria’s Hermann Maier and Norway’s Lasse Kjus ski to an unprecedented tie in the super-G to mark the start of the world championships.
2001 — Stacy Dragila breaks her world indoor pole vault record by a half-inch with a 15-2 1/4 vault at the Millrose Games.
2003 — Atlanta Thrashers star Dany Heatley joins Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux by scoring a record-tying four goals in the NHL All-Star Game. His Eastern Conference team loses the first All-Star shootout 6-5.
2009 — Kobe Bryant breaks the current Madison Square Garden record with 61 points to lead the Lakers to a 126-117 victory over New York. Bryant, who hits all 20 of his free throws, tops the previous visitor record of 55 points held by Michael Jordan and the overall record of 60 by Bernard King.
2012 — Sam Gagner has four goals and four assists in the NHL’s first eight-point game in 23 years, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 8-4.
2013 — California Institute of Technology’s baseball team ends a 228-game losing streak with a 9-7 victory against Pacifica, the Beavers’ first win in nearly 10 years. Caltech hadn’t won since Feb. 15, 2003, 5-4 against Cal State Monterey Bay.
2014 — The Seattle Seahawks win their first Super Bowl title, crushing the favored Denver Broncos 43-8. The Seahawks led 36-0 before Denver finally scored on the last play of the third quarter.
2017 — Patrick Marleau scores his 500th career goal, Chris Tierney tallies twice and San Jose beat Vancouver 4-1. Marleau becomes the 45th NHL player to reach 500 goals, scoring in the first period on a power play.
2020 — Super Bowl LIV: Kansas City Chiefs beat San Francisco 49ers, 31-20; MVP: Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs, QB; Chiefs’ first Super Bowl victory in 50 years.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter. When you read this, I will hopefully be lying on a beach somewhere on Maui. Which means the Times of Troy will be taking a brief break next week. A tanner — read: redder — version of me will be back and recharged the following Monday. With the whole family coming and three kids under three in the mix, though, hopes of reaching peak relaxation may be slim!
But before I’m off, let’s dive a little deeper into the defense that the Trojans’ new defensive coordinator, Gary Patterson, plans to bring with him to USC.
Fight on! Are you a true Trojans fan?
In the 1997 edition of the American Football Coaches Assn.’s annual Summer Manual, Patterson, then just 37 and in his second year as New Mexico’s defensive coordinator, laid out his vision for the scheme that later became his calling card.
The 4-2-5, at that time, was unique in college football. The spread offense was just starting to take root, and Patterson wanted a scheme built to stop it. What he designed, it turns out, would still stand up almost three decades later.
That’s primarily because Patterson’s defense was built specifically to be adaptable, year to year, week to week, even play to play.
“Defenses must have enough flexibility in their scheme to limit offenses in their play selection, but be simple enough to be good at what they do,” Patterson wrote in 1997. “During a game we must look like we do a lot, but only do enough to take away what offenses do best.”
Patterson’s scheme has evolved plenty since then. But the principles remain the same. At its most basic level, the scheme uses four down linemen, two linebackers and a “five-spoke secondary” that utilizes three safeties (strong, weak and free). The safeties, in Patterson’s defense, are the glue that binds the scheme together. At any point, two of the three can walk up — to defend the run, for instance — and the look becomes more of a 4-4 defense. Or one can move up for a 4-3 look. It all depends on the offense’s personnel and tendencies.
“He’s going to scout you until his eyeballs come out,” former Texas coach Tom Herman said back in 2018.
The ability of Patterson’s defense to adapt on the fly to fit the situation makes it difficult to exploit. The idea, as Patterson sees it, is to confuse the offense as much as possible, both at the line of scrimmage and in the defensive backfield.
That’s not a revolutionary concept. What makes his approach especially distinctive is that every play includes two separate calls on defense, one for the front six and another for the secondary. The secondary is actually split into two as well, allowing Patterson to have each side playing different coverages, if he so desired. Meaning on any given play, one cornerback might be in man coverage while the other is in zone.
Sounds complicated, right? Well, that’s the idea.
“At first, I thought, ‘Man, it’s gonna be hard,’” said David Bailiff, who was Patterson’s first defensive coordinator at Texas Christian. “But it’s like algebra. When you get it, it’s a piece of cake. And he’s a great teacher of it, too.”
How his defense might look at USC is still to be determined. As of last week, Patterson was still learning his new players’ names, let alone understanding how to use their skillsets. But he said last week that he expects to “add to what we do” at USC now that he can get bigger, faster and stronger athletes on the field than he had at TCU.
He’d initially conceived of the 4-2-5 to account for a talent disparity at New Mexico and TCU, where Patterson only cracked the top 20 in recruiting class rankings once in two decades as coach. At USC, though, that won’t be a problem. Which begs the question: What might Patterson’s defense look like with a host of four- and five-stars at his disposal?
“The better the athlete we have, the more an offense must contend with our individual ability, plus the multiplicity of the scheme,” Patterson wrote in 1997. “We want offenses to guess what they should spend most of their time working on. Our job is to find out what their answer is.”
Patterson hasn’t led a defense since 2021. But as he sets out to install his scheme in the coming months at USC, the hope is that it’s the answer to what’s been missing through four years of Lincoln Riley.
Way-too-early game-by-game prediction for 2026
The Big Ten rolled out its schedule for 2026, and USC’s slate is just as challenging as we expected. There are way too many questions still to be answered to have any real idea how the season might shake out for the Trojans. But as a thought exercise, why not give it a go, anyway?
Aug. 29 vs. TBD: USC hasn’t finalized who will fit into this slot (more on that below), but whoever it winds up being won’t stand a chance of upending the Trojans in their season opener.
Sept. 5 vs. Fresno State: The Bulldogs were no pushover in Year 1 under Matt Entz, who traded his post as USC’s linebackers coach for Fresno. But USC has too much firepower.
Sept. 12 vs. Louisiana: The Ragin’ Cajuns have one of the best nicknames in college football. And that’s where their advantages over USC stop.
Sept. 19 at Rutgers: Traveling as far east as possible for a Big Ten opener isn’t ideal, and I could see USC opening a bit rusty. The Trojans still roll.
Sept. 26 vs. Oregon: Here’s where things get interesting. It will have been almost a decade since USC last beat the Ducks when they meet this fall in the Trojans’ conference home opener. Dante Moore is back, but I think this game will be more evenly matched in 2026. My instinct says it’s a loss, but I reserve the right to change later.
Oct. 3 vs. Washington: This is a tricky one, especially right after the Oregon matchup. Husky quarterback Demond Williams is the real deal, even if he did try to bail for LSU in the offseason. That shouldn’t be an issue when he hits the field. Especially since the defense backing him up could be among the best in the nation. USC barely escapes with a win in this first simulation.
Oct. 10 at Penn State: Woof. USC travels to State College at the end of a three-game gauntlet that could decide its season. We don’t know much about the Nittany Lions yet, but I believe in Matt Campbell, and playing at Beaver Stadium — and probably in a White Out game — is no joke. Another toss-up, but if USC’s beat-up at all by this point, it could struggle.
Oct. 24 at Wisconsin: Camp Randall is one of college football’s best venues, but the Badgers won’t be able to keep up with USC.
Oct. 31 vs. Ohio State:Halloween at the Coliseum delivers USC’s most frightening matchup of 2026. My guess — and I’m going out on a limb here — the Buckeyes will be dominant again. If USC can score a win here, making the Playoff should be a foregone conclusion.
Nov. 14 at Indiana: The defending champs may look a lot different next season, but I still trust Curt Cignetti to get it done. Especially at home. USC starts 3-4 in the Big Ten.
Nov. 21 vs. Maryland: The loss to Maryland two years ago was one of the worst in my tenure on the USC beat. The Terps are better now, but I don’t see USC slipping up again.
Nov. 28 at UCLA: It’s impossible to say what UCLA will look like in the fall, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Bob Chesney has them competing right away. For now, I’ll stick with USC as my crosstown winner.
Final record: 8-4.
USC will need to reach 10 wins to make the College Football Playoff. But it might be an uphill climb just to reach nine. USC will need to win at least one of its matchups against Oregon, Indiana and Ohio State, then also survive toss-up games against Penn State and Washington.
Zachariah Branch helped USC defeat San Jose State 56-28 in 2023.
(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
—USC has just 11 games scheduled for 2026. What’s going on with that 12th game? With Notre Dame and USC unable to reach a deal to extend their rivalry, USC still has one slot left to fill in its 2026 non-conference slate. That open game will be played at the Coliseum, during Week Zero on Aug. 29 because by opting to play in Week Zero, USC will get the privilege of a second bye during the season, where other Big Ten schools only have one. The problem is playing that early requires an exemption from the NCAA. So if USC intends to play the game at home, that means its only path to playing in Week Zero is to find a team that’s also playing at Hawaii. Any team playing Hawaii is allowed an exemption to play a 13th game in its season. Very few teams fit that criteria and still have an opening in Week Zero. But one makes the most sense, and it’s an opponent that USC opened the season against not that long ago: San Jose State. Don’t be surprised to see the Spartans come to the Coliseum again for the season opener in August 2026.
—Gary Patterson is bringing at least one defensive assistant of his choice to USC. Paul Gonzales, who spent last season as Baylor’s defensive pass-game coordinator, will be the Trojans’ defensive backs coach, taking the place of Doug Belk. Gonzales worked closely with Patterson from 2013 through his 2021 exit at Texas Christian, where he worked with cornerbacks and safeties. USC already has a cornerbacks coach in Trovon Reed. So we can assume that Gonzales will work with the safeties, which are critical in Patterson’s scheme.
—Defensive line coach Shaun Nua and offensive line coach Zach Hanson are staying put. Both had opportunities to leave USC after the season and ultimately opted to stay. Keeping Hanson is especially significant. The Trojans’ standout offensive line coach was in the mix to become an offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Kansas State, where his close friend, Collin Klein, is now the head coach. Yet Hanson still opted to stay, which I think is telling.
—The USC women’s win over No. 8 Iowa might have saved the season. Hopes of a postseason run were looking a bit bleak for USC before last Thursday night’s impressive home upset of the Hawkeyes. But the Trojans are now up to 20th in the NET rankings, with three Quad 1 wins, while a softer part of the schedule approaches. USC still can’t afford to drop too many of its nine remaining games, but the Iowa win is a sigh of relief on that front.
—New Dedeaux Field is still under construction. And will be when USC’s baseball season opens against Pepperdine on Feb. 13. That shouldn’t be a problem when it comes to playing actual baseball games. But the baseball offices, press box and concession stands aren’t finished yet (though, there will be temporary options). As such, baseball games will be free to fans this season. But USC not being able to deliver on the amenities that were promised by the time the stadium opens is a big miss for a baseball program that deserves more respect and could’ve used a boost in fan support. USC chose to prioritize finishing the football facility. Most schools probably would have done the same. For what it’s worth, Andy Stankiewicz, who just led the Trojans to their first NCAA tournament in a decade, has been very understanding of the whole situation.
Olympic sports spotlight
Freshman Max Exsted has been with USC’s men’s tennis program for just a few weeks, but he’s already made quite an impression. The mid-year addition from Minnesota has already won Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice in the first three weeks of the season.
That’s a great sign for a men’s tennis program that must replace an ITA All-American and All-Big Ten player in Peter Makk. The Trojans are 4-3 to start this season under seventh-year coach Brett Masi, whose contract was extended through 2028 in October as part of USC’s wider efforts to lock up its reliable Olympic sports coaches long term.
USC has made the NCAA tournament in four of six seasons under Masi. The expectation should be that that continues this year.
Times of Troy survey results
We asked,”How do you feel about the Gary Patterson hire?”
The results, after 414 votes
Cautiously optimistic it could work, 69.6% Thrilled! We got a Hall of Famer!, 16.8% Mildly concerned it will fail, 8.9% Convinced this will be a disaster, 4.7%
The mystery thriller genre has really hit a stride recently, with shows like “All Her Fault,” “Beast in Me” and “Task” all getting mentions in this space over the last several months. I don’t think “His & Hers” belongs in that group of standouts, but I’m willing to see it through.
That’s mostly on account of the always-charming Tessa Thompson, who plays a former TV anchor drawn back into an investigation when a murder takes place in her small Georgia hometown. Her estranged husband, played by Jon Bernthal, just happens to be the detective assigned to the case. Both are under serious suspicion right from the jump.
There’s high off-the-rails potential here, as tends to be the case with Netflix thrillers. But it’s also an easy binge, and now that I’ve watched a few episodes, I need to know where this mystery goes.
Until next time …
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
But Celtic manager Martin O’Neill was attracted to his “experience of high-level football”.
“He has also been involved in European competition, so we are bringing in a talented, experienced, international forward to really enhance our attacking options,” he told Celtic’s website.
Adamu is eyeing a league and Scottish Cup double while scoring “a lot of goals” and wants “to improve as a player”.
Asked what kind of player Celtic fans will see in action, he added: “I’m dangerous in the box and hungry for goals. That’s what the manager sees in me and I want to show that on the pitch.”
The announcement of 22-year-old Mvuka’s signing came eight minutes after the closure of the January transfer window.
However, the Norwegian is no stranger to the Scottish champions, having played against them in the Conference League in 2022 for Bodo/Glimt, where he was a team-mate of Celtic winger Sebastian Tounekti.
He joined Lorient in 2023 but has made only five starts and 10 substitute appearances for the side sitting ninth in Ligue 1.
“Joel is a talented player who has a very good level of experience achieved at some really good clubs,” O’Neill said.
“He will give the squad another option, he is very quick, able to play on both wings”
The 20-year-old Arthur has made just three appearances for Premier League outfit Brentford, including two starts in his season’s League Cup.
However, O’Neill thinks the England youth international is “an excellent player, with real attributes, good height, strength and speed”.
His arrival allows Stephen Welsh to return to Motherwell on loan after being recalled as cover during January.
Meanwhile, Kenny heads for the side sitting third in League One having failed to become a first pick since O’Neill’s return to Celtic.
The 22-year-old Irishman, signed in January 2024 from Shamrock Rovers, has played 22 times for Celtic this season, 12 of them starts, and scoring six times.
“It’s an exciting challenge. We know that the club is not at the place that it should be, but I’m here to help the team and to bring what I can to achieve our goal.”
Disasi has not played for more than a year for Chelsea and was placed in the club’s so‑called “bomb squad” after failing to secure a move last summer and deemed surplus to requirements by former head coach Enzo Maresca.
He later worked his way back into the under‑21s and first‑team training, although he did not make a senior appearance.
Disasi joined Chelsea from Monaco in 2023 in a £38m deal and spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa.
But he is determined to prove his worth at West Ham as he added: “The club has given me the opportunity to show my quality on the pitch. I spoke with all the people here, and I feel that they really wanted me, so that’s why I’m here.
“Everyone knows my situation in the last few months, so I just want to get back on the field, feel the sensation of games and help the team.”
A father driving his daughter and two other families from the Santa Clarita Flyers hockey club to a tournament in Colorado was killed last week in a horrific crash in treacherous weather.
Three days later the Flyers won the Western Girls Hockey League 12U title with a 1-0 victory in overtime Sunday, their fifth win of the tournament.
The players met for two hours the night of the accident and decided they would participate rather than pull out and head home.
“We knew that the families in the crash would want us to play and decided not just to do it for ourselves, but do it for them mostly,” Flyers captain Sophia Boyle told Denver 9News. “We are more than a team. It’s like we are a giant family.
“We knew what we wanted, we tried our hardest and we got it.”
The driver of a Colorado Department of Transportation plow truck traveling on snow-covered and wet roads Thursday morning lost control on Interstate 70, drove through the median and hit the Flyers’ Ford Transit van head-on, according to the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office.
The van was knocked down an icy embankment before coming to rest, and the driver, Manuel Lorenzana of Chatsworth, was pronounced dead at the scene. Four children were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital; a fifth was flown to a trauma center with critical injuries. Three adults were admitted to the hospital, one in serious condition.
Lorenzana, 38, a noted tattoo artist and lifelong San Fernando Valley resident, was remembered as “a hero and the epitome of what an amazing man, father, partner and friend should be,” his family wrote on a GoFundMe page.
“He was the most thoughtful, loving and supportive man to his soulmate April, and the most caring, involved, fun, kind and loving parent, and best friend, to his daughter Brody.”
Brody was released from the hospital and joined her teammates Saturday. After opening the double-elimination tournament with two victories Friday and a loss in their first game Saturday, the Flyers advanced with a 14-0 win.
Santa Clarita Valley residents gathered at the Flyers’ home rink, the Cube Ice and Entertainment Center, to watch a stream of the game that unfortunately malfunctioned. Still, the crowd stayed, with several people refreshing the league’s website to keep up with the game and shouting when the Flyers scored.
Two victories Sunday — both shutouts — gave the Flyers the title. Moments before the championship game, the Flyers raised their sticks in a silent nod to Manny Lorenzana. Khaleesi Bewer scored the winning goal in overtime, and afterward the Flyers sang Katy Perry’s “California Gurls. ”
“It’s unbelievable how much people have rallied behind these girls,” said Prescott Littlefield, president of the Flyers organization. “If there is a silver lining to this, the amount of support they’ve gotten is beyond my ability to comprehend. The families are so grateful.”
Congratulations to Christian Collins who becomes the 3rd Bosco Brave to be a McDonald’s All American, joining Isaac Hamilton 2013 and Jelani Gardner 1994 pic.twitter.com/bgVVpo1Hdo
Selected to the boys team are Jason Crowe Jr. from Inglewood, Christian Collins from St. John Bosco, Brandon McCoy and Maximo Adams from Sierra Canyon. Former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame player Tyran Stokes also made the team.
Crowe is committed to Missouri and Adams to North Carolina.
Jerzy Robinson from Sierra Canyon and Cydnee Bryant from Corona Centennial made the girls team.
Robinson is committed to South Carolina and Bryant is a Kansas commit.
Thousands of cheering fans surround the ice at the Honda Center. The arena is loud, packed with fans in Anaheim Ducks jerseys. As the puck drops and the action starts, players zoom back and forth until — boom! A shot, and the Ducks score. But when the music hits for the first goal of the game, it’s not the typical “We Will Rock You” by Queen. It’s “Come Out and Play” by local heroes, and one of Orange County’s most influential punk bands, the Offspring.
To celebrate the third annual Come Out and Play Night, the Ducks have once again collaborated with the band for an evening of hockey, music and special exclusive merchandise for fans. The event will take place Tuesday at the Honda Center against the Vancouver Canucks. The collaborative effort began in 2024, but at the time, no one knew if it would last, including the Offspring’s guitarist, Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman, who told The Times in a phone interview from Canada while on tour with Bad Religion that he and the band hoped it would be more than a one-time event. “This was the first time we’d ever teamed up with an organized sports team, and the fact that it’s an Orange County team, where we grew up, made it feel right,” Noodles said. “It’s been really fun, but we had no idea how long it would last. Now it’s three years later.”
Merrit Tully, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the Ducks said that the concept for the collaboration between the club and the Offspring came organically as part of an evolution the organization was going through.
“We started putting a lot more emphasis on the in-arena experience a little over three years ago. That gave us the opportunity to rethink music, not just as something played between periods, but as something that could really elevate the experience for fans and players alike,” Tully said. “As this was happening, we approached our 30th season, and we were really leaning into our Orange County roots. We looked at collaborating with the Offspring, since they grew up just a few miles from here, and their rise happened at the same time our franchise was starting. This just felt authentically Orange County in a way that was hard to ignore.”
Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal and Noodles hold albums by the Offspring.
(Jordan Bathe)
For Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal, who was recently named NHL Third Star of the Week, having a collaboration with a band like the Offspring has special sentimental meaning. “I remember growing up hearing rock music a lot back in my home country, the Czech Republic,” Dostal said. “My parents would play punk rock and metal when they were driving me to the rink for practice, so hearing the Offspring now kind of brings me back to that.”
Dostal said that he loves many rock and alternative bands he remembers hearing back in his home country, such as Linkin Park. He also said that, as an athlete, music is part of his daily regimen, and it is the same with the Ducks. “We listen to music every day, before practice, before games. It’s a big part of how we get ready,” he said. “I grew up listening to this kind of music, so whenever I hear these songs, it just pumps me up.”
For fans who attended the two previous Come Out and Play Nights, people should expect lots of enthusiasm and high energy, mixing the intensity of a concert and a hockey game. “Those nights definitely had a different vibe. You can feel it from the ice,” Dostal said. “The fans are excited, the music is louder, and it just feels like something special for everyone in the building.”
Noodles said he agreed with Dostal and added that he thinks the collaboration makes sense because there are a lot of parallels between punk rock and sports like surfing, skating and ice hockey. “With surfing and skating, there’s always been that mix of flow and violence. You’re carving, you’re gliding, and then sometimes you take a wave on the head,” he said. “Hockey has that same thing. It can be really violent, but then there are moments where it’s all speed and movement.”
With a band having a successful career for over three decades, Noodles said there have been instances of being approached by professional athletes who are fans of the Offspring. “Over the years, we’ve had professional athletes come up to us as fans for sure. One time, Dennis Rodman came out onstage with us and did ‘Come Out and Play,’” he said. “Our producer, Bob Rock, is a huge hockey fan and really got us into going to the Ducks and Kings games.”
Members of the band the Offspring pose for a photo during a pre-game puck ceremony of the game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 27, 2025, at Honda Center.
(Debora Robinson / NHLI via Getty Images)
Noodles said he appreciates that a band like the Offspring has generations of fans and values how much the OC music scene is still thriving. “We’ve always had late teens and early 20s kids in the front row, but now we’re seeing younger kids and their parents, too. There’s a really wide age range at our shows now, and that’s been pretty cool to see,” he said. “The Orange County scene is still really alive. You see a mix of people from the old bands, but there are also a lot of younger bands coming up. I actually love going to see younger bands because nobody cares who I am. I can just stand in the pit and watch the show.”
This idea of generations of fans is also seen in the NHL, and Dostal agrees it can be seen with fans of the Ducks. He said this is one of the reasons he loves working with an OC band. “The Offspring are local, the Ducks represent Orange County, and I’m really happy I can be part of something that connects the two,” he said. Dostal also said that a custom collaborative design on a mask will be revealed at the Come Out and Play Night against the Canucks. “I worked with the guys in the Offspring, we threw around ideas together, and I told them they could basically do whatever they wanted. I’m really excited for fans to see it,” Dostal said.
Fans of the Ducks and the Offspring can expect a night to remember. It’s all about connection, and giving fans of the music and the team a chance to bring the worlds of sports and punk together for one special night. “Beyond ticket sales, we look at how fans respond in the building,” Tully said. “When we score and the arena reacts together to an Offspring song, that tells us the connection is real.”
Dostal agreed with the sentiment and said he is humbled by the collaborative event, which he said is fan emphasized. “The Offspring is a huge band all over the world, so being able to work with them and represent that on the ice is something I really appreciate.”
Díaz, who signed a three-year, $69-million contract in December as the most sough-after reliever in free agency, pitched for Puerto Rico in the 2023 WBC but sufferd a right patellar tendon tear while celebrating a win over the Dominican Republic that pushed the team into the quarterfinals. He missed the entire 2023 MLB season as a result.
His announcement comes days after it was revealed Dodgers teammate Shohei Ohtani will not pitch in the WBC in order to focus on ramping up to pitch during the season without restrictions. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will pitch for Team Japan and catcher Will Smith and recently-retired left-hander Clayton Kershaw will be on the Team USA roster.
After five seasons as football coach at Orange Lutheran, Rod Sherman is leaving. The school announced Monday that “effective today, Rod Sherman has concluded his tenure as head football coach.”
Last week, there was speculation of Sherman’s future after a social media post indicated he was out as coach. In response to a text, Sherman said he was still head coach.
Sherman, who also helped his wife, Kristen, coach flag football at Orange Lutheran, went 3-9 last season, including two forfeit losses. During the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, the Lancers upset No. 1-seeded St. John Bosco.
His team won a Southern Section Division 2 championship in 2021 and went 33-29 overall in five seasons. It was his second stint at Orange Lutheran. He had been an assistant coach and athletic director starting in the 1990s when Jim Kunau was head coach, then left to be a head coach in Colorado. The school indicated it will launch a search for Sherman’s replacement.
His wife is still listed as Orange Lutheran’s flag football coach but that is expected to change, too.
The team’s general manager, Kyla Laulhere, and offensive line coach Chris Ward will run the program until a new head coach is finalized. Ward, a graduate of Mater Dei and UCLA, has no interest in being head coach. Offensive coordinator Austin Pettis, an Orange Lutheran graduate, could be a top candidate.
Coaching in the Trinity League has become similar to a college or NFL team. The expectations are so high that not winning at a top level can result in a coaching change within three to five years. JSerra also made a change this past season. Santa Margarita had a first-year coach this past year, alumnus Carson Palmer, who won a Division 1 and state title.
Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta’s move to AC Milan has been called off because of issues with his medical.
But Palace are still set to sign Wolves forward Jorgen Strand Larsen in a £48m deal before Monday’s 19:00 GMT transfer deadline.
France forward Mateta, who has been nursing a knee issue, had an initial medical examination on Sunday followed by additional tests on Monday.
The Italian club have now pulled out of the £30m deal for the 28-year-old, who wants to leave Selhurst Park.
Palace had been unwilling to let him go without having a replacement, but agreed a deal for Strand Larsen and granted Mateta permission to have an initial medical in London before flying to Milan.
Nottingham Forest have also been interested in the striker and had a £35m bid rejected by Palace last weekend.
After the 1-1 draw at Forest on Sunday, Palace manager Oliver Glasner said: “I expect either Mateta or someone else here as a striker.
“Everybody is really working very hard, but it is so close to the end of the window, so it makes it more difficult. I always try to be positive, so I hope.
“Worst case, we sell Mateta and no-one comes in, then it’s not a good window for Palace.”
SANTA CLARA — The Rams took care of their first order of business, signing coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead to contract extensions, the team announced Monday.
McVay, 40, and Snead, 55, were entering the final years of their contracts.
McVay, who was hired in 2017, and Snead, who has been the general manager since 2012, had previously been extended after Super Bowl appearances in the 2018 and 2021 seasons. They had offers on the table before this season but did not sign them.
The Rams have made two Super Bowl appearances and have been in the playoffs seven times in McVay’s nine seasons.
The Rams finished 12-5 this season and advanced to the NFC championship game before losing to the Seattle Seahawks, who play the New England Patriots on Sunday in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
The Rams will now turn their attention to possible extensions for receiver Puka Nacua, defensive lineman Kobie Turner, edge rusher Byron Young and offensive lineman Steve Avila.
UCLA coach Cori Close constantly reminds her players to ignore every mention of a streak and any hint that they have arrived.
The Bruins are hoping to extend one streak and avenge another this season, but the only way Close and her players believe they can accomplish that is ignoring all of it.
No. 2 UCLA was in complete control during an 88-65 win over No. 8 Iowa Sunday, extending its winning streak to 15 games. As we reach February and inch closer to March, is this veteran UCLA team with tremendous depth ready to avenge its streak of losing to the eventual national champion during three consecutive seasons?
Hawkeyes coach Jan Jensen suggested yes, she just lost to the best team in the country.
“We played Connecticut, ranked No. 1, and we’ve now played UCLA,” Jensen said during her postgame interview on Hawkeye Radio Network. “There’s no question in my mind who No. 1 is. I haven’t played three and four, but I wouldn’t argue against UCLA. They just have so many weapons and they’re so efficient.”
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Close joked she expected Jensen’s endorsement, but knocked the suggestion the Bruins are ready to play for a national championship.
“We’re not yet,” Close said with no hesitation. “We’re not. I think that one of the things that last year taught me as a leader is that you can never feel like you’ve arrived at your standard. The team that starts reading what the outside world is saying about them or starts settling into a comfort zone, they’re the ones that lose their momentum and lose their edge.
“I think that the edge is a really good place because it’s where your talent is not the factor. It’s when you’re forced to develop the discipline and the skill that it takes to really be successful. And I want our team to live on that edge every day.”
During seemingly every media interview this season, her experienced players have echoed that message.
UCLA assistant coach Tasha Brown was the latest to inspire the team, drawing on her experience during a safari. Her group saw friendly lions during the day, but they were warned they had to leave by dusk because that’s when the lions began to hunt.
The Bruins agreed they could be friendly before and after games, but during games, they must hunt.
“The target is not on our backs, we have a target on other people,” said Angela Dugalic, who led the Bruins with 22 points off the bench against Iowa on Sunday. “… We’re not taking anybody or any team, any game for granted. I don’t care where you’re ranked, or who you are, at the end of the day, you’re our opponent and that’s it.”
Speaking of streaks
John Wooden in 1972.
(Associated Press)
The UCLA women’s basketball team’s 15-game winning streak stirs memories of the most iconic winning streak in Bruins history.
It began with a UCLA men’s basketball victory over UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 23, 1971. And it continued for an NCAA-record 88 remarkable games. Notre Dame rallied from a 17-point deficit to earn a 71-70 win over UCLA to end the streak on Jan. 19, 1974.
“It’s the continuation thing that makes you proud,” UCLA coach John Wooden said. “It’s not something one team could do all by itself.”
The Times revisited the Bruins’ streak in great detail in 2010. Read more here.
Google him?
Bob Chesney, center, with athletic director Martin Jarmond, left, and Chancellor Julio Frenk during his introduction in December.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
New UCLA football coach Bob Chesney spent the last week running some of the same motivational plays that vaulted Indiana coach Curt Cignetti to a national title.
Like Cignetti, Chesney won big at James Madison before earning a head coaching job at a Big Ten school nobody expected to contend for a conference title, much less a national championship.
Cignetti famously stated: “I win. Google me” during a new introducing him as the Hoosiers’ new head football coach. He followed it up by setting championship expectations at a school that held the record for most losses in NCAA history.
During a Wooden Athletic Fund fundraiser last week, Chesney told donors: “When we as a staff talk to these recruits, we want UCLA to be considered the greatest place in the world to play football. Period. That’s it. The greatest place in the world to play football. Which means the greatest place in the world to then watch a football game. And it’s the greatest place in the world to be connected with the players and the coaches and the community within it. It really does take a village, and there’s never been a time in the history of sports you that you can affect that team. Let’s go be great and make this the greatest place in the world to play football.”
Chesney followed it up by firing up a broader audience during a UCLA men’s basketball game at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday.
“It’s an honor to be here. I’d like to introduce you to our staff, the best staff in the world. … I’ve been here about a month now. Looking around, there’s nothing average that I see about UCLA. There is nothing average. And I did not come here to be average. This is the team of the future. That future starts now. Go Bruins.”
Perfect again
Jordan Chiles competes in floor exercise on her way to a perfect score.
“I think I’m understanding my body,” Chiles said. “… I’ve been sick for the past two days. Obviously last week our team was pretty down and I was the last one to get it. And so I think what really helps me get to this point is really my teammates. Understanding that no matter where I’m at, no matter the circumstance, we all have each other’s back.”
No. 3 UCLA women’s water polo (6-0) won the Tritan Invitational, defeating No. 2 USC (8-1) Sunday at the Canyonview Aquatic Center at UC San Diego.
The Bruins have defeated five teams ranked in the top 10 and improved to 57-42 in the series against the Trojans.
Senior Taylor Smith led UCLA with a game-high five goals and added an assist. Senior Bia Mantellato and freshman Katherine O’Dea finished with two goals apiece. Mantellato drew a penalty, an exclusion and tallied a steal in the win. O’Dea drew an exclusion and recorded two assists for a total of four points in her first matchup against the Trojans. Junior Lauren Steele earned 13 saves and one steal while surrendering nine goals.
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Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It’s the final week of regular-season high school basketball before playoff pairings are announced Saturday.
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Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
With basketball playoff pairings coming Saturday, there has been few changes at the top for boys or girls.
Sierra Canyon (21-1) and Redondo Union (24-3) have stayed No. 1 and No. 2 for weeks. Sierra Canyon still likely has two challenging games left in the Mission League tournament Monday and Wednesday, but both would be at home. Redondo Union faces rival Mira Costa for a second time Tuesday at Mira Costa.
Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian.
(Nick Koza)
In girls, Ontario Christian (26-1) closes out the regular season on Tuesday at Rancho Christian. Sierra Canyon (24-2) has never lost in the Mission League and came away Saturday with a win over a very good Oak Park team. Etiwanda (26-2), the defending state champion, continues to be the danger for Ontario Christian and Sierra Canyon.
Rising teams in boys basketball: Village Christian had an 11-game winning streak snapped but remains dangerous. Corona del Mar (26-1) has a final game left against Newport Harbor and can be a top seed in Southern Section Division 1. Damien has been surging with a 26-4 record. Palisades (14-11) is on a six-game winning streak and the heavy favorite to win the City Section Open Division title. The Dolphins might might be a surprise team in state playoffs depending on what division they are placed.
Rising teams in girls basketball: Sage Hill (23-4), despite a coaching change in the middle of the season, will be an Open Division team and has Texas-bound Amalia Holquin in top form. Brentwood won the Gold Coast League title. Mater Dei, despite losing its best player to injury, has won the Trinity League title.
Boys basketball
Brentwood’s Ethan Hill.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Brentwood (24-3) is tied for first place in the Gold Coast League with Crossroads going into the final week of the regular season.
Orange Lutheran pulled off the biggest upsets of the week, knocking off St. John Bosco. The Trinity League tournament begins Monday. Orange Lutheran coach Nate Klitzing, despite having little size on his team, has done a remarkable job getting his team close to a playoff spot.
The Mission League tournament continues Monday with Loyola at Sierra Canyon and Crespi at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. The winners play Wednesday. All four teams have earned automatic playoff berths. Loyola first-year coach Cam Joyce got his team into the playoffs with a must-win against St. Francis on Saturday. Otherwise, the Cubs’ record would have been below .500.
Heritage Christian knocked off Village Christian 74-71 with two freshmen and three sophomores in the starting lineup.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
A young Heritage Christian team is getting dangerous and upset Village Christian. Here’s the report.
Cleveland is headed to the West Valley League championship. San Pedro hosts Narbonne on Friday to decide the Marine League championship.
The Toyota Arena in Ontario will host the Southern Section Open Division finals Feb. 27 or Feb. 28.
Ed Waters of Crenshaw earned his 300th coaching victory.
Ventura upset Mater Dei on Saturday to add some interest in the Southern Section girls pairings.
Sierra Canyon is the new school for standout guard Hamiley Arenas, the sister of Alijah Arenas. She averaged 23.3 points for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame as a freshman. She hasn’t played for the Knights this season after a stress fracture injury and hasn’t been medically cleared to return. She attended Sierra Canyon in middle school.
The Trailblazers are 24-2 and routed Oak Park behind Jerzy Robinson, who scored 29 points.
Amalia Holguin of Sage Hill turned in a 64-point performance on senior night against Laguna Beach.
Birmingham (22-3) plays Granada Hills (18-7) on Monday at Granada Hills to decide the West Valley League championship.
Palisades played its first home basketball game since the Palisades fire in January of 2025. Here’s the report.
When the baseball season begins next month, three of the top senior pitchers will come from the Bay League in Garrett Jacobs (left) of Mira Costa, Robby Zimmerman of Redondo Union and Kai Van Scoyoc of Palos Verdes.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
The Bay League held a media day last week, and it’s clear the league has three of the top senior pitchers for the coming season in Garrett Jacobs,Robby Zimmerman and Kai Van Scoyoc. Two are UCLA commits, the other a USC commit.
Get ready for big sophomore season from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame’s Dru Wilson. An outfielder who will be one of the team’s closers. pic.twitter.com/JZWpV0Mg2T
There will be few teams in Southern California with more pitchers who can throw with high velocity than Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. The Knights have two closers in sophomore Dru Wilson and senior Malakye Matsumoto, who throw in the 90s. The starting pitching is also pretty good with Beckett Berg, A.J. LaSorta, JuJu Diaz-Jones and Peter Jackson. Have no sympathy for the Knights if they have to play a doubleheader with their pitching depth.
Former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame pitcher Hunter Greene returned to his alma mater to present two scholarships to students. Here’s the report.
Four freshmen ready to contribute immediately for UCLA baseball. Angel Cervantes (Warren), Zach Strickland (Maranatha), Dominic Cadiz (SO Notre Dame), Aiden Aguayo (La Mirada).
Palisades football coach Dylen Smith is the NFL Don Shula coach of the year.
(Steve Galluzzo)
Palisades football coach Dylen Smith has been named one of two high school football coaches of the year and winner of the NFL Don Shula High School Coaching Award. He guided the Dolphins to 10 consecutive wins in the wake of the Palisades fire. . . . .
There’s growing speculation that Orange Lutheran will announce that football coach Rod Sherman and the school are parting ways. He has been head coach since 2021 and his team eliminated top-seeded St. John Bosco in the Division 1 playoffs last season. Sherman said last week that he was still coach. School officials have declined comment. . . .
South East has an opening for football coach. The athletic director is seeking applicants at: drc0906@lausd.net.
Austin Montoya is the new football coach at St. Paul. He was head coach at Schurr last season. . . .
Dave Ramos is returning as football coach at Schurr. . . .
Former Warren and Cathedral football coach Kevin Pearson has been hired as the offensive coordinator at Long Beach Poly. He has worked for some outstanding quarterbacks through the years, including Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young. . . .
Frankie Valdez is the new girls volleyball coach at Viewpoint. . . .
Mater Dei is seeded No. 1 for the Southern Section girls water polo playoffs. Here are the pairings. . . .
Aaron Castillo is the new flag football coach at Mater Dei. . . .
Former Franklin High baseball coach Rick Campbell has died. He took his team to three appearances at Dodger Stadium in City finals, winning twice. . . .
Birmingham won City Section wrestling dual meet championships for boys and girls on Saturday. . . .
One of the best freshman girls soccer players has been St. Genevieve’s Mia Rizo. Here’s the report. . . .
The Chen brothers, JT (left), a sophomore, and Ollie, a freshman, have helped Harvard-Westlake clinch the Mission League boys soccer title.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Harvard-Westlake clinched its third Mission League soccer title in four years and Cathedral won the Del Rey League. Here’s the report. . . .
South East is looking like a City Section soccer title contender. Here’s the report.
From the archives: George Holani
Boise State RB George Holani runs into the secondary at the 2023 L.A. Bowl.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Former St. John Bosco running back George Holani is going to the Super Bowl as a back-up running back for the Seattle Seahawks. He was a star for the Braves and at Boise State.
He had back-to-back years rushing for more than 1,000 yards for St. John Bosco before graduating in 2019.
From ESPN.com, a story on a survey asking youth coaches why they quit.
From the Washington Post, a story on a high school basketball coach in Maryland in his 39th season.
From the Los Angeles Times, a story on the positive reception high school coaches have for new UCLA football coach Bob Chesney.
Tweets you might have missed
This is pretty amazing. The official is Drew Spooner. The coach is Derek Fisher. Spooner’s father, Bill, was an NBA official when Fisher was a player and coach. pic.twitter.com/sOS1bZbtp1
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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Pakistan’s decision to boycott their T20 World Cup game against India has been termed a political move, with cricketers and politicians in both countries and around the world urging the International Cricket Council (ICC) to resolve the dispute.
The Pakistani government on Sunday issued a statement saying its men’s cricket team will participate in the global tournament but will not take the field in the match against archrivals India on February 15.
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In a swift response, the ICC was critical of Pakistan’s move of “selective participation” and asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to consider the “significant and long-term implications” of its decision.
A decades-old political rift between the two nuclear-armed countries is blamed for their frosty sporting ties.
Pakistan was carved out of India in 1947, resulting in a bloody division of the subcontinent by the colonial British. Over the past 78 years, the nations have fought four wars, exchanged countless skirmishes and remained at odds primarily over the disputed Kashmir region that both claim in entirety but administer parts of.
The South Asian archrivals returned from the brink of an all-out war in May, when both countries clashed at their shared border before an internationally-brokered ceasefire.
An official of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has supported the ICC’s statement asking Pakistan to reconsider the move.
“The ICC has issued a big statement, they have spoken about sportsmanship,” BCCI’s Vice President Rajeev Shukla told the ANI news agency in India.
“We completely agree with the ICC. BCCI won’t make any comments on it until we speak with the ICC.”
However, former cricketers and politicians have called upon the ICC to act as a mediator between both countries’ cricket boards.
“Cricket can open doors when politics closes them,” former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi wrote on X.
He urged the ICC to “lead and prove through decisions, not statements, that it is impartial, independent and fair to every member.”
‘Sport has been politicised’
Prominent Indian politician Shashi Tharoor was critical of the politicisation of cricket, and slammed the BCCI’s decision to expel Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League in January.
“It is pretty disgraceful that sport has been politicised in this way on both sides,” he told reporters in New Delhi.
“I don’t think that Mustafizur should have been denied his contract to play in Kolkata. It was most unfortunate. [An] intrusion of politics. I think the Bangladeshi reaction was an overreaction, but it is also a reflection of the same, and Pakistan is trying to show its solidarity with Bangladesh. ”
Tharoor, who is a member of India’s main opposition party, said the situation was “spiralling out of control”.
“Sports, especially a sport like cricket which means so much to all the people, should be a means of bringing us together at least on the playing field, rather than allowing this to go on like this,” he said.
The 69-year-old, who is also an author of several books on history and politics, called on the ICC to help mend the ties.
“This is now a wake-up call for all concerned to contact each other on an emergency basis. The ICC could be the platform for it. Just say, ‘Let’s call off this nonsense’. You can’t go on like this forever.”
Pakistan’s decision, which came six days before the start of the World Cup, has cast a shadow on the marquee fixture of the group stage.
India and Pakistan were scheduled to play in Colombo on February 15 in a game that attracts millions of viewers from across the world and is seen as a major revenue-generating fixture for the tournament’s organisers and sponsors.
Outspoken former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said Pakistan could face sanctions from the ICC, but such a move would be hypocritical as teams have boycotted games at previous World Cups.
“Where was ICC when Australia and West Indies forfeited their matches in 1996; England refusing to travel to Harare and New Zealand to Nairobi in 2003,” he said on X.
Latif, who played 37 Tests and 166 one-day internationals (ODIs), feared that Pakistan may be sanctioned by the ICC.
“They [Pakistan] don’t seem to care about it,” he said.
‘Would Pakistan refuse to play the final?’
Should Pakistan keep their word and boycott the group game, they will forfeit two points, which could have an impact on their standings in Group A.
Pakistan and India could meet again in the tournament, in the final on March 8, but with the multiple stages of progress between the group game and the final, it is unclear how that match would pan out.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen questioned whether Pakistan would boycott the tournament decider as well.
“Would Pakistan refuse to play the World Cup final?” he asked.
Cricketers from across the border condemned Pakistan’s boycott of the game.
“This isn’t about guts at all, this is about foolishness,” Madan Lal, a former Test cricketer and coach, told Indian media.
“Because Pakistan wants to show India down, that’s why they’re taking all these decisions. That’s the reason their growth isn’t happening, either. If you keep looking at others, what will you do for your own growth?”
Indian cricket writer and commentator Harsha Bhogle said the boycott could deal a financial blow to Pakistan cricket.
“If there is an inevitable reduction in the ICC’s revenue caused by Pakistan’s forfeit and future uncertainty, the least affected countries, given other strong sources of revenue, will be India, Australia and England,” he said in a social media post.
“The most affected will be those completely reliant on revenues from the ICC; not just the smaller and associate nations but also the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and…… Pakistan!”
Pakistan will open their T20 World Cup campaign on the opening day, February 7, against the Netherlands in Colombo.
The 2009 champions will play all their games, including any Super 8 fixtures and knockouts, in Sri Lanka.
This follows an ICC-brokered agreement between the PCB and the BCCI in December 2024 that allows both teams to play their games at a neutral venue when the neighbour hosts an ICC event.
Pakistan’s remaining Group A fixtures are against the United States on February 10 and against Namibia on February 18.
“I’ve been sniffing and knocking on the door for a couple of majors since those decisions have been made, and those moments did validate that decision.
“It’s good to see people wanting to play where it motivates them to be their best.”
Rose finished 23 under at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open, beating the tournament’s previous best winning score of 22 under by Tiger Woods in 1999 and George Burns in 1987.
Rose also became the oldest player to secure a wire-to-wire finish on tour – leading in all four rounds – since Rocco Mediate in October 2010 aged 47.
“I want to play in and among the best players in the world; that’s what keeps me motivated, keeps me hungry, keeps me pushing,” Rose continued.
“It would have been easy to potentially do other things but none of that excited me and none of that gave me access to what I wanted to achieve.
“I always felt my childhood self wouldn’t feel very good about making that decision and giving up on those dreams.”
Five-time major champion Koepka, 35, made his comeback at Torrey Pines under a new returning member programme.
The also opened the door to the return of other major winners Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith but all three pledged their commitment to LIV before the 2 February cut-off date to apply to get on the programme.
Koepka agreed to make a $5m (£3.7m) charitable donation as part of his return, while 35-year-old Reed, who is planning to play on the DP World Tour this year, is eligible to begin competing on the PGA Tour in August, 2026 with a view to reinstating his membership for the 2027 season.
The seventh in an occasional seriesof profiles on Southern California athletes who have flourished in their post-playing careers.
Tai Babilonia’s life changed forever when she was asked to hold a boy’s hand.
At first she resisted.
“I didn’t want to,” she remembered. “He’s a yucky boy.”
But Mabel Fairbanks, Babilonia’s skating coach, wouldn’t take no for an answer, bribing the 8-year-old with stickers and a Barbie doll if she would just reach out and grab the hand of 10-year-old Randy Gardner.
It would be another 40 years before she let go.
By then Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner had become one of the most decorated pairs in U.S. figure skating history, their individual names eventually melding into one.
“My last name is ‘and Randy,’” Babilonia said. “And I embrace it.”
U.S. pairs figure skating duo of Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner in 1979.
(Tony Duffy / Getty Images)
As a pair “Tai and Randy” won five U.S. championships, medaled in three world championships and qualified for the Olympics twice, all before Babilonia’s 21st birthday. Their success also pushed open doors that had long been closed since Babilonia, Black on her mother’s side and part Filipino and Native American on her dad’s side, was the first U.S. skater from any of those ethnic groups to compete in the Olympics or win a world title.
Among those to follow her were Debi Thomas, a two-time U.S. champion and a bronze medalist at the 1988 Winter Olympics, and Elizabeth Punsalan, a two-time Olympian and five-time national champion in ice dancing.
At about the same time Babilonia and Gardner were moving from competitive skating and the Olympics to the Ice Capades, another young girl was just starting to pursue her own Olympic dreams. Tiffany Chin would go on to win a national championship, two Skate America titles and just miss a medal in the 1984 Winter Games, retiring before she was old enough to legally drink.
In that brief but brilliant career, Chin changed U.S. figure skating forever. She was the country’s first Asian American national champion and first Chinese American Winter Olympian, paving the way for Olympic medalists Kristi Yamaguchi, Nathan Chen, Michelle Kwan and siblings Alex and Maia Shibutani.
After retiring from skating, Babilonia, now 66, dabbled in coaching and sportswear design, became a motivational speaker, an activist and, most importantly, a grandmother. But the legacy Babilonia and Chin created will be on display in Italy this month when the U.S. fields one of the most eclectic Olympic figure skating teams ever, with 12 of the 16 athletes having immigrant parents.
Five of the six singles skaters — Alysa Liu, Isabeau Levito, Ilia Malinin, Maxim Naumov and Andrew Torgashev — are first-generation Americans while the other, women’s national champion Amber Glenn, identifies as pansexual. Pairs skaters Emily Chan, Spencer Howe and Ellie Kam and ice dancers Anthony Ponomarenko, Christina Carreira, Vadym Kolesnik and Emilea Zingas are also immigrants or first-generation Americans while Madison Chock, the reigning Olympic champion in ice dancing, has Hawaiian, Chinese, German, English, Irish, French and Dutch ancestry.
At a time when diversity, equity and inclusion programs are being dismantled, immigrants are being attacked and diversity is labeled a weakness, America’s Olympic figure skaters have come to mirror the country at large.
“It’s wonderful and so important,” said Babilonia. “Especially now.”
Nearly 60 years after Babilonia and Gardner skated together for the first time, the decision to pair them seems inspired, even providential.
It was neither. Fairbanks, Babilonia learned later, simply needed a couple to skate in a club show at the Culver City Ice Arena.
“We just happened to be similar in height. And I guess we were cute,” Babilonia said last month during a lengthy interview at the Colonial Revival-style mansion in the West Adams District that houses the LA84 Foundation.
Gardner was already an excellent skater, as strong and athletic as he was outgoing and friendly; Babilonia was shy and far less steady on the ice. But that wasn’t the only thing that made their pairing unusual.
Gardner was white and Babilonia was Black. And in 1968, asking them to hold hands in public was scandalous, even in Culver City. However, Fairbanks, a legendary coach who had spent much of her life pushing back against convention, didn’t see color. She focused only on talent.
Randy Gardner and Tai Babilonia roller skating together in May 1979.
(Tony Duffy / Getty Images)
“Mabel was the coach who taught all races, Hispanic, Black, mixed, Jewish,” Babilonia said. “Mabel broke down that wall.”
Fairbanks, who was Black and Seminole, was born in the Deep South at a time when ice rinks were segregated. Even after moving to New York, where she bought a pair of skates for $1 at a pawn shop, then taught herself how to use them, she skated mostly in nightclub shows, where she was limited to jumps and moves that wouldn’t show up the white skaters.
She soon moved to Los Angeles, touring internationally with the Ice Capades and Ice Follies, before becoming a coach and mentoring hundreds of young skaters, including Olympic medalists Scott Hamilton, Yamaguchi and Thomas.
“If it weren’t for Mabel Fairbanks, you wouldn’t have any color in the predominantly white skating world,” said Babilonia, who is shopping a biopic of Fairbanks, who died in 2001.
“People don’t really know her. She’s like a hidden figure.”
Yet three years after Fairbanks made Tai and Randy a pair, they left her for John Nicks, who was coaching at the Paramount Iceland.
“He took our skating to a whole different level. And it happened really quick,” said Babilonia, who still calls her former coach Mr. Nicks. “That’s when we started winning and improving and just really became a great pair of skaters.”
Two years later Babilonia and Gardner won the U.S. junior nationals and three years after that they won the first of five national championships, qualifying for the 1976 Winter Olympics in Austria, where they finished fifth. Gardner wasn’t old enough to vote and Babilonia didn’t have a driver’s license. But together they were holding their own against the best pairs skaters in the world.
“Such an incredible year,” Babilonia said. “We won our first U.S. title, became Olympians, I got my learner’s permit and had a crush on Peter Frampton.”
But they were just getting started. Gardner and Babilonia wouldn’t lose in the U.S. championships for the rest of the decade. And 11 months before the next Olympics, they won their first world championship, then celebrated by skating for the queen of England at Wembley Stadium.
Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner compete at the World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo in March 1977.
(Tony Duffy / Getty Images)
With the Winter Games coming back to the U.S. at Lake Placid, the Americans were favored to keep the Soviet Union off the top step of the medal platform for the first time since 1960, the last time the Olympics were held in the U.S.
Only they never made it to the ice.
Nicks had moved his skaters from Paramount to the Ice Capades Chalet, a buff-colored concrete-block building in Santa Monica, five blocks from the Pacific Ocean. During a training session there, Gardner inflamed a groin injury that had plagued him for months.
It got worse when they got to Lake Placid and Gardner had a Xylocaine injection, but the anesthetic was too strong and it only made things worse; the pain was gone, but now Gardner couldn’t feel his leg at all. They pulled out of the competition moments before it was supposed to begin.
The next morning, with the skaters, their parents and their coach perched on the stage at a high school auditorium for a hastily arranged news conference, hundreds of reporters tried to get a shattered Babilonia to turn on her partner. She didn’t take the bait.
“She totally had my back,” Gardner said. “There was so much camaraderie and trust and love between the two of us. She understood that it was a major injury and it was devastating. It changed the path of our career.”
“I’m not going to say it ruined it,” he added. “It just changed the path.”
Two months after leaving Lake Placid in sorrow, Gardner and Babilonia, who had gone from “Tai and Randy” to the “Heartbreak Kids,” turned pro, signing a three-year contract with the Ice Capades that included endorsement deals.
They never skated in the Olympics again. And while the money was good, the pace was punishing, with eight shows a week on a 30-week tour.
“You’re performing every night, weekends two shows a day,” Babilonia said. “If you don’t pace yourself, which I didn’t, it will rock your world in a negative way.
“You can’t do all the tricks you did as a teenager every night.”
Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner skating in 1979, the same year they won the pairs world championship.
(Tony Duffy / Getty Images)
Babilonia had never truly dealt with the emotional pain of the Olympic withdrawal. Now she was also dealing with the strain and fatigue of the ice show schedule as well as an identity crisis.
“Randy figured out how to put Tai and Randy in a box and leave them there and go on with his life,” Babilonia said. “I didn’t know how to separate them from me.”
So she sought answers in amphetamines, heavy drinking and a number of brief but high-profile romances before hitting rock bottom just before her 29th birthday, when she tried to kill herself with an overdose of sleeping pills. Her recovery started seven months later with an emotional first-person account of her fall in People magazine.
“I did it because I knew I had to,” Babilonia, still fit and youthful, said of a confession in which she blamed no one but herself. “I had to stop what I was doing and this was part of my recovery process. I couldn’t say yes quick enough.
“Something inside of me said, ‘This is your moment. Get it out. It may help some people,’” she continued. “And it did.”
The magazine cover story was followed 19 months later by the prime-time NBC movie “On Thin Ice,” which went over much of the same territory, with Babilonia and Gardner playing themselves in many of the skating scenes.
“It took me a while to watch the whole thing. Some scenes were hard,” said Babilonia, who speaks in a confident, careful cadence. “It was just part of my recovery process.”
She’s been sober 17 years and her relationship with Gardner, who came out as gay in 2006 — also in People magazine — has lasted longer than her marriage. Along the way, Babilonia matured from the shy withdrawn child who refused to hold a boy’s hand into a bold, strong and confident woman.
“She’s totally mature. She is worldly. And she’s an advocate for equality in sports, people of color and all that,” said Gardner, 68, whose home in Manhattan Beach is about 10 miles from the Culver City ice rink where he and Babilonia learned to skate once stood.
The former teammates still meet at least once a month and talk on the phone frequently, although they haven’t been on the ice together since Gardner underwent surgery on his back a year ago.
Flames from a olympic torch passes in front of Tai Babilonia at LA84 Foundation in January.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
When she stopped skating Babilonia tried coaching, but that didn’t work because she didn’t know how to teach the moves she had so easily mastered. Instead, she launched a clothing line, became a motivational speaker, volunteered with various groups promoting diversity on and off the ice, co-hosted a TV interview show taped in Santa Barbara and, for the last nine years, has co-hosted a holiday skate party for kids from the Union Rescue Mission. She also continues to skate in charity events.
All that in addition to her work with Atoy Wilson, a former U.S. novice champion, on the Mabel Fairbanks biopic, tentatively titled “Black Ice: The Mabel Fairbanks Story.”
“I want to try everything,” she said. “I want to experience everything.”
But her real job, she quickly adds, is being a grandmother to Ryett, her son’s 2-year-old boy in Arizona.
“I love being a grandmother,” she said. “Absolutely love it.”
She is also a prolific presence on social media, where most of her posts are either trenchant comments on the politics of today or black-and-white photos from back in the day, when she and Gardner — Tai and Randy — were winning medals and opening doors, helping to change U.S. figure skating forever.
“I appreciate what we did more as I get older,” Babilonia said. “We were pretty good and we made our mark. We worked hard. We became two-time Olympians. We met the queen of England.
MELBOURNE, Australia — Carlos Alcaraz is 22, he’s the youngest man ever to win all four of the major titles in tennis, and he had to achieve what no man previously has done to complete the career Grand Slam in Australia.
The top-ranked Alcaraz dropped the first set of the Australian Open final in 33 minutes Sunday as Novak Djokovic went out hard in pursuit of an unprecedented 25th major title, but the young Spaniard dug deep to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.
“Means the world to me,” Alcaraz said. “It is a dream come true for me.”
Djokovic had won all 10 of his previous finals at Melbourne Park and, despite being 38, gave himself every chance of extending that streak to 11 when he needed only two sets to win.
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after defeating Novak Djokovic to win the Australian Open on Sunday.
(Asanka Brendon Ratnayake / Associated Press)
Alcaraz rose to the challenge.
“Tennis can change on just one point. One point, one feeling, one shot can change the whole match completely,” he said. “I played well the first set, but you know, in front of me I had a great and inspired Novak, who was playing great, great shots.”
A couple of unforced errors from Djokovic early in the second set gave Alcaraz the confidence.
He scrambled to retrieve shots that usually would be winners for Djokovic, and he kept up intense pressure on the most decorated player in men’s tennis history. There were extended rallies where each player hit enough brilliant shots to usually win a game.
Djokovic has made an art form of rallying from precarious positions. Despite trailing two sets to one, he went within the width of a ball in the fourth set’s ninth game of turning this final around.
After fending off six break points in the set, he exhorted the crowd when he got to 30-30. The crowd responded with chants of “Nole, Nole, Nole!”
When Djokovic earned a breakpoint chance — his first since the second set — he whipped up his supporters again. But when Djokovic sent a forehand long on the next point, Alcaraz took it as a reprieve.
A short forehand winner, a mis-hit from Alcaraz, clipped the net and landed inside the line to give him game point. Then Djokovic hit another forehand long.
Alcaraz responded with a roar, and sealed victory by taking two of the next three games.
As he was leaving the court, Alcaraz signed the lens of the TV camera with a recognition: “Job finished. 4/4 Complete.”
Men: Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, Hammy McMillan, Kyle Waddell (alternate)
Women: Rebecca Morrison, Sophie Jackson, Jennifer Dodds, Sophie Sinclair, Fay Henderson (alternate)
Mixed: Mouat and Dodds
In Beijing four years ago, curling was the only sport to return to Britain with medals. Eve Muirhead’s rink took women’s gold and Mouat’s men claimed silver.
Muirhead is no longer playing – instead, she will lead the overall GB team as chef du mission – but her Bejing team-mate Dodds is.
“Jen and the kids” is how the women’s rink this time label themselves and, while their inexperience means they are not among the favourites, they could find themselves in contention for a podium place if things go their way.
Edinburgh duo Dodds and Mouat will be fancied in the mixed, though, having lost the bronze-medal match last time.
And Mouat’s rink are the team to beat in the men’s event. For them, anything less than gold would be a disappointment.
