Carson High, the defending City Section Open Division football champions, starts out as No. 1 in the City Section rankings by The Times.
The Colts worked on their strength in the off season after failing to stop the run in a state playoff loss to Delano Kennedy.
The rankings:
1. CARSON. The Colts are getting ambitious, with an opening game against San Diego power Lincoln.
2. CRENSHAW. There’s speed, experience and even more depth on a team that made it to City final in 2025.
3. BIRMINGHAM. An improved passing attack makes the Patriots more dangerous going into opening game against Hart.
4. SAN PEDRO. Returning quarterback Seth Solorio and some good linemen should make the Pirates much better.
5. GARFIELD. The return of running back Ceasar Reyes is a big deal.
6. KING/DREW. The talent is there but the offense has to score points in big games for a breakthrough win.
7. SOUTH GATE. In quarterback Michael Gonzalez, the Rams can build around him and score points in bunches.
8. CLEVELAND. Cavaliers can be a big surprise with returnees at quarterback and running back.
9. EL CAMINO REAL. By midseason, when a couple transfer students become eligible, this will be a dangerous team. Watch out for sophomore Kymani Williams, headed for All-City honors.
10. VENICE. The late Angelo Gasca prepared his assistants to take over one day and now it’s their turn to show what they learned.
Others to watch: Hamilton, University, Eagle Rock, Franklin, Palisades.
Newcastle United have signed defender Amar Dedic from Benfica for about £30m.
Dedic has joined the club on a five-year deal after having a medical on Tyneside on Monday.
He has reunited with manager Matthias Jaissle, with whom he previously won the Austrian title at Red Bull Salzburg in 2023.
“It’s a special feeling and a really big honour for me to join Newcastle United,” he said after the move was announced on Tuesday, his 24th birthday.
“I’m really happy to be here and can’t wait to start playing for the club and the amazing fans.
“Working with Matthias again was a big factor for me. We know each other well. He knows what I can bring on the pitch and I’m really happy to be playing for him again.
“Playing Premier League football at St James’ Park is going to be really special. Every game feels like a big occasion, with an amazing atmosphere. I’m really excited to get started.”
Newcastle had been in the market for a new right-back following the departure of veteran Kieran Trippier, who joined Wolves on a free transfer when his contract expired earlier this summer.
Dedic could quickly be called upon to feature in Newcastle‘s season opener at home to Liverpool on Sunday as Tino Livramento is still recovering from a calf injury he sustained on international duty with England in June.
Jaissle said he was “really looking forward” to working with the defender again.
“He’s a player who I know really well, having worked with him from a young age in Austria and followed his career since,” he said.
“He will bring both defensive and attacking qualities to our squad, which suits the style of football that we want to play.
“He’s athletic, aggressive and technically very good, but also has a lot of potential to develop further.”
For more than four decades, the Lakers were a family-run business. The sibling rivalries still remain.
Jeanie Buss is fighting back after her siblings reportedly voted to sell the family’s remaining stake in the Lakers on Monday. The team’s governor, Buss sent a letter through her attorney to her brothers’ attorneys stating any votes to sell the family’s remaining 17.8% stake in the team to new majority owners Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner are void because the sale cannot be completed without approval of the other trustees: Jeanie and her younger siblings, Janie and Joey.
ESPN reported Monday that the six Buss family siblings, who took over team ownership after their father, Jerry Buss, died in 2013, are selling their shares of the Lakers to Iger and Kushner following a family vote. Iger, the longtime Disney chief executive, and Kushner, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur, agreed last week to buy Mark Walter’s controlling stake of the Lakers for a record valuation of $12.5 billion.
The transactions still need to be approved by the NBA board of governors. Jeanie Buss, who was to remain the Lakers governor for at least five years after Walter’s purchase of the team was approved last October, no longer would be eligible to serve on the board if the Buss family sells its shares. Governors are required to own at least a 15% stake.
“The co-trustees are bound to vote the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. shares to ensure that the minimum 15% ownership requirement is maintained in order to ensure that Jeanie Buss may remain controlling owner,” the letter from Buss’ attorney reads, citing a 2017 court ruling outlining Jeanie Buss’ role. “Any attempt by the co-trustees to do otherwise and any attempt to aid or abet the co-trustees as such would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court.”
The trust was revised in 2017 after a series of legal battles between Jeanie and her older brothers, Johnny and Jim. It stipulated that co-trustees “would take all actions reasonably available to them, including voting the trust’s shares to ensure that [Jeanie Buss] is elected as the controlling owner of the Lakers on an annual basis during [her] lifetime.”
The statement to ESPN attributed to the Buss family regarding the sale read: “We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction. We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.” ESPN didn’t report a price for the shares.
The Buss family has owned the team since 1979, when Jerry Buss bought the franchise, the Forum and the Los Angeles Kings for $67.5 million. The family patriarch leveraged Hollywood glamour with entertainment spectacle to elevate the Lakers into an internationally recognized brand. The NBA’s biggest stars shone brightest in L.A.; Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant helped pile up 10 championships under Buss. The Laker Girls became a harbinger of sports dance teams to come. Celebrities flocked to the courtside seats. Books and TV shows told the team’s Hollywood story.
Each of Buss’ six children — Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse — held titles in the organization. Jeanie was her father’s hand-picked successor. She fought to maintain her position against Johnny and Jim, who tried to reorganize the board of directors to push Jeanie out in 2017. She eventually ousted them from team operations. Joey and Jessie, the two youngest, were fired by the new owners last November. Joey was the team’s alternate governor and vice president of research and development, and Jesse was the assistant general manager. Janie held an administrative role directing the team’s charitable services.
The booming sports business quickly caught up to the team that once held the attention of the city with the league’s biggest stars, iconic “Showtime” style and old Hollywood feel. The Lakers slogged through a six-year playoff drought from 2013-19. The team started falling behind in resources and revenue compared to other organizations that controlled their own arenas and could maximize alternative revenue streams. The Buss family voted to relinquish a majority ownership of the team last year, bringing in Walter, who also owns the Dodgers.
Walter then shockingly flipped the NBA’s crown jewel franchise for a profit of $2.5 billion last week. The investment mogul who is under federal investigation for unpaid loans agreed to sell his stake in the Lakers to Kushner and Iger. Kushner is a co-founder of Thrive Capital, which started a permanent holdings company, Thrive Eternal, this year to invest in sports and cultural brands. Iger is the longtime Disney CEO who already owns Southland soccer club Angel City FC and previously flirted with NFL ownership by trying to build a stadium in Carson before the project ultimately went to the Stan Kroenke-led group that built SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
Before including the Buss shares, the deal for the Lakers’ majority stake already was the largest sum paid for any professional sports franchise, surpassed only by Walter’s $10-billion purchase of the team. It still sits below Sportico’s estimate for the most valuable franchise, with the outlet listing the Dallas Cowboys’ valuation at $15.5 billion.
Minority stakeholders Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who also owns the Los Angeles Times Media Group; real estate billionaire Ed Roski; and Walter business partner Todd Boehly own about 14% of the Lakers, according to Sportico.
How Iger and Kushner will finance the Lakers deal is unclear.
When the duo agreed to buy Walter’s share last week, Kushner and Iger released a statement that in part praised the Buss family’s work with the Lakers.
“We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss,” the statement read. “Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles.”
Major League Baseball’s team owners unanimously have approved the sale of the San Diego Padres to an investor group led by private equity billionaire José E. Feliciano and his wife and business partner, Kwanza Jones.
The league announced the approval Monday after a vote. Feliciano and Jones reached an agreement in May to buy the Padres from the family of late owner Peter Seidler at an MLB-record valuation of $3.9 billion. The deal is still contingent on the official closing of the transaction in the coming weeks.
“José and Kwanza understand the unique place the Padres hold in San Diego and the powerful bond between the club and its fans,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “We look forward to their leadership of the Padres and to working with them to build on the club’s strong foundation in a market that is so important to Major League Baseball.”
Seidler’s family announced its intention to explore a sale of the Padres last November, two years after his death. The 53-year-old Feliciano, a co-founder of Santa Monica-based private equity firm Clearlake Capital, emerged from the competition as the Seidler family’s top choice.
Padres Chief Executive Erik Greupner and general manager A.J. Preller will remain in charge of day-to-day operations, according to MLB’s announcement.
“We are a family first, and becoming owners of the San Diego Padres means joining an even larger one,” Jones and Feliciano said in a statement. “We are grateful to the Seidler family, and especially to Peter, for raising the expectations of what this franchise can achieve. … Our ambition is clear: to bring a World Series championship to San Diego and build an enduring organization capable of competing for championships year after year. We intend to be engaged owners, bringing our energy, experience and perspective while working alongside the talented team already in place and investing ambitiously and thoughtfully in the Padres’ future.
“We are all in and committed to winning.”
Peter Seidler assumed majority control of the Padres in 2020 after first joining their ownership group in 2012, but he became beloved in San Diego for his aggressive financial pursuit of winning and his eagerness to engage with the team’s fan base. He died at age 63 in November 2023.
The Padres dramatically increased their payroll under Seidler, allowing Preller to build the foundation for the current team, which has made four playoff appearances in the past six years and won at least 89 games in three of the last four seasons during the most successful stretch in franchise history. San Diego is currently in the playoff race again, winning 17 of its last 22 games entering Monday to surge into an NL wild-card position at 67-58.
“As far as the day-to-day operations, nothing changes for us,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said in New York before San Diego’s series opener against the Mets. “We’ve got to go out here and play the games, just like we have all season long. The ownership sale has kind of been something that’s been going on throughout the entire year. It doesn’t really affect the play on the field, but we’re excited to have José and Kwanza a part of the Padres and can’t wait to welcome them.”
The minority partners in the Padres’ new ownership group include Joey and Jesse Buss, two sons of former Lakers owner Jerry Buss. Coincidentally, the six Buss siblings decided earlier Monday to sell their remaining minority ownership stake in the Lakers to incoming majority owners Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger. Jeanie Buss is contesting the sale of the family’s shares.
When Feliciano and Jones reached their agreement to purchase the Padres earlier this year, they praised the team as “a unifying force in San Diego, rooted in community, connection and belonging.” They’ve since been spotted at Padres games in San Diego and in Mexico City.
“It’s good to see people that care working with us, you know?” Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill said. “I mean, the Seidlers cared a lot. It’ll be fun to see how these people take it, mold it into their own, you know? Trust in them, as they trust in us on the field. So, full confidence in them. Excited to meet them.”
The Padres have never won a World Series, but they were a valuable commodity for potential owners as the only team in the four biggest North American sports leagues in a metropolitan area with roughly 3.3 million people. Downtown Petco Park has become one of the liveliest ballparks in the sport, and the Padres ranked second in the majors in attendance last season.
Feliciano, who was born in Puerto Rico, becomes the second Latino principal owner in baseball, along with the Angels’ Arte Moreno. Latino and Hispanic players comprise roughly 30% of major league rosters.
Feliciano and Jones will hold an introductory news conference at Petco Park on Aug. 24.
DENVER — Shohei Ohtani paused to admire the flight of his no-doubt home run as it sailed to right-center field.
Clearly on a home-run trajectory, it was headed toward the visitor’s bullpen. From among the trees, Dodgers reliever Kyle Hurt’s glove shot up and secured the ball.
As Ohtani circled the bases, the bullpen turned into a mosh pit around Hurt.
In what has been a brutal August for the Dodgers, the vibes were undeniably high.
Maybe all the Dodgers needed was a trip to the Mile High City.
En route to an 11-5 win over the Rockies, Ohtani’s two-run blast in the sixth inning — his second homer of the game — widened the Dodgers’ lead to eight runs, a comfortable lead even at hitter-friendly Coors Field.
“Consistency is key, but today I think we should [come] away with a lot of big confidence,” said Ohtani, through interpreter Will Ireton, after his four-hit performance. “Doing this every day is what matters, but I think this is a big game for us.”
Even with Monday’s win, the Dodgers have a 6-10 record in August. And they entered Monday with a paltry .672 OPS, on pace for their worst offensive month of the season. For comparison, it posted a .710 OPS in July — its worst complete month.
There are plenty of asterisks to put on Monday’s victory. The altitude in Denver elevates any offense. And the Rockies have the worst record (50-75) in the National League.
Maybe what the Dodgers (75-51) needed most — after dropping three of four to the Brewers at Dodger Stadium and handing over the season series (and tiebreaker if it comes down to that) — was a lighter series to loosen them up.
“I think it kind of gets to what makes you good as an offense,” manager Dave Roberts said, “and that’s what makes us good: earning pitches, winning counts, spoiling pitches, those kinds of things.”
It was already working by the second inning when Max Muncy scored from first on Mookie Betts’ double into the left-center gap of the expansive Coors Field outfield.
Then Muncy, after falling behind 0-2 and then working an eight-pitch at-bat, demolished a sinker that Rockies starter Tomoyuki Sugano left over the center of the plate, giving it a ride to the second deck in right-center.
“That’s who we are,” Roberts said. “That’s what we’ve been searching for for quite some time. And today, I thought the at-bat that really kind of encapsulates who we are is the Muncy at-bat.”
It was Muncy’s third home run in five games, and they’ve all been momentum-swingers. His pinch-hit home run Thursday gave the Dodgers the lead over the Brewers — before Edwin Díaz’s blown save. On Sunday, his solo shot temporarily tied the score before the Dodgers’ loss.
On Monday, his three-run blast put the Dodgers up 5-0 in the third.
Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell delivers against the Colorado Rockies in the second inning Monday.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
Dodgers starter Blake Snell, who held the Rockies to one run and two hits in six innings, dominated the first two innings. Even with the altitude affecting the shape of his pitches, he was getting whiffs on his curveball. And he paired it with his four-seamer (and threw just one changeup) to retire six straight batters.
Then in the third, he temporarily lost command. Snell walked three straight, throwing 21 pitches. Snell got Rockies leadoff hitter Jake McCarthy to ground into a fielder’s choice, but it pushed a run across. But Snell avoided further damage by inducing Jordan Beck to fly out and Cole Carrigg to strike out.
He threw three straight curveballs to Carrigg, bouncing the first and last in the dirt, and Carrigg swung at all three.
Getting back on track, Snell navigated around a pair of singles in the fourth inning, before retiring the Rockies in order in the fifth and sixth.
“Certainly altitude kind of can play tricks on your stuff,” Roberts said. “But if there’s conviction behind your throw, you can still get major-league hitters out. And he proved that tonight.”
Meanwhile, the Dodgers added two more insurance runs in the fifth with a solo homer from Ohtani, a double from Pages and a couple of defensive bobbles by the Rockies.
Ohtani’s two-run homer in the next inning, followed soon after by an RBI single from Pages, made the Dodgers’ lead insurmountable.
The Rockies got one back in the seventh, with some help from Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker, who dropped a flyball. Then in the eighth, the Dodgers took advantage of an error by Carrigg in center field that allowed Ohtani to advance to second. Freeman drove him in with a double.
With an 11-2 lead, the Dodgers sent Díaz, who hadn’t pitched since Friday, to the mound for the ninth. Still working through delivery problems, he gave up four hits, three runs and hit a batter.
“Obviously the results weren’t good,” Roberts said. “But I still think that him getting out there, pitching major-league innings, is going to help him. So yeah, we’re still working through some things.”
Ohtani scheduled to throw
Ohtani said he’ll throw a bullpen session Tuesday, “assuming everything feels good.” It will be his third bullpen since receiving an Orthovisc injection in his left knee at the beginning of the All-Star break to lubricate the joint, but his second since restarting his throwing program. He last threw Friday, in a 34-pitch session.
“It’s nice to feel the progress on the pitching side,” Ohtani said. “And it just feels better, just going into the game as a hitter, less to focus, less to worry about.”
He said the hope is that he has gotten through the worst of his knee problem and won’t have any more setbacks.
“That’s the reason why we’ve been pretty careful in the rehab process,” he said, “and that’s the ideal outcome, to make sure that I come back as soon as possible.”
John Murray: Madjo is a teenage striker Aston Villa fans will know all about already after the goals he has scored for them in pre-season.
Born in London to parents from Cameroon, Madjo grew up in Luxembourg and made his senior international debut for them last year.
But he has now switched his international allegiance to England and played for the Under-17 team.
After a wrangle over that, he was finally cleared to play in competitive matches for Villa, making his competitive debut last week with a goal in the Super Cup against Paris St-Germain.
He looks like a big man with a big future.
Guy Mowbray: There’s been talk of a loan move for Madjo, but his flurry of pre-season goals and a massive impact against PSG should keep him around at least until the next transfer window.
If that’s the case – you won’t fail to notice him! He is a powerful striker who has most of the tools to be a success.
Steve Bower: I was going to choose Johan Manzambi, who I included when we did a similar article about new players to watch at the World Cup. Manzambi had an excellent tournament, and Villa pipped Newcastle to sign him.
But I didn’t want to include two players from one club, and I was told about Madjo when Villa signed him for just over £10m back in January, before they had well-documented issues registering him.
Obviously we know he has been available in pre-season, when he has made his mark with four goals against Walsall, Real Sociedad and Indonesia All-Stars. Then of course Unai Emery gave him his opportunity against PSG, when he scored again.
He has got a huge frame and figure for his age, bringing very early comparisons to Erling Haaland, which is a big tag to carry.
But, without putting too much pressure on a 17-year-old’s shoulders, with Villa being in the Champions League this season and the extra games that brings, Madjo is going to get some minutes.
It feels like the perfect scenario for Madjo, because with strikers like Ollie Watkins and Tammy Abraham at the club, Villa can introduce a young player like him to the first team without having to rely on him.
In Emery, Madjo has got the perfect manager to nurture his development too, and I think he could make his mark across all competitions this season.
Manchester City are faced with an Enzo Fernandez premium, Chelsea winger Pedro Neto has no shortage of potential suitors, and Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes is offered a huge salary increase.
Chelsea want close to £100m if they are to sell Portugal winger Pedro Neto, 26, this summer with Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal linked with a move. (Mail – subscription required), external
Liverpool are still keen to sign Paris St-Germain duoBradley Barcola, 23, and Ibrahim Mbaye, 18, with a combined fee of £155m being mooted for the France winger and Senegal forward. (Teamtalk), external
Bayern Munich are confident of agreeing a new deal with England forward Harry Kane, 33, who is entering the final year of his contract. (Bild – in German), external
Sao Paulo and West Ham are among the clubs taking an interest in 39-year-old former England forward Jamie Vardy, who is a free agent. (Talksport), external
Joe Hart, Chris Sutton and Adam Crafton are with Mark Chapman to look ahead to the Premier League season, can they cover all 20 clubs in this episode of the Monday Night Club? That depends on whether you count Chris Sutton’s predicted Premier League table.
They reflect on Manchester City’s performance in their Community Shield defeat to Arsenal, what it takes to defend a Premier League title, and whether Xabi Alonso can repeat Antonio Conte’s feat of taking Chelsea from a club that finished tenth to title winners in the following season.
Plus, Hull City assistant head coach Dean Holden discusses their preparations for a return to the top flight.
01:39 – Takeaways from Manchester City’s Community Shield defeat
17:28 – What is so difficult about defending a Premier League title?
21:47 – Can Chelsea challenge for the title?
32:00 – Hull City assistant Dean Holden
38:50 – Coventry and Ipswich’s survival hopes
43:03 – Will Aston Villa start the season with two ‘starting’ goalkeepers?
45:13 – Which club has the most potential to under deliver this season?
Former Wolverhampton Wanderers captain Mike Bailey has died at the age of 84 after a long illness.
The midfielder, who was capped twice by England, started his career at Charlton Athletic before moving to Molineux in 1966.
He made 436 appearances and scored 25 goals for Wolves, lifting the League Cup in 1974, after helping the West Midlands club reach the Uefa Cup final two years earlier.
In his final season at Wolves he helped them earn promotion back to the top flight.
Bailey went on to have a brief stint in the North American Soccer League (NASL) with Minnesota Kicks before returning to England to become player-manager of Hereford.
He later took charge of Charlton, Brighton, Greek club OFI and non-league side Leatherhead.
Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery has been included in Great Britain’s Davis Cup team to face Ecuador in September.
Former world number four Jack Draper is not included but a fifth player will be added closer to the time.
British number one Cameron Norrie, Henry Patten and Lloyd Glasspool make up the team to play at London’s Copper Box Arena.
“I am really proud to be able to represent GB again,” Fery said. “It is going to be a bit of a different scenario this time, at home, in the World Group and trying to qualify for the final eight.
“There might be some extra pressure, but I’m ready for it.”
Fery, 24, jumped to a career-high world ranking of 36 following his shock Wimbledon success, when he was a wildcard into his home Grand Slam.
Ranked 114th in the world before the start of the tournament, Fery went on to become the lowest-ranked player to make Wimbledon’s last four since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001.
This will be Fery’s first outing in England since Wimbledon.
A persistent arm injury has kept him sidelined and caused his world ranking to plummet from fourth to as low as 160th over a 12-month period.
The best-of-five tie takes place over two days on 19 and 20 September, with two singles matches on day one.
Day two features a doubles match followed by two singles encounters.
Fery was unable to celebrate his Davis Cup inclusion as he suffered a 7-5 7-6 (7-3) defeat on Monday to world number eight Alex de Minaur in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters.
Rain delayed the start of play, before later forcing the players off with fifth seed De Minaur leading 7-5 5-1.
Fery fought back after a 30-minute delay to take the second set to a tie-break, but his Australian opponent was able to wrestle back control and see out victory.
The U.S. track and field Olympic trials will return to Eugene, Ore., leaving Los Angeles on the sideline weeks before it hosts the 2028 Summer Games.
The trials, set for June 17-22, 2028, will be the sixth straight held at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus, which has adopted the nickname “TrackTown USA.” It has proven over decades to be America’s only consistently viable host for big-time track events.
The six-day schedule will be different from past trials, which usually spanned two weekends, with a couple of off days in the middle. Those six days will not include selection for the decathlon, heptathlon or the 10,000 meters, all of which will be held earlier in the spring — at locations still to be determined — to allow for additional recovery.
The Olympics begin July 14, with the track meet starting the next day; this marks the first time track will cover the opening days of the Games since 1968.
Some athletes complain about the cost of traveling to and staying in a metro area of around 400,000, but USA Track and Field Chief Executive Max Siegel said Eugene’s “record of success in selecting America’s best track and field athletes speaks for itself.”
He said U.S. athletes have won 52 gold medals in athletics since 2008, when Eugene’s streak of hosting trials began.
The decision to keep the string going comes as something of a surprise, however. There was a thought that the Coliseum, which will host the Olympic track meet, would make for a perfect host for the trials, though there were problems involved with holding two major events in such a short period.
Other L.A. venues include UCLA’s Drake Stadium, which is serving as an Olympic training site; and what was known as the Mt. SAC Stadium in nearby Walnut. That stadium was awarded the 2020 trials, but they were moved to Eugene after problems arose over renovations of the venue. Those trials were ultimately held in 2021 at Hayward.
Hayward Field also hosted world championships in 2022 and the U.S. track nationals 10 times, including last year, and will do so again in 2027.
Despite signing a contract extension in November 2024, the series reveals how close Guardiola came to not renewing his deal.
In one scene, the manager reveals to director Kevin Macdonald that, after losing four games in a row in 2024, he told the club: “Maybe it’s over.”
In a separate scene, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak says that he was not sure he was going to be able to convince the legendary manager to stay at the club.
“You know the boy that cried wolf? He is the boy that cried wolf,” the Emirati said.
“I always convince him, but last year, I knew, this time he actually saw the wolf.”
Amid that, Guardiola’s personal life was in turmoil as he went through a divorce and there was media speculation about his mental state when the 55-year-old appeared with multiple scratches on his head and nose following a disappointing 3-3 Champions League draw with Feyenoord in November 2024.
While the coach does not admit to the idea that his personal struggles affected his ability to do his job, Manel Estiarte, a long-time member of Guardiola’s technical staff, speaks about how he had to address players who were worried by their manager’s behaviour.
“They were worried because Pep was anxious,” he says.
“He was sad. He was different. And only I knew the reason.
“And I said to the team, ‘please, you have to understand, you’re not playing with a coach who can be a bit impulsive, who can be a bit intense, who can be sometimes up and down. You’re seeing a human being. He’s getting a divorce’.”
Alongside scenes where Guardiola obsesses over tactics, there are many where he gives candid speeches and berates his team.
Following a defeat by Bayer Leverkusen in November 2025, he tells his squad: “I work for you and I leave my life, my divorce and my family is away and everything for all of you. And what do you give back?
“The performance you have done, all of you. It’s a disgrace guys.
“When I see that, I am exhausted, I’m drained, I want to quit. When you play like this, I feel alone.”
In some scenes, the Spaniard warns his team that they will “get a new manager” if performances do not improve.
In others, he speaks about using a knife to get into their hearts and insists on his squad hugging one another and himself before matches, even blaming poor performances on lukewarm goal celebrations.
Guardiola stepped down as City manager at the end of the 25-26 campaign after 10 years at the Etihad, during which time he won 20 trophies, including both the FA Cup and League Cup in his final season.
Speaking about his next steps, he says: “I don’t know even myself what I am going to do,” adding: “It will be difficult to come back. That’s my feeling today. I need to refresh many things that happened in my personal life.”
Phil Parkinson bemoaned his team’s lack of ruthlessness – and the amount of stoppage time at the end of the game – after a 98th-minute equaliser denied Wrexham a Welsh derby victory at Cardiff City.
Parkinson’s side were on course to begin the new Championship campaign with a hard-fought win after Kieffer Moore’s third-minute goal at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Wrexham missed chances to extend their lead – and twice hit the woodwork – on a night when they carried greater threat than their hosts only to be denied a win when Rubin Colwill smashed in a free-kick in the last act of the game.
“We’ve had chances to kill the game off. We haven’t taken them, the keeper’s made saves, but we haven’t really made him make a top-class save,” Parkinson said.
“We knew we could give Cardiff problems and time and time again. We did and really in the cold light of day, the game should have been out of sight, but it wasn’t.”
While Parkinson suggested his side could have managed the closing minutes of the game better, there was frustration over the timing of Cardiff’s goal.
The fourth official’s board showed six minutes of added time, with George Dobson fouling Joel Colwill in the last of those minutes before Rubin Colwill seized the chance to equalise.
“I’m not quite sure where they got six minutes from – I’m looking forward to asking [the officials about] that,” Parkinson said.
“However, giving cheap free-kicks away at this level, you can get punished and that’s what cost us tonight.
“All we had to do was stay calm in that moment and we’d be talking about three points.”
DES MOINES, Iowa — Paul Grinvalds has completed 114 marathons in all 50 states, but he still wilts when he races in temperatures beyond 60 degrees.
It’s the same for most runners, as the body can’t cool down during exertion, and heat makes that even harder.
“One thing about marathoners is typically we’re kind of stubborn,” said Grinvalds, 68, from West Des Moines, Iowa, who finds even temperatures in the 50s a bit warm. “So if we have a goal and it’s hot, a lot of times we’re still going to try to do that goal, which is just stupid because you’re almost guaranteed to have a very painful experience.”
Such an experience can also be dangerous, a reality that marathon organizers are having to confront as climate change, caused mostly by the burning of fuels like coal and gasoline, pushes temperatures up. To improve the chances of having the 26.2-mile race in cooler weather, organizers are shifting race dates, starting earlier and even giving options for participants to cut their runs short.
Starting in 2027, the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis-St. Paul will shift its more than 40-year tradition of holding the race on the first Sunday in October to later in the month. That decision comes after cancellation of the marathon in 2023 because of record heat and humidity, and starting temperatures near 70 for the 2025 race.
Organizers of the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, marathon last year similarly moved their annual race from August to September after canceling the 2024 race due to hot conditions. And other races, including the Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio, the Little Rock Marathon in Arkansas, and the Long Beach Marathon in Southern California, all moved their start times to earlier in the morning in search of cooler temperatures.
In Los Angeles in March, warm conditions prompted race organizers to give runners the option of stopping after 18 miles and still receiving a finishers medal. Less than 5% of participants opted for the shorter finish and only 14 of roughly 27,000 runners were treated at a hospital, with all released the same day. Still, the move led to some online derision.
“We welcome the feedback and it’s certainly something that caused a lot of discussion, but when we’re grading ourselves on it, it has to do with how safe our runners were on the day of the event and we’re very happy with the outcome,” said Meg Treat, a spokesperson for the marathon.
At the Twin Cities Marathon, race director Ed Whetham called the decision to cancel the 2023 marathon “devastating” for runners and the organization. Whetham said it prompted an extensive analysis of weather patterns that resulted in the decision to permanently delay the race by a couple weeks.
That analysis showed that by holding the race later in October, runners would have a far greater chance of optimal conditions. Given that snow sometimes falls in the Twin Cities in late October, there is a greater chance of chilly conditions, but Whetham said, “We’ll take a 39-degree start over a 70-degree start.”
Temperatures are expected to keep rising
The contiguous U.S. just had its warmest July ever recorded, and the Earth had its hottest year on record in 2024. The World Meteorological Organization forecasts that between 2025 and 2030 the Earth’s average global temperature will likely rise by more than 2.7 compared to the 1800s.
The warming is already making conditions worse for most marathons, according to a study of 221 races by the climate research group Climate Central. By 2045, optimal conditions for recreational runners — in the low 40s — would be less likely at 46 of the 51 U.S. marathons analyzed.
“The ability to go outside, to exercise, to take advantage of your human body and being healthy, that’s something that’s getting challenged by climate change,” said Andy Pershing, who led the Climate Central research.
Jessica Murfree leads a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill lab studying climate change’s effect on sports. She said organizers of marathons, bicycle races and other competitions — from tennis to college football — increasingly must consider changing event dates and times and adopting other safety measures, as climate change makes the weather hotter and more volatile.
Murfree said the concern extends beyond organized sports to whether people can even get outside on increasingly warm days, pushing people to exercise indoors or opt for activities like swimming.
“If we can’t walk, if we can’t exercise or go for runs, it’s too hot, can we still stay physically active while remaining cool?” she asked.
Marathons are especially hard in warm weather
Any kind of exercising in the heat can be challenging, but running a marathon in warm, humid conditions is especially difficult because it’s hard to prevent overheating when a person keeps pushing themselves for hours. And the faster a person goes, the more heat their body produces.
Chris Minson, a University of Oregon professor who researches how people can adapt to extreme heat and other environmental conditions, said the optimum temperature to run a marathon is about 50 degrees. As the temperature creeps into the upper 50s and 60s, the body has a tougher time supplying blood to muscles while also keeping the body cool.
“As you get to warmer temperatures you end up having a bigger competition between blood supplying your muscles to keep running, to keep nutrition going, and blood flow to your skin for thermal regulation,” Minson said.
Minson said it takes a tremendous amount of energy to run quickly. But of that energy, only about 25% is used to move the body forward. The rest goes to deal with the heat that is created by rapid movement.
Even worse than high temperatures is high humidity, which prevents sweat from evaporating and cooling the body.
Minson adds, though, that by regularly exercising in warm weather, people can acclimate to high temperatures and perform better in the heat, though likely not as well as they would in cooler conditions. Athletes who acclimate to high heat also can perform better in lower temperatures than if they hadn’t exercised in warm weather, he said.
Some athletes like John Seals even run in the midday heat and endure a sauna after a workout to acclimate their bodies. That all forms part of Seals’ training for an annual 135-mile ultramarathon held in July in Death Valley, California.
“We had a heat wave this week and for me, that’s a great thing,” said Seals, of West Des Moines.
Still, running in the heat can be dangerous without taking precautions.
Douglas Casa, a kinesiology professor who leads the Korey Stringer Institute, which studies sudden deaths in sports, said the Twin Cities Marathon’s change was prudent, especially considering the way in which many runners approach races.
“If someone was smart enough to say, ‘OK, it’s a little hotter today than usual, I’m going to run a 7 minute mile instead of a 6:30 mile,’ then they won’t get any hotter than normal,” Casa said. “It’s just that runners are sometimes very locked into what they normally do and what their goals are.”
McFetridge writes for the Associated Press. The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Fifa’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour has been sacked by the governing body, less than three weeks after he strongly criticised its president Gianni Infantino’s aborted plan to sell stakes in competitions to private investors, BBC Sport has been told.
In a statement, a Fifa spokesperson would only confirm that “the working relationship between Fifa and Kevin Lamour as Chief Operating Officer has ended on 17 August 2026.
“Fifa thanks Kevin for his two years of service and wishes him the best of luck for the future.”
Fifa’s staff were informed of the news in an email by its secretary general Mattias Grafstrom on Monday evening, who told them the organisation and Lamour had “agreed to part ways”.
Last month, Lamour described the controversial Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plans as “the project of one person”, and said “the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions”.
He added Fifa’s own administration was “deceived” about the now abandoned project.
“Our mission – the mission of the hundreds of passionate, dedicated, and exemplary Fifa employees – is to serve football”, he added.
“A president must bring people together, unite them, and inspire them. Today, we are experiencing the opposite.”
Lamour acknowledged he had a duty of loyalty to his employer but also to “certain values” and supporting his colleagues.
“If that means I lose my job, then so be it,” he added. “I will understand and respect that decision. At least I’ll sleep well tonight.”
Lamour joined Fifa in November 2024, having previously served as deputy general secretary at Uefa, and was two layers of management below Infantino.
Earlier this month, Infantino received the backing of senior executives in a meeting in Morocco, but BBC Sport was told Lamour was not invited.
Lamour has been approached for comment.
In a letter sent to members of Fifa’s Council, and seen by BBC Sport, Grafstrom wrote: “I would like to provide you with an important update regarding a change within the Fifa Administration.
“Following recent discussions, Fifa and our Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Lamour have agreed to part ways. This decision was made after careful consideration and with great respect for Kevin, both personally and professionally… I felt it was important that I personally provide you this update and I would like to express my gratitude to Kevin for these contributions and for his work and commitment on behalf of Fifa on a daily basis. I wish Kevin all the best for the future.”
When the Oakland Athletics released Max Muncy before the 2017 season, the then-26-year-old didn’t know if a baseball career was for him anymore, let alone a future at third base.
“Man, there’s a lot with that,” Muncy told The Times. “It’s just a lot.”
Then, the Dodgers came calling, signing Muncy to a minor-league contract in late April 2017.
And now — nine seasons, three All-Star nods and three World Series championships later — Muncy just eclipsed 10 years of service time on Sunday against the Brewers, eight days before his 36th birthday.
“It’s special. It’s a rare accomplishment in baseball,” Muncy said of the feat that fewer than 10% of all MLB players reach. “It’s something that I’m extremely proud of. There’s not many things that I take personal pride in when it comes to, you know, personal accomplishments. For me, it’s always about winning rings and doing things as a team.
“But this is one of the few that I’m really, really proud of, and I’ll definitely cherish.”
No one could’ve foreseen the unobtrusively great career that Muncy has carved out for himself, specifically over the last nine seasons in Los Angeles since getting called up in 2018.
Entering this week’s three-game series in Colorado against the Rockies, Muncy is the Dodgers’ all-time playoff home run leader with 16 and is fifth on the franchise’s all-time home runs list with 233. He has slashed .234/.357/.486 over 1,039 regular-season games with the club, anchoring lineups alongside countless big-name teammates while evolving into a trustworthy defender.
Even someone who’s seen Muncy’s journey up close like Dodgers reliever Brock Stewart, who was also vying for a big-league opportunity in Triple-A Oklahoma City during that forever-ago 2017 season, is still moved by his ascent.
“He’s always been a good teammate [and] always been a good human,” Stewart said. “I don’t know if he always believed in himself, and I can relate to that, because I didn’t believe in myself all the time … But to see him and how he persevered through that feeling [or] that self-doubt and became what he is now [is] super special.
“And, man, to know that he’s now the Dodger [Stadium] all-time home run leader? Whatever it is … after being an older guy in Triple-A with me and then getting called up … special.”
In retrospect, though, this was always Muncy’s destiny.
He’s long been a manager’s dream, a status that is timeless and priceless.
“I remember a guy that just got DFA’d that was sort of kicked to the curb by an organization that didn’t believe in him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Muncy. “He was close to being out of baseball … He’s one of the leaders on our ballclub, the longest-tenured Dodger currently. So I just have nothing but praise.
“The ability to kind of adapt, start, come off the bench and still [do] whatever it takes to help the team win — he’s all in. … He does everything you want as a manager — everything. He’s cut from the same Freddie Freeman cloth.”
Muncy is as team-first as it gets.
Although some stats might occasionally catch his eye, Muncy doesn’t put much thought into individual accomplishments. Recently passing Eric Karros, for example, for first in career homers at Dodger Stadium — Muncy currently has 132 to Karros’ 130 — doesn’t light up Muncy as one might think.
“There’s not much when it comes to me, personally, that I care about,” Muncy said. “But three rings is definitely what I [cherish] most.”
That selfless approach is what MLB’s premier organization and latest dynasty loves most about Muncy.
“He’s a guy that is always going to show up for the team and do whatever it takes to put the team in a good position,” said Miguel Rojas, Dodgers infielder and veteran leader. “That’s what I believe is a sign of a leader without talking much. … Every time he goes out there and he breaks a record, you feel good for the guy because he’s been working really hard toward the things he has right now in his power.
“I’m so happy and proud that I can say I was a teammate with him because he was one of the first guys that kind of opened his arms to me when I got back here in 2023. … He’s a guy you always can root for, especially in this organization full of stars. He always gets [overlooked] a little bit, but I feel like he’s one of the leaders of this club, and he will be until he retires.”
L.A. has borne witness to nothing but stars over the years.
Since Muncy has called L.A. home, he’s suited up alongside several future Hall of Famers, from Clayton Kershaw to Shohei Ohtani, mainly at the hot corner, where the bar is high after the trails blazed by Justin Turner, Ron Cey and others.
But if Muncy’s 10 years of service represent anything, it’s that he has become a Dodgers great, too — even if he hasn’t fully embraced the label yet.
“Surreal. It’s crazy. I definitely don’t see myself as that,” Muncy said of his growing place in Dodgers history. “But maybe one day, when I’m done, I’ll be able to sit back and kind of reflect on that. But for me, it’s just all surreal.”
Manchester United midfielder Toby Collyer is in talks with West Bromwich Albion about returning to The Hawthorns on a permanent basis.
Collyer has been part of Michael Carrick’s squad during pre-season and featured in the second half of last week’s draw with Leeds United at Croke Park as Mason Mount was unavailable because of injury.
However, it had been anticipated all summer that Collyer would eventually leave Old Trafford.
Talks are said to be at an early stage.
Collyer joined West Brom on loan last summer but returned to United in January after making 12 appearances including three starts.
The 22-year-old then joined Hull City after recovering from a calf injury, but only made five appearances after suffering more fitness issues.
Hull were thought to be keen on bringing Collyer back to the club following their promotion to the Premier League but a deal is yet to materialise.
NEW YORK — Ohio State and Oregon were 1-2 in The Associated Press Top 25 released Monday, giving the Big Ten Conference the top two teams in the preseason rankings for the first time in 65 years and just the second time ever.
The Buckeyes received 40 first-place votes and Oregon received 14 in voting by 69 media members who cover college football.
Ohio State will go into a season No. 1 for the ninth time, and first since 2015. The Buckeyes are now tied with Alabama for second-most preseason No. 1 rankings behind Oklahoma’s 10.
Oregon has its highest preseason ranking in program history after having opened No. 3 four times.
Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas round out the top five. Defending national champion Indiana starts at No. 6 and is followed by Miami, Texas A&M, Mississippi and Oklahoma.
Notre Dame received six first-place votes, Indiana got eight and Miami one.
This is the first year a conference has held down the top two spots in the preseason poll since Oklahoma and Nebraska of the Big Eight were 1-2 in 1987.
The last time the Big Ten had the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the preseason was 1961, when Iowa and Ohio State topped the poll. The Hawkeyes lost four of their last five games after a 4-0 start and finished that season unranked. The Buckeyes went 8-0-1 and ended the season No. 2 behind unbeaten Alabama.
The Big Ten has won three straight College Football Playoff championships (Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana) and will be going for an unprecedented fourth straight national title. This is the fourth consecutive year the Big Ten has had two of the top three teams in the preseason rankings.
The Southeastern Conference leads all conferences with nine teams in the preseason Top 25, marking the third straight year it has had at least that many. Five of the top 10 teams are from the SEC for the first time since 2013.
Four Big 12 teams are ranked, with conference champion Texas Tech the highest at No. 12. The Atlantic Coast Conference has three ranked teams, with the Hurricanes joined by No. 19 SMU and No. 24 Louisville. There are no Group of Six schools in the Top 25.
Top-ranked Buckeyes
The offense is loaded. Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin was the most accurate passer in the nation by a wide margin last season, Jeremiah Smith leads the nation in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns over the last two years and Bo Jackson is coming off a 1,000-yard rushing season as a freshman.
There is little concern about the defense even though eight starters must be replaced for a second straight year. At least six transfers are projected to start or play major roles.
Ohio State will get tested early and often. The Buckeyes visit Texas on Sept. 12 and five of their nine conference games are against preseason ranked teams, including at Indiana and against Oregon at home.
The Buckeyes have ended a season No. 1 in the AP poll six times (1942, 1954, 1968, 2002, 2014, 2024).
Bulldogs best of the SEC
The beat goes on for Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs. They’re in the preseason top five for the ninth straight year. The two-time defending SEC champion Bulldogs are favored to play in a sixth straight conference title game and appear in the CFP for the sixth time in 10 years.
Texas, the preseason No. 1 last year, opens in the top five for the third straight year. No. 8 Texas A&M is in the preseason top 10 for the first time since it was No. 6 in 2022, the year that marked the beginning of the end for coach Jimbo Fisher.
Pete Golding’s first full season as Mississippi head coach starts with the No. 9 Rebels in the preseason top 10 for the second time in three years and third time since 1970. No. 10 Oklahoma is in the preseason top 10 for the first time since 2022, when it was in the Big 12.
What about the Hoosiers?
Indiana is the seventh returning national champion in 40 years, and second in three years, to be ranked outside the top five in the preseason (Michigan went into the 2024 season ranked No. 9 after winning the national title).
The Hoosiers became the first team in the modern era to go 16-0, and they return lots of talent and signed a top-10 transfer class. The move from Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 NFL draft pick Fernando Mendoza to TCU transfer Josh Hoover at quarterback apparently put doubts in the minds of voters.
Poll nuggets
—USC, which landed the nation’s top recruiting class during the offseason, is ranked No. 15 in the preason poll.
— Ohio State will try to become the 12th team to start and finish No. 1 since the AP preseason poll debuted in 1950. The last team to do it was Alabama in 2017.
— Notre Dame has its highest preseason ranking since it was No. 2 in 2006. The Fighting Irish, who have a Heisman candidate in quarterback CJ Carr, bring a 10-game winning streak into the season and are still smarting from being left out of the playoff.
— Lane Kiffin’s first LSU team is No. 11 after finishing 7-6 and unranked under Brian Kelly and Frank Wilson.
— Ten of the 12 CFP teams last season are ranked. The two that aren’t are James Madison and Tulane from the Group of Six.
— No. 23 Houston has its first preseason ranking in four years and third since 1991.
The 29-year-old joins Coventry before Friday’s Premier League opener at champions Arsenal, with the club returning to the top flight after a 25-year absence.
Awoniyi was given a guard of honour by the Forest squad and staff before the second half of their final pre-season friendly against Brest on Sunday to allow him to say goodbye at the City Ground, where he spent the past four seasons.
“He was probably one of the loveliest guys I’ve met, always friendly, always smiling,” said Forest boss Oliver Glasner, after a 2-0 win over the Ligue 1 side.
“Everybody in the club likes him and I could see everybody in the stand likes him because this is what everybody appreciates.
“He always gives 100% for the team, he always gives 100% for the bench, and that’s why he deserves such a farewell, such a guard of honour. That’s why we decided we would give it to him and I wish him all the best at his next club, just not when they play us.”
Awoniyi became Forest’s record signing at the time when he joined from Union Berlin in 2022 for £17.2m.
He scored 23 goals in 103 games for Forest but has been behind Chris Wood and Igor Jesus in the pecking order and was left out of last season’s Europa League squad.
Awoniyi started just three games last season, scoring four goals in 17 appearances in all competitions.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis said: “Taiwo will always have a special place in the history of Nottingham Forest. He has been one of the defining figures in our journey and given our supporters moments of great joy that will never be forgotten.”
Winger Loum Tchaouna has joined from Burnley, defender Aurele Amenda arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt and Ghana international Caleb Yirenkyi signed from Nordsjaelland.
Striker Haji Wright is injured, with Brandon Thomas-Asante and Ellis Simms the current fit striking options for manager Frank Lampard before the Arsenal game.
FairSquare says the FIFA president should not be able to run again under the world football organisation’s statutes.
Published On 17 Aug 202617 Aug 2026
Human rights organisation FairSquare has urged FIFA to rule that Gianni Infantino is ineligible to seek another term as the football governing body’s president, arguing he has already served the maximum three terms permitted under the body’s statutes.
FIFA presidents are limited to three terms in office. However, in 2022, Infantino successfully argued that his first spell in charge, which began when he was elected at an Extraordinary FIFA Congress in 2016 following Sepp Blatter’s resignation, should not count towards that limit because it completed an interrupted mandate.
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In a letter sent to FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC) as reported by The Athletic, FairSquare said that interpretation was inconsistent with FIFA statutes.
“The complaint we have filed provides clear evidence that this is a clear breach of the rules and one that sets a very dangerous precedent,” FairSquare’s Director Nicholas McGeehan told the Reuters news agency.
“The rules state clearly that three presidential terms is the maximum allowed; FIFA can’t simply circumvent this rule – which serves as a check on presidential power – by saying that his first term doesn’t count.”
Infantino is facing mounting scrutiny ahead of next year’s FIFA Congress, where he is expected to seek re-election for the 2027-31 cycle. The vote is scheduled to take place in Morocco on March 18.
Last week, UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF called for a review of Infantino’s conduct after FIFA proposed creating a $20bn subsidiary linked to its competitions, including the World Cup, to attract private investment. Sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters that the three confederations viewed the letter as an opportunity for Infantino to quit with his dignity intact.
Several national associations have also voiced concerns. Scottish Football Association chief executive Ian Maxwell told the BBC on Monday that his federation would not support Infantino’s re-election.
Infantino, however, retains the backing of the African and South American confederations.
Questions over transparency
FairSquare also questioned the transparency of the 2022 ruling, saying the committee’s reasoning had never been made public.
“The fact they didn’t provide any reasoning to support this claim, and that they announced the apparent decision two days before the final of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, suggests that they knew full well that there was no basis to discount Infantino’s first term,” McGeehan said.
The letter to the GACC was drafted with assistance from Miguel Maduro, the former head of FIFA’s independent Governance and Review Committee, who said the governing body could not disregard its own rules.
“The principle of term limits was a fundamental aspect of the 2016 reform aimed at limiting power and the rule introduced is clear: no FIFA president can serve more than three terms of office,” Maduro said in a statement.
“Trying to carve out an exception to such a rule for Mr Infantino reveals both a resistance to the principle of term limits and how some at FIFA conceive of rules not as rules but as obstacles to be circumvented.”
Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where we’re dedicating the next two editions of Times of Troy to determining a range of outcomes for this make-or-break season of USC football. We’ll save the rose-colored takes for next week, when the Trojans will be on the doorstep of their season opener against San José State. But for today, as we did at this time last year, let’s consider the other, darker side of that same coin — and talk about how it could all go wrong.
Because, rest assured, there will be plenty of landmines to navigate through a gauntlet schedule that includes all three of the top three teams in opponent adjusted efficiency (FEI) from last season (Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State), plus the 14th-ranked team in the same category (Washington). Then there’s a trip to one of the hardest places to play in America (Penn State) to boot.
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USC will need to win at least three of those five games to make the Playoff. Which is borderline cruel to ask.
For the purposes of this exercise, let’s assume that USC opens its season 3-0, with wins over San José State, Fresno State and Louisiana. Anything less, it’s fair to say, would be an unmitigated disaster.
How those three weeks go, though, will be important for the progress of USC’s young players, who need to find their bearings fast in order for USC to fulfill its potential.
It would be an especially unfortunate twist of fate for that process to be interrupted or for the team’s depth to take a hit through that easy, early stretch. But barring injury, those first three weeks should give USC time to get some of its young stars — such as receivers Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and Boobie Feaster, tight end Mark Bowman, cornerback Rock Hill and defensive end Luke Wafle, especially — up to speed.
The slate really begins Sept. 19, when USC opens conference play with its furthest possible trip east, at Rutgers. With Oregon awaiting the next week and the added dynamic of cross-country travel, you could certainly convince me the Trojans could be caught flat-footed in this game, leaving things a bit too close for comfort. But if USC somehow loses to Rutgers in its Big Ten opener, coach Lincoln Riley might not make it much past Halloween.
So let’s say the Trojans are 4-0 when Oregon comes to the Coliseum in late September. Really, it’s this game that will tell us where USC is actually headed this season.
Because the stage will have never been bigger for quarterback Jayden Maiava, who had his worst game of 2025 in Eugene last fall. That performance, according to Pro Football Focus, featured double the turnover-worthy throws (six) of any other game Maiava has started at USC. Any worst-case for USC probably includes some form of unraveling from the quarterback.
But even with Maiava at his best, Oregon is still the deeper and more well-rounded team. The front seven should be as formidable as it’s ever been under coach Dan Lanning. The quarterback might be the NFL’s No. 1 overall pick next spring, and his weapons on offense are as good as any in college football. That firepower proves too much for USC, which gets beat at home for the first time since November 2024.
Losing to Oregon would be a bitter pill for a young team to swallow. And it would also be a particularly bad time to start spiraling. Because the next three weeks are all losable games. Washington has a mobile quarterback (Demond Williams) capable of wreaking havoc on USC’s defense if its front seven can’t keep him contained. And while we don’t know what to expect from new coach Matt Campbell and Penn State, the White Out at Beaver Stadium a week later will be no joke. Even Wisconsin shouldn’t be overlooked two weeks after that. Especially at Camp Randall.
There’s a world in which USC has lost three of four, we’ll spot them a win at Wisconsin, after starting the season 3-0. That slump could be an absolute back-breaker. Because guess who looms after that?
Oh, just Ohio State and Indiana.
Pretty bleak, right?
Suddenly, in this most demoralizing scenario, USC is out of the Playoff picture at the halfway point of the season. The positive vibes around Gary Patterson’s hire are gone, and a significant segment of the fanbase will have resigned themselves to never seeing a good USC defense again in their lifetimes.
The conversation around Riley’s future will have reached a fevered pitch. The seat will have gotten scorching hot. The Trojans would now be playing for their coach’s job. The pressure, on a particularly young team, would be immense.
And then, Ohio State comes to town. The Buckeyes have lost three times on the road in the last two seasons, compared to just once at home. But those three road losses were either in the postseason to a top-two team, at Oregon or the inexplicable 2024 loss to a far inferior Michigan team in The Game. Chalk this up to a loss, as Ohio State tramples over both of USC’s fronts.
Indiana, meanwhile, has yet to lose a home game in two years under Curt Cignetti. I don’t expect that to change this year, either.
So with losses to Ohio State and Indiana — and a presumably smooth win at Maryland — USC would be 6-5 heading into the crosstown rivalry. And I think we can all agree that no scenario would be more of a worse case for USC than UCLA emerging from its first season under Bob Chesney as the better-trending program between the two.
I don’t think that’s where this season is headed. This is an absolute worst-case scenario, after all. The schedule does give USC serious spiral potential. And stranger things have happened in the crosstown rivalry.
But if USC were to end this season at 6-6, with a baffling loss to the Bruins, I think I can say pretty confidently that the whole program will be headed in a new direction after that.
Will Ryon Sayeri remain USC’s kicker this season?
(Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)
—Is USC’s starting offensive line already set? It’s starting to feel that way. The season-ending injury to center Kilian O’Connor limited USC’s options, with Tobias Raymond now almost assuredly set to step in there. But from what we’ve seen in open periods, there hasn’t been much movement elsewhere. Hayden Treter has been the preferred option at left guard, while Alani Noa has primarily been at right guard. Elijah Paige and Justin Tauanuu have once again been the bookends at tackle. Whether that’ll be the case by the midway point of the season, we’ll see, but USC seems confident with Treter and Noa flanking Raymond on the interior.
—Could USC make a change at kicker? Riley would like us to believe that it’s definitely a possibility, despite the fact that last season’s All-Big Ten third-team kicker Ryon Sayeri has returned. Sayeri wasn’t going to get the job last year until former Nevada Las Vegas kicker and freshman All-American Caden Chittenden got injured and relinquished it with Sayeri’s strong play. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been in a situation as a coach where you have like two guys that you believe in as much as I believe in them,” Riley said. Still, it would be bold to replace a guy who was as consistent as Sayeri was for most of last season.
—USC football got its Class of 2028 quarterback. Trey Wright is currently just the 25th-ranked passer in the class, according to 247 Sports. But Riley, who prefers to offer just one quarterback in each class, clearly sees something in the Frisco, Texas, signal-caller. Wright certainly piled up stats as a sophomore, throwing for over 4,000 yards and 38 touchdowns while rushing for nearly 1,800 yards and 16 touchdowns. The comparisons with Kyler Murray were natural even before the Vikings quarterback, who won a Heisman with Riley, sent Wright a video that he posted on social media. Wright is just 5 feet 10 and 175 pounds. But he looks like a heck of an athlete.
—Most of USC’s starting lineup for next hoops season is injured right now. Which is not exactly … ideal. But only center Eric Reibe is expected to miss real time into the season. Georgetown transfer KJ Lewis’ ankle should be healed by the start of the season in November. He’s expected to start playing live five-on-five in October. Rodney Rice (shoulder) should be good to go before that, while other key contributors have battled through bumps and bruises this summer. Reibe’s situation is especially odd. He sought a second opinion on his foot injury, according to a person familiar with the decision, and was told to sit out the summer to try to avoid surgery. Well, he ended up getting the surgery anyway, losing seven weeks of potential recovery time.
Polling the people
This is obviously a critical season for Riley’s future, and everyone seems to have a number in mind of what it’ll take for Riley to keep his job.
So, what is the fewest number of wins you’d accept from Riley and USC without calling for a change?
You don’t see many female serial killers — estimates historically range around just 8% to 12% — but that premise is a thrilling starting point for Hulu’s new cat-and-mouse crime thriller, “Furious.” Emmy Rossum stars as Alice Black, a female FBI agent who’s tasked with tracking down a sex trafficking survivor who has taken to murdering the men who abused her.
But the show gets much deeper than that, as lines start to blur between what’s right and wrong and who’s the actual villain in the story. Only a few episodes are out so far, but what I’ve seen so far suggests we might be looking back on this show as one of the best of 2026.
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.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. The high school football season begins this weekend with zero week games. Let’s review some of the top openers.
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Big opening games
Thursday
Corona Centennial vs. Servite at Orange Coast College: It’s a challenging debut for first-year Servite coach Rick Garretson going against a Matt Logan offense that should be one of his best with quarterback Jaden Jefferson, running back Malaki Davis and receiver Quentin Hale. Servite has lots of speed and a trio of outstanding linebackers, plus new quarterback Gino Wang, so let’s see if the Friars can stay close. The pick: Corona Centennial.
Murrieta Valley at Rancho Cucamonga: These two top 25 teams exude toughness. Murrieta Valley is known for daring anyone to stop their running game. Rancho Cucamonga has had a year to get quarterback Trey Towns comfortable with the offense. The pick: Murrieta Valley.
Paraclete vs. St. Bonaventure at Ventura College: Former NFL defensive back Troy Hill, in his second year as head coach, had his first off season and the results should be good. The offense will be explosive behind improving junior quarterback Jaxson Carper and a group of speedy receivers. Angelus League favorite Paraclete has St. Francis transfer Shawn Sanders.
Friday
St. John Bosco at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman: This is a real national championship game. Whomever wins can finish unbeaten by season end. St. John Bosco’s experience on defense should be beneficial, but priority No. 1 is stopping running back Terrance Grant Jr., who has a huge offensive line to support him. Junior quarterback Koa Malau’ulu is in his third season as a starter. The receiving corp was hit hard by graduation but the offensive line should be much improved with the addition of Servite transfer Elisha Mueller. The pick: St. John Bosco.
Crenshaw at Palisades: Robert Garrett has left Crenshaw after 300 career victories. Interim coach Terrence Whitehead and his group of Garrett-trained assistants have worked hard to increase the roster level. There’s lots of athleticism at quarterback with Ethan Grant, a transfer from Los Angeles, and returnee Danniel Flowers. This is the first campus football game at Palisades since the Palisades Fire in January of 2025, so emotions will be high. The pick: Crenshaw.
Chaparral at Mission Viejo: Get ready for an entertaining TV opener in which both teams have a terrific group of receivers, so it will come down to who can protect their quarterback best. That’s where Mission Viejo has an advantage with probably the best offensive line since coach Chad Johnson arrived. The pick: Mission Viejo.
Loyola at Crean Lutheran: The Cubs go on the road to face a veteran team that has added lots of transfers, and the only question is how many will be eligible come game time. There are five Crean Lutheran players committed to Arizona. The pick: Crean Lutheran.
Gardena Serra vs. Palos Verdes at El Camino College: Get ready for Serra to pound the ball with its five returning offensive linemen and new running back AJ McBean. Palos Verdes has four-year starter Ryan Rakowski at quarterback to work his magic. Look for Serra’s speed advantage to be tough to stop. The pick: Serra.
Tustin at San Clemente: The Tritons won their game in Hawaii. Their defense faces a challenge from a Tustin team that has standout receiver Hayden Koo among a number of college prospect. But with Jaxson Rex leading the way, San Clemente figures to get some turnovers. The pick: San Clemente.
All-City linebacker De’Andre Kirkpatrick of Crenshaw has grown to 6 feet 3, 220 pounds entering his senior season.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
The Times’ nine-part series previewing some of Southern California’s best football players continues on Monday with a profile of Crenshaw linebacker De’Andre Kirkpatrick, who had to overcome the loss of his mother and father within weeks of each other. Here’s the profile.
Southern California teams traveled to Hawaii last week and came away 9-0. Chaminade, Villa Park, San Juan Hills, Viewpoint, Edison, Beaumont, San Clemente, Newport Harbor and Capistrano Valley all won their openers.
San Juan Hills beat Castle 67-0. Nikos Ioja rushed for 93 yards.
Bellflower showed off two promising freshmen receivers in a scrimmage: Ke’Ondre Smith and Ryan Clark. They could help with Austin Miller out with an injury.
JSerra quarterback Kate Meier reaches across the goal line for the winning touchdown an instant before her flag is pulled.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Defending Southern Section Division 1 champion JSerra showed Saturday that it remains the team to beat in 2026 by winning the Chargers tournament Gold Division championship over Newport Harbor.
Sophomore quarterback Kate Meier and a terrific defense sparked the Lions to victory. JSerra defeated Orange Lutheran in the semifinals in a rematch of last year’s Division 1 final.
Right before its opening game of the season and its first game in school history, Sierra Canyon was able to get eligible quarterback Makena Cook, who transferred from Orange Lutheran. The Trailblazers played in the Chargers tournament and should be much stronger when the transfer sit-out period ends for those who did not change residences.
Two flag football standouts, Ayden Klaiber (transfer from Florida) and Ava Irwin (JSerra) have to sit out the first half of Sierra Canyon’s season.
Coach Morgan Wijay of Harvard-Westlake has her team playing well to start the girls volleyball season.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
In a season-opening matchup between reigning state champions, Harvard-Westlake pushed Mater Dei to five sets before senior outside hitter Westley Matavao took control in the Monarchs’ 26-28, 25-18, 25-19, 17-25, 15-8 victory in Studio City. The UCLA commit had 16 kills, 19 digs and six aces while Cal-bound middle blocker Emma Kingston had 13 kills for Mater Dei, which has won the CIF Open Division state championship twice in the last three years.
Brooke Cotter and Ruby Sampson had 12 kills apiece and Princeton commit Sophia Cotter added 11 kills for Harvard-Westlake, which won the Division 1 state title last fall under first-year coach Morgan Wijay, who had spent the previous 10 seasons at Alemany and guided that program to section titles in 2021 and 2022. The Wolverines finished third in the Mission League last year after being swept twice by Sierra Canyon and Marymount and are projected to be third again.
Mater Dei is the heavy favorite to repeat as Trinity League champion having added five transfers — two of those from its own league.
Sierra Canyon won the prestigious Ann Kang tournament in Hawaii, beating one top team after another.
Former Marina first baseman Jake Bauers has 21 home runs for the Milwaukee Brewers.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
From not making the varsity at Marina High until his junior year to hitting 21 home runs this season for the Milwaukee Brewers to marrying the girl he met in 10th grade, Jake Bauers’ journey has been quite rewarding. He went four for four on Sunday at Dodger Stadium against the Dodgers.
CIF media rights contract with PlayOn Sports and the NFHS Network.
(Los Angeles Times)
The CIF has reached agreement with PlayOn Sports, the owner of MaxPreps, the NFHS Network and GoFan, on a 10-year, $11.1 million broadcast rights deal.
El Camino Real players celebrate winning a 10th City Section baseball title at Dodger Stadium.
(Craig Weston)
As if replacing its executive director and assistant principal in charge of athletics wasn’t enough summer drama for El Camino Real, now the school has put on leave multiple coaches and launched an investigation over a dispute about first-aid cards and why they couldn’t be found in the Red Cross database.
Multiple El Camino Real coaches have been placed on administrative leave because of a school investigation. The school has been in turmoil since the summer when the executive director and assistant principal in charge of athletics were both ousted. Here’s the report.…
Former Crespi pitcher Tim Leveque is the interim pitching coach for the Angels….
La Mirada Junior Little League won the World Series championship, beating Taipei 6-3 on a 10th-inning three-run home run from Jaylen Valdez, who is one of seven players on the team already enrolled as freshmen at La Mirada High….
Infielder Ian Nunez from La Mirada has committed to Cal State Northridge….
St. Bernard will be getting a new all-weather turf field in 2027….
Linebacker Ezekiel Su’a of Mater Dei has committed to Dartmouth….
Catcher Maddie Schepp from Torrance has committed to Fresno State softball….
Jaylee Moore of Etiwanda has committed to Hawaii for women’s basketball….
Arcadia will not use its longtime nickname Apaches this school year as it transitions to a different mascot after a new state law. It will use only Arcadia this year.
From the archives: Cody Fajardo
Former Servite quarterback Cody Fajardo has found a home in the Canadian Football League. He was MVP of the Grey Cup in 2023 in leading the Montreal Alouettes to the championship. He’s with the Edmonton Elks, his fifth team. This season, he’s completing 70% of his passes.
The 34-year-old helped Servite win the 2009 Southern Section Division 1 championship, then became starting quarterback at Nevada. He’s always been known for his ability to pass and run while showing toughness.
From MLB.com, a story on former Thousand Oaks shortstop Jacob Wilson setting a major league record with 111 consecutive games without making an error.
Tweets you might have missed
High school basketball players have been playing games nonstop since the “season” ended in March. Now it’s August. School is about to begin. Practices are about to start. Is there any time to rest the bones and the mind? A week? A day?
Friends of Golf, which has donated millions to help junior golfers, high schools and colleges, will honor Rickie Fowler and Kay Cockerill at its Charity Golf Tournament in October. https://t.co/PofOgg3XVP
Where did I find new Servite baseball coach Eric Borba? Working to clean mats and the clubhouse. Life as a high school baseball coach. Field maintenance. pic.twitter.com/TliUl4gESQ
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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