sport

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

We grew up with that line from “ABC’s Wide World of Sports” show.

But really, it’s the spaces in between, that can resonate and bring a sense of mortality to these world-class athletes.

As I witnessed these memorable events in this year’s Winter Olympics, I tried to keep in mind the frail dynamics of our collective psyche while performing against a spectacular backdrop of the Dolemites, or walking the historic, ancient streets of Milan.

There are dozens of photographers working at each event. They, like the athletes on the field of play, are in a competition.

Competing with each other to make the best image. Competing with the elements at outdoor venues, like bitter cold, rain, wind and snow. And most of all, competing with themselves to rise above their personal standard of what constitutes an outstanding photograph.

Witnessing what is probably an athletes greatest moment is both a thrill and an honor.

Here are some of the visual surprises.

Mikhail Shaidorov shows his metal as he takes a bite of the gold medal he won in the Men’s Single Skating Final.

French skier Laura Gauche sails against the backdrop of the Dolomites on her way to the finish line in the Women’s Team Combined Slalom.

Figure skater Ilia Malinin feels the pain of a bad performance during the finals for Men’s Single Skating at Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Megan Keller is mobbed by teammates after scoring the winning goal to beat Canada 2-1 in overtime in the Women’s ice hockey final.

Team USA are reflected in the ice during the Women’s Team Pursuit at Milano Speed Skate Stadium.

Swiss skier Melanie Meillard weeps in the arms of her teammate Janine Schmitt after missing a turn on her slalom run Women’s Team Combined Slalom.

Lindsay Vonn is airlifted off the mountain after crashing during the Women’s downhill Alpine skiing event.

USA skier AJ Hurt wags her tongue after a successful slalom run at the Women’s Team Combined Slalom.

Gloves were flying when Tom Wilson, left, of Team Canada engaged with Pierre Crinon, of Team France, at Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena.

Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates practice before competing in the ice dancing free skate competition.

USA skater Amber Glenn weeps after completing an imperfect routine in the single skating short program.

USA skaters Eunice Lee and Corinne Stonnard crash in the Women’s 3,000m short track speed skating.

French skater Adam Siao Him Fa performs a flip during the finals for Men’s Single Skating.

Medals and a selfie for Italy, Korea and Canada at the Women’s Team Short Track Speed Skating finals.

The Swiss Women’s ice hockey team leaves their equipment on the ice while celebrating an overtime win over Sweden in the bronze medal match.

Here are the preseason softball rankings for the Southland from CalHISports.com.

Rk. Schhol, Rec. last year

1. Norco, 29-3

2. Orange Lutheran, 22-6

3. JSerra, 19-14

4. Temescal Canyon, 21-6

5. Los Alamitos, 21-12

6. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 25-6

7. Oaks Christian, 21-5

8. Fullerton, 21-8

9. La Mirada, 25-5

10. El Modena, 23-10

11. Marina, 19-13

12. RIo Mesa,16-10

13. Garden Grove Pacifica, 15-12

14. La Habra, 22-8

15. Palos Verdes, 21-8

16. Valley View, 24-5

17. Long Beach Poly, 20-7

18. Granada Hills, 28-3

19. Etiwanda, 23-4

20. Huntington Beach, 22-8

Sean McVay’s refashioned Rams coaching staff is taking shape.

Nate Scheelhaase will be promoted to offensive coordinator and Dave Ragone will serve as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, a person with knowledge of the situation said, Friday. The person requested anonymity because the moves have not been announced.

Scheelhaase, 35, replaces Mike LaFleur, who was hired as head coach by the Arizona Cardinals.

McVay will remain the Rams’ play-caller.

Scheelhaase joined the Rams staff as an offensive assistant in 2024. He served as passing game coordinator last season and was interviewed by several teams for head coach positions.

Ragone, 48, has been the Rams quarterbacks coach since 2024. He was the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator before joining the Rams’ staff.

One of the toughest decisions for Jared Honig came three years ago. He’s a Granada Hills High graduate and was a teacher and girls’ basketball coach at his alma mater “forever.”

But he and his wife lived in Santa Clarita and just had a third child.

So when the Valencia High girls’ basketball coaching job opened, the decision was made to leave Granada Hills to be closer to home. Three years later, Honig has Valencia in the Southern Section Division 1 semifinals with a playoff game on Saturday night at home against Windward.

The team is rising. The Vikings knocked off Troy and the winningest coach in California history, Kevin Kiernan, in the quarterfinals.

“That’s my first time coaching against him,” Honig said. “That was pretty cool.”

Leading the Vikings has been sophomore Kamilla Basyrova, who made a school-record 94 three-pointers last season and has already broken that record this season while averaging 19.8 points.

“Kamilla is an amazing three-point shooter,” Honig said.

Senior Cara McKell is averaging 17.8 points. The Vikings face an improving Windward team that struggled early but has caught fire, led by Charis Rainey.

Honig is starting to prepare his two girls and one boy for future basketball competitions. They’re 8, 6 and 3. He’s found a new home at Valencia High.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

The last time Ireland visited Allianz Stadium, in 2024, they had just equalled England’s Six Nations record of 11 straight wins and were chasing the rarefied air of back-to-back Grand Slams.

Since that 23-22 defeat, however, Ireland have lost six times in 20 Tests. All six of those losses have come against the other three nations – South Africa, New Zealand and France – currently ranked higher than Andy Farrell’s side.

In the 12 months since beating England in last year’s Six Nations, Ireland have lost to France (twice), the All Blacks and the Springboks by a combined 61 points.

Their miserable return to Paris a fortnight ago ended with their heaviest Six Nations loss in 16 years, giving fuel to the ‘Ireland in decline’ debate.

Indeed, a succession of humbling in-ring experiences with the game’s heavyweights have intensified the scrutiny on a team who have slipped to fifth in the world rankings after entering the 2023 World Cup as number one.

Whether it’s been age profile, a creaking scrum, a sputtering attack, the unsettled fly-half situation or a British and Irish Lions hangover, most of the discussion has been largely negative.

But from an Irish perspective, there is no better way to flip the narrative than a big win over the English, who are wounded from last week’s Calcutta Cup defeat by Scotland.

Of course, having left Stade de France empty-handed before failing to secure a bonus point in the win over Italy, Ireland know another loss would dash their title hopes for another year.

“I think the lads are going to be a bit annoyed at the negative chat that’s surrounding the team for the past while,” legendary Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray said on the Ireland Rugby Social.

“There’s so many quality, world-class players and leaders in that team. I hope they just go there and say ‘let’s go for it here, lads, we’re sick of people talking about us in a negative light, look at the quality we have in the room.”

Kompany was also critical of Mourinho for using Eusebio’s name as supposed proof that Benfica is not a racist club.

“Do you know what black players had to go through in the 1960s?” added the former Manchester City captain and Burnley boss.

“Was he (Mourinho) there to travel with Eusebio to every away game?

“Probably at the time the only option they had was to be quiet, to say nothing, be above it and to be 10 times better in order to get a little bit of credit for people to say ‘actually, he is good’.

“That was Eusebio’s life.”

Kompany, who also spoke about racial abuse he experienced as a player, said talk of Vinicius’ celebration should not distract from the player’s immediate response to Prestianni’s alleged remarks.

“I’m just thinking when Jose Mourinho is doing the knee slide at Old Trafford, when he does his celebration in front of the [Barcelona] fans in the Champions League semi-final with Inter Milan, when his Roma are playing Sevilla and he is fighting with the referee and the referee has to leave the country under protection,” he added.

“I know one hundred people who have worked with Jose Mourinho. I’ve never heard a person say anything bad about Jose.

“I understand he is fighting for his team and his club. You cannot be a bad person and have all the ex players you have had talk so positively about you.

“I don’t need to judge him as a person but I know what I’ve heard. And I understand maybe what he has done, but he has made a mistake.”

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has cast doubt on his immediate future at Selhurst Park after admitting he’s “not good enough” in the role, following the club’s 1-1 draw against Zrinjski in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs.

READ MORE: Glasner’s Crystal Palace future in serious doubt

From Felicia Keller: The No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball team beat Washington 82-67, extending its win streak to 20 games, clinching the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament and earning at least a share of the league regular season title on Thursday night.

“It shows how hard we are working throughout the season, and we’re just going to have to continue to try to get better,” Bruins center Lauren Betts said. “Obviously it’s great, but we have bigger things that we’re looking forward to, so we’re just going to continue to keep our heads down.”

It is the Bruins’ first regular season conference championship since the 1998-99 season, when they tied for first in the Pac-10.

“To have a couple of alumni that were on that team here today, that’s really special, and I really want to compliment these guys for always having a sense of humility,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “We walk on the shoulders of the people that came before us, and we’re just really thankful to be in the position we’re in, and in the number one net conference in the country for women’s basketball.”

Betts scored a game-high 23 points and was one of five UCLA players to finish with double-figure scoring, while Washington freshman Brynn McGaughy recorded the second-highest point total of her college career with 19. Avery Howell scored 17 points and led the Huskies with seven rebounds.

Continue reading here

UCLA box score

Big Ten standings

USC women get a scare in victory

From Ryan Kartje: Through a stellar debut season, freshman Jazzy Davidson has done everything for USC that was asked of her. She’s led the Trojans in scoring, in rebounds, in blocks, in assists, in steals. She’s been their best defender, their most clutch performer. Six times, she’s won Big Ten freshman of the week.

Her star turn had helped turn the Trojans around in recent weeks, powering a season-long win streak that was extended to six with a 66-59 victory over Wisconsin on Thursday. She’d already turned in another in a season’s worth of extraordinary performances, when Davidson landed awkwardly in the final minutes and a searing pain shot through her calf.

The pained look on the freshman’s face and the hush of the Galen Center in those first few seconds was enough to transport at least some of the USC faithful in the crowd back to last March, when Trojan superstar JuJu Watkins injured her knee not far from the same spot. The feeling of dread only worsened as teammates carried her first to the sideline, where coaches and trainers eventually carried her to the locker room.

Considering all the unfortunate twists of fate for USC over the last year, it was impossible not to, for a moment at least, assume the worst. But not long after, Davidson strode into the postgame news conference room no worse for the wear.

“Based on the 30 texts I’ve gotten,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said, “Jazzy is OK.”

Cramps, it turned out, were the culprit.

Continue reading here

USC box score

Big Ten standings

Big Three ready for Lakers

From Broderick Turner: The Lakers had just completed practice Thursday with a full and healthy squad when Luka Doncic strolled over to speak with the media.

Doncic had played only five minutes Sunday for Team World in the All-Star Game because of a lingering left hamstring strain. He missed the previous four Lakers games.

With the Lakers’ season scheduled to restart against the Clippers on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, Doncic was asked if he would be playing.

“Probably,” he said. “We’ll see. I got to talk to people.”

Since Doncic practiced, he was asked how he was doing and how his hamstring felt.

“I’m good,” he said. “Feeling good.”

Continue reading here

Lon Rosen to take over business operations for the Lakers

Bennedict Mathurin helps Clippers edge the Nuggets

Bennedict Mathurin scored 38 points in his home debut for Los Angeles and the Clippers held off the Denver Nuggets 115-114 on Thursday night.

Denver’s Jamal Murray had a chance to tie it on three free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining after a foul from Derrick Jones Jr. Murray made the first two before missing the third, with time expiring on the rebound.

Kawhi Leonard added 23 points, and Jones had 22 to help the Clippers (27-28) improve to 21-7 since Dec. 20. Both teams were coming off the All-Star break.

Continue reading here

Clippers box score

NBA standings

Mookie Betts feels ready for resurgence

From Jack Vita: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not hesitate when asked about his expectations for Mookie Betts.

“He will be in the MVP conversation this year,” Roberts said this week. “But again, I think, speaking for Mookie, his main goal is to help us win a championship. So, I think whatever falls out from there, I think that will happen. I just want him to focus on just being healthy, helping us win, and then whatever happens outside of that, will happen.”

Coming off a season that got off on the wrong foot with a stomach virus that caused him to lose 20 pounds and then saw him set career lows for batting average (.258), on-base percentage (.326) and OPS (.732), Betts is eager to move forward. And with a more typical spring training timeline this year — unlike the previous two years when season-opening games in South Korea and Japan sped up preparations — Betts can ease into his seventh season with the Dodgers.

“I haven’t had a regular spring maybe since I’ve been a Dodger,” said Betts, who also won’t be participating in the World Baseball Classic as he did in 2023. “I just know that, being 33 now, I don’t have to hurry up and get here, and be ready to play from day one. So, I can just kind of embrace that. Not everybody’s blessed to have that, so being that I am one of the ones that’s blessed with that, I’ll see what I can make of it.”

Continue reading here

Rain is the winner at Genesis Invitational

From Steve Galluzzo: The roars were back at The Riv on Thursday… and so was the rain.

After a four-birdie spree on the back nine, Englishman Aaron Rai vaulted into the lead at six-under-par through 16 holes before the horn sounded to suspend play at 5:41 p.m. He and 29 others will finish their first rounds when play resumes Friday morning at the Genesis Invitational.

Unfazed by a nearly three-hour weather delay, Jacob Bridgeman fired a five-under-par 66 and shares the clubhouse lead with the No. 2-ranked player in the world Rory McIlroy.

“Awesome course,” Bridgeman said as he left the press tent. “Played it yesterday for the first time and I love it!”

Making his tournament debut, Bridgeman carded four birdies on the back nine, the last at No. 17, to pull even with McIlroy at five-under, and parred the 18th to take the clubhouse lead. The 26-year-old South Carolinian is ranked 52nd — the highest he has been since turning pro four years ago — but has never won on the Tour.

Continue reading here

Genesis Invitational leaderboard

This day in sports history

1887 — The International Assn., the first minor league baseball association, is organized in Pittsburgh.

1951 — The college point-shaving scandal prompts Long Island University to drop basketball and all other intercollegiate sports. LIU revives basketball in 1957.

1971 — En route to a record 76-goal season, Boston’s Phil Esposito becomes the first player to score his 50th goal in February, but the Bruins lose to the Kings 5-4.

1972 — Larry Brown of the Denver Rockets sets ABA records for assists in a game (23), half (18) and quarter (10) during a 146-123 home win over the Pittsburgh Condors.

1974 — Gordie Howe, the NHL’s career scoring leader, comes out of retirement and signs a $1-million, four-year contract to play with the Houston Aeros of the WHA and sons Mark and Marty.

1976 — Muhammad Ali beats Jean-Pierre Coopman with a fifth-round knockout at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in Puerto Rico to defend his world heavyweight title.

1988 — In Calgary, Brian Boitano of the U.S. wins the Olympic figure skating gold medal on a technical merit tiebreaker and nearly flawless free skate.

1993 — Julio Cesar Chavez records a fifth-round TKO over Greg Haugen in a WBC super lightweight title bout before a record crowd of 130,000 at Mexico City’s Aztec Stadium.

1998 — Tara Lipinski, 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating champion, beating fellow teen and U.S. teammate Michelle Kwan to take the gold. Lipinski is two months younger than Sonja Henie was in her 1928 victory.

2006 — Tanith Belbin and partner Ben Agosto end the U.S. medals drought in Olympic ice dance competition with a silver. The last to do so were Colleen O’Connor and James Millns, who won bronze in 1976.

2009 — Lindsey Van of the U.S. becomes the first female ski jumping world champion. Women’s ski jumping makes its debut at this year’s Nordic world championships in the Czech Republic. Todd Lodwick wins the opening Nordic combined event to give the U.S. two golds in one day. Before Van’s victory, the U.S. had not won a gold at a Nordic worlds since 2003 when Johnny Spillane took a Nordic combined sprint.

2010 — Switzerland’s Simon Ammann wins the large hill at the Vancouver Games to become the first ski jumper with four individual Olympic titles.

2011 — Trevor Bayne, 20, wins the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s biggest race, in only his second Sprint Cup start.

2011 — Kobe Bryant wins his record-tying fourth All-Star game MVP award, scoring 37 points before his hometown fans and leading the West past the East 148-143.

2016 — Lindsey Vonn clinches a record 20th World Cup crystal globe title and surpasses Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark. It’s Vonn’s record eighth downhill title. Stenmark won 19 globes between 1975 and 1984.

2021 — Australian Open Women’s Tennis: Naomi Osaka of Japan wins her fourth major and second Australian title; beats American Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3.

2022 — Hannah Green of Australia becomes first woman to win a mix-gender golf tournament over 72 holes; closes with five-under 66 for a 4-stroke win in TPS Murray River on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

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.

Saturday’s live TV and streaming broadcasts for the Milan-Cortina Olympics unless noted (subject to change). All events stream live on Peacock or NBCOlympics.com with a streaming or cable login. All times Pacific. 🏅 — medal event for live broadcasts.

MULTIPLE SPORTS
8 p.m. — “Primetime in Milan” (delay): Cross-country skiing, bobsled, figure skating, freestyle skiing and more. | NBC

BIATHLON
5:15 a.m. — 🏅Women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start | USA
10:30 a.m. — 🏅Women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start (re-air) | USA

BOBSLED
1 a.m. — Four-man bobsled, Run 1 | Peacock
2:55 a.m. — Four-man bobsled, Run 2 | Peacock
8 a.m. — Four-man bobsled, runs 1-2 | USA
10 a.m. — Two-woman bobsled, Run 3 | NBC
12:05 p.m. — 🏅Two-woman bobsled, final run | Peacock
12:15 p.m. — 🏅Two-woman bobsled, final run (in progress) | NBC
2:15 p.m. — Two-woman bobsled, runs 3-4 (delay) | NBC

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING
2 a.m. — 🏅Men’s 50-kilometer mass start classic | Peacock
3:10 a.m. — 🏅Men’s 50-kilometer mass start classic (in progress) | USA
8:30 a.m. — Men’s 50-kilometer mass start classic (delay) | NBC

CURLING
🏅Women’s bronze-medal match
5:05 a.m. — Teams TBD | Peacock
7:20 a.m. — Teams TBD (delay) | USA
🏅Men’s gold-medal match
10:05 a.m. — Teams TBD | CNBC
Women’s bronze-medal match
1 p.m. — Teams TBD (re-air) | CNBC

FIGURE SKATING
11 a.m. — Exhibition gala | Peacock
11:55 a.m. — Exhibition gala (in progress) | NBC
12:50 p.m. — Exhibition gala (in progress) | NBC

FREESTYLE SKIING
1 a.m. — Men’s skicross, qualifying | Peacock
1:45 a.m. — 🏅Mixed team aerials, final | USA
2:55 a.m. — 🏅Men’s skicross, finals | Peacock
8:45 a.m. — Men’s skicross, finals (delay) | USA
9:15 a.m. — Mixed team aerials, final (re-air) | USA
10:30 a.m. — 🏅Women’s freeski halfpipe, final | NBC
1:30 p.m. — Mixed team aerials, final (re-air) | NBC

HOCKEY
🏅Men’s bronze-medal game
11:40 a.m. — Teams TBD | USA

SKI MOUNTAINEERING
4:30 a.m. — 🏅Mixed team relay | Peacock

SPEEDSKATING
6 a.m. — 🏅Men’s and women’s mass start, semifinals and finals | Peacock
7 a.m. — 🏅Men’s and women’s mass start, semifinals and finals (in progress) | NBC

New South Wales Police has charged four teenagers over the drive-by shooting of former NRL player Matt Utai and the alleged arson attacks targeting his family in Sydney.

Utai sustained gunshot wounds to his leg and shoulder during a drive-by shooting in Sydney suburb Greenacre on Tuesday.

A 16-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man have both been charged with “accessory after the fact to shoot at with intent to murder”.

A 18-year-old and another 19-year-old have both been charged with damaging property by fire, while the latter was also charged with supplying prohibited drugs.

Utai, 44, remains in a serious condition after undergoing surgery for his injuries.

Police said the shots had been fired from a white SUV, which was later found burned out in nearby Wiley Park.

On Wednesday, police attended a further incident after shots were fired at a house in St Clair. A woman in her 50s was at home but was not injured.

A short time after they found a car on fire in Colyton and later the same day a house and vehicle were found ablaze in Guildford West.

New South Wales Police department said a task force was assembled to investigate the incidents – all of which are believed to have been targeting the same family.

HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER PLAYOFFS
THURSDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION
BOYS
SEMIFINALS

OPEN DIVISION
#1 El Camino Real 1, #4 Palisades 0 (OT)
#6 Marquez at #2 South East, Friday at 6 p.m.

Note: Finals Feb. 27 or 28 at TBA.

GIRLS
SEMIFINALS

OPEN DIVISION
#1 Cleveland 4, #5 Palisades 0
#7 Granada Hills 3, #6 New West Charter 0

Note: Finals Feb. 27 or 28 at TBA.

QUARTERFINALS

DIVISION I
#1 Birmingham 2, #8 Van Nuys 0
#5 Chatsworth 1, #4 Granada Hills Kennedy 0
#3 Wilmington Banning 2, #11 LA Hamilton 1
#7 Eagle Rock 3, #15 King/Drew 2

DIVISION II
#8 Mendez at #1 South East
#13 Lakeview Charter 1, #5 Animo Bunche 0
#19 Bravo at #6 LA Roosevelt
#7 Garfield 8, #2 Gardena 3

DIVISION III
#9 Maywood CES 0, #1 Fairfax 0 (MACES wins 4-2 in shootout)
#4 Marquez 1, #5 Reseda 0
#6 Verdugo Hills 1, #3 Huntington Park 1 (VH wins 3-0 in shootout)
#2 Angelou 4, #7 Santee 1

DIVISION IV
#9 Aspire Ollin 3, #16 Franklin 2
#12 Monroe 2, #13 Arleta 0
#6 Animo De La Hoya 1, #3 Camino Nuevo 1 (DLH wins in shootout)
#10 Sun Valley Poly 2, #2 Fremont 0

Note: Semifinals Tuesday; Finals Feb. 27 or 28 at TBA.

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)

CITY SECTION
BOYS

QUARTERFINALS
DIVISION I
#9 Angelou at #1 Chavez
#5 Chatsworth at #4 Granada Hills, 4 p.m.
#19 LA Marshall vs. #6 Cleveland, 6 p.m. at Taft
#15 Granada Hills Kennedy at #7 Legacy

DIVISION II
#17 Canoga Park at #9 Santee, 4 p.m.
#20 Neuwirth Leadership vs. #12 Arleta, 7 p.m. at Birmingham
#14 Taft at #6 Garfield
#23 Huntington Park at #15 RFK Community

DIVISION III
#9 Franklin at #1 LACES
#13 Foshay at #12 North Hollywood
#6 Animo Pat Brown at #3 Gardena
#23 Sun Valley Magnet at #2 LA Hamilton

DIVISION IV
#8 LA Roosevelt at #1 Mendez
#5 East Valley at #4 Maywood Academy
#19 Lakeview at #6 Panorama
#18 Port of Los Angeles at #7 Aspire Ollin

Note: Semifinals Wednesday; Finals Feb. 27 or 28 at TBA.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
SOUTHERN SECTION
(Games at 5 p.m. unless noted)

BOYS
SEMIFINALS

OPEN DIVISION
#8 Orange Lutheran at #4 Placentia Valencia
#6 JSerra at #2 Mater Dei

Note: Finals Feb. 28.

DIVISION 1
Santa Monica vs. Anaheim Canyon, 5:45 p.m. at El Modena
Fontana at Sultana, 6 p.m.

DIVISION 2
Downey at Newport Harbor
Citrus Hill at Bishop Amat

DIVISION 3
Los Alamitos vs. Godinez at Santa Ana Valley Stadium
Calabasas at Channel Islands

DIVISION 4
Indian Springs at Granite Hills
Irvine University at Oxnard Pacifica

DIVISION 5
Santa Ana Valley at San Marcos
Camarillo at Esperanza, 3 p.m.

DIVISION 6
Bishop Montgomery vs. Animo Leadership, 2:45 p.m. at Edward Vincent
Ontario Christian at Vista del Lago

DIVISION 7
Cerritos at Pasadena Poly
Oakwood at Palmdale Academy Charter, 3 p.m.

DIVISION 8
Orange County Pacifica Christian at San Jacinto Leadership
Rio Hondo Prep at Thacher, 3 p.m.

Note: Finals Feb. 27 or 28.

GIRLS
SEMIFINALS

OPEN DIVISION
#4 Oaks Christian at #1 Santa Margarita, 4 p.m.
#3 Mater Dei at #2 Redondo Union

Note: Finals Feb. 28.

DIVISION 1
Westlake at Newport Harbor, 7 p.m.
Eastvale Roosevelt at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame

DIVISION 2
Ayala at San Marino
Millikan at Bonita

DIVISION 3
Paloma Valley at Crescenta Valley, 3 p.m.
Quartz Hill at Simi Valley

DIVISION 4
Arcadia at San Jacinto, 3 p.m.
Immaculate Heart at Chino

DIVISION 5
Coachella Valley at Artesia
Del Sol at Sultana, 3 p.m.

DIVISION 6
Ocean View at Palmdale Aerospace
Grace at Segerstrom

DIVISION 7
Santa Monica Pacifica Christian vs. Savanna at Anaheim
Cate at Azusa, 2 p.m.

DIVISION 8
Mountain View at Buckley, 1 p.m.
Webb at Big Bear

Note: Finals Feb. 27 or 28.

Not exactly.

Reigning champions Arsenal had to kick off their campaign against record eight-time winners Lyon, who they beat in the semi-finals last season.

This time they lost and they were also beaten by Bayern Munich in the league phase, meaning they had work to do to qualify.

It was a nervy few months but victories against Real Madrid and FC Twente helped Arsenal finish fifth in the table. They were handed a favourable tie in their knockout play-offs, avoiding more established European teams like Wolfsburg and Juventus to take on competition debutants OH Leuven, who they had already beaten 3-0 in the league phase.

They bettered that scoreline in the first leg, winning 4-0, but Arsenal boss Renee Slegers insisted it was not straightforward, saying her side just found form when it mattered.

“Ahead of the first game, we were very aware that Leuven had made it difficult for teams in Europe,” said Slegers after their 3-1 victory in the second leg.

“We actually played really well in Leuven and were clinical. When we go into the second game, we know we’re already 4-0 up, so it becomes a different game.”

United had to face Atletico Madrid, who have reached the main draw six times in the past decade, having also played them in the league phase.

The Spanish side are sixth in Liga F and 25 points adrift of leaders Barcelona.

The competition has been far from easy for United though, having to play three qualifying rounds before the league phase – coming from behind to beat Brann – and then meeting two-time winners Wolfsburg, Italian giants Juventus and record-holders Lyon in their group.

“For sure, it hasn’t felt easy. I’ve really enjoyed the structure of the Champions League to get here,” said United boss Marc Skinner. “It’s exposed us to different styles of play. The experiences have helped us grow quickly.

“You look back to when we played Lyon, the close Valerenga game and Juventus in the last game of the league phase – the growth is incredible from our team.”

Even Chelsea, who were top seeds and qualified directly for the quarter-finals, had to play fellow last-eight qualifiers Barcelona and Wolfsburg in the league phase.

They have Arsenal next, and could still face Lyon and Barcelona on route to the final.

Furlong and the Ireland squad have turned their attention to Saturday’s trip to face England in Twickenham (14:10 GMT) where he will likely come into direct contact with Lions team-mate Ellis Genge who he acknowledges is “not a fella with a Lions hangover”.

While England lost their Calcutta Cup match against Scotland, Furlong felt Steve Borthwick’s side were strong in the scrum and this is an area Ireland are seeking to improve after some struggles in their win over Italy.

“We were negative three in the penalty count so that was a disappointing result,” Furlong acknowledged.

“Italy do have a good scrum and we saw what they did to South Africa in November.

“The fixes are the simple stuff – height, entry and angles, but they did a good job of isolating the two on ones in the scrum.”

Furlong won his 83rd cap as a replacement against the Italians and is now firmly in the veteran category in the squad.

Ireland have suffered a number of injuries for this Six Nations, especially in the forwards, which has resulted in a number of new faces promoted into starting line-ups and match-day squads.

Despite a chastening defeat by France in their opener and struggles in victory against Italy, Furlong remains optimistic as to regards the trajectory of the team.

“There are players missing through injury or retirement and it changes the feel of the group,” he acknowledged.

“I remember travelling off to Portugal (pre-Six Nations training camp) and there were a load of new faces there and I was thinking ‘this feels a bit different, I feel a bit older’.

“As the weeks went on with the younger players and come of the others came back into camp, the younger players have come out of themselves a bit from a rugby point of view.

“Where that leaves us? The rest of the championship will tell that story but I like where the group is going, there’s a lot of promise.”

Former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney hopes Pep Guardiola will stay at Manchester City beyond this season because he has set “a benchmark” for all other managers.

The 55-year-old has been in charge of City since 2016 and led them to six Premier League titles, while they are in with a chance of a seventh this season.

However, there is uncertainty over whether Guardiola will still be manager next season, with the expectation that a decision on his future will be made towards – or after – the end of this campaign.

“Some players will want him to leave, some will want him to stay, it depends whether you are in the team or not and that is the same for any manager,” said Rooney on the latest episode of The Wayne Rooney Show.

“I hope he stays because he is brilliant for the Premier League and you want the best managers in the Premier League.

“He has set a benchmark over the past 10 years for everyone else.”

In December, former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was heavily linked with a return to City, where he previously worked as a coach under Guardiola.

F1’s bosses agreed at a meeting of the F1 Commission rules-making body on Wednesday they would assess data from this final test at a further meeting to decide whether action needed to be taken in the short term.

Concern arises from the fact the new engine rules have tripled the power provided by the electrical part of the engine but left the batteries more or less the same size as last year, and removed one of the devices used to recover energy.

This had led to cars that are energy starved and forced the teams to find new ways to harvest sufficient electrical energy to produce the best performance. The rules governing energy recovery are also highly complex.

That in turn has required drivers to perform behaviours that have been described as “counter-intuitive” to optimise lap time.

These include not going flat out put of the final corner before a qualifying lap, lifting and coasting on a qualifying lap, and even not accelerating at full power at the end of a lap because it was more advantageous to use the energy elsewhere.

However, drivers have generally been positive on the handling characteristics of the new cars, and a number of top drivers all told BBC Sport they are still driving to the limit of grip, and driver ability will still be as crucial as ever.

Domenicali said: “Don’t be worried about the energy management. We’re going to solve that. If we need to solve it, by the way.”

He has spent his time in Bahrain having a series of discussions with individual drivers about the sport, including Verstappen.

And he added: “Max wants and does care about Formula 1 more than anyone else. He has a way of putting the point that he wants to say in a certain way.

“Max will be part of the future of Formula 1 and of course it’s very important that we listen to him and all the top drivers that are very important in this sport.”

Domenicali also said F1 was looking at introducing new sporting elements on Fridays, expanding on the approach that led to sprint-race weekends, which feature two qualifying sessions rather than one, and a shorter race on the Saturday in addition to the grand prix on Sunday.

He has already previously said F1 is considering increasing the number of sprint events beyond the current six.

Domenicali added: “Feedback from the fans, from the people attending the track, the promoter, [is] that people want to see action, real action during the three days.

“People want to see already on Friday something that is sporting – qualifying, points, whatever it is.

“So, it is true that there is the trend to go in the direction of, even if it is not a sprint every weekend.”

Ukraine’s Winter Paralympics team will boycott the event’s opening ceremony next month after Russian and Belarusian athletes were invited to compete under their national flags.

On Tuesday, it was announced six Russian and four Belarusian athletes will take part in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding at the Milan-Cortina Games, which start on 6 March.

Both countries had previously been suspended from Paralympic competition after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Belarus an ally of Russia.

In September, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) lifted its ban on athletes from the two countries competing at the Games.

However, the IPC does not govern the six sports contested at the Paralympics and despite the individual bodies, including the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), refusing to lift their own bans, Russia and Belarus won an appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport against FIS.

As a result, athletes have been able to return to FIS competitions and the 10 Paralympians have been awarded bipartite commission invitations to compete in Italy.

Following an announcement that Ukrainian officials would avoid the entire competition, the country’s National Paralympic Committee now says team members will miss the opening ceremony.

The organisation has also made a “demand that the Ukrainian flag not be used”.

The team will still compete in the Games and “fight for the sporting victories of Ukrainian athletes”.

Earlier this week in its response to criticism over the decision to allow the Russian and Belarussian athletes to compete, the IPC said it was a “democratic organisation and the decision to lift the partial suspension of NPCs Belarus and Russia was taken by IPC member organisations at the 2025 General Assembly”.

With fans protesting against the club’s board at the start of the game and later ironically cheering Schmeichel making a save, the atmosphere at Parkhead was far from harmonious.

“It’s bitterly disappointing,” former Celtic captain and manager Neil Lennon said of the jeers directed at Schmeichel.

“He had a bad night but it still doesn’t warrant that kind of treatment.”

Thursday night was the latest in a string of perceived errors made by Schmeichel, following Joe Hugill’s looping header for Kilmarnock last weekend and Jonathan Rowe’s effort for Bologna last month.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Celtic closed ranks around their embattled goalkeeper post-match.

“It’s a tough evening for us,” interim manager Martin O’Neill said. “On paper, 4-1 looks pretty poor.

“We were masters of our own downfall in many respects, conceded some poor goals.

“Kasper [Schmeichel] has made some great saves while I’ve been here. This is a collective, there’s no doubt about that.

“We played Feyenoord in a game we probably had to win and he made an unbelievable save, otherwise we wouldn’t be here playing tonight.

“I will think about all sorts of things [before the next game], but Kasper has done really well since I’ve arrived at the football club, in both spells.”

Captain Callum McGregor added: “Everyone makes mistakes.

“Kasper has been amazing since he’s come to the club. He’ll dust that down. We win as a team and lose as a team.

“There’s no blame, he’s made so many big saves for us. He’ll bounce back for sure.”

MILAN — She flipped her hair. She shrugged. She dusted her hands off.

Alysa Liu makes winning an Olympic gold medal look easy.

The 20-year-old became the first U.S. woman to win the Olympic singles title since 2002, electrifying the crowd at Milano Ice Skating Arena with her “MacArthur Park” program Thursday and overtaking Japanese rivals Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai, who won second and third, respectively.

Liu scored a monster 150.20 points in her free skate, the highest mark for a women’s free skate all season in international competition to win by a total of 1.89 points. Her choreographer Massimo Scali’s jaw dropped when he heard the score read in Italian. A beat later when the screen caught up to the public address announcement in the stadium, Liu nodded confidently and cracked a subtle smirk.

American gold medalist Alysa Liu hugs Japanese bronze medalist Ami Nakai after their final scores were revealed at the Winter Olympics on Thursday in Milan.

(Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

She doesn’t care about the scores.

Liu, who grew up in Oakland, has floated through her second Olympics as if she had not a single care in the world. A two-year retirement during which she climbed Mt. Everest, got her driver’s license and started college at UCLA made skating feel inconsequential. Now so unbothered, Liu spent part of her six-minute warmup cheering on teammate Amber Glenn in the leader’s chair. Minutes before taking the ice, Liu snapped a selfie with her coaches. She gives her coaches a high-five right before taking her starting position.

“She’s not like us,” her coach Phillip Diguglielmo said. “The rest of us here would be like, ‘Oh my God, I’m nervous. Oh, I can’t do this. I have a million voices in my head.’ She has one voice in her head, and it says, ‘I got this.’”

The only emotions Liu felt during her program were “calm, happy and confident.” When she sees the faces in the crowd smile, Liu said she can’t help but smile, too. And there was a lot of smiling. Her Donna Summer disco program had fans clapping within the first minute. Diguglielmo and Scali held their hands overhead to join the roar. Liu’s pre-program message to the crowd on the video board was “Y’all better turn up!”

Liu, who won the 2025 world championship with the same crowd-pleasing program, returned to the sport in 2024 with the sole objective of sharing her art. She wanted to make as many programs as possible. Winning never seemed to matter. With the gold medal hanging around her neck, Liu stopped short of saying she even wanted it. She surely didn’t need it, she said.

“What I needed was the stage,” Liu said. “And I got that.”

Once Liu processed the final scores, she rose to her feet and turned toward Nakai, clapping for the 17-year-old. Nakai, skating in her first Olympics, was shocked. She held up three fingers to Liu, asking if she had finished on the podium. Overjoyed, they hugged. Liu picked Nakai, who had entered the free skate in first place, up off the ground.

Sakamoto was less than a point ahead of Liu entering Thursday’s free skate, but small mistakes from the three-time world champion, in addition to Liu’s strong technique and infectious energy made Liu the first U.S. woman to win the Olympic gold medal since Sarah Hughes in 2002. The United States’ 20-year drought without a medal — since Sasha Cohen took silver in 2006 — was the country’s longest.

Liu held her palms up in disbelief after finishing the program of her life that put her in the lead with two competitors remaining. She leaned into the camera and pointed to the piercing on the inside of her upper lip. She did it herself.

With blond horizontal stripes dyed in her dark brown hair, bold black eyeliner and the smiley lip piercing, Liu has cut an alternative path to the top of a sport that long valued a specific kind of femininity. But the slick back bun, classical music and balletic dress was not Liu’s brand.

Her brand is joy.

And now as just the second figure skater in history to win two Olympic gold medals at the same Olympic Games — joining U.S. star Nathan Chen — Liu has the stage, and the attention, to display her joy for the next generation of athletes.

“People will be able to see how she approaches the sport now versus before and see how much more successful it is now in a healthy way,” Glenn said. “And I’m hoping people can really learn from that.”

Glenn got redemption after the short program, putting up a season’s best 147.52 during her free skate that vaulted her from 13th to fifth with a 214.91 total score. The only blemish was when Glenn put one hand down on her final jump — the same triple loop that cost her in her short program. But as she held one leg behind her during a spiral in her last sequence, Glenn smiled as she looked into the crowd. After the program, she whipped her fist through the air triumphantly.

The performance put a positive punctuation mark on Glenn’s winding Olympic journey. She has faced intense scrutiny at the Games. The same pressure that consumed Glenn and teammate Ilia Malinin could not even touch Liu’s glowing aura.

When asked Thursday if she felt any “Olympic pressure,” Liu smiled.

“You would have to explain what Olympic pressure is,” she said.

Then she bounced away, the gold medal around her neck blending perfectly with her gold dress.

Known for producing first-round draft picks as pitchers, Harvard-Westlake has assembled a group of hitters this season that look capable of producing lots of offense after a 15-1 season-opening five-inning win over Southlake (Texas) Carroll on Thursday at O’Malley Family Field.

Just look at the first five hitters in the lineup: Shortstop James Tronstein is headed to Vanderbilt; outfielder Ethan Price is committed to Santa Clara; center fielder Ira Rootman is a Texas commit; freshman third baseman Louis Lappe is the Little League star from El Segundo; designated hitter Jake Kim is a UCLA commit.

Freshman Louis Lappe of Harvard-Westlake got an RBI double in his first high school at-bat on a 3-and-2 count.

(Craig Weston)

Kim led the Mission League in home runs as a sophomore with seven and hit his first home run of 2026 to right field with a little help from the wind on Thursday. Rootman hit a ball so far over the left-field fence for a three-run home that it might have gone out of a big-league stadium. Lappe, in his first high school at-bat, delivered an RBI double.

“It was cool,” Lappe said. “A lot of pressure came off. I got that weight off my shoulders.”

The Wolverines have been focused on getting stronger in the weight room and no one has benefited more than Rootman, a junior who added 10 pounds and can’t wait to see how his improved strength is going make him a better hitter.

As for first impressions of Lappe, Rootman said, “I think he’s a very special kid and has so much talent it’s unbelievable.”

Justin Kirchner struck out nine in four innings. He’s a junior committed to Yale.

Boys soccer

El Camino Real 1, Palisades 0: Defending champion El Camino Real advanced to the City Section Open Division championship game with a victory in overtime. Jayden de la Cruz scored the overtime goal. El Camino Real will face the winner of Friday’s semifinal between South East and Marquez.

The Lakers had just completed practice Thursday with a full and healthy squad when Luka Doncic strolled over to speak with the media.

Doncic had played only five minutes Sunday for Team World in the All-Star Game because of a lingering left hamstring strain. He had missed the previous four Lakers games.

With the Lakers scheduled to start the post-All-Star break against the Clippers on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, Doncic was asked if he was playing in that game.

“Probably,” he said. “We’ll see. I got to talk to people.”

Since Doncic did practice, he was asked how he was doing and how his hamstring felt.

“I’m good,” he said. “Feeling good.”

But, Doncic was told, he did play in the All-Star Game, even if it was limited time.

“Five minutes. I was on minutes restriction,” Doncic joked.

Lakers coach JJ Redick was the first to speak to the media after practice, his time away from the game leaving him fresh and ready to go.

He was asked if Austin Reaves, who had been on a restriction of about 25 minutes after returning from a 19-game because of a left calf strain, would still be on a minutes restriction and if Doncic would be available for the game against the Clippers.

“Austin won’t have a minutes restriction,” Redick said, “and as of 35 to 45 seconds ago, we’ll have everybody available tomorrow.”

Injuries have been a common thread for the Lakers this season.

Lakers guard Austin Reaves sits on the scorer’s table before entering a game against the Mavericks earlier this month. His minutes restriction since returning from a calf injury has been lifted.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

It started at the beginning of the season, when LeBron James missed 14 games because of sciatica. He has recently dealt with left foot arthritis that kept him out of a game.

Center Deandre Ayton missed the last two games with right knee soreness.

“Well, there’s only so much you can control. I mean, you know, as a coach, you have zero control in that. As a player, you know what you do to prepare, and what you do to recover can give you some level of control, but ultimately, the basketball Gods in the game are going to dictate health,” Redick said. “It’s funny, we were talking before the season about building continuity with those three guys, and we’ve had them available together for 10 games. So it’s just the situation we’re in.

“Not the only team that has had a bunch of health issues throughout the season and had to manage that. But I think … my messaging this morning to the players was this is going to be a sprint, these last 28 games. It’s another segment of the season where, starting tomorrow, we won’t have more than a day between games until the end of March. So, we’ve got an opportunity to, I think, play our best basketball after the All-Star break. We’ve got a number of indicators on both sides of the ball that we’re doing some things that are trending in the right direction. And I think it’s coming at a good time, as we’re getting fully healthy.”

Doncic, James and Reaves have played just 10 games together because of health issues.

As a trio, they have combined to average 80.2 points per game, led by Doncic’s NBA-best 32.8 points per game. Reaves is averaging 25.4 points and James 22.0.

Reaves said it is “very important” that the three of them get reps together.

“You have those games from last year, but obviously you still have a learning curve of how to play alongside one another and that’s with everybody else on the team as well,” Reaves said. “Continuing to build that continuity and confidence in every single position. We’re locked in with the five guys on the court. So, very excited.

“I think you can tell throughout the season, even with the unfortunate injuries and stuff, we’ve done a good job of maintaining it. We’re fifth in the West, on pace for a good record and just getting healthy is going to continue to help that. So it’ll be fun to see what that looks like and get to work.”

The Lakers

play four games next week, all against opponents with winning records that are jockeying for position in the playoff race.

So, Thursday’s practice was a good start for the Lakers to get back in gear.

“We only got one practice in so we’re not going to get a lot out of one practice,” Doncic said. “But we definitely like to get up and down a little bit after one week off. So, it was good.”

PHOENIX — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not hesitate when asked about his expectations for Mookie Betts.

“He will be in the MVP conversation this year,” Roberts said this week. “But again, I think, speaking for Mookie, his main goal is to help us win a championship. So, I think whatever falls out from there, I think that will happen. I just want him to focus on just being healthy, helping us win, and then whatever happens outside of that, will happen.”

Coming off a season that got off on the wrong foot with a stomach virus that caused him to lose 20 pounds and then saw him set career lows for batting average (.258), on-base percentage (.326) and OPS (.732), Betts is eager to move forward. And with a more typical spring training timeline this year — unlike the previous two years when season-opening games in South Korea and Japan sped up preparations — Betts can ease into his seventh season with the Dodgers.

“I haven’t had a regular spring maybe since I’ve been a Dodger,” said Betts, who also won’t be participating in the World Baseball Classic as he did in 2023. “I just know that, being 33 now, I don’t have to hurry up and get here, and be ready to play from day one. So, I can just kind of embrace that. Not everybody’s blessed to have that, so being that I am one of the ones that’s blessed with that, I’ll see what I can make of it.”

One thing that’s not in question for Betts heading into the season: his shortstop play. Despite the nearly unprecedented shift from the outfield to the infield, Betts played 148 games at short last season and was a Gold Glove Award finalist. The work he put in to learn a new position raised questions about whether that was a root cause of his hitting struggles, a point he granted some credence to late last season.

Betts did pick up the pace late in the season, batting .317 and nearly doubling his home run total from 11 to 20 over his final 47 games. But he slumped in the NLCS and World Series, batting a combined .136 and was eventually dropped from second to third in the batting order for Game 5 against the Toronto Blue Jays, then fourth for Games 6 and 7.

Roberts said this week that he intends to slot Betts third in the batting order this season, with Shohei Ohtani still in the leadoff spot. (He added that Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and newcomer Kyle Tucker are all in play for the second and fourth spots in the order.)

“I like [Betts] in the number three in the sense that there’s an on-base component, there’s a ‘get hits’ component, there’s a drive-in-runs component, and you’re more of a Swiss Army knife in the lineup,” Roberts said. “So, I’m not beholden to it, but I like him in the three-hole right now.”

And as a result, Roberts feels bullish about Betts this season.

“I think he had a great offseason,” Roberts said. “He’s in a good headspace. The body’s good, and I think for me, it’s just getting back to being who he is. I just think that last year was an outlier offensive season, and I’m not too concerned about Mookie at all.”

Yoshinobu Yamamoto to start Cactus League opener

Roberts announced Thursday that World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start the Dodgers’ first spring training game Saturday against the Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. He did not share how many pitches or innings Yamamoto expects to throw, but he did state that it will likely be Yamamoto’s only Cactus League start before departing to play for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

Roberts also revealed what players may start Saturday’s Cactus League opener.

“I would expect Will Smith to be in there,” Roberts said. “I expect [Teoscar Hernández] in there, and probably Andy [Pages]. I think that’s safe, and then we’ll go from there.”

Roberts plans to hold other veteran players until next week.

“Guys like Mookie and Muncy, I’m going to start those guys a little bit later than this weekend and see where we go,” Roberts said. “Once they get going, then we’ll stagger and give them the ample time in-between. I’ve got to appreciate that it’s a longer spring. So, if they’re going to be here for six weeks, then I don’t want to kind of come in too hot, I want to pace them out a little bit.”

Freeman said Thursday that he will not play in the Dodgers’ first three spring training games.

“I feel good, I’m ready to go, but we are going to slow-play it a little bit,” Freeman said. “I won’t play until I think Tuesday, so the fourth game, and then I’ll get going.”