sport

MILAN — A gold medal that seemed firmly in the grasp of the U.S. women’s hockey team nearly slipped through its fingers in the final of the Milan-Cortina Games on Thursday, but the Americans rallied to win 2-1 on Megan Keller’s goal just over four minutes into overtime.

Kristin O’Neill’s shorthanded goal less than a minute into the second period gave Canada its goal while Hilary Knight matched that for the U.S. with 2:04 to play, deflecting a Laila Edwards’ slap shot from the high slot through her legs and past Canadian goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens to send the game to the extra period.

The goal, Knight’s 15th in Olympic competition, broke the American record and came seconds after U.S. coach John Wroblewski had pulled his goalie for an extra attacker.

Keller then won it, taking a long Taylor Heise pass on the left wing, racing into the Canadian zone, stickhandling around defender Claire Thompson before beating goalie Desbiens cleanly.

The gold was the second in the last three Olympics for the Americans, who are ranked No. 1 in the world. Both have come against Canada while the victory was the eighth straight for the U.S. over their northern neighbor dating to last April’s world championship.

The overtime rules are unique for gold-medal games, with the teams playing three-on-three for 20-minute periods, with the first goal deciding the winner. Games cannot end in a shootout.

In the preliminary round, overtimes were limited to five minutes, followed by a five-round shootout. In the knockout stage, the overtime period was extended to 10 minutes, followed by a shootout.

None of that figured in Thursday’s result.

The young Americans, who had 12 women playing in their first Olympics, looked uncharacteristically rattled in a scoreless first period in which they took two penalties — one for too many players on the ice — and were outshot 8-6. It was just the third time in the tournament the U.S. went an entire period without a goal.

Things got worse 54 seconds into the second period when O’Neill outskated Edwards up the center of the ice on a breakaway, took a short centering pass from Laura Stacey, then deked U.S. goalie Aerin Frankel to the ice before beating her to her gloved side for the first goal of the game.

That snapped a 352-minute scoreless streak for the U.S. and marked the first time the Americans trailed in Milan.

For much of the game Canada was faster, smarter and more poised. And Desbiens was spectacular in goal. In Canada’s group-play loss to the U.S., she was pulled in the third period after giving up five goals. This time she came within two minutes of shutting out a team that had scored 31 times in its previous six games.

Jared Grindlinger, considered one of the top high school baseball prospects from the class of 2027, is reclassifying and will graduate as part of this year’s class, making him eligible for the 2026 amateur draft, Huntington Beach coach Benji Medure confirmed on Thursday.

Grindlinger is a left-handed 16-year-old pitcher who throws 93 to 95 mph. His brother, Trent, is a freshman at Tennessee, so that option of joining his brother at the end of this season is also possible. He’s uncommitted, but his decision to graduate this spring will add another top pitching talent for pro scouts to evaluate.

Medure said he was already receiving numerous calls on Thursday after word became known, and increased scrutiny is something with which Grindlinger will have to deal.

“He understands the pressure about what’s about to happen,” Medure said.

Grindlinger made his season debut on Wednesday against Loyola, striking out four and giving up five hits and three runs in three innings.

Grindlinger began the process in the fall of perhaps graduating early taking online classes.

SheGulls, representing fans of WSL club Brighton & Hove Albion, had suggested seeding “elite level teams” would only widen the gulf in quality across the game.

“The sporting merit in our game is slowly being eroded in favour of ‘super matches’ between elite level teams,” the fan group wrote on X.

“The rich will only get richer and teams up and down the pyramid will fade into obscurity with the knowledge that without tens of millions of pounds, they won’t even sniff the big time.”

Fulham Women Supporters’ Club, whose side play in the fourth tier, labelled it a “ridiculous idea” and added: “[It] goes against all the principles of the FA Cup. I’d like to see WSL teams actually come in a round early.”

“And there goes the magic of the FA Cup! Subway Cup [League Cup] is a farce, now this?” added Everton Women’s Official Supporters Club.

“All about the money. Didn’t take long to ruin the women’s game too did it…”

The Women’s FA Cup currently follows the same format as the men’s competition, with a draw following each round.

There is a preliminary round and three qualifying rounds featuring teams from tiers four to seven of the pyramid, with Women’s National League teams entering in the first-round proper, WSL2 teams in the third round and sides from the top division a round later.

The proposals came to light less than a fortnight after a major revamp of the Women’s League Cup was announced, with the competition set to get a new name and follow the format of the Champions League from the group stage next season.

Alina Muller repeats history from Sochi in 2014, scoring an overtime winner as Switzerland beat Sweden 2-1 to claim bronze in the women’s ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Muller scored the winner 12 years ago as a 15-year-old against the same opponents in a 4-3 victory to win the bronze medal.

WATCH MORE: Winter Olympics Video

Available to UK users only.

MILAN — Jordan Stolz’s run for the speedskating triple crown came up short in the 1,500 meters Thursday, with the American settling for silver behind China’s Ning Zhongyan at the Milan-Cortina Games.

Ning set an Olympic record, blazing the oval at Milano Speed Skating Stadium in 1 minute and 41.98 seconds. Stolz, who won gold in the 500 and 1,000 meters to become the first U.S. man to win in both distances in the same Olympic Games since 1980, had the fastest finishing kick of the top eight skaters, but reached for the line 0.77 of a second behind Ning at 1:42.75.

Stolz was the top-ranked racer in the 1,500-meter distance and raced in the final pair. Watching the speedskating superstar, Ning clasped his hands in prayer during the final race. When the final time flashed across the screen, his coach held Ning’s hands in the air. He began to sob. The 26-year-old earned his first Olympic gold medal after earning bronze in the 1,000 and the team pursuit.

Hoping to win four gold medals in Milan, Stolz still has an opportunity to add a third in the mass start on Saturday.

No one should be surprised that Leicester have appealed against their points deduction.

At no point have the Foxes admitted any wrongdoing, even with the evidence of their financial losses.

But this is a risky option as the appeal board can vary the penalty in any way. This includes increasing it, though that is believed to be unlikely.

Leicester’s position fluctuated over the course of the original hearing.

At one stage the club said a points deduction should be held back until they returned to the Premier League.

Then they shifted and claimed the independent commission did not have power to impose any sporting sanction. Then they said a fine should be levied… which should be zero.

Leicester are likely to again say that as a Championship club they cannot be punished for a Premier League rule break.

The Premier League, meanwhile, feels there was a mistake in failing to deduct one point for the late filing of accounts.

Leicester were found guilty on this count. But the independent commission chose not to apply any kind of penalty.

The Premier League disagrees and argues there is a principle at stake. If rules are broken there should be consequences.

If a club are allowed to file their accounts late and effectively get away without any sanction it offers no precedent or deterrent.

The Premier League has appealed on the basis that a sanction should be applied, in effect that one-point deduction.

The outcome of the two appeals could decide Leicester’s Championship status.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — In some families, children are expected to attend the same college as their parents or root for mom or dad’s favorite team.

In Azaria Hill’s family, the children were encouraged to go to the Olympics. Not to watch, but to compete.

Hill’s father Virgil, a boxer, earned a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Games. Hill’s mother, Denean Howard, met Virgil at the 1984 Games and won Olympic gold that year running with her sister, Sherri Howard, in the 4×400-meter relay. The sisters won silver medals in the 4×400 at the 1988 Olympics before Denean earned another silver at the 1992 Games.

“At a very young age, since I could understand what the Olympics were and knew what my family did as Olympians, I knew that’s something that I wanted to do and wanted to experience,” Hill said.

But her top marks of 11.70 seconds in the 100 meters and 23.93 in the 200 didn’t rank in the top 100 for U.S. women in 2021, her senior year at Nevada Las Vegas. So if she was going to continue the family tradition, she knew she’d have to find another sport.

Jadin O’Brien was in a similar fix. She won two NCAA titles in the pentathlon but finished seventh at the U.S. trials ahead of the 2024 Games. To realize her Olympic dream, she’d have to change sports too.

Luckily for both women, there was a well-worn path from the track to the Winter Olympics: Just hop onto a sled. On Friday, Hill and O’Brien will complete their journeys when the two-woman bobsled competition gets underway at the Cortina Sliding Centre.

“I never thought that this would even be a possibility or an opportunity,” Hill said. “It just kind of fell into my lap and I was really good at it. I stuck it out and worked hard and here I am a Winter Olympian.”

She has Kaysha Love, a UNLV teammate, to thank for that. An 11-time high school track champion in Utah, Love was encouraged by her college coach to take part in a 12-day bobsled rookie camp after COVID shortened the track season her senior year. That led to more auditions and 14 months later she and pilot Kaillie Humphries won a World Cup race.

U.S. bobsledders Azaria Hill, left, and Kaysha Love take part in a training run Wednesday in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

(Aijaz Rahi / Associated Press)

After just six races, Love made the 2022 U.S. Olympic team as a brakewoman. She then tried to sell Hill on the sport.

“She was like ‘I think you should try it. Let’s see if you can do it,’” Hill remembered. “I went to my first rookie camp and I did really well, got invited back to some more camps, and ended up making my first World Cup team.”

That was in December 2023. Two years later she made it to the Olympics as the brakewoman for Love, who is now a driver.

“That’s completely opposite of what I thought I’d be doing,” Hill said. “The first time it is definitely scary. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t know if I even want to do this.’ It is an acquired taste.

“But Keisha Love was just super positive.”

O’Brien’s rise to Olympian in the two-person bobsled, the second-fastest sliding sport of the Winter Games, has been even swifter. Elana Meyers Taylor, a five-time Olympian and five-time medalist, began recruiting O’Brien to be her brakewoman after the Beijing Games. At first she resisted, but last summer O’Brien decided she needed a rest from track “and bobsled seemed like a good alternative, so I took it up.”

Jadin O’Brien, left, and Elana Meyers Taylor prepare for a bobsled training run at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games on Wednesday.

(Aijaz Rahi / Associated Press)

In her World Cup debut four months later, O’Brien pushed Taylor to a fourth-place finish, earning a spot on the Olympic team.

“There was so much I needed to learn,” she said. “Luckily there were quite a few girls who were very patient with me, who helped me understand the sport, understand form.”

One of the most important things she had to learn is when to pull the brake.

“If you do it too early, then you’re going to drastically hurt your time. If you do it too late, there’s a chance you’re going to ruin the runners because the track ends at a certain point,” O’Brien said.

And that decision has to be made in a heartbeat at the end of a mile-long ice chute covered at speeds exceeding 90 mph.

“It’s terrifying. You’re going super, super fast. As a brakeman you can’t see what’s going on because your head is down,” she said. “But at the same time it’s very thrilling. You feel like you’re flying if the run is done right. It’s almost addicting.”

Track athletes like Hill, 27, and O’Brien, 23, have a long history of success in bobsled, where speed and power at the start are important. Lauryn Williams won a gold medal on the track in the 2012 London Games and a silver on the back of Taylor’s sled two years later in Sochi. Lolo Jones won three world championships on the track and two in a bobsled. Most of the Jamaican team in Cortina is made up of sprinters who couldn’t catch Usain Bolt, so they climbed in a bobsled instead.

“They’ve got just an athleticism that is very applicable to pushing sleds,” said Curtis Tomasevicz, a former football player at Nebraska who won gold and silver Olympic medals in the four-man bobsled before becoming a coach with the U.S. team. “We’re recruiting athletes that have a sprinting ability and we feel like we can teach them to be bobsledders in a short amount of time.”

For Hill, that transition from the sprints to a sled has allowed her to carry on a family tradition. And she’ll have 11 relatives — including two Olympic medalists — at the Cortina Sliding Centre on Friday when she creates her own memories as the first Hill to compete in the Winter Games.

“They’re super excited seeing me on this journey, being that I’ve been able to kind of follow my own mission, create something for myself,” she said. “It’s almost like they’re kind of experiencing it again, but just in a different way.

“This has definitely exceeded my expectations of what I thought being an Olympian would be. It’s so much fun.”

The new UCLA football coaching staff has been in touch with one of their top recruits arriving in 2027.

Weston Port, the former San Juan Hills High standout linebacker, is finishing up his second year as a Mormon missionary on assignment in Spain.

New linebacker coach Vic So’oto has been in contact with Port and once tried to recruit him to Cal.

Port exercises when he has time while visiting various cities. His mission ends in December and he’ll be ready to join UCLA for spring practice in 2027 while focusing on getting back into playing shape.

His father said in a message, “Weston remains committed to UCLA and is eager and excited to get back to football once his service is completed.”

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

Zimbabwe finished top of Group B at the T20 World Cup after stunning England’s next opponents Sri Lanka in a six-wicket victory in Colombo.

Both sides were already guaranteed their place in the Super 8s but Zimbabwe, who did not qualify for the last T20 World Cup in 2024, progress unbeaten after completing a fine chase of 179 with three balls to spare.

Opener Brian Bennett, who is yet to be dismissed in the tournament, followed his score of 64 not out in the famous win over Australia last week with an unbeaten 63 to steer home the chase.

He shared an opening stand of 69 with Tadiwanashe Marumani and, after Marumani fell for 34 and Ryan Burl 23, played the anchor role as captain Sikander Raza struck 45 from just 26 balls.

Raza and Tashinga Musekiwa fell in the penultimate over but, with eight runs needed from the last, Tony Munyonga emerged and hit a six before Bennett drove the winning runs through the covers.

Co-hosts Sri Lanka, who play England in both sides’ Super 8s opener in Pallekele on Sunday, dropped catches and leaked boundaries with misfields.

They were without injured bowler Matheesha Pathirana and fellow seamer Dushmantha Chameera, who was resting.

Pathum Nissanka, who also scored a fine century in Sri Lanka’s win over Australia, continued his form with 62 from 44 balls in his side’s 178-7.

Zimbabwe progress into a Super 8s group with co-hosts India, South Africa and West Indies.

Their first match is on Monday in Mumbai against the Windies, who beat Italy earlier on Thursday to continue their unbeaten record.

Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr alleges he was racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni.

Real Madrid has sent UEFA, football’s governing body in Europe, “all available evidence” of an alleged racist insult against Vinicius Jr in a Champions League match against Benfica.

“Our club has actively collaborated with the investigation opened by UEFA following the unacceptable episodes of racism experienced during that match,” the Spanish club said on Thursday without elaborating on the evidence.

UEFA appointed a special investigator on Wednesday to gather evidence about what happened in Lisbon on Tuesday in Madrid’s 1-0 win at Benfica in the first leg of the knockout round of the Champions League.

Vinicius accused Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni of calling him “monkey” after the Brazilian scored the only goal. Prestianni was among the Benfica players upset with Vinícius after the forward celebrated by the Benfica corner flag.

Prestianni covered his mouth with his shirt when he allegedly spoke to the Brazilian player and denied racially abusing Vinicius, who is Black and has been subjected to repeated racist insults in Spain.

“Real Madrid appreciates the unanimous support, backing, and affection that our player Vinicius Jr. has received from all areas of the global football community,” the club said. “Real Madrid will continue working, in collaboration with all institutions, to eradicate racism, violence, and hate in sports and society.”

Benfica said Prestianni was the victim of a “defamation campaign” and welcomed the investigation opened by UEFA, saying it “fully supports and believes the version presented” by Prestianni.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday he was “shocked and saddened to see the incident of alleged racism” and praised the referee for activating the antiracism protocol during the match, which was halted for nearly 10 minutes at the Stadium of Light.

From Bill Plaschke: It was the look on Steven Jamerson II’s face.

That was the toughest thing to watch. That was what seared into the mind. That’s what made you want to fire Mick Cronin on the spot.

It was a look of embarrassment. It was a look of confusion. It was the look of a young man who had just been cruelly pushed around by someone with more power.

Mick Cronin is a classic bully, and the fact that UCLA continues to empower him with new contracts and no questions is misguided malfeasance.

So, he wins games. He doesn’t win enough to compensate for incidents like Tuesday night in East Lansing, Mich., where Cronin became perhaps the first college coach in history to eject his own player from the game and order him to the locker room in the middle of the game.

Yes, Cronin holds players accountable. That’s fine, as long as he also holds himself accountable, but that didn’t happen when, after his team was beaten by 23 points by Michigan State in a second consecutive humiliating loss, he publicly criticized Jamerson for the hard foul that led to the ejection incident and then wrongly assailed a reporter for allegedly raising his voice during postgame questioning.

Continue reading here

USC men blown out by Illinois

From Ryan Kartje: Alijah Arenas sank into a folding chair, his face buried in a towel, his breathing heavy.

For the last few days, smack dab in the middle of his long-awaited breakthrough at USC, Arenas was sick. He’d spent the last few days worn down and missed practice Tuesday, leaving his status for Wednesday night’s critical tilt with No. 10 Illinois uncertain until a few hours before. But the Trojans star freshman refused to sit out, resolving instead to tough it out against a true Big Ten contender, even if he wasn’t at 100%.

“That takes real courage,” USC forward Jacob Cofie said.

Indeed, it was a noble effort, albeit one that meant little by the time Arenas collapsed into the bench, breathless, midway through the first half Wednesday. By that point, Illinois was already rolling, well on their way to a 101-65 victory that left USC gasping for air.

“It’s pretty simple,” USC coach Eric Musselman said. “We were not good enough tonight. We’ve got to get better in all aspects.”

Continue reading here

USC box score

Big Ten standings

Teoscar Hernández ready for bounce-back season

From Jack Vita: A slimmer Teoscar Hernández reported to Camelback Ranch this week, willing to take on a new role in the Dodgers’ quest for a three-peat.

Hernández acknowledged Tuesday that he played through a nagging left groin injury last year, which forced him to miss time early in the season.

“I didn’t get back in my health,” Hernández said. “When I got back from the injury, I was fighting through it. Obviously, I didn’t say anything. I just wanted to be on the field and try to help the team.”

Hernández says he was overweight in 2025, and took better care of his body this past winter.

“It’s a combination of eating really good or knowing what you’re eating, and working a little harder than normal,” Hernández said. “But, right now I’m feeling really good. Back to the way I used to be. My whole career I used to be 204-205 [lbs.], in that range. Last year, I was a little over [that], but I’m back to normal right now.”

Continue reading here

Where River Ryan and Gavin Stone figure in the Dodgers’ crowded pitching plans

Galaxy ready for another season without Riqui Puig

From Kevin Baxter: On Jan. 1, Galaxy coach Greg Vanney sent a text to his best player, wishing him a happy new year. The next day Riqui Puig responded, but his answer didn’t alter the resolutions Vanney had made for 2026.

Puig, who missed all of 2025 because of a torn ACL in his left knee, told his coach he needed another surgery, one that will sideline him this season as well. Yet after the shock wore off, Vanney and general manager Will Kuntz decided to stick with the plans they took into the offseason rather than blowing them up because Puig would again be sidelined.

“We wanted to reinforce the back line. We needed to look for a [striker]. We’ve done both of those things successfully,” Vanney said. “The difference is that we don’t have Riqui’s qualities, which I think over the course of last year we learned a little bit about ourselves and how to deal with it.”

Indeed, after going winless in their first 16 games — the worst start ever for a reigning MLS champion — the Galaxy figured out how to play without their playmaker in the second half, going 7-6-5 in MLS and beating three of Mexico’s top teams in the Leagues Cup.

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1928 — Canada wins the gold medal in ice hockey at the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Canada, represented by the 1926 Toronto University team, receives a bye to the final round. The Canadians beat Sweden 11-0, Britain 14-0 and Switzerland 13-0.

1955 — Bernie Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens scores five goals in a 10-2 victory over the New York Rangers.

1977 — Rod Gilbert of the New York Rangers gets his 1,000th point with a goal in a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders.

1982 — Atlanta’s 127-122 four-overtime win over Seattle equals the fourth-longest game in NBA history and the second-longest since the institution of the 24-second clock.

1984 — Phil and Steve Mahre of the United States become the first brothers to finish 1-2 in an Olympic event, the men’s slalom, at the Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. The Soviet Union beats Czechoslovakia 2-0 to win the gold medal in hockey.

1984 — Cale Yarborough sweeps into the lead two turns before the finish to win the Daytona 500. He becomes the second driver to win consecutive Daytona 500s; Richard Petty was the other.

1993 — Wendel Suckow edges two-time world champion Georg Hackl of Germany by 0.106 seconds to capture the first world luge championship medal of any kind for the United States.

1994 — Speedskater Bonnie Blair wins the fourth gold of her Olympic career with her third consecutive 500-meter victory.

2002 — In Salt Lake City, bobsledders Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers give the United States 21 medals in the Winter Games.

2005 — Lindsay Kennedy becomes the first woman to play in a Major Indoor Soccer League game. Kennedy, a St. Louis forward, participates in the final 76 seconds of Milwaukee’s 7-3 win over the Steamers at Savvis Center.

2005 — Schreiner ends its NCAA-record losing streak at 83 games, beating Sul Ross State 75-69 in a women’s basketball game. It’s the Division III Mountaineers first win since Jan. 17, 2002, when they also beat Sul Ross.

2012 — American star Hannah Kearney’s all-discipline record for consecutive FIS World Cup victories ends at 16 with a semifinal loss in a dual moguls event at Naeba, Japan. Kearney’s streak began in Lake Placid, N.Y., on Jan. 22, 2011.

2012 — Steven Holcomb and brakeman Steve Langton win the two-man bobsled in Lake Placid, N.Y., the first time the U.S. captures this event at the world championships.

2014 — Norway wins the first Olympic mixed relay in biathlon at the Sochi Games and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen becomes the most decorated Winter Olympian ever with 13 medals. Ted Ligety wins the giant slalom with a dominating performance, becoming the first American man to win two Olympic gold medals in Alpine skiing.

2017 — Laura Dahlmeier wins the world title in the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start, becoming the first to win five gold medals at a single biathlon world championship.

2017 — Anthony Davis scores 52 points, 10 more than Wilt Chamberlain’s All-Star record that had stood for 55 years. The Western Conference beats the Eastern Conference 192-182 in the highest-scoring game in league history.

2021 — In a softening of 4-year WADA ban on Russia from all international sport, Russia to compete under acronym “ROC” after name of the Russian Olympic Committee.

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.

Friday’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): Bobsled, speedskating, curling, hockey and more. | NBC

BIATHLON
5:15 a.m. — 🏅Men’s 15-kilometer mass start | USA
9:15 a.m. — 🏅Men’s 15-kilometer mass start (re-air) | NBC

BOBSLED
9 a.m. — Two-woman bobsled, Run 1 | NBC, Peacock
10:50 a.m. — Two-woman bobsled, Run 2 | Peacock
1:15 p.m. — Two-woman bobsled, runs 1-2 | USA

CURLING
Women semifinals
5:05 a.m. — Teams TBD | Peacock
5:05 a.m. — Teams TBD | Peacock
6 a.m. — Teams TBD (in progress) | USA
🏅Men’s bronze medal match
10:05 a.m. — Teams TBD | Peacock

FREESTYLE SKIING
1 a.m. — Women’s skicross, qualifying | USA
3 a.m. — 🏅Women’s skicross, finals | USA
10 a.m. — Women’s skicross, finals (re-air) | USA
10:30 a.m. — 🏅Men’s freeski halfpipe, finals | NBC

HOCKEY
Men’s semifinals
7:40 a.m. — Canada vs. Finland | Peacock
8:50 a.m. — Canada vs. Finland (in progress) | USA
12:10 p.m. — U.S. vs. Slovakia | NBC

SHORT TRACK SPEEDSKATING
11:15 a.m. — 🏅Women’s 1,500 meters; men’s 5,000-meter relay finals | USA

SPEEDSKATING
7:30 a.m. — 🏅Women’s 1,500 meters | USA

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION
BOYS
QUARTERFINALS

DIVISION IV
#8 Hawkins 76, #1 East Valley 67
#5 San Fernando 65, #4 Gardena 57
#6 Angelou 69, #3 Bell 55
#2 Franklin 76, #7 Conteras 37

DIVISION V
#1 Van Nuys 69, #8 Legacy 52
#21 Camino Nuevo 67, #13 Magnolia Science Academy 40
#19 Santee 61, #11 Torres 57
#2 Canoga Park 71, #7 Monroe 58

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

SOUTHERN SECTION
GIRLS

OPEN DIVISION
Pool A
#1 Ontario Christian 84, #8 JSerra 61

Pool B
#2 Etiwanda 81, #7 Lakewood St. Joseph 59

Pool C
#3 Sierra Canyon 59, #6 Corona Centennial 54

Pool D
#4 Sage Hill 56, #5 Mater Dei 45

Note: Quarterfinals Saturday; Semifinals Feb. 24; Finals 8 p.m. Feb. 28 at Toyota Arena.

QUARTERFINALS

DIVISION 1
Windward 48, Ventura 45
Valencia 52, Troy 48
Moreno Valley 63, Orange Lutheran 41
La Salle 50, Villa Park 45

DIVISION 2
Saugus 54, Portola 44
Camarillo 42, Summit 38
Crescenta Valley 57, San Clemente 42
Rosary Academy 53, Dos Pueblos 33

DIVISION 3
Murrieta Valley 66, St. Monica 65
Oxnard 64, Trabuco Hills 53
Leuzinger 53, Mark Keppel 46
St. Margaret’s 50, Canyon Country Canyon 47

DIVISION 4
La Canada 65, Long Beach Jordan 37
Anaheim Canyon 47, Eastside 22
El Dorado 42, Long Beach Wilson 20
Marina 51, Pasadena Poly 47

DIVISION 5
Bishop Diego 47, Sunny Hills 45
Godinez 48, Torrance 46
Oakwood 55, Whitney 38
Burbank Burroughs 70, Carter 30

DIVISION 6
San Jacinto 41, Immaculate Heart 32
Savanna 45, Palm Desert 37
Hillcrest 53, Rowland 36
Warren 39, Santa Fe 35

DIVISION 7
Laguna Hills 46, Foothill Tech 33
Patriot 38, Rosemead 34
Ridgecrest Burroughs 52, AGBU 31
La Palma Kennedy 53, Cajon 20

DIVISION 8
University Prep 45, Yucca Valley 41
Orange 48, Riverside Notre Dame 20
Schurr 52, CAMS 34
Chadwick 53, Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 48

DIVISION 9
Vista del Lago 41, Santa Clarita Christian 39
Desert Hot Springs 50, Channel Islands 39
La Sierra 30, Redlands Adventist 20
Sierra Vista 71, Western 34

Note: Semifinals Saturday; Finals 8 p.m. Feb. 27 or 28.

Mohammed Salah, Liverpool, £14m – Nottingham Forest (a)

Is Salah back as an FPL option?

He’s had a terrible season by his standards and is only the 41st-ranked midfielder in FPL but…

In the four games since his return from the Africa Cup of Nations, the signs are there that a haul is imminent.

Salah’s had 14 shots in that time (more than anyone else in the league), 12 in the box, three big chances yet no goal to show for it. He does have three assists.

Forest have been flakey to say the least this season and Liverpool are hitting a bit of form.

Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United, £9.8m – Everton (a)

Fernandes has been fantasy gold dust since his return from injury in gameweek 21 so don’t let his blank at West Ham last time out put you off.

The Portuguese has 44 points in those six games and there’s not even a penalty in there. By contrast, Cole Palmer has the same amount of points in six games but with four penalties.

Fernandes’ potential is off the charts and Everton have only one clean sheet in their past seven.

Cole Palmer (captain), Chelsea, £10.6m – Burnley (h)

He might have relied on penalties for his recent surge in form but that is what makes Palmer such a great FPL asset in the first place.

If you’re chasing points in your mini-league, Palmer is the best differential with just a 15% ownership.

And Burnley at home… well it doesn’t get much better!

Antoine Semenyo, Manchester City, £8.0m – Newcastle (h)

Any worries that Semenyo’s production might suffer from his move to City, with so many forward options, have been unfounded.

He’s scored in both his home matches and now takes on a Newcastle side who have conceded eight in their past three games.

So much has happened over the past seven days, including two Premier League managers departing, the second round of the Six Nations and many medals being won at the Winter Olympics.

About 9% of you got full marks in last week’s edition. How will you do this week?

After more quizzes? Go to our dedicated Football Quizzes and Sports Quizzes pages and sign up for notifications to get the latest quizzes sent straight to your device.

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS WATER POLO PLAYOFFS
WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION
FINALS
At Valley College

OPEN DIVISION
#1 Birmingham 18, #2 Granada Hills 9

DIVISION I
#1 San Pedro 8, #2 Palisades 7

SOUTHERN SECTION
SEMIFINALS
At Woollett Aquatic Center

OPEN DIVISION
#1 Mater Dei 18, #5 San Marcos 14
#3 Oaks Christian 12, #2 Newport Harbor 9

DIVISION 1
Foothill 10, Beckman 5
San Clemente 13, Agoura 9

DIVISION 2
Santa Barbara 8, Murrieta Valley 6

Note: Finals Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College.

HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER PLAYOFFS
WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION
BOYS
SECOND ROUND

DIVISION I
#1 Chavez 0, #17 King/Drew 0 (Chavez wins 3-1 in shootout)
#9 Angelou 2, #8 LA University 0
#5 Chatsworth 3, #12 Sun Valley Poly 3 (Chatsworth wins in shootout)
#4 Granada Hills 2, #13 Van Nuys 1
#19 LA Marshall 2, #3 Diego Rivera 1
#6 Cleveland 1, #11 San Pedro 0
#7 Legacy 3, #10 Carson 1
#15 Granada Hills Kennedy 15, #2 Roybal 1

DIVISION II
#17 Canoga Park 2, #1 New West Charter 1
#9 Santee 1, #8 South Gate 0
#12 Arleta 3, #5 Annenberg 2
#20 Neuwirth Leadership Academy 2, #4 Orthopaedic 0
#14 Taft 3, #3 Fremont 2
#6 Garfield 3, #22 Elizabeth 1
#23 Huntington Park 5, #7 Alliance Health 0
#15 RFK Community 3, #2 Locke 3 (RFK wins 5-4 in shootout)

DIVISION III
#1 Los Angeles 2, #17 West Adams 1
#9 Franklin 4, #8 Alliance Bloomfield 0
#12 North Hollywood 3, #5 SOCES 1
#13 Foshay 2, #4 San Fernando 1
#3 Gardena 2, #14 Hollywood 1
#6 Animo Pat Brown 2, #11 Grant 1
#23 Sun Valley Magnet 2, #7 Collins Family 1
#2 LA Hamilton 2, #15 Bernstein 0

DIVISION IV
#1 Mendez 5, #16 Smidt Tech 0
#8 LA Roosevelt d. #24 New Designs University Park, forfeit
#5 East Valley 3, #12 MSCP 1
#4 Maywood Academy 1, #13 Animo South LA 0
#19 Lakeview Charter 2, #3 Downtown Magnets 0
#6 Panorama 2, #11 Triumph Charter 1
Aspire Ollin 0, #10 Alliance Levine 0 (Aspire Ollin wins 4-3 in shootout)
#18 Port of LA 2, #2 Belmont 1

Note: Quarterfinals Friday; Semifinals Feb. 25; Finals Feb. 27 or 28.

GIRLS
SEMIFINALS

OPEN DIVISION
#1 Cleveland 4, #5 Palisades 0
#6 New West Charter at #7 Granada Hills, 7 p.m.

Note: Finals Feb. 27 or 28 at TBA.

SOUTHERN SECTION
QUARTERFINALS

OPEN DIVISION
Pool Play
#1 Santa Margarita 1, #4 Oaks Christian 0
#3 Mater Dei 1, #2 Redondo Union 0

DIVISION 1
Westlake 4, Rosary Academy 0
Newport Harbor 0, Orange Lutheran 0 (Newport Harbor wins 4-2 in shootout)
Eastvale Roosevelt 0, Etiwanda 9 (Roosevelt wins 3-2 in shootout)
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 3, Harvard-Westlake 1

DIVISION 2
Ayala 1, Saugus 0
San Marino 3, Portola 0
Millikan 1, Warren 0
Bonita 2, Riverside King 0

DIVISION 3
Crescenta Valley 0, Valencia 0 (Crescenta Valley wins 5-4 in shootout)
Paloma Valley 2, La Salle 1
Quartz Hill 4, La Canada 0
Simi Valley 1, Flintridge Prep 0

DIVISION 4
San Jacinto 1, Patriot 1 (San Jacinto wins 4-3 in shootout)
Arcadia 0, Granite Hills 0 (Arcadia wins 7-6 in shootout)
Immaculate Heart 2, Laguna Hills 1
Chino 1, Arlington 0

DIVISION 5
Artesia 1, Anaheim 1 (Artesia wins 5-4 in shootout)
Coachella Valley 4, Grand Terrace 3
Sultana 2, La Palma Kennedy 1
Del Sol 3, Alemany 2

DIVISION 6
Ocean View 4, Adelanto 2
Palmdale Aerospace 1, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 1
Segerstrom 1, Arroyo Valley 0
Grace 1, Mayfair 0

DIVISION 7
Savanna 3, Nuview Bridge 0
Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 3, Ganesha 1
Cate 5, Santa Rosa Academy 1
Azusa 1, San Gabriel 1 (Azusa wins 4-3 in shootout)

DIVISION 8
Mountain View 3, CAMS 1
Buckley 2, Milken 1
Big Bear vs. Environmental Charter, Thursday at 2:20 p.m. at Galaxy Soccer Complex
Webb 4, Miller 0

Note: Semifinals Saturday; Finals Feb. 27 or 28.

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE

CITY SECTION
BOYS
SEMIFINALS
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)

OPEN DIVISION
#4 Palisades at #1 El Camino Real
#6 Marquez at #2 South East, 6 p.m.

Note: Finals Feb. 27 or 28 at TBA.

GIRLS
QUARTERFINALS
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)

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

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

DIVISION III
#9 Maywood CES at #1 Fairfax
#5 Reseda at #4 Marquez
#6 Verdugo Hills at #3 Huntington Park
#7 Santee vs. #18 Manual Arts / #2 Angelou

DIVISION IV
#16 Franklin at #9 Aspire Ollin
#13 Arleta at #12 Monroe
#6 Animo De La Hoya at #3 Camino Nuevo
#10 Sun Valley Poly at #2 Fremont

Note: Semifinals Feb. 24; Finals Feb. 27 or 28 at TBA.

Manchester United have regrets over Marcus Rashford’s Barcelona deal, Marcos Senesi wants to join Barcelona, while Liam Delap could leave Chelsea this summer.

Manchester United are regretting their decision to agree to sell England forward Marcus Rashford to Barcelona for £26m because they believe the 28-year-old is now worth around £50m. (Star), external

Bournemouth‘s Argentina defender Marcos Senesi, 28, wants to join Barcelona this summer after deciding he will not sign a new contract with the Cherries. (Teamtalk), external

English striker Liam Delap, 23, is likely to leave Chelsea this summer, sparking interest from clubs including Manchester United, Newcastle and Everton. (Caughtoffside), external

Manchester United are prepared to let 25-year-old England winger Jadon Sancho leave for free at the end of the season. (Sun), external

West Ham are leading the race to sign 24-year-old Canada striker Promise David from Union Saint-Gilloise. (Teamtalk), external

Tottenham could spend big this summer with a potential move for Aston Villa‘s 23-year-old England midfielder Morgan Rogers on the cards. (Football Insider), external

But Tottenham striker Richarlison could leave the club, with Flamengo and Atletico Madrid showing interest in the 28-year-old Brazil international. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external

Bayer Leverkusen want to sign Germany midfielder Leon Goretzka from Bayern Munich this summer, but the 31-year-old would prefer a move to England, with Arsenal showing interest. (Bild – in German) , external

AC Milan are growing confident 40-year-old Croatia midfielder Luka Modric will sign a one-year contract extension at the end of the season. (Calciomercato – in Italian) , external

BBC Sport pundit Leon Osman says he can see Anthony Gordon scoring more goals in the Champions League if Newcastle United continue to play him up front with Nick Woltemade in behind, after the Englishman scored four goals in his side’s 6-1 win over Qarabag in the knockout round play-offs.

MATCH REPORT: Qarabag 1-6 Newcastle United

It was the look on Steven Jamerson II’s face.

That was the toughest thing to watch. That was what seared into the mind. That’s what made you want to fire Mick Cronin on the spot.

It was a look of embarrassment. It was a look of confusion. It was the look of a young man who had just been cruelly pushed around by someone with more power.

Mick Cronin is a classic bully, and the fact that UCLA continues to empower him with new contracts and no questions is misguided malfeasance.

So, he wins games. He doesn’t win enough to compensate for incidents like Tuesday night in East Lansing, Mich., where Cronin became perhaps the first college coach in history to eject his own player from the game and order him to the locker room in the middle of the game.

Yes, Cronin holds players accountable. That’s fine, as long as he also holds himself accountable, but that didn’t happen when, after his team was beaten by 23 points by Michigan State in a second consecutive humiliating loss, he publicly criticized Jamerson for the hard foul that led to the ejection incident and then wrongly assailed a reporter for allegedly raising his voice during postgame questioning.

Cronin has become a walking viral video. He has become a nightly uncomfortable wince. He has become an embarrassment to a university athletic department that prides itself on winning with class.

John Wooden would be ashamed.

Mick Cronin is light years from the aura of Coach, and if UCLA cared a whit about the legacy of its legend, it would care that his flame has been completely snuffed by this unworthy keeper.

Wooden’s home is now decorated with a pyramid of poop, and one wonders how many humiliations will be required to convince administrators to clean things up.

UCLA coach Mick Cronin extends his arms and complains while watching the Bruins lose to Michigan State Tuesday in East Lansing, Mich.

(Rey Del Rio / Getty Images)

Cronin quietly signed a new five-year contract last summer that includes a $22,5 million buyout if he is fired this spring. That figure drops to $18 million, then $13.5 million, then $9 million, then $4.5 million in coming years. No wonder the Bruins didn’t publicize the deal at the time. It was another Martin Jarmond mistake, and now the entire university is going to pay the price.

It’s hard to see UCLA canning Cronin in the next couple of years because of those buyouts, which means this mess of a program is going to be increasingly hard to watch.

What happened Tuesday should scare away any of the remaining top prospects who would want to play for this berating blowhard. His usual postgame rants don’t compare to what happened on that Michigan State court, where he picked on the wrong kid in the worst possible fashion.

By all accounts, Jamerson is a dream player, one filled with resilience and gratitude. The former Crespi High star initially wanted to play for Michigan State, but he couldn’t make the team, even as a walk-on, so he tried to become a student manager, and failed at that, too. After spending a year there as a student, he transferred to University of San Diego, where he spent three seasons strengthening his game before eventually transferring to UCLA. This season he has spent most of his time on the bench, playing about 11 minutes per game for the Bruins while supplying rebounding and defense and energy.

It was this fire that led him to give chase to Michigan State’s Carson Cooper in the final five minutes of a game that UCLA currently trailed by 27. Cooper went up for a fast break dunk and Jamerson knocked him to the floor. It was ruled a Flagrant 1 excessive foul, but not a dangerous Flagrant 2 foul, so Jamerson was not ejected from the game.

At least, that’s what he thought.

Moments later Cronin was grabbing the kid’s shirt and leading him to the baseline, where he ordered an assistant coach to remove him from the court area and banish him to the locker room.

Jamerson’s dreams of a solid return to a school that snubbed him were shattered. His night ended amid a storm of laughing students and obscene gestures.

UCLA coach Mick Cronin shouts toward the bench while sending Steven Jamerson II to the locker room after the player was called for a foul Tuesday at Michigan State.

(Rey Del Rio / Getty Images)

It was just awful, and so avoidable. Why couldn’t Cronin have just sent Jamerson to the end of the bench? Considering it wasn’t a Flagrant 2, why did he even have to take him out of the game? Why did he have to make an example of a player who was understandably overeager on what could have been one of the triumphant nights of his life?

“Steve’s a good kid. He made a bad decision. But if you want to be a tough guy, you need to do it during the game, for a blockout, for a rebound,” said Cronin afterward.

“So, I was thoroughly disappointed; the guy was defenseless in the air. I know Steve was trying to block the shot, but the game’s a 25-point game. You don’t do that.”

That point could have been made without humiliation. But Cronin wasn’t done, later admonishing a reporter for what he considered a dumb question, then scolding the reporter for allegedly raising his voice at him.

The question was about the student section’s harassment of former Spartan Xavier Booker, which seemed like a legitimate query considering Booker had a terrible game. But what was really baffling was Cronin’s claim that the questioner was raising his voice.

Listen to the video. No voices were raised. It was just Cronin once again being a bully. You want a raised voice? Here, I’ll raise my voice in words that Cronin will hopefully understand.

CHILL OUT! SHOW RESPECT! HONOR WOODEN!

If the coach doesn’t grow up and the program doesn’t rapidly improve — for a third straight year they’re barely a tournament team — there needs to be another ejection.

It would be the most expensive firing in UCLA history. It would be worth every penny.

Champions League Match of the Day pundit Guillem Balague, who attended Real Madrid’s match at Benfica on Tuesday, explains the aftermath of the alleged racist incident between Vinicius Jr and Gianluca Prestianni.

READ MORE: Vinicius: Eight years at Real Madrid, 20 cases of alleged racist abuse

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