sport

Above all else, the Lakers were committed to being resilient in Game 1 of the playoffs.

Even if they were missing their starting backcourt, the Lakers were committed to being resilient against the rugged and physical Houston Rockets, who were playing without Kevin Durant after the star suffered a bruised knee in practice.

And as a group the Lakers were resilient, following the lead of LeBron James and a career-best outing from Luke Kennard to pull out a gritty 107-98 win over the Rockets Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.

James was magnificent, collecting a near triple-double with 19 points on nine-for-15 shooting, 13 assists and eight rebounds.

Kennard was outstanding in his new role as facilitator and a main hub of the offense, scoring a playoff career-high 27 points. His three three-pointers in the fourth quarter gave the Lakers the separation they needed to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. He was nine-for-13 shooting from the field and five for five from three-point range.

But James tied Hall of Famers Karl Malone and John Stockton by appearing in his 19th postseason, and Kennard had plenty of help from the rest of their starting mates.

Deande Ayton had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Marcus Smart had 15 points and eight assists and Rui Hachimura scored 14.

Game 2 is Tuesday night here.

James had eight assists in the first quarter, his career-high for assists in any quarter of a playoff game.

The Lakers followed his lead.

They started the game with a purpose, making their first four shots, missing the next and then making their next four in a row to finish the first quarter shooting 15 of 19 from the field— 78.9%.

Kennard was the best in the group, shooting five for six in the first quarter and scoring 11 points to help the Lakers open a 33-29 lead by the end of the first 12 minutes.

Injured Rockets star Kevin Durant, third from left on bench, watches Lakers star LeBron James inbound the basketball during Game 1.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

But the game slowed down in the second quarter when the Lakers scored just 17 points while the Rockets could muster 19.

Forty minutes before the Lakers tipped off against the Rockets, Luka Doncic was seen walking down the hallway with his bodyguard toward L.A.’s locker room. Doncic was not playing because of a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, joining teammate Austin Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique muscle train) on the bench dressed in street clothes.

The Rockets announced that Durant was out for the first game because of a right knee contusion that occurred during practice Wednesday. Durant, the Rockets’ leading scorer (26.0 points per game), worked about before the game but was unable to play because of “soreness and tenderness.” The Rockets hope he’ll be available for Game 2.

“Bumped a knee in practice one of our days, on Wednesday,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Hopefully it’s a one-game thing, but [he] tried it out just shortly ago and didn’t feel good enough.”

For the Lakers, there was an element of shock they had to deal with when Doncic and Reaves were injured at Oklahoma City on April 2.

They eventually got past that, winning their last three games to end the regular season.

“Ten days ago, when our guys get hurt, I think it’s easy to look at adversity and the ups and downs of an NBA season as like some form of the basketball gods punishing you,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “The reality is it’s opportunities to build resilience. … Smart said it after our last regular-season game: ‘We’re right where we’re supposed to be.’ I think the whole season for the staff, our players, our team, our group, it’s been about building resiliency, and that’s what you need in the playoffs.”

Argentine forward’s brace included the match winner against Colorado Rapids in front of over 75,000 fans in Denver.

Lionel Messi scored a brace and ‌German Berterame headed another as Inter Miami earned a ⁠3-2 win over ⁠the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer (MLS) on Saturday in Denver.

Messi scored the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute. He started a run just inside midfield and went ⁠unchallenged until the box, where he blasted into the upper left corner for a 3-2 lead.

Rafael Navarro and Darren Yapi each scored for Colorado (4-4-0, 12 points) in front of 75,824 at Empower Field, the second-largest crowd in MLS history.

Miami (4-1-3, 15 points) took a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute after Colorado goalkeeper Zack Steffen’s pass was intercepted by Yannick Bright. Josh Atencio offered a hard challenge ‌and was shown a yellow card after video review.

Messi took the resulting penalty and rolled his shot straight down the middle as Miami took a 1-0 lead.

Colorado had a solid look at the goal when midfielder Wayne Frederick attempted a one-touch lob. Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair was out of position and well beyond the penalty arc after heading away a loose ball, but Frederick’s attempt sailed ⁠over the open net.

In the fifth minute of first-half stoppage ⁠time, Miami extended their lead to 2-0, connecting on a series of passes deep in their attacking third. Messi got the run of play started with a tight touch pass to Rodrigo De ⁠Paul.

De Paul sent Mateo Silvetti on a run to the boundary line. His inward-spinning cross floated to the front of ⁠goal, where Berterame rose above the Colorado defence and ⁠tucked a header under the bar.

Navarro’s goal cut Miami’s lead to 2-1. He started a run in midfield and used a step-over move to get an open shot a few steps into the ‌box that tucked inside the left post past a diving St. Clair in the 58th minute.

In the 62nd minute, second-half substitute Yapi settled on a direct pass from Lucas ‌Herrington ‌and sizzled a shot past St. Clair for the equaliser.

Miami closed the win playing a man down as Yannick Bright was sent off with a red card in the 87th minute.

Ramón Laureano and Fernando Tatis Jr. each drove in two runs apiece, Germán Márquez threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a strong start and the San Diego Padres beat the Angels 4-1 on Saturday night.

Adrian Morejon (2-0) struck out two in 1 1/3 scoreless relief innings for the win and Mason Miller earned his seventh save despite giving up a single and a walk in the ninth.

Miller, who has allowed two hits, walked two and struck out 25 in 10 1/3 innings this season, extended his scoreless streak to 31 2/3 innings dating to last Aug. 6.

The teams were in a scoreless tie when Freddy Fermin and Jake Cronenworth opened the eighth with four-pitch walks off Ryan Zeferjahn (1-1). Laureano chopped an RBI single through the middle for a 1-0 lead, snapping San Diego’s 16-inning scoreless streak. Tatis followed with an RBI hit-and-run dribbler through a vacated second-base spot for a 2-0 lead.

The Angels trimmed the deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth when Logan O’Hoppe and Adam Frazier singled off Jason Adam and Nolan Schanuel hit a two-out RBI single. But Jo Adell grounded out to end the inning.

San Diego pushed the lead to 4-1 in the ninth on Laureano’s sacrifice fly and Tatis’ RBI single.

Márquez gave up two hits, struck out five — all in the fourth and fifth innings — and walked two.

Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi allowed four hits, struck out eight and walked one in six innings.

Jackson Merrill robbed Yoán Moncada of a solo homer with a leaping catch at the right-center-field wall in the second, holding onto the ball as he collided with Tatis.

The game was twice delayed for several minutes. In the second, O’Hoppe, the Angels’ catcher, took a foul tip off his neck. In the fifth a 96-mph fastball from Kikuchi grazed Cronenworth’s chin. Both players remained in the game.

Up next

Padres RHP Michael King (2-1, 2.78 ERA) will face Angels LHP Reid Detmers (1-1, 3.57 ERA) in Sunday’s series finale.

FRISCO, Texas — Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil scored late in the first half after Petar Musa scored twice to give Dallas the lead, helping the Galaxy rally for a 2-2 draw on Saturday night.

Musa scored unassisted in the seventh minute to give Dallas a quick lead and then used assists from Christian Cappis and Logan Farrington to give Dallas a two-goal advantage in the 38th minute with his league-leading ninth of the season.

It was the first assist for Cappis after collecting two in 11 appearances last season as a rookie. Farrington’s third assist gives him 15 in 69 career matches.

Sanabria used assists from Paintsil and Justin Haak to cut it to 2-1 in the 43rd minute and Paintsil used assists from Gabriel Pec and defender Mauricio Cuevas to tie it three minutes into stoppage time.

Sanabria netted his second goal after scoring twice in 21 matches as a rookie last season. A hamstring injury sidelined Paintsil, who has a goal and two assists in four matches. Pec has four assists but has yet to score.

Michael Collodi turned away three shots in goal for Dallas (3-1-4).

JT Marcinkowski had three saves for the Galaxy (2-3-3).

The Galaxy lead the all-time series 37-35-13 and are 9-26-8 in Frisco.

Humble but hungry.

That was the mindset Calabasas’ foursome that took to the track at Hilmer Lodge Stadium for the Invitational girls’ 4×100 race Saturday at the 66th annual Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut.

In one of the meet’s marquee matchups, the Coyotes ran their fastest time yet — 44.48 seconds — to set a new meet record and avenge their loss to Fullerton Rosary one week earlier at the Arcadia Invitational.

“Taking that ‘L’ last week gave us motivation,” senior captain Marley Scoggins said after getting her team off to a good start with a blazing first leg. “We didn’t like that feeling.”

Speed ultimately wins races, but Coyotes coach Jeff Clanagan helped the cause by changing the order of his runners in hopes of building an early lead. He flipped Scoggins and Olivia Kirk (who led off seven days earlier) while Malia Rainey and Devyn Sproles ran the second and third legs. Adding an element of surprise proved to be an effective strategy.

“You always look at matchups and in a relay you want to get out first and force a mistake by another team,” Clanagan said. “Marley is our best starter off the blocks and I felt doing that might give us a mental edge. We kept it a secret right up until race time. I told my girls not to show our new order until you get on the track so Rosary won’t have time to talk to their coach.”

Scoggins, a Tennessee commit, was edged at the finish by Rosary’s Maliyah Collins at Arcadia, where Calabasas settled for second at 44.54 effort while the Royals circled the oval in 44.23, shattering the state record of 44.50 set by Long Beach Poly in 2004.

“I’ve run every leg at one time or another but I liked starting today — it felt more powerful putting us in front,” Scoggins said. “We’re trying to go 43 [seconds]. We can definitely drop time. For the first time this week we tried different hand-offs.”

Her teammates did the rest. Rosary was second in 44.94 and Steele Canyon took third place in 46.62.

“This is the first time I’ve anchored in a while and the girls gave me a lead like they always do,” said Kirk, a senior headed to Oklahoma. “I think the key was our determination. We knew we didn’t run our best last week and we wanted to come here and take our win.”

Calabasas has won two of three head-to-head relays with Rosary this spring, having clocked 44.95 to take the teams’ first encounter at the Mt. Carmel Invitational on March 28 in San Diego.

Next up for the Coyotes is a trip across country for the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, an international meet where they will compete in prelims Thursday for a chance to make the finals Friday on the world stage.

“No U.S. team has beaten a Jamaican team in 20 years,” Clanagan said. “We’re hoping to change that.”

Two hours later, Rainey and Sproles were among the nine sprinters in the Invitational 100-meter dash, which also featured a pair of Rosary’s 4×100 runners, Justine Wilson and Tra’via Flournoy. Wilson prevailed by three hundredths of a second over Rainey in 11.65.

Collins demonstrated why she is one of the Southland’s top sprinters, taking first in the 200 meters in 23.25 — 30 hundredths of a second off the meet record set in 2002 by L.A. Baptist’s Allyson Felix.

Having clocked 39.70 to better its own state record at Arcadia seven days earlier, Servite broke the boys’ 4×100 relay Mt. SAC record for a second straight year Saturday as Jace Wells, Benjamin Harris, Jorden Wells and Kamil Pelovello ran the one-lap sprint in 39.98 after Jorden Wells, Harris, Jaelen Hunter and Robert Gardner got the baton around in 40.15 last year. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame came in second for the second straight year in 41 flat.

Torrance senior Nicolas Obimgba won the Invitational 100 meters in 10.24, three hundredths of a second off the meet record set last year by Mt. Miguel’s Brandon Arrington. Newbury Park senior Jaden Griffin (10.30) finished second, Jorden Wells (10.44) was third and Pelovello (10.64) was seventh.

Loyola senior Ejam Yohannes won the Invitational 400 meters in 46.29 after placing third in the event while battling sickness at Arcadia. His personal best (46.11) came three weeks ago at the Chandler Rotary in Arizona.

“A lot of these guys I’ve raced and beat before,” Yohannes said. “Early on I was feeling the effects from last week. I usually finish stronger but I’m still not 100 percent. I’m already primed to win CIF. I’m confident I can run 45 [seconds] or even a little lower.”

Tenth-grader Kaahliyah Lacy of San Jacinto Valley Academy, who won the girls’ 300 hurdles in 40.81 at Arcadia, clocked 39.93 to break the Mt. SAC record Saturday and doubled for first in the 100 hurdles in 13.65. JSerra junior Reese Holley was the 800-meter winner in 2:08.10 and Long Beach Wilson’s Clara Adams was first in the 400 meters in 53.13. Her teammates Brooklyn Fowler (54.33) and Brooke Blue (54.47) were third and fourth.

Adams did not race in the Invitational 4×400 relay but the Bruins won anyway in 3:49.55. JSerra was second in 3:52.77. In the boys’ 4×400, Yohannes ran the anchor leg as the Cubs finished second in 3:14.70 behind Fresno Central East (3:13.96).

Defending state high jump champion JJ Harel, who cleared 6-9 to win at Arcadia, was second with a height of 6-10 Saturday. Dean Guzman of Moorpark won at seven feet.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame junior Lillian Wilson won the girls’ shot put with a throw of 43-3.75 and took second in the discus (147-3) behind Lancaster Desert Christian’s Corynn Smith (152-8).

Having won the girls’ long jump and triple jump at Arcadia, senior AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley tripled Saturday, leaping 19-4 to win the long jump, spanning a distance of 41-7.5 for the the triple jump title then clearing 5-10 to win the high jump.

Cassidy Nguyễn from Los Alamitos won the girls’ pole vault at 13 feet and Aliso Niguel’s Dane Malloy won the boys triple jump at 48-5.

Real win the final of Spain’s premier annual knockout football competition with a dramatic penalty shootout in Seville.

Real Sociedad beat Atletico Madrid 4-3 on ⁠penalties to win the Copa ⁠del Rey on Saturday following a 2-2 draw after extra time, with goalkeeper Unai Marrero saving two spot kicks in the shootout to help his side win the trophy for the fourth time.

Sociedad last won the Cup in 2021, when the ⁠delayed 2020 final was also played at the La Cartuja stadium in Seville, but there were no supporters present due to the COVID pandemic.

This time, the Basque side’s fans were behind the goal to witness Marrero save Atletico’s first two penalties from Alexander Sorloth and Julian Alvarez.

Atletico keeper Juan Musso then ⁠stopped Orri Oskarsson’s kick, but Pablo Marin kept his nerve to net the winning penalty.

“I tried to clear my mind. Calm and serene,” Marin told RTVE. “Real is my life. I’ve lived here since I was a child. This is the greatest thing I could ever dream of – winning a title with the team of my life.”

The last time the two sides met in the final was 1987, when it also finished 2-2 with Sociedad coming out on top on penalties, ‌and they repeated the job to deny Atletico, who were looking for their first Copa del Rey win since 2013.

Ander Barrenetxea had given Sociedad the lead after 14 seconds, but Ademola Lookman levelled in the 19th minute. Mikel Oyarzabal then put the Basque side back in front with a penalty on the stroke of halftime.

Alvarez drew Atletico level, with seven minutes remaining, to force the extra period in a dramatic final.

Diego Simeone’s Atletico were fresh from reaching the Champions League semifinals, but Sociedad, managed by American Pellegrino Matarazzo, triumphed despite twice losing the lead.

Fast start

Sociedad stunned Atletico from the start. After a punt downfield from Marrero, Goncalo Guedes crossed into the box, and Barrenetxea rose above his marker to send a ⁠looping header beyond Musso.

Atletico levelled with Lookman collecting a pass from Antoine Griezmann and sending a precise low strike ⁠through the legs of a defender and into the far bottom corner.

Some Sociedad fans were celebrating, as they thought their side had retaken the lead when Guedes’s deflected shot flew into the side netting, but when Musso later fouled Guedes, captain Oyarzabal converted the penalty in first-half added time.

“I’ve never walked on water, but it must feel something like this,” said ⁠Oyarzabal, who scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot when his side won their last Copa.

Late drama

Sociedad looked like hanging on until Alvarez struck an unstoppable shot from just inside the area, letting Thiago ⁠Almada’s pass through his legs before turning to send the ball into the top corner.

In the ⁠opening period of extra time, Musso pulled off a double-save from Luka Sucic and Oskarsson, with Alvarez hitting the upright at the other end, as both sides created chances before running out of steam, and penalties beckoned.

Marrero danced across his line as the Atletico players lined up their penalties, and his mind games paid off.

“I knew that if it went to penalties, I had ‌a lot of confidence in myself,” he said.

“The team and the fans did, too. I still can’t believe it.”

Matarazzo has worked a remarkable turnaround at Sociedad since taking over in December, with the club hovering above the relegation zone but now seventh in the standings and, even more importantly, with ‌a ‌trophy to show for their work.

Simeone’s Atletico have one final chance of silverware, with a last-four meeting against Arsenal in the Champions League.

“We have a beautiful challenge ahead of us. We want the Champions League, and we’ll do everything possible to win it,” Atletico captain Koke said. “But tonight is a sad night.”

DENVER — Nobody’s perfect, not even the Dodgers.

Their steamroll hit a speed bump as they squandered opportunities in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

Even the hottest of Dodgers’ hitters cooled off as the night did. Collectively, they went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base, including two in the ninth inning.

Now 15-5, it was their first loss in five games and their first all season to a National League opponent.

Kyle Tucker, the Dodgers’ pricey new right fielder, had three hits, including his third home run this season. And backup catcher Dalton Rushing hit his fifth home run.

But that was all the damage the Dodgers did in support of starter Emmet Sheehan, who left with a one-run lead that reliever Will Klein relinquished in a matter of three batters in the sixth inning.

Shohei Ohtani also saw his career-best on-base streak reach 50 when he singled in the ninth inning to tie Willie Keeler’s 50-game mark established in 1901.

The two-time reining World Series champs threw the proverbial first punch when Tucker launched a 435-foot two-run home run into the second deck, making it 2-0 two batters into the game.

Tucker’s third home run as a Dodger drove home Ohtani, who chopped the first pitch he saw to Troy Johnston and would have been out at first if not for the errant throw by the first baseman.

In the bottom of the first, the Rockies responded when Mickey Moniak doubled and TJ Rumfield drove him in with a single to cut the lead in half, 2-1.

Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing follows the flight of his solo home run off Colorado pitcher Ryan Feltner Saturday in Denver.

(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

The Dodgers came right back in the second inning, when Rushing — in his one expected start behind the plate this series — kept crushing, launching a 1-1 pitch 371 feet over the right field wall to make it 3-1. It was his fifth home run in 18 at-bats until that point.

The Dodgers’ two home runs in the first two innings gave them multiple homers in 10 of their first 20 games this season — and ran their MLB-leading season total to 37 as a team.

But the Rockies returned serve in the bottom of the second, when Johnston scored on a Kyle Karros sacrifice fly to stay within a run, 3-2.

That’s how it stayed for the next three innings, as Sheehan got out of the third and fourth unscathed, despite the Rockies putting runners in scoring position in both the third and fourth. His only 1-2-3 inning was the nine-pitch fifth.

His control wasn’t as sharp as in his prior outing, but he left after five innings with the lead, having thrown 77 pitches, allowed four hits, two runs, struck out four and walked two.

The Dodgers got something going again in the sixth inning when Freddie Freeman hit a one-out triple into the gap in the expansive Colorado outfield, just beyond the grasp of diving center fielder Brenton Doyle.

A batter later, the Rockies’ diving third baseman Karros made a nifty play to throw out Teoscar Hernández after he drilled a ball up the line — holding Freeman at third in the process.

Then left-hander Brennan Bernardino came on in relief and tied up a clearly frustrated Max Muncy with a curveball, striking him out and ending a scoreless inning with Freeman stranded on third.

Klein took the loss after taking over for the Dodgers in the sixth and immediately gave up a double to Hunter Goodman before Ezequiel Tovar’s grounder ricocheted off Klein’s left foot and right knee. Tovar reached before Freeman could corral the ball and get it to Klein at first.

Both runners scored on a no-out double by Johnston and Colorado had a 4-3 lead that would stand.

In the eighth, “Let’s go Dodgers” chants picked up with Andy Pages at bat and Ohtani and Tucker on first and second base. But Pages struck out on a strike that was determined to find the bottom of the zone by baseball’s new ABS system.

Hernández then walked to load the bases but Muncy grounded out to second base, leaving more runners stranded.

Despite missing leading scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, the LA Lakers and LeBron James defeat Houston in opener.

Luke Kennard scored a career playoff-high 27 points, LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers capitalised on Kevin Durant’s injury absence for a 107-98 victory over the Houston Rockets in the opener of their first-round playoff series on Saturday night.

Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Lakers, who pulled off an impressive win without their top two scorers.

Both teams played the opener without their most important player. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have been out indefinitely with injuries since April 2, while Durant was a late scratch with a bruised right knee.

Los Angeles thrived by hitting 60.6 percent of its shots while holding the Rockets to 37.6 percent shooting with pesky defence.

Alperen Sengun scored 19 points, and Jabari Smith Jr had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Rockets, who finished one game behind Los Angeles in the regular season. Amen Thompson added 17 points, but Houston’s young core got off to an inconsistent start after becoming the firm favourite in this series due to the Lakers’ injury woes.

Game 2 is on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

Kennard rallies Lakers in second half

The Lakers acquired Kennard from Atlanta in early February, and the NBA’s most accurate 3-point shooter became a key reserve before he seized a major role over the past two weeks in the absence of Los Angeles’s starting backcourt. He hit four 3-pointers in Game 1, while making nine of his first 12 shots.

Durant must wait at least one more game to make his Rockets playoff debut after banging knees with a teammate in practice on Wednesday. Reed Sheppard took his spot in the starting lineup and hit five 3-pointers while scoring 17 points, but the Rockets struggled for consistent half-court offence in Durant’s absence despite grabbing 21 offensive rebounds.

The Lakers took the lead for good on their first bucket of the second half, and they pushed their advantage to 16 points in the fourth quarter. Kennard scored 16 points after halftime, while the 41-year-old James began his 19th NBA postseason with an inspired, eight-assist first quarter, followed by several gritty baskets down the stretch.

Los Angeles also got a boost from veteran guard Marcus Smart, who had 15 points and eight assists with four 3-pointers in his Lakers playoff debut. Smart said before the series that success would come down to “willpower”, and the Lakers clearly had more for starters.

Bronny James began the second quarter playing alongside his famous father in the first significant playoff minutes of the 21-year-old’s career.

Football can teach many life lessons and no one knows that better than Jazmin Gamble, the new varsity head coach at Hawthorne High.

As a woman in a male-dominated profession, one could define her as a trailblazer — and that would be accurate — but while she acknowledges the historical significance of what she is doing, Gamble is not letting it distract her from the task at hand — turning around a program that has fallen on hard times.

“It’s less about proving a point and more about giving all these boys a better experience,” Gamble said. “I’m not downplaying the impact of it, rather I want to leverage the attention in a way that benefits the players and opens doors for them. I’m elated and honored that the district saw my vision and said ‘this girl can do that.’ I have to ask myself how I can use this opportunity to spotlight our team.”

Gamble, who turns 36 in June, is a running back and linebacker for the Los Angeles Legends in the Women’s National Football Conference, a full-contact professional league consisting of 16 franchises across the United States.

Gamble was selected defensive player of the year in 2024 and offensive player of the year in 2025 when she gained a league-leading 549 yards rushing (averaging 11.9 yards per carry) while scoring three touchdowns.

“I tore my ACL my first season and was on injured reserve, but I came back in 2022 and have been playing ever since,” she said. “We made the playoffs last season but lost in the first round. We’re 2-1 right now with three games left. We played our first home game at Long Beach Poly, so the boys got to see their coach in action. We won 23-0 and I scored a touchdown, but it got called back due to holding.”

Hawthorne High football coach Jazmin Gamble calls for her players to huddle during a recent practice.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

The Legends’ next home game is April 25 against the Utah Falconz at St. Anthony Sports Complex in Lakewood.

“This is my last year playing, but I’ve been wanting to transition more into coaching,” said Gamble, a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor who started a business 10 years ago called the Jazz Standard. “I first heard about the job through my coaching network and it sounded very appealing. I applied, I interviewed and I got it. Football takes up so much of your time and energy. I’ve done enough in this sport. This is a good time for me to stop, and although this is my first crack as a football head coach I’ve been coaching athletes for six or seven years, including some of my teammates, and they got better.”

A Bakersfield native, Gamble was an exceptional all-around athlete. Growing up she was a gymnast and a cheerleader. She played club volleyball, ran track and played basketball while attending four high schools, two in Bakersfield and two in the Bay Area, and graduated from Mt. Diablo High in Concord.

Upon moving to Los Angeles 13 years ago, she was in survival mode.

“I was homeless and slept in the back seat of my car for a couple of months until I got a job in human resources,” she recalled. “I started training and working in the fitness field and after struggling to make it for a few years I decided I wanted to be a business owner and things took off from there. Now I have 33 active clients that I see two to four times a week and even train the No. 2 rusher in the WNFC.”

Gamble lives in Inglewood but her business is in Gardena near Serra High, where she got involved behind the scenes with the flag football team before the sport was officially sanctioned by the CIF in 2023.

“A few of those girls trained with me and I learned to adopt a different schematic approach. Boys are playing football as early as 5 or 6 years old, whereas women are starting at 20 or even their early 30s and their bodies aren’t prepared for it. I didn’t start playing tackle until I was 31.”

Gamble is still assembling a staff but one of her assistants will be her brother, Kenneth Davis, a former receiver at Liberty High in Bakersfield.

Hawthorne does not have a junior varsity team. There were 29 players on the roster last year and nine graduated.

“On Day 1, I had 22 come to the weight room,” Gamble said. “Some players are in track right now, but in May I’ll have ‘em all. My strong suit is development so I’m ready for this. Right now, we’re at ground zero. We’ve only had a handful of practices, mainly conditioning. The boys have been super receptive. I’m just going to be me!”

Hawthorne went 2-8 last season, finishing fourth in the Ocean League and being outscored by 281 points. The Cougars were shut out three times.

“Jazmin’s a breath of fresh air,” said athletic director Mario Romero, who was involved in the hiring process. “She’s brought enthusiasm across the entire school community and I’m excited about where her leadership is going to take us.”

Hawthorne High football coach Jazmin Gamble shows her players how to run a drill during practice.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Fifteen players showed up for a one-hour workout Wednesday at HalCap Field. One of them was quarterback Anthony Green, who played in the last two games as a sophomore last year after transferring from King/Drew and is the projected starter next season.

“She made a good impression,” he said. “I like the workouts — they’re very intense — and I like the competition. Coach expects a lot and she pushes us.”

Gamble put her players through a series of drills to test their stamina, quickness and technique. The penalty for walking was push-ups.

“Everything out here is earned … may the best man win!’ she shouted.

“Her practices are intense — she knows what she’s doing,” added junior linebacker Adrian Lopez, who was an All-League first teamer last fall. “She has a home game coming up and I think I’ll go out and watch. My goal for us is to have at least a .500 season and make the playoffs.”

Gamble is not the first female to coach varsity football at Hawthorne. Monique Boone was the varsity defensive line and assistant offensive line coach in 2021 under previous head coach Corey Thedford. However, overseeing the entire program puts Gamble in rarefied air.

What convinced Romero that Gamble was the right person for the job?

“Her background, her skill set and also the fact that she plays the sport herself at a high level,” he said.

There is anger directed at Rosenior, but many Chelsea supporters also point the finger at Eghbali, Boehly and the rest of the BlueCo ownership.

The latest protest saw supporters march from The Wolfpack Inn pub to Stamford Bridge before kick-off, having grown from a turnout of about 200 before the Brentford match to more than 500 before Saturday’s tie.

There were flares, banners and chants directed at the owners, as well as calls in support of former owner Abramovich.

Under the terms of the takeover agreement in 2022, the current ownership group cannot sell the club until at least 2032. However, there are signs they are willing to listen to some of the criticism, including calls to recruit more experienced players.

“We recognise we need balance. You tweak a model, you improve and you learn from mistakes,” Eghbali said. “We have a strong core, but we need to add experience to take the team to the next level and achieve consistency. That is not lost on us.”

However, failure to qualify for the Champions League would undermine any rebuild. Chelsea have already spent about £1.5bn on signings under the current ownership and, despite recouping approximately £750m in sales, they remain under financial scrutiny from Uefa, having faced fines for breaching their regulations.

The club has announced Premier League record pre-tax losses in its latest accounts and – without the additional revenue generated by Europe’s premier competition through broadcasting, sponsorship and ticket sales – questions remain over whether Chelsea can recruit effectively in the summer.

Before kick-off, Cole Palmer told TNT Sports: “If we’re not in the Champions League, everything changes.”

Asked about Palmer’s comments and the potential financial implications, Rosenior replied: “The honest answer is I don’t know. We’re still fighting and we’ll address that situation at the end of the season, whatever the situation is.”

Meanwhile, Enzo Fernandez’s agent, Javier Pastore, has said his client would view missing out on Champions League football as an issue, despite the midfielder’s two-match internal ban – imposed following comments linking him with a move to Real Madrid – coming to an end on Saturday.

While the protest movement has largely been driven by younger supporters, there are signs of apathy among older match-going fans. Boos were heard at full-time, with the atmosphere inside Stamford Bridge growing quieter with each game.

It took a first home defeat to Leeds since 1981 for the real moans to start.

The calmness previously viewed as an asset became a negative. Inaction was seen as conservative. All week the question has been asked, is Carrick up to the job?

Well, there was nothing aesthetically pleasing about this latest triumph.

But given only Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of all the post-Sir Alex Ferguson bosses had experienced the feeling of winning at Stamford Bridge, style was a secondary element.

Chelsea may have hit the woodwork three times. They may have carried the more consistent threat. But Carrick’s team was the one that delivered.

“It was a game for a result,” he said. “And we managed to find it.”

There was more to it though. There was overcoming the adversity of knowing that on top of the three central defenders he knew would be missing (Matthijs de Ligt through injury and Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire due to suspension), Carrick then lost a fourth, Leny Yoro, to a training ground injury.

That came so late in the week his chosen pairing, Noussair Mazraoui and Ayden Heaven, could only prepare with walk-throughs.

“I love when you see players thrive in those moments,” said Carrick.

Heaven, 19, had not started a game under Carrick, having first been given his chance by Ruben Amorim and then his immediate replacement Darren Fletcher.

“Ayden has not played a lot of football recently, and to come into that environment is not something that you can take for granted,” said Carrick.

“We say the same things to young players all the time. Sometimes they look at you as if to say, ‘yeah, good one’ but in terms of training every day and looking after yourself and being ready ‘because you never know when that chance comes’, he probably wouldn’t have thought it would come at that moment.

“But he was there, he was prepared, and he took it in his stride magnificently well.”

Match of the Day pundits Ashely Williams and Joe Hart analyse Ayden Heaven’s performance against Chelsea after the young defender played a key role in Manchester United’s win alongside strong performances from other senior players.

MATCH REPORT: Chelsea 0-1 Manchester United

Available to UK users only.

Manchester United strengthen grip on third spot in Premier League with 1-0 win that leaves Chelsea relying on favours.

Manchester United took a giant step towards ending a two-year exile from the Champions League as Matheus Cunha scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Chelsea.

United’s victory on Saturday opens up a 10-point gap between the Red Devils in third place and sixth-placed Chelsea, with only 15 points left to play for this season.

The top five in the Premier League will qualify for the Champions League next season.

But a fourth consecutive league defeat leaves Chelsea’s chances of being back among Europe’s elite next season in tatters. It also piles pressure on manager Liam Rosenior, only three months into his reign.

Chelsea once again bemoaned the lack of a clinical striker as they failed to break down a makeshift United defence ravaged by injury and suspension.

United manager Michael Carrick was forced to name a backline featuring three full-backs and 19-year-old Ayden Heaven. But they held out to boost the former England midfielder’s case to get the job at Old Trafford beyond the end of this season.

Chelsea were missing their top scorer, Joao Pedro, through injury, and one-time United target Liam Delap failed to take his chance to shine up front.

Rosenior recalled Enzo Fernandez after the Argentinian was given a two-game suspension by the Blues for suggesting he would be open to a summer move to Real Madrid.

Fernandez started with a point to prove and came agonisingly close to the opener when he curled inches wide.

United looked rusty in a 2-1 defeat to Leeds on Monday, their first action for three and a half weeks.

But Carrick’s men repaired the damage done to their chances of returning to the Champions League next season.

Cunha provided a precise finish to open the scoring two minutes before the break from Bruno Fernandes’s 18th Premier League assist of the season.

Chelsea improved after the break but failed to prevent another damaging defeat, leaving Rosenior’s role in doubt heading into next season.

Delap crashed a header against the woodwork, and Noussair Mazraoui turned a dangerous cross onto his own bar, under pressure from Wesley Fofana.

Moises Caicedo, fresh from signing a new seven-year contract, also came close to rescuing a point for the hosts.

But the final whistle was met by a chorus of boos at full-time, with the Club World Cup winners looking resigned to Europa League football at best next term.

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick says his side “won’t get carried away” in their pursuit of a Champions League place after they beat Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to open up a 10-point gap to sixth place.

MATCH REPORT: Chelsea 0-1 Manchester United

Available to UK users only.

Hampton’s performance was not a clean one as she fumbled several crosses and was not convincing on set-pieces.

She almost dropped the ball into the path of Sveindis Jonsdottir late on too, but rescued it just in time to spare her blushes.

Hampton’s has been patchy of late for Chelsea, but like all world-class players she delivers when it really matters.

She did it against Spain on Tuesday, as England held on to a significant 1-0 win in part thanks to her acrobatic save, denying Edna Imade late on.

At Wembley, her predecessor Mary Earps was being celebrated for her Lionesses career before kick-off, but Hampton has taken her gloves seamlessly, shining at Euro 2025 and now impressing as England look to seal their spot in next year’s World Cup.

Despite the spotlight, Hampton was humble at full-time in Iceland, joking about the simplicity of the game and her role within it.

“Alessia [Russo] puts the ball in one end and I stop it going in at the other. It’s a simple game when you break it down,” she told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I am just glad I get to be involved. It means I don’t freeze to death! I’m always willing to put my body on the line.”

But there was no downplaying by England manager Sarina Wiegman, who said Hampton’s saves against Iceland were “crucial” to securing the victory.

“It is always a team effort and a team performance but it’s really nice to have a goalkeeper that stops the ball going in – especially when it’s really hard for the team and they are struggling,” added Wiegman.

“That’s called teamwork. She showed again that she is a world-class goalkeeper.”

Arsenal striker Russo added: “She was amazing. Big moments kept us in it and she showed up three or four times to get us the three points.

“Sometimes you need someone to step up like that.”

Moorpark athletic director Rob Dearborn officially has a new title: president elect of the Southern Section.

The Southern Section Council elected him on Thursday. He will serve as president elect under the new president, Alexis Barile, the former principal at Corona Centennial, for 2026-27 and 2027-28 before taking over a two-year term.

Dearborn, 62, a former track and football coach, is in his 40th year participating in high school sports. He started out at Newbury Park before moving to Moorpark. He directs the Southern Section track and field championships at Moorpark. His wife, Denise, ran track at UCLA.

Asked if his wife will now salute him, Dearborn said, “No, I still salute her.”

It’s a two-year term to preside over Southern Section Council meetings.

“I grew up with Southern Section sports that have been a big part of my life,” he said. “It’s exciting.”

His son is football coach at Moorpark.

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

Bath: Carreras; Cokanasiga, Lawrence, Ojomoh, Arundell; Russell, Carr-Smith; Kirk, Dunn, Sela; Richards, Ewels (c), Hill, Pepper, Barbeary.

Replacements: Frost, Van Wyk, Du Toit, Molony, Bayliss, Van der Linde, Hennessey, Reid.

Harlequins: Smith; David, Kerr, Bradley, Murley; J. Evans, Friday; Hobson, Turner, Jones; Cunningham-South, Treadwell, Petti, Kenningham, Dombrandt (c)

Replacements: Musk, Clarke, Streeter, Williams, Carr, W. Evans, Townsend, Anderson.

Referee: Sara Cox

PHOENIX — Golden State coach Steve Kerr is contemplating his future, the four-time NBA champion coach suggesting after the Warriors’ season ended Friday night that there is a chance he might not be back with the club next season.

“It might still go on. It may not,” Kerr said after the Warriors lost in Phoenix and were eliminated from the play-in tournament.

He shared an embrace with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, the team’s two constants from the Warriors’ title runs with Kerr, near the team’s bench in the game’s final moments and appeared to mouth the words “thank you.”

Kerr wouldn’t reveal what he said in that moment.

“None of your business,” he said, smiling.

Green and Curry both made clear that they want him back. Kerr’s future has been the subject of speculation for some time, fueled in part by him coaching this year on the final season of his existing contract. The Warriors missed the playoffs this season for the fourth time in the last seven years.

“I want Coach to be happy. I want him to be excited about the job. I want him to believe you know he’s the right guy for the job,” Curry said. “I want him to have an opportunity to again enjoy what he does. So, whatever that means for him, you know, everybody’s plan is their own. And I’m not going to try to tell anybody what to do. He knows how I feel about him. That shouldn’t even need to be said.”

Added Green, when asked if he could even fathom the Warriors without Kerr on the sideline: “I just don’t deal with change well. I don’t love it. So, I don’t want to think about that. I hope that’s not the case, but we’ll see what happens.”

The 60-year-old Kerr just finished his 12th season with the Warriors. He’s 604-353 in that span, led Golden State to the NBA Finals in each of his first five seasons — and once since then as well — plus guided the U.S. to Olympic gold at the Paris Games in 2024.

His playoff record of 104-48 is nearly unmatched; among coaches with at least 100 playoff games in their career, his .684 playoff winning percentage is second only — and barely — to Phil Jackson, who went 229-104 (.688).

Kerr said he’ll meet with Warriors owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy to chart a path for what’s next. He suggested that might come in a week or two.

“We’ll talk about what’s next for the Warriors, what the plan is this offseason,” Kerr said. “And we will come to a collaborative decision on what’s next. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I still love coaching. But I get it. These jobs all have an expiration date. There’s a run that happens, and when the run ends, sometimes it’s time for new blood and new ideas and all that.

“And, if that’s the case, then I will be just nothing but grateful for the most amazing opportunity any person could have to coach this franchise, in front of our fans in the Bay and to coach Steph Curry, to coach Dray and the whole group.”

Kerr wouldn’t say what some of the factors are that might sway his decision, calling those private.

“If it’s right, it’s right,” Kerr said. “And if it’s not, it’s not.”

There will be talks with Curry as well; the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history, who just finished his 17th season — all with Golden State — said he plans to play for “multiple” seasons after this and would be interested in an extension.

“It’ll be a busy summer for the Warriors,” Curry said, smiling.

The Warriors were 37-45 this season, dealing with injuries the entire way. They rallied Wednesday from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers and move into Friday’s play-in finale, only to fall short against the Suns.

And now, the Warriors wait to see what’s next.

“This was as tough a season as you can have, with the injuries, with all kinds of adversity,” Kerr said. “And they battled, and they battled the entire season. They kept going the other night just to, you know, continue the season, to show that kind of fight. And then tonight, we just didn’t have it. But the competitive desire was there. And I’m proud of the group for finishing the season the right way by continuing to fight and trying to win every game.”

Kerr — who won five championships as a player, to go along with his four rings as a coach — has spoken often of his good fortunes within the game. He played for Lute Olson at Arizona, played with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Chicago, played with David Robinson and Tim Duncan in San Antonio and played for Jackson and Gregg Popovich as a pro.

And coaching Curry — the greatest face of a franchise he’s ever seen, he said — is another honor, Kerr has insisted.

“The only thing I’ve learned is that I’m the luckiest guy in the NBA’s history,” Kerr said.

Follow the live build-up, with full team news coverage, ahead of our text commentary stream of the crunch EPL clash.

So what to make of a day which delivered history for Scottish women’s sport, as well as a 12-try demolition?

It is true, England are not the benchmark for Scotland.

Victory away to Wales last week was a solid start, and now it is all about the response in Italy next week and trying to beat Ireland in the final game, either side of a home game against France.

But all performances are crucial to building momentum and keeping the fans coming back, as Malcolm herself said.

Just ask the Scotland women’s football team, who have seen crowds shrink back at Hampden amid a struggle to qualify for major finals.

The Scotland captain, as ever, got the tone spot on when summing up a strange day.

“Today was about so much more than just the game,” Malcolm said. “For those of us that have been around 10 years plus – we’ve come from back pitches with a couple of people in stands.

“To even arrive today and get the reception we got was phenomenal. It’s a result of the work we’ve done as players on the pitch to put in performances that make people want to come back.

“Today wasn’t one of them. But that doesn’t take away from what we’ve created over the last 10 years to make this happen.

“We’re at the beginning of a new journey. We’re going to keep pushing to get back to that point to put in a performance in that stadium that fans can be proud of.”

In just five starts, José Soriano’s season with the Angels has gone from good to great — to historic.

Soriano pitched two-hit ball into the sixth inning of the Angels’ 8-0 victory over the Padres on Friday night, ending San Diego’s eight-game winning streak with yet another dominant outing by the Angels’ right-handed Dominican ace.

Soriano (5-0) has an ERA of 0.28 after allowing just one run in his first 32 2/3 innings this season. He leads the majors with 39 strikeouts while allowing only 11 hits, and he’s tied with Milwaukee’s Aaron Ashby for the lead with five wins.

Except for occasional control problems, Soriano has been overwhelming every lineup he faces — and Drake Baldwin’s first-inning homer for Atlanta on April 6 is still the only run he has allowed all season. His 17-inning scoreless streak is the second-longest in the majors this season, and opponents are batting .104 against his 0.73 WHIP — both the best in baseball.

Angels ace José Soriano delivers to the plate during the fifth inning of a win over the San Diego Padres at Angel Stadium on Friday.

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)

“It’s like a hot knife through butter,” Angels slugger Jo Adell said. “It’s pretty crazy. It’s really special, and he’s a special talent. He’s always had the stuff to compete at this level, and he’s doing what an ace does. Whatever he’s done, just keep doing it.”

And after five straight dominant starts, Soriano has reached rare company.

The most recent pitcher to allow one earned run or fewer in each of his first five starts in a season with at least 15 total innings pitched was the Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela in 1981, when he won the NL Cy Young award in his groundbreaking rookie season. Walter Johnson also did it in 1913 — and nobody else.

Soriano is also the only pitcher in major league history to go at least five innings while yielding one or fewer earned runs and three or fewer hits in each of his first five starts to a season.

“I just feel confident to keep pitching like that,” Soriano said. “I believe in my catcher, and we’re on the same page. I think that’s a big part of the results we’re having.”

While Soriano dazzled his previous two opponents with back-to-back, 10-strikeout outings over 15 combined innings to win the AL Player of the Week award, he actually didn’t overwhelm the Padres’ veteran lineup.

San Diego drew four walks and forced Soriano to throw 99 pitches. The Padres loaded the bases in the third before Soriano got Jackson Merrill to ground out, but San Diego eventually chased him with a single and a walk with two outs in the sixth.

“The thing that impressed was that to us, he had to grind a little bit tonight,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. “I think that’s the maturity showing up, where he’s learning how to pitch — and I say this lightly — without his best stuff. He learned how to navigate a great lineup over there without his best stuff … and it was pretty incredible. You can’t say enough.”

Soriano has a 99-mph fastball and a sinker that ranks among the best in baseball, but he’s also mixing in a curve that has flummoxed his opponents. The combination has been too much for any opponent through his first five starts.

“Knowing him from the past, you always thought of the high-90s sinker, and then he comes in breaking out the curveball,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “That pitch was very impressive from the dugout. Gave our guys trouble at the beginning. It’s really hard to lay off that pitch, and it complements his sinker. He did a great job tonight mixing his pitches. … He’s just a really good pitcher.”