Dodgers struggle at the plate and suffer first loss of season
From Maddie Lee: A fastball up and off the plate to Guardians left-handed hitter Steven Kwan was an inauspicious beginning to Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki’s season debut.
The arm-side miss fell in line with a persistent spring-training pattern for Sasaki, who struggled with command from his first Cactus League start through his Freeway Series appearance last week.
Over the course of a seven-pitch strikeout, however, Sasaki adjusted — something he failed to do during game action this spring.
“I actually didn’t have confidence at all before this game started,” Sasaki said through an interpreter Monday. “But I was just focusing on doing what I can control.”
In the Dodgers’ 4-2 loss Monday, Sasaki’s first start of the season was something of a best-case scenario. He held the Guardians to one run and four hits in four-plus innings. And the biggest difference from his spring training struggles was he issued just two walks.
The Dodgers squandered the effort with a lack of offense, in their first loss of the season.
Sasaki will have more to prove against stronger offenses than Cleveland’s. But his performance at least suggested that the Dodgers’ faith in him wasn’t misplaced.
“We know he can do it here, and especially now that his velocity is back to closer to where it used to be,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said last week. “I feel like he puts us in a great position to win.”
LeBron James gets his 125th triple-double
Lakers star LeBron James, left, stands next to his son and Lakers guard Bronny James before a win over the Washington Wizards on Monday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
From Broderick Turner: The Lakers followed the lead of their oldest member, the triple-double producing LeBron James, in dispatching the Wizards 120-101 at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night.
Two days off between games left James looking spry, with lob dunks and dunks on the fast break contributing to his 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. James was eight for 16 from the field in notching his third triple-double of the season and the 125th of his 23-year NBA career, ranking him fifth all time.
At 41 years and 90 days old, James once again became the oldest player in league history to record a triple-double, passing his previous mark (41 years, 79 days).
“I mean, I’ve had moments more this year and last year that I’ve enjoyed more in the moment,” James said. “It’s pretty cool to know that I’m at this point in my career (and) I’m still able to do those things, man. It’s super dope. It’s super humbling. And I just try to put the work in and continue to put the work in and those are the results of it.”
UCLA has some homework before Final Four
UCLA guard Kiki Rice dribbles under pressure from Texas guard Rori Harmon on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas.
(Ian Maule / Getty Images)
From Marisa Ingemi: UCLA finally knows who it will face in the Final Four in Phoenix this week.
A day after taking down No. 3-seed Duke in the Elite Eight, the Bruins learned on Monday they will face fellow No. 1-seed Texas on Friday, the only team to beat them all season.
Texas (35-3) defeated UCLA 76-65 on Nov. 26, when Rori Harmon put up a game-high 26 points on nine-of-15 shooting from the floor.
Since their Final Four debut ended with a 34-point loss to UConn last season, the Bruins have been on a mission to prove themselves. They faced their first adversity of the tournament during Sunday’s win over Duke when they trailed at the half, and now they’ll get a true test against the Longhorns.
NCAA women’s basketball bracket
Sean McVay hopes Puka Nacua will learn from incidents
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua warms up before a wild-card playoff game against the Carolina Panthers in January.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
From Gary Klein: Rams coach Sean McVay could not help repeating himself when asked about star receiver Puka Nacua.
“I trust this kid’s heart,” McVay said three times Monday at the NFL owners meetings.
But do the Rams trust Nacua, who has been at the center of several off-the-field situations, enough to break the bank with a massive extension?
Last week, a woman filed a civil lawsuit against Nacua, alleging that on New Year’s Eve he made an antisemitic statement during a group dinner and later bit her shoulder. Nacua’s attorney told The Times before the lawsuit was filed that Nacua “denies these allegations in the strongest possible terms,” and that Nacua would “pursue all available legal remedies in response to these false and damaging statements.”
How to buy tickets for L.A. 2028 Olympics
Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg perform at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games handover celebration in Long Beach in August 2024.
(Emma McIntyre / Getty Images for LA28)
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: There’s still more than two years remaining before the Olympics return to L.A., but fans can lock in their seats this week when tickets officially go on sale.
The virtual ticket box opens April 2 for locals in Southern California and Oklahoma. LA28 is planning to make 14 million tickets available for the Games, which would break the record for total tickets sold set by Paris 2024. The L.A. Games already attracted a record number of ticket registrations, topping 5 million fans from 197 countries and territories for the first drop.
Angels fall to Cubs for third straight loss
From The Associated Press: Edward Cabrera pitched six shutout innings, Ian Happ hit a solo homer and the Chicago Cubs beat the Angels 7-2 on Monday night.
Cabrera gave up one hit and walked one in his Chicago debut, delighting the crowd of 36,702 on a picturesque night at Wrigley Field. The 6-foot-5 right-hander was acquired in a January trade with Miami.
Carson Kelly and Moisés Ballesteros each drove in two runs for the Cubs (2-2) in the opener of a three-game series.
Ducks lose in overtime to Toronto
From the Associated Press: John Tavares redirected a shot from Morgan Rielly into the net with five seconds left in overtime to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over the Ducks in a fight-marred game Monday night.
The Leafs overcame a 3-1 deficit with three goals in the third period, including Rielly’s snap shot from the high slot that beat Ducks goalie Ville Husso stick-side to give Toronto a 4-3 lead with three minutes left in regulation.
But Leo Carlsson, who hobbled to the locker room after taking a hard hit and falling to the ice in the first minute of the third, gathered a loose puck near the left circle and flicked a shot past Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz to make it 4-4 with 1:39 left.
Tavares added a first-period goal, and Stolarz stopped 28 of 32 shots for Toronto, which took the ice about 1½ hours after general manager Brad Treliving was fired near the end of his third season, with the Maple Leafs on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
Las Vegas to host another Super Bowl
From the Associated Press: The Super Bowl will return to Las Vegas in 2029 for the second time after NFL owners voted Monday to award the nation’s gambling and entertainment capital the big game.
Las Vegas getting the Super Bowl back seemed only like a matter of time after Kansas City defeated San Francisco 25-22 in overtime at Allegiant Stadium in February 2024.
Commissioner Roger Goodell all but gave the return his blessing after the first Super Bowl in a city the league long shunned because of concerns about legalized sports betting.
Former USC star Joey Browner dies
Former Minnesota Vikings safety Joey Browner talks during his induction ceremony to the team’s ring of honor on Oct. 27, 2013, in Minneapolis.
(Jim Mone / Associated Press)
From Chuck Schilken: Joey Browner, a star defensive back at USC and a six-time NFL Pro Bowl selection, has died. He was 65.
“The Vikings are mourning the loss of Ring of Honor member Joey Browner,” the team said Sunday in a statement. “Browner will be deeply missed by former coaches and teammates, as well as many others he impacted throughout his life.”
The Vikings added in a separate post: “He helped define what it is to be an NFL safety.”
No cause of death was given. In August, former Minnesota quarterback Tommy Kramer organized a fundraiser for Browner, who Kramer said was “battling through some serious health issues.”
This day in sports history
1923 — The Ottawa Senators of the NHL completes a two-game sweep of the WCHL’s Edmonton Eskimos with a 1-0 victory to win the Stanley Cup for the third time in four years. Harry “Punch” Broadbent scores the goal.
1931 — Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne and seven others die in a plane crash in a wheat field near Bazaar, Kansas. During his 13 years at Notre Dame, the 43-year-old coach, led the “Fighting Irish” to 105 victories, 12 losses, five ties and three national championships.
1968 — The American League’s new franchise in Seattle chooses Pilots as its nickname.
1973 — The Philadelphia Flyers tie an NHL record for most goals in one period, scoring eight goals in the second period of a 10-2 win over the New York Islanders.
1973 — Ken Norton scores a stunning upset by winning a 12-round split decision over Muhammad Ali to win the NABF heavyweight title. Norton, a 5-1 underdog, breaks Ali’s jaw in the first round.
1975 — UCLA beats Kentucky 92-85 for its 10th NCAA basketball title under head coach John Wooden. Wooden finishes with a 620-147 career record after announcing his retirement two days earlier.
1976 — Cleveland Cavaliers beat Jazz to clinch club’s first ever NBA playoff berth.
1980 — Larry Holmes scores a TKO in the eighth round over Leroy Jones to retain his WBC heavyweight title in Las Vegas.
1980 — Mike Weaver knocks out John Tate in the 15th round to win the WBA heavyweight title in Knoxville, Tenn.
1982 — NBA and NBAPA reach 4-year agreement on return for minimum & maximum payrolls, the first of its kind in team sports.
1984 — Mike Bossy becomes first player in NHL history to record 7 straight 50 goal seasons.
1985 — Old Dominion beats Georgia in the 4th NCAAW National Championship.
1986 — Freshman center Pervis Ellison hits two free throws with 27 seconds left to seal Louisville’s 72-69 victory over Duke in the NCAA basketball championship.
1990 — 20-year old C Joe Sakic becomes the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season
1991 — Tennessee edges Virginia 70-67 in overtime for its third NCAA women’s basketball title. It’s the first overtime in the NCAA’s 10-year history.
1991 — Amy Alcott wins the Dinah Shore golf tournament with a record eight-shot victory over Dottie Mochrie.
1994 — Chicago White Sox assigns former NBA superstar Michael Jordan to the Birmingham Barons of Class AA Southern League.
1995 — Major league baseball players end their strike.
1997 — Martina Hingis becomes the youngest No. 1 player in tennis history. The 16-year-old Swiss sensation, who claimed her fifth title of 1997 at the Lipton Championships on March 29, supplants Steffi Graf in the WTA Tour rankings.
1998 — Expansion clubs, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks both suffer losses in their MLB debuts.
2002 — UConn women’s basketball team beat Oklahoma, 82-70; Huskies conclude perfect season (39-0).
2002 — Andre Agassi wins his 700th career match and captures his second straight Key Biscayne Title.
2005 — Tarence Kinsey hits a 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left to lift South Carolina to a 60-57 victory over Saint Joseph’s for the NIT championship.
2012 — Ray Whitney passes 1,000 career points with a goal and assist in Phoenix’s 4-0 victory over Anaheim.
2013 — In one of the biggest upsets in the history of the NCAA women’s tournament, sixth-seeded Louisville stuns defending national champion Baylor in the regional semifinals, 82-81. It’s the end of a remarkable college career for Baylor’s Brittney Griner, a record-setting 6-foot-8 post player who ended up as the second-highest scoring player in NCAA history.
2013 — Pete Weber ties Earl Anthony by winning his 10th major Professional Bowlers Association title with a 224-179 win over Australian Jason Belmonte in the Tournament of Champions.
2017 — UConn’s record 111-game winning streak comes to a startling end when Mississippi State pulls off perhaps the biggest upset in women’s basketball history, shocking the Huskies 66-64 on Morgan William’s overtime buzzer beater in the national semifinals.
2018 — Anthony Joshua beats Joseph Parker by unanimous decision to become a three-belt world heavyweight boxing champion. Joshua adds Parker’s WBO belt to his WBA and IBF titles, and moves within one belt of becoming the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000.
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.