Jim Harbaugh listed descriptions of his players as he looked back on the injury-filled route to the postseason the Chargers took to facing the New England Patriots in the AFC wild-card round on Sunday.
Harbaugh, heading into his second postseason as Chargers head coach, coined his team as gladiators, warriors and competitors — grappling the attention off the reporter’s question about what he’d learned from the regular-season strife and onto his roster.
“They’re mighty men,” Harbaugh said Wednesday afternoon.
Harbaugh continued: “It just reconfirms everything that I’ve always thought and want for our team is: ‘Competitors welcome.’ Competitors and playmakers, and we’ve got them. … That bodes really well for our team.”
There’s no doubt who the mightiest of the bunch may be for the Chargers (11-6) in 2025.
Justin Herbert’s 16-game stretch — playing the final five of which with a fractured left hand before sitting out last week — has turned heads with his 3,727 passing yards and 26 passing touchdowns despite playing behind a fractured offensive line because of injuries to starting tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt.
“He’s had a tremendous season — very MVP caliber in every way,” Harbaugh said. “He’s either leading us to victory — willing us to victory. He’s doing anything and everything he can for this team, and does it at the level only reserved for the very best in the game to do.”
Herbert has lined up behind the most offensive line combinations in the NFL this season (25), while the Chargers are tied for the second-most sacks allowed per game (3.5) across the regular season.
Hit after hit — for which he’s taken the most in the NFL — Herbert rose to his feet. The 27-year-old will try to avoid another hit, in the form of defeat, on Sunday while still in search for his first-career playoff victory.
It’s been nearly a full year since last year’s wild-card defeat to the Houston Texans when Herbert turned in arguably the worst performance of his career, including a career-high four interceptions as the Chargers fell 32-12.
“A lot of teams aren’t playing this week,” said Herbert who took snaps behind center during the midweek for the first time since fracturing his hand during Week 13. “So for us to be able to have a chance, it’s all we can ask for.”
The Patriots (14-3) have their own signal-caller who has created traction across the league for his sophomore-season improvement. Drake Maye has tossed 4,394 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and just eight interceptions, a marked advancement from a season ago where the North Carolina alumnus struggled as the Patriots finished with a 4-13 record overall.
In came Mike Vrabel for former New England coach Jerod Mayo, and the odds shifted in the Patriots’ and Maye’s favor. Herbert said the Patriots are “hardly ever out of position,” adding that Maye’s week-by-week statistics are something that has led the Chargers quarterback to build respect for his foe.
“It’s a sign of players that play by the rules and listen to great coaches,” Herbert said. “[The Patriots] play together and they communicate really well and they’re a really good defense.”
On the availability front, running back Omarion Hampton (ankle) did not practice Wednesday and worked off to the side with a trainer during the media-watching period.
Harbaugh said that his rookie running back — who missed part of the season because of a left ankle fracture suffered in Week 5 — was “doing everything he can to get back in there” ahead of Sunday’s postseason clash.
It wasn’t an accident that the Lakers’ first play went to Deandre Ayton. Or that the star big man got the first shot of the third. Or that teammates fed him for back-to-back dunks to help spark a run of five consecutive scoring possessions early in the second half.
After Ayton finished last Friday’s win on the bench, the 7-foot center bounced back with 15 points and eight rebounds against the Grizzlies on Sunday as the Lakers made a point to involve the big man early.
Ayton scored just four points with six rebounds during Friday’s win and watched a tight fourth quarter from the bench because, as coach JJ Redick said, backup Jaxson Hayes “was playing better.” Redick said Saturday that Ayton was “frustrated” he wasn’t getting the ball more in recent games, and his disillusionment showed up on the court.
“It’s a tale as old as time for a big guy,” Redick said after Sunday’s game. “That’s the reality of being a big: someone has to pass you the ball. You’re not initiating the offense.”
Redick said the team identified moments where teammates could have been better at finding the former No. 1 overall pick. There were also other times when Ayton could have been more active on his own. Redick said he mostly wanted to see Ayton being active, engaged and assertive in the game.
Ayton responded by converting six of his eight shots Sunday and helping the team lock down on defense in the fourth. The Lakers clawed back from an 11-point deficit late in the third and held the Grizzlies (15-19) to just 16 points in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter. Ayton had two blocks in the fourth quarter.
“We’re winning the right way,” Ayton said. “Bigs can’t feed themselves and I just try my best to do what I can to bring effort. And I trust my playmakers out there to find me.”
The Lakers had 30 assists on 38 made shots, their highest percentage of assisted field goals of the season.
Their 37-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, combined with the Atlanta Falcons’ victory over the New Orleans Saints, helped the Rams move up to the No. 5 seed for the NFC playoffs.
The Rams earned a rematch against the No. 4 seed Panthers, who defeated the Rams at Bank of America Stadium in Week 13 but are the only playoff team with a losing record (8-9). They’re seeded higher than the Rams by virtue of winning the NFC South.
Matthew Stafford passed for four touchdowns, Puka Nacua caught a touchdown pass and increased his league-leading receptions total, and the defense was just good enough as the Rams bounced back from losses at Seattle and Atlanta to finish 12-5.
The Seahawks (14-3) are seeded No. 1 and will have a first-round bye. The No. 2 Chicago Bears (11-6) play host to the No. 7 Green Bay Packers (9-7-1), and the No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles (11-6), the defending Super Bowl champions, will play host to the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers (12-5).
Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett was sacked six times in a loss to the Rams at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Stafford started slowly, narrowly avoiding several interceptions, but came on in the second half and finished with a flourish in his last chance to make his case for his first NFL most valuable player award. He led three consecutive touchdown drives after the Rams fell behind 20-16 in the third quarter.
Stafford completed 25 of 40 passes for 259 yards and connected with tight end Colby Parkinson for two touchdowns and Nacua and tight end Tyler Higbee for one each.
Stafford finished with a league-leading 46 touchdown passes and 4,707 yards passing.
Stafford’s second-quarter touchdown pass to Nacua was his 43rd of the season and the 420th of his 17-year career, tying Dan Marino for seventh all time. Stafford took over sole possession of seventh place with a touchdown pass to Parkinson late in the third quarter.
Rams quarterback Matt Stafford passed for four touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium Sunday.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Nacua went into the game tied with Cardinals tight end Trey McBride and Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the NFL lead with 119 catches. Nacua caught 10 passes for 76 yards. McBride caught seven passes for 65 yards.
Ahkello Witherspoon intercepted a pass and Byron Young, Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Josaiah Stewart and Desjuan Johnson had sacks for the Rams.
The last time the Rams traveled to Charlotte to play the Panthers, on Nov. 30, the Rams’ six-game winning streak ended with a 31-28 defeat that knocked them out of the No. 1 seed.
Stafford had two passes intercepted — ending an eight-game stretch without one — and also was responsible for a crucial delay-of-game penalty and a lost fumble.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young passed for three touchdowns, and the Panthers amassed 164 yards rushing.
But the Panthers will not enter the playoffs with momentum: They lost 16-14 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their regular-season finale, committing three turnovers and rushing for just 19 yards.
The Rams did not come out much stronger Sunday, but by the end of the first half they built a 16-6 lead on three field goals by Harrison Mevis and Nacua’s spectacular, one-handed catch on a fourth-and-one play in the end zone.
Early in the third quarter the Cardinals executed a fake punt that resulted in a 28-yard completion, and then Jacoby Brissett connected with receiver Michael Wilson for a 43-yard touchdown pass that pulled the Cardinals to within three points.
The Cardinals took the lead late in the third quarter on Brissett’s touchdown pass to tight end Josiah Deguara. But Stafford’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Parkinson at the end of the quarter put the Rams ahead, 23-20.
Stafford’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Higbee early in the fourth quarter all but sealed the victory. It was his first game back after missing six weeks because of an ankle injury, and his five catches for 91 yards were season highs.
The Rams are getting healthier as they enter the playoffs. McVay said last week that safety Quentin Lake would return from an elbow injury and play against the Cardinals, but the Rams chose to give him one more week. Star receiver Davante Adams was inactive because of a hamstring injury but is expected to be ready for the playoffs. Offensive lineman Kevin Dotson also could return.
Tight end Tyler Higbee is on track to return on Sunday for the season finale against the Arizona Cardinals.
Safety Quentin Lake will be back for the playoffs. Star receiver Davante Adams also could be held out till then.
The Rams, coming off consecutive losses to the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons, might appear to be limping toward their seventh postseason appearance in nine seasons under coach Sean McVay.
But a team that was regarded by many as the class of the league midway through the season should be at or near full strength when they play an NFC wild-card game next weekend.
“We’re getting healthy at the right time,” McVay said Friday.
Lake agreed.
“The league and the world kind of knew where we were at when we were at full strength,” Lake said. “We’re getting guys back at the right time and I feel like we’re going to hit our stride at the right time.”
The Rams, who at one time were seeded No. 1 in the NFC, are currently seeded No. 6.
If the San Francisco 49ers lose to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, and the Rams defeat the Cardinals on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, the Rams will climb to No. 5.
Regardless, McVay reiterated Friday that starters would play against the Cardinals, though how much remains to be seen.
Several starters are questionable because of injuries, including running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum because of ankle injuries and left tackle Alaric Jackson because of a knee injury that kept him out of last Monday’s loss to the Falcons.
Right guard Kevin Dotson, who also sat out against the Falcons because of an ankle injury, will not play Sunday, and his status for the wild-card round remains uncertain.
The Rams also at some point will make a decision regarding veteran right tackle Rob Havenstein. The 11th-year pro has been on injured reserve since mid-November. Warren McClendon Jr. has played well in his place, but Havenstein would give McVay flexibility if Jackson were injured and McClendon moved to the left side.
The Rams’ 27-24 loss to the Falcons did not result exclusively because of injuries, but the holes left by missing starters were apparent and in some cases glaring.
Veteran tackle D.J. Humphries struggled in Jackson’s place, and guard Justin Dedich is not as big and strong as Dotson. Falcons running back Bijan Robinson ran roughshod through a defense that was missing Lake.
Rams offensive tackle Alaric Jackson, right, blocks Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson during a Rams win on Dec. 14.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
“There is a reason why those guys that have been missed are starters,” McVay said, speaking generally, “because they give us the best chance to play at the optimum levels.”
Rams tight ends have played well during Higbee’s absence, but McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford are eager for the 10th-year pro’s return.
Higbee caught 20 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns in nine games before he was injured during a Nov. 16 victory over the Seahawks.
He is looking forward to getting back into the flow on game day.
“Just try to be myself, bring the energy, bring the physicality and try to make some plays when it’s my turn,” Higbee said.
Stafford has deftly utilized tight ends Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen and Terrance Ferguson. Now he said he will welcome back Higbee, “the ultimate team player,” who helps bind teammates.
“Everybody calls him a glue guy,” Stafford said, “probably an understatement.”
Lake, a team captain, also brings more than talent to the field, which the Rams formally recognized this week when they awarded him a three-year extension that includes more than $25 million in guarantees.
Lake has been sidelined since suffering a left elbow injury that required surgery. He began practicing this week, and said he would be ready for the playoffs.
“The doctor was saying, ‘You came back pretty fast, but if you feel good and you have all the strength and range of motion, go ahead and cut it loose.’
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Adams sat out the last two games because of a hamstring injury, but he still leads the NFL with 14 touchdown catches.
Adams was limited in practices this week.
“We want to make sure that we’re getting everything ready to roll and being smart with him because of the position that he plays and the stress that that hamstring takes with some of the different things that we activate with him,” McVay said.
Star receiver Puka Nacua is among those happy to see Higbee, Lake and Adams on the practice field again.
“It’s fun to have all those guys out there,” he said. “I’d say their presence is definitely missed.”
Pete Holmes understands the art of conversation — especially the way to get people to open up about their secret weird tendencies.
It’s what helped Holmes, known for his youth pastor aesthetic and wholesome jokes, build his more than 20-year-long comedy career (his next show is Jan. 21 at Largo at the Coronet) and create his semi-autographical HBO series “Crashing.”
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
In 2011, Holmes launched “You Made It Weird,” an interview-style podcast that delves into topics like the meaning of life, mental health, art and everything everything in between. More than 1,000 episodes later, he is celebrating the 14th anniversary of the show and has recently signed with podcast network Lemonada Media (which is also home to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ “Wiser Than Me,” “The Sarah Silverman Podcast” and “Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know”).
“I’ve never for a second considered stopping, which is a good sign that you’re doing something you’re supposed to do,” says Holmes, whose guests have included John Mulaney, Maya Rudolph, Anna Kendrick, Kenan Thompson and Henry Winkler. Once a week, Holmes co-hosts the show with his wife of eight years, Valerie Chaney.
His nervous system also assures him that he’s found the right project. While Holmes says he feels “tense” before his stand-up sets, there’s a sense of comfort in sitting face to face with someone and simply having a conversation. “When I’m doing my podcast, especially in person, there’s very, very little tension,” he says. “It’s the thing in show business, I’ve found, that winds me up in a bad way the least.”
Here’s how Holmes would spend an ideal Sunday in L.A. with Chaney and their 7-year-old daughter, Lila.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
8 a.m.: Visit a coffee shopwith a sense of humor
My daughter and I are both morning people, which really works out because her mom is not a morning person. So we get up early and we’ll color, make breakfast, that sort of stuff. But if we were all getting up together — which is what my wife would want to do even though she doesn’t like it — we would go to Bru in Los Feliz. I love recommending Bru to people because it’s in an “I Think You Should Leave” sketch. Tim Robinson is leaving a job interview and he’s pulling the door, but it’s one that you have to push, and he doesn’t want to look stupid so he keeps pulling it. They actually have a little plaque up that says something cool about it without being too obvious. I like drinking espresso by itself, Val likes oat milk lattes and Lila would get a steamed milk because she wants to feel like a grown-up. It’s very cute.
10 a.m.: Read at least seven children’s books at Skylight
Afterward, we’d go to Skylight Books, which is nearby. I can tell you from experience, they’re incredibly generous with allowing you to read your kids seven books without any trouble. On principle, I’ll buy at least one of the books on our way out, because that’s exactly what people are talking about when they’re like, “Shop local.”
11 a.m.: Drink a terrible dark green juice
Then we’ll walk to the Punchbowl and I’m gonna get a terrible dark green juice that nobody wants and would make a goat go blind. I love it because I’m 46 and now I eat almost exclusively for how it’s going to make me feel. So it’s very uncool but that’s what I’m doing. My wife and daughter are going to get a smoothie called the honeybee, which is very sweet and delicious.
Noon: A pancake for the table at Kitchen Mouse
We would go to Kitchen Mouse in Highland Park. It’s really hip. The last time I was there, I ran into Phoebe Bridgers. Literally rock stars are at Kitchen Mouse and there’s a little kids area where my daughter can play with like a fake hamburger and a child she just met. I get the same thing every time: the breakfast sandwich and a snickerdoodle pancake for the table. If you and I went to breakfast together, I would never ask, “Do you want a pancake for the table?” because I don’t need you to be my accomplice. I know you want a pancake for the table because guess who wants pancakes? Everyone. This is going to reverse the juice that I had earlier, but it’s going to be worth it.
2 p.m. Enjoy an Angry Samoa donut at the park
We have friends who live in Highland Park, so we’d visit them and we’d all take a walk to Donut Friend, and eat the donuts at the little park nearby. The park has giant bugs and a tube slide. When you’re 46 and have kids, sitting down is your heroin. Not to keep mentioning veganism, but Donut Friend has really good vegan donuts. You gotta get the Angry Samoa, which is a Girl Scout cookie.
I once went to Donut Friend while I was tripping on LSD and it was the funniest thing that’s ever happened to me. I think it might’ve been my birthday and I was coming down. I’m not a crazy person. I just couldn’t believe that there was another person standing there with all of the donuts in the world. It felt so overwhelmingly loving that they were like “Which donut can I give you?” I was just floored by the generosity. I was probably making an a— of my myself like laughing in that sort of hippie way. Not like a drunk way but like a benevolent alien who couldn’t believe that this planet had donuts. They gave me one and I wish I could’ve seen myself eating it. My wife was there. She doesn’t do psychedelics, so she was just watching me, sort of babysitting me, to be honest. While I’m eating the donut, she was just laughing so hard at just how happy I was. I wouldn’t do that on a normal Sunday. That’s a rare thing for me, but that’s a true Donut Friend story.
4 p.m.: Feel fancy at the Huntington
The greatest hack of parenting is the Huntington. Speaking of Phoebe Bridgers, she mentions in her track “Garden Song,” jumping over the fence [at the Huntington], which I always think is a cute detail. I think they filmed “Beverly Hills Ninja” at the Japanese Gardens there. One of my favorite L.A. things to do is the white glove tea service. It’s not that expensive and you just feel fancy. We’ll also stop at the Chinese [garden] and get noodles there because every step of the way there’s just constant eating.
7 p.m.: Vegan food done right
If it were just Valerie and I, I would want to go to Crossroads [Kitchen]. I love it to death. When the pandemic happened, they would text us and ask if we were OK and if we needed food. We were like “What do you got?” and the manager brought it over. If anyone’s wondering if that’s like a famous thing, I really don’t think so. I really just think they’re really about serving the community because I’m not famous like that [laughs]. We’ve been there enough, we’ve had enough conversations and it’s a real staple for us.
It’s a vegan restaurant and I’ve had meat-eating friends say that their carbonara is their favorite. It’s not like one of those vegan places that’s trying to trick you or deep-fry their way around things. They’re just actually making you eat really delicious things that just happen to be like artichokes. I’ve had so many birthdays there and you can tell this is where people who are looking for the best food in L.A. are going.
9 p.m.: Catch whatever is playing at Largo
My favorite thing that I get to do once a month is Largo at the Coronet. I literally once had a dream about a magical venue that feels safe and the crowd is always good and you just felt warm. Like if twinkle lights became a venue. That’s Largo. It’s the only place where if somebody’s visiting L.A., I would say just go to Largo. It doesn’t matter who’s performing. One night it might be me, the next night it might be Chris Fleming, and then it might be Sarah Silverman. Then it might be improvised Shakespeare, and then it might be a live podcast. It doesn’t matter. If Flanny [Mark Flanagan] booked it, it’s exceptional. He’s from Belfast and he’s sort of mythic.
11 p.m.: Eat at Norms
Norms is literally one block away from Largo, and if Val and I were really having a kid-free night, she, Flanny, and I would go there to eat our celebration. Judd Apatow does the show a lot and he loves food, so he’d be there too. You get a milkshake or you get some fries, but it’s open for 24 hours. I think L.A. gets a bad rep for not having diners. Granted in New York, they’re everywhere.
Midnight: Enjoy “blue couch time”
It doesn’t matter what time it is when we get home, we have to watch at least one episode of something. “30 Rock” or right now we’re watching “Black Rabbit,” but that’s not a good wind down show. Our couch is blue so we call it “blue couch time” and it’s a ritual we just don’t miss. It doesn’t even matter what we’re watching. We just want to be on that couch, even if it’s just for 12 minutes. I can’t go from the car to the bed. I want to go from the car to something else, then to bed. That’s why houses have entryways or a mud room. There’s supposed to be a threshold that you cross over, take off your coat and your shoes. You’re entering a new space. For us, it’s the blue couch.
The Packers are locked in as the No. 7 seed, and the Vikings are playing for pride. Have to believe with all the injuries his team has dealt with, Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur is going to make preserving health a priority. So no matter what happens at quarterback, I like the Vikings winning at home.
Los Tigres del Norte have gone gold and platinum many times, but on Sunday the acclaimed group went yellow for the first time.
The Grammy-winning band appeared in animated form on the latest episode of “The Simpsons,” which aired Sunday, and performed an original corrido about the escapades of Homer Simpson and Pedro Chespirito (also known as the Bumblebee Man).
The unexpected collaboration came with some anticipation as the long-running show promoted the group’s appearance Friday on social media.
“A legendary band. An original song. A very Simpson twist. @lostigresdelnorte perform “El Corrido de Pedro y Homero” this Sunday on FOX,” the program’s official Instagram page wrote in a post alongside a pair of stills from the episode.
The “Jaula de Oro” artists appear only in the end credits and their tune recaps the zany adventures of Homer and Pedro within the episode. In the Simpsons-verse, Pedro Chespirito plays a beloved character on the slapstick comedy Spanish-language show “Channel Ocho.” The character is an homage to Mexican television icon Roberto Gómez Bolaños, better known as “Chespirito.” Bumblebee Man is a nod to “El Chapulín Colorado,” and “Channel Ocho” is a reference to to Gómez Bolaño’s best known character, El Chavo del Ocho.
“We are deeply grateful and very happy for this special moment in our history, being part of the universe of The Simpsons,” Los Tigres Del Norte told Rolling Stone. “For us, it’s an honor that our stories continue to cross borders, cultures, and generations. “When music tells stories, it can reach anywhere… even Springfield.”
The episode’s head writer Cesar Mazariegos told Rolling Stone the band’s inclusion was a “tip of the hat” to the show’s sizable Latin American fandom, specifically its Mexican and Mexican American fans.
“They are absolute, worldwide legends. I mean, they were on tour when we reached out to ask them for a song. I assumed they wouldn’t have time,” Mazariegos said. “When we heard back that they were game, I couldn’t have been more thrilled.”
Mexican director and Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu was also portrayed and voiced himself in Sunday’s episode.
Los Tigres del Norte’s guest spot is only the most recent in a long line of musical legends featured on “The Simpsons.” U2, Paul McCartney, Green Day, Ringo Starr, Sting and Dolly Parton have made an appearance on the show.
Other Latinx artists have popped up in Springfield as well, including Tito Puente, Linda Ronstadt and Los Lobos. In 2021, Bad Bunny made a special appearance in “The Simpsons” universe when he released an animated music video for his 2020 ballad “Te Deseo Lo Mejor” — which sees him drawn into the same universe as “The Simpsons.”
People place bets at Santa Anita Park, where purses have declined along with the number of horses racing and lack of money coming from off-site betting.
(Getty Images)
Figuring out the purse for 34 of the 35 graded stakes races at Santa Anita is, for horsemen anyway, maddeningly simple: Just look up the minimum purse required in North America.
For a Grade 1 race, that’s $300,000. It drops to $200,000 for Grade 2 races and $100,000 for Grade 3s.
Even the one local exception, the Santa Anita Derby, pays “only” $500,000 after offering $750,000 from 2021-24. The current amount is half the purse on offer for the top 3-year-old races at Gulfstream Park (Florida Derby) and Fair Grounds (Louisiana Derby), and just one-third what Oaklawn Park pays for the Arkansas Derby.
Last year the Santa Anita Derby attracted only five entries, which reduced the number of Kentucky Derby qualifying points available in the race. That almost kept Baeza, who finished second to Journalism in the Arcadia race, from qualifying for the Derby (he made it in the field only after another horse was scratched and wound up placing third).
It’s the same story for older horses, where Gulfstream offers the $3-million Pegasus World Cup next month plus turf races for $1 million and $500,000. Oaklawn Park has a half-dozen races worth at least $500,000 (two at $1.25 million), and Fair Grounds has three between $250,000 and $500,000. No Grade 3 race at any of those tracks offers less than $150,000.
All of that makes it harder for Santa Anita to attract top horses from those states, which increase purses with money from slot machines or casinos, something not available to California tracks. Santa Anita, however, has hiked its purses this meeting for maiden and allowance races.
Next year the Dodgers will try to become the first National League team to win three consecutive World Series. The Angels will try to end baseball’s longest postseason drought at 11 years, still without much of a plan beyond rushing first-round draft picks to the major leagues while treading the financial waters until Anthony Rendon’s contract runs out.
On Sunday they missed out on Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, who signed with the 102-loss Chicago White Sox. Of the Angels’ five acquisitions this winter, three did not play in the majors last season, and not because they are up-and-coming prospects.
If you’re an Angels fan and you’re sick and tired of this, should you reconsider your loyalty?
Jim Bowden believes you should.
Bowden, formerly the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals, serves as a baseball insider on several media platforms. On “Foul Territory” last week he suggested fans of small-market teams have an option that might be more constructive than getting angry.
In Pittsburgh, for instance, the owner would rather complain about the lack of a salary cap than spend enough money to build a winner around generational pitcher Paul Skenes.
“You don’t have to be a Pirate fan,” Bowden said. “You can retire as a Pirate fan, or trade yourself to the Dodgers.
“If you want to see your team win, right now the Dodgers have got the best chance to win a World Series again. As a fan, you can root for any team you want.
“You don’t have to root for the team in your home city. You can see the Dodgers play in your home city. They’ll come into Pittsburgh and beat you.
“If it bothers you that much, just become a Dodger fan. It’s fine.”
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto celebrates with teammates, coaches and owners after the Dodgers’ World Series victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Nov. 1.
On Sunday, Sports Business Journal reported that the parent company of FanDuel Sports Network is in jeopardy of shutting down if it cannot complete a sale to streaming service DAZN. The Angels would not disappear from your screens and streams, but it likely would mean the Angels would take a big cut in local broadcast revenue for a second consecutive year.
The Dodgers’ bandwagon shows no sign of slowing. The Dodgers set a franchise attendance record last season. They offer stadium tours in English, Spanish and Japanese. They launched a fan club in Japan.
So, as a frustrated Angels fan, you could hop on that bandwagon. Or you could try another large-market team — say, the New York Mets.
Mets owner Steve Cohen is worth $23 billion, according to Forbes. When Cohen bought the Mets in 2020, he said this: “If I don’t win a World Series in the next three to five years — I’d like to make it sooner — I would consider that slightly disappointing.”
The Mets still have not won a World Series since 1986. On Friday he took to social media to criticize “the usual idiots misinterpreting a Post article on Mets payroll.”
On Sunday, given the Mets’ losses of Díaz and beloved slugger Pete Alonso in free agency, New York Post columnist Mike Vaccaro shot back, comparing Cohen to greatly unloved former owner Fred Wilpon in this adaptation of a Christmas carol: “Steve’s beginning to look a lot like Wilpon/Mets fans say ‘Hell, no!’/What’s the point in being so rich/And a ruthless sonofabitch/If you don’t spend dough?”
The concept of fan free agency — essentially what Bowden suggested — is not new. Every now and then some disgruntled fan will publicly disown his favorite team, then invite rival teams to suggest why he should support them. If you’re creative enough, rival teams will send you some free swag.
That level of desperation is what many Dodgers fans felt a decade and a half ago, when former owner Frank McCourt needed a loan to cover payroll, hired a Russian physicist who channeled positive energy toward the team and “diagnosed the disconnects” among baseball operations personnel, and disparaged as “un-American” the league’s refusal to approve a television contract that he said would have provided the revenue to keep the Dodgers out of bankruptcy court.
Fans wearing Shohei Ohtani Dodgers jerseys wait to enter Angel Stadium before a game between the Angels and Dodgers on Aug. 12.
(Luke Hales / Getty Images)
In 2011, the year McCourt took the team into bankruptcy, the Angels outdrew the Dodgers for the only time. The Dodgers fans did not bail on their team. They waited for better days.
That is where Angels fans are now — and, for that matter, where Pirates fans are too. Bowden’s suggestion that unhappy Pirates fans exhausted by the perennial futility try the Dodgers did not go over well in Pittsburgh. At the Pirates’ fan site Rum Bunter, Emma Lingan wrote: “Fandom isn’t a streaming subscription you cancel when the content gets bad.”
This year’s World Series was the best and most dramatic I ever covered. But the one that was the most fun was the 2002 World Series: the underdog Angels, the Disney team no one projected for a happy ending, rampaging through October and toppling giants. As The Times’ headline on the Game 7 victory put it: “Fantasyland!”
If you were there in 1982 and 1986, when the Angels had six chances to win one game to clinch their first World Series appearance — and lost all six — then you could have a greater appreciation of 2002. And, if you were there for McCourt bankruptcy, you can have a greater appreciation of Guggenheim majesty.
So get that Angels fan in your life an Angels cap. That fan will be able to wear that cap proudly one of these years, and all the tears will make the cap fit that much more snugly.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert runs with the ball against the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 21.
(Julio Cortez / Associated Press)
Saturday, 1:30 p.m. TV: CBS, NFL Network.
Line: Chargers by 1½. O/U: 39½.
Houston has been a hard matchup for the Chargers, and can turn up the heat on Justin Herbert. But Jim Harbaugh’s team has found new ways to win, and is capable of outscoring the Texans, who are really struggling in the red zone. Low-scoring and physical.
The Chargers got an early Christmas present Monday night courtesy of San Francisco, and they’re still hoping for more under the tree.
With the 49ers beating the Indianapolis Colts, 48-27, the Chargers secured a postseason wild-card berth. The AFC West title is still in play too, and even the top seed in the AFC.
Should the Chargers beat Houston — and if Denver beats the hobbled Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday — the division title will be decided when the Chargers play their regular-season finale at Denver.
Despite a 34-20 loss to Jacksonville on Sunday, the 12-3 Broncos remain the top-seeded team in the conference.
If New England wins out at the New York Jets and at home against Miami, and if the Broncos lose one of their two remaining games, the Patriots are the top seed.
The Chargers have a path to the top seed, but it’s a difficult one. They would need to win out — beating Houston and Denver — and have Jacksonville and New England both lose at least once. If the Chargers and Jaguars win out, Jacksonville would take the No. 1 seed because they beat the Chargers this season.
COPENHAGEN — The leaders of Denmark and Greenland insisted Monday that the United States won’t take over Greenland and demanded respect for their territorial integrity after President Trump announced the appointment of a special envoy to the semiautonomous territory.
Trump’s announcement on Sunday that Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry would be the envoy prompted a new flare-up of tensions over Washington’s interest in the vast territory of Denmark, a NATO ally. Denmark’s foreign minister told Danish broadcasters that he would summon the U.S. ambassador to his ministry.
”We have said it before. Now, we say it again. National borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in a joint statement. “They are fundamental principles. You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security.”
“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the U.S. shall not take over Greenland,” they added in the statement emailed by Frederiksen’s office. “We expect respect for our joint territorial integrity.”
Trump called repeatedly during his presidential transition and the early months of his second term for U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland, and has not ruled out military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island. In March, Vice President JD Vance visited a remote U.S. military base in Greenland and accused Denmark of under-investing there.
The issue gradually drifted out of the headlines, but in August, Danish officials summoned the top U.S. diplomat in Copenhagen following a report that at least three people with connections to Trump had carried out covert influence operations in Greenland.
On Sunday, Trump announced Landry’s appointment, saying on social media that “Jeff understands how essential Greenland is to our National Security, and will strongly advance our Country’s Interests for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Allies, and indeed, the World.”
Landry wrote in a post on social media that “it’s an honor to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the U.S.”
Danish broadcasters TV2 and DR reported that in comments from the Faroe Islands on Monday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said he summoned the U.S. ambassador in Copenhagen, Kenneth Howery, to his ministry.
Greenland’s prime minister wrote in a separate statement that Greenland had again woken up to a new announcement from the U.S. president, and that “it may sound significant. But it changes nothing for us here at home.”
Nielsen noted that Greenland has its own democracy and said that “we are happy to cooperate with other countries, including the United States, but this must always take place with respect for us and for our values and wishes.”
Earlier this month, the Danish Defense Intelligence Service said in an annual report that the U.S. is using its economic power to “assert its will” and threaten military force against friend and foe alike.
Denmark is a member of the European Union as well as NATO.
Anouar El Anouni, a spokesperson for the EU’s executive Commission, told reporters in Brussels on Monday that it wasn’t for him to comment on U.S. decisions. But he underlined the bloc’s position that “preserving the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark, its sovereignty and the inviolability of its borders is essential for the European Union.”
After days of deliberation and faced with a forecast getting soggier by the day, Santa Anita officials have decided to postpone opening day of the 2025-26 race meeting from Friday until Sunday, Dec. 28.
It’s just the second time since 1976 that Santa Anita will not open on the day after Christmas. The other time was in 2019 for the same reason: wet weather. More than eight inches of rain are projected to fall between Tuesday night and Friday at Santa Anita.
“With the amount of rain being forecast, it’s important to make this call as early as possible to give everyone advance notice,” Santa Anita general manager Nate Newby said in a statement. “Everyone looks forward to opening day as it’s traditionally one of our biggest days of the year, so it’s not a decision we make lightly. But after speaking with our stakeholders, adjusting the racing schedule at this time provides the best opportunity to have a great opening to kick off the season.”
There is no state rule against running in the mud or on a softer turf course, but protocols put in place after the 2018-19 winter-spring meeting, when 30 horses died during racing or training at Santa Anita, often result in the track postponing or canceling race days.
Opening day usually draws the largest crowd of the year at Santa Anita. Last year’s announced on-track attendance was 41,562, the highest total on a non-weekend or holiday on opening day since 1990. Total mutuel handle was more than $21.4 million, the third-highest ever on the first day.
The 11 races scheduled for Friday now will be run two days later, with first post at 11 a.m. There are six stakes races set for opening day, three on turf, with Santa Anita officials hoping that waiting until Sunday will allow the grass course to dry enough to allow racing.
Tickets purchased for opening day will be honored Dec. 28, with full refunds available on request. The revised schedule for the opening two weeks will feature racing Dec. 28 and 29, then every day from Wednesday, Dec. 31, through Sunday, Jan. 4.
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Chargers won Sunday, and now they wait.
After their 34-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, the Chargers can secure a spot in the postseason with a loss or tie by Houston or Indianapolis.
The Texans play host to Las Vegas in an afternoon game, and the Colts play host to San Francisco on Monday night.
It was the seventh win in eight games for the Chargers, who are on a season-long, four-game winning streak. Sunday marked the third time they have topped 30 points this season.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert turned in another gritty performance, throwing for two touchdowns and plunging over the goal line for a third.
A pivotal play by Herbert came on third-and-seven early in the fourth quarter, he kept the ball and scrambled for 34 yards. At the end of that run, his surgically repaired left hand collided with the helmet of his Cowboys tackler. The quarterback briefly writhed on the turf, but didn’t come out of the game.
Late in the game, as rookie Omarion Hampton ran for a touchdown, Herbert joined him in the end zone and exchanged high-fives with teammates, careful to protect his casted left hand.
Although the Cowboys came into Sunday’s game eliminated from postseason contention, they still had the NFL’s No. 1 offense and a potent passing attack led by Dak Prescott. He effectively neutralized the Chargers defense in the first half, with touchdown passes in the first and second quarters.
The Chargers close the regular season with a home game Saturday against Houston and a finale at Denver.
Denzel Perryman quickly listed name after name as he dove deep into his mental roster of the 2015 Chargers.
Manti Teʻo, Melvin Ingram, Kavell Conner and Donald Butler took Perryman under their wing, the Chargers linebacker said. The 11-year veteran said he relied on older teammates when he entered the NFL as they helped him adjust to the schedule and regimen of professional football.
“When I was a young guy,” Perryman said, “my head was all over the place — just trying to get the gist of the NFL. They taught me how to be where my mind is.”
With the Chargers (10-4) entering the final stretch of the season and on the cusp of clinching a playoff berth heading into Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys (6-7-1), veterans have played an important role in the team winning six of its last seven games.
A win over the Cowboys coupled with either a loss or tie by the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon or an Indianapolis Colts loss or tie on Monday night would secure a playoff berth for the Chargers.
Perryman, who recorded a season-best nine tackles in the Chargers’ win over the Kansas City Chiefs last week, credits Philip Rivers and the rest of the Chargers’ veterans for showing him “how to be a pro” a decade ago. Now he’s passing along those lessons to younger players in a transfer of generational knowledge across the Chargers’ locker room.
“When I came in as a young guy, I thought this happens every year,” safety Derwin James Jr. said of winning, starting his career on a 12-4 Chargers team in 2018. “Remember the standard. Remember, whatever we’re doing now, to uphold the standard, so that way, when guys change, coaches change, anything changes, the standard remains.”
Running off the field at Arrowhead Stadium, third-year safety Daiyan Henley charged at a celebrating Tony Jefferson, a veteran mentor at his position who was waiting for teammates after being ejected for an illegal hit on Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton.
After the game Jefferson and Henley hopped around like schoolchildren on the playground. That’s the atmosphere the veterans want to create, Jefferson said, one in which younger players in the secondary can turn to him.
“That’s what we’re here for,” Jefferson said. “For them to watch us and follow, follow our lead, and see how we do our thing.”
It’s not just the veteran stars that are making a difference. Marcus Williams, a 29-year-old safety with 109 games of NFL experience, replaced Jefferson against the Chiefs after being elevated from the practice squad. The 2017 second-round pick played almost every snap in Jefferson’s place, collecting four tackles.
“That just starts with the culture coach [Jim] Harbaugh creates,” defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said. “It’s really a 70-man roster.”
Harbaugh highlighted defensive lineman/fullback Scott Matlock’s blocking technique — a ba-boop, ba-boop, as Harbaugh put it and mimed with his arms — on designed runs as an example of a veteran bolstering an offensive line trying to overcome the absence of Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater.
Harbaugh said his father, Jack, taught Matlock the ba-boop, ba-boop blocking technique during an August practice.
“He’s severely underrated as an athlete,” quarterback Justin Herbert said of the 6-foot-4, 296-pound Matlock, who also catches passes in the flat as a fullback.
With three games left in the regular season, Jefferson said the focus is on replicating the postseason-like efforts they gave in consecutive wins over the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
“It was good that they were able to get a taste of that,” Jefferson said of his younger teammates playing against last season’s Super Bowl teams, “because these games down the stretch are really what’s to come in the playoffs.”
Keiko Agena likes to create moments of coziness — not just on Sundays, but whenever she possibly can.
“Oh, there’s my rice cooker,” she says when she hears the sound in her Arts District home. “We’re making steel-cut oatmeal in the rice cooker, which by the way, is a game changer. I used to have to baby it and watch it, but now I can just put it in there and forget it.”
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
The 52-year-old actor, who played music-loving bestie Lane Kim in the beloved series “Gilmore Girls,” delights in specific comforts like a bowl of warm oats, talking about Enneagram numbers and watching cooking competitions with her husband, Shin Kawasaki.
“It sounds so simple, but I look forward so much to spending time on the couch,” Agena says with a laugh.
It is time that she’s intentional about protecting, especially amid her kaleidoscope of projects. Over the last couple of years, Agena starred in Lloyd Suh’s moving play “The Chinese Lady” in Atlanta, acted in Netflix’s “The Residence,” showcased her artwork in her first feature exhibit, “Hep Tones” (some of her ink and pencil drawings are still for sale), and performed regularly on that L.A. improv circuit. And her work endures with “Gilmore Girls,” which turns 25 this year. Agena narrated the audiobook for “Meet Me at Luke’s,” a guide that draws life lessons from the series, and is featured in the upcoming “Gilmore Girls” documentary “Drink Coffee, Talk Fast.”
She shares with us her perfect Sunday in L.A., which begins before sunrise.
5 a.m.: Morning solitude
I like to be up early-early, like 5 a.m. I like that feeling of everything being quiet. I’ll go into the other room and do Duolingo on my phone. I am a little addicted to social media, so the Duolingo is not just to learn Japanese, but also to keep me from scrolling. Like, if I’m going to do something on my phone, this is better for me. I think my streak is 146. Shin is Japanese, from Oyama. So I’ve been meaning to learn Japanese for a while. For him and his mom.
Then I’ll do [the writing practice] Morning Pages. I don’t know when I learned about Julia Cameron’s book [“The Artist’s Way”] — probably around 2000. I know a lot of people do it handwritten, but I’m a little paranoid about people, like, finding it after I die. So if I have it on my computer and it’s password protected, I can be really honest.
Then a lot of times, I’ll go back to bed. Shin, as a musician, works at night, and so he wakes up a lot later. So I’ll fall back asleep and wake up with him.
9 a.m.: Gimme that bread
I don’t do coffee anymore because it’s a little too tough for my system, but I’ll walk with Shin to Eightfold Coffee in the Arts District. It’s tiny but very chill. Then we’re going to Bliss Bakery inside the Little Tokyo Market Place. We get these tapioca bread balls. If you make any kind of sandwich that you would normally make, but use that bread instead, it ups the game. It’s life-changing. The Little Tokyo Market Place is not fancy or anything, but it has everything that you would want. There’s Korean food. They have a little sushi place in there. You can get premade Korean banchan and hot food in their hot food section. They also have a really good nuts section. It’s just one big table with all these nuts, just piles and piles.
10 a.m.: Nature without leaving the city
We’ll go to Los Angeles State Historic Park near Chinatown. I like that place just because it’s very accessible. Like, they have accessible bathrooms and I’m always checking out whether a place has good bathrooms. We call it Flat Park because it’s a great walk. Like, you’re not really out in nature, but there’s a lot of greenery. You can take your shoes off and at least touch grass for a second.
11:30 a.m.: Lunch and TV cooking shows
One of my favorite salad-sandwich combos is at Cafe Dulce in Little Tokyo. A Korean cheesesteak and a kale salad. That’s always like a — bang, bang — good combo. So we might go there or Aloha Cafe, though it’s not fully open on Sundays. But I love it because I grew up in Hawaii. They have this great Chinese chicken salad and spam musubi and other Hawaiian food that is so good.
We’ll bring home food and watch something. Cooking competition shows are my cream of the crop. My favorite right now is “Tournament of Champions” because it’s blind tasting. To me, that’s the best way to do it. “The Great British Bake Off” is Shin’s favorite. He loves the nature and the accents as much as the actual cooking. He just loves the vibe, the slow pace of the whole thing.
I’m such a TV girl. I love spending time on the couch and eating a meal and watching something that’s appetizing with my favorite person in the world. I’m lucky because I get to do that a lot.
2 p.m.: Browse the aisles
I’ll go to this bookstore called Hennessey + Ingalls. I love art and architecture and design, but you can’t always buy these massive books. But you can go into this bookstore and look at them and it’s always chill.
If I have time, I’ll walk around art supply stores. Artist & Craftsman Supply is a good one. I’ll look at pens, pencils, stickers, tape, washi tape, different kinds of paper, charcoals. In my art, I try to find things that aren’t meant for that particular purpose, like little things in a hardware store that I’ll use it in a different way.
5 p.m.: Downtown L.A. in its glory
We really love to walk the Sixth Street Bridge. It’s architecturally beautiful and they’re building a huge park over there, so we’ll walk around and check it out, like, ‘Which trees are they planting? Can you see?’ We sort of dream about how it’s coming together. But the other beautiful thing about that walk is that if you go at sunset and you walk back toward downtown, it’s just gorgeous. Los Angeles doesn’t have the most majestic skyline, but it’s so picturesque in that moment.
6:30 p.m.: Cornbread and Enneagrams
I’ll head to the Park’s Finest in Echo Park. It’s Filipino barbecue. It’s just so savory and rich and a special hang. Their cornbread is really good. Oh, and the coconut beef, but I’m trying to eat less beef. They have a hot link medley. Oh my gosh, just looking at this menu right now, my mouth is watering. OK, I’ll stop.
One of my favorite things to do is ask friends about their Enneagram number. So the idea of sitting with friends over a good meal and asking them a bunch of personal questions about their childhood and what motivates them and what their parents were like and what their greatest fear is and then figure out what their Enneagram number is? That is top-tier activity for me.
9 p.m.: Rally for improv
Because I get up so early, if 9 o’clock, I’m ready to go to sleep. But I am obsessed with improv, so on my ideal day, there’d be a show to do. There’s this place called World’s Greatest Improv School in Los Feliz. It’s tiny and they just opened a few years ago, but the vibe there is spectacular.
Then there’s another place where my heart is so invested in now called Outside in Theatre in Highland Park. Tamlyn Tomita and Daniel Blinkoff created it together and not only is the space gorgeous — I mean, they built it from scratch — they have interesting programming there all the time. They’re so supportive of communities that are not seen in mainstream art spaces. It’s my favorite place. Sometimes I’ll find myself in their lobby till 12 o’clock at night. The kind of people I like to hang around are the people that hang out in that space.
11 p.m.: Turn on the ASMR and shut down
I am firmly an ASMR girl and I have been for years. I have to find something to watch that will slow my brain down. Then it’s pretty consistent. I don’t last very long once I turn something on. My eyelids get heavy and it chills me out.
After an amazing comeback against a really strong New England team last Sunday, the Bills are emboldened and Josh Allen is on an MVP pace. Cleveland relies on its stout defense, but that unit didn’t show up in Week 15 against Chicago, surrendering 31 points. Buffalo, which is 7-2 outside the division, wins this going away.
The Chargers quarterback had passed for 139 yards and ran for 66 more in a 22-19 win just a week after undergoing surgery to stabilize a fracture in his non-throwing hand. Now, after one of the biggest wins of the season, he was hoping to receive good news about his injury despite being sacked a career-worst seven times.
The scans showed his hand was swollen, but it had improved since surgery, Herbert said. The results provided him with a sense of optimism heading into the Chargers’ AFC West showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
“I think compared to the days after surgery, I think it’s a lot better now,” Herbert said. “I think it was just sore. I think having played on it, using it, and kind of falling on it too, I think that kind of helped, and was some of the reason why it was sore.”
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh described Herbert’s performance against the Eagles as “the most competitive thing” he ever saw. Herbert, however, gave a negative self-assessment — he threw an interception and lost the ball once on two fumbles. For Herbert, it wasn’t good enough for a Chargers team vying to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in more than three decades.
Offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who praised Herbert’s grit after the win over the Eagles, was proud to hear Herbert taking responsibility for his mistakes.
“First of all, I love that,” Roman said. “That tells me everything I need to know about that individual. … A great leader, setting a great example there. But on the flip side, he did what he had to do to win that game. He’s smart enough to recognize that that’s not how he wants to win every game, and he will adjust accordingly.”
Chargers center Bradley Bozeman, who has snapped the ball to Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Bryce Young over his nine-year NFL career, said Herbert is one of one.
“He’s the best quarterback — no shot to any quarterback ever played with — but he’s the best quarterback ever,” said Bozeman, who joined the Chargers before the start of the 2024 season. “He’s committed to what he does. He’s tough as a damn nail.”
That toughness could prove to be too much for the Chiefs. A Chargers (9-4) win on Sunday (in combination with several other factors) could potentially eliminate Kansas City (6-7) from postseason contention for the first time since 2014.
Although the Chargers are trying to sweep the Chiefs for the first time since 2013, safety Derwin James Jr. knows they can’t underestimate a Kansas City team that has won the last nine division crowns. James, second on the Chargers in tackles (70), is expecting all the challenges that come with facing Patrick Mahomes at Arrowhead Stadium in 20-degree weather.
“Every time you go out there, everybody’s gonna play desperate to win, because they just want to win,” James said. “We’re desperate, they’re desperate — so let’s go out there and play.”
USC and Brown have mutually agreed to cancel their upcoming men’s basketball game at Galen Center on Sunday, in light of the recent mass shooting on Brown’s campus.
USC announced the cancellation on Tuesday morning while sending its support to Brown and those affected. The school said in a statement that it plans to announce a new nonconference opponent to fill the same slot on Sunday.
The matchup with Brown was slated to be USC’s nonconference finale. The Trojans have yet to lose outside of Big Ten play this season, currently standing at 9-0.
USC was set to be Brown’s first opponent since this past Sunday, when two people were killed and nine were wounded in a deadly shooting on campus.
Gottlieb said that a former teammate of hers had a daughter still hiding from the gunman in the basement of a library at the time of Sunday afternoon’s game.
“It doesn’t need to be this way,” she said. “Sending thoughts and prayers to my teammates who have kids there. To the parents that have to worry about their children, I’m just going to end it with that, but just to say we’re the only country that lives this way.”
The Trojans (10-1) led by three with five minutes remaining, but outscored the visitors 13-9 down the stretch to notch their second straight win.
Jacob Cofie led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds and Chad Baker-Mazara added 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Ezra Ausar had 13 points and was nine of 11 from the free-throw line.
Rihards Vavers led the Cougars (3-8) with 13 points.
