team

Baltimore Ravens tight end Charlie Kolar warms up before a game against the Rams on Oct. 12.

(Nick Wass / Associated Press)

The Chargers didn’t hesitate to bolster their run-blocking options for new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, agreeing to terms with former Baltimore Ravens tight end Charlie Kolar.

Kolar and the Chargers agreed to a three-year, $24.3-million deal that includes $17 million in guarantees, NFL Media reported.

Widely considered the best run-blocking tight end available ahead of free agency, Kolar should help an uneven Chargers running attack that forced coach Jim Harbaugh to often rely too much on quarterback Justin Herbert — even when his running backs were healthy.

Kolar can also help complement tight end Oronde Gadsden II in the passing game when necessary, but he should mostly serve as a replacement for Will Dissly, who was released by the team last week. It’s also no coincidence that Kolar played for Harbaugh’s brother, John, in Baltimore and was drafted in 2022 when Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz was the director of player personnel for the Ravens.

Kolar, 27, had 10 catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns last season. In four seasons with the Ravens, he had 30 catches for 409 yards and four touchdowns.

Like most Chargers offseasons, it’s clear Hortiz is prioritizing ways to add to the Chargers’ offense while also bolstering its protection options. On Sunday, the team agreed to terms with Alec Ingold, reuniting the former Miami Dolphins fullback with McDaniel.

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: In this game of “he said, he said,” Luka Doncic got the last laugh.

Doncic, fueled by trash talk from his opponents Thursday, recorded his first 50-point game with the Lakers, checking out with 1:41 remaining to a standing ovation with 51 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Lakers to a 142-130 win over the Chicago Bulls.

The Lakers (41-25) jumped into third place in the Western Conference with their seventh win in their last eight games, climbing from sixth in just one week despite not having LeBron James for the last three games.

James, returning from elbow and hip contusions sustained in a fall against the Denver Nuggets on March 5, had 18 points with seven rebounds and seven assists. Austin Reaves scored 30 points with seven assists to reach 5,000 career points, and Deandre Ayton had his second consecutive double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lakers let the struggling Bulls (27-39) go on a 12-3 run to tie the score at the end of the first quarter but started to heat up when Doncic scored 10 consecutive points in the second quarter. The streak signaled to the six-time All-Star he was going to have one those nights.

“Somebody started talking to me,” Doncic said, “so I woke up.”

Continue reading here

Lakers box score

NBA standings

Donovan Dent leads UCLA men past Rutgers

From Ryan Kartje: This was hardly a masterpiece of Big Ten basketball, what with the barrage of bricks and busted possessions. Nor was it the sort of night to convince you of UCLA’s chances as a surefire conference contender.

But amid the mess of its 72-59 win over 14th-seeded Rutgers on Thursday night, UCLA showed the sort of mettle it may need to keep its season kicking this March.

It started with Donovan Dent, whose masterful month continued with his first career triple-double — and the first triple-double in Big Ten tournament history. The senior tallied 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. He and Tyler Bilodeau, who added a game-high 21 points, were the rare bright spots on offense for the Bruins.

Otherwise, UCLA struggled to find any sort of rhythm. It shot just 38% from the field, worse than it had in any win this season. And still, the Bruins were in control for most of the game after pulling away early in the second half.

None of that will fly against No. 3 seed Michigan State on Friday at 6 p.m. PDT, which beat UCLA by 23 points the last time they met.

Continue reading here

UCLA box score

Controversy about L.A. Marathon finish

From Anthony Solorzano: Just 0.18 seconds separated Michael Kimani Kamau from $15,000. Sunday’s 41st L.A. Marathon was decided by a late-charging sprint from Nathan Martin, the winner who received $25,000 for first place. The runner-up earned $10,000.

With five miles to the finish line and no one else picking up pace, Martin decided to push himself to the end. Kamau’s experience down the stretch was different. Less than a quarter mile from the finish, his race took an unexpected turn because of a fan.

With many fans cheering him on, one interfered and led him off course. A video posted on Reddit shows Kamau following a fan off course for roughly 10 seconds.

He briefly followed the lead vehicles off the designated course while trying to avoid a spectator who ran into his path. Fans immediately stopped him and pointed him in the right direction.

“I actually thought he won until I got home later that day and saw the news channels reporting that Nathan had an amazing kick at the end,” said Ivan Torres, who filmed the scene.

Organizers are aware of the video but no protests were filed and the results are unchanged.

Continue reading here

Trent McDuffie’s wish comes true

From Gary Klein: Trent McDuffie was a young high school player in Southern California when the Rams returned from St. Louis to Los Angeles in 2016.

In 2020, McDuffie watched HBO’s “Hard Knocks” episodes about the team, and he was enamored by coach Sean McVay.

“I remember just being like, ‘Dang, I would like to play for that guy,’” McDuffie said Thursday.

McDuffie, an All-Pro cornerback acquired by the Rams in a blockbuster trade, recalled those thoughts during an introductory news conference at the team’s facility in Woodland Hills after he signed a record-breaking four-year extension that reportedly includes $100 million in guarantees.

Continue reading here

Concerns about L.A. Olympics

From Kevin Baxter: A report on how Olympic organizers will tackle civil rights, homelessness and human trafficking ahead and during the 2028 Games has not been made public by the city more than two months after it was filed and no date for its release has been set, leaving human rights advocates fearing the issues will not get the attention and funding they deserve.

Council president Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who chairs the ad-hoc committee on the LA28 Games, has not included the human rights report on the committee’s agenda. His office did not respond to requests for comment and Sharon Tso, the city’s chief legislative analyst, and Matthew Szabo, the city’s administrative officer, both said they have not seen the report and “nothing appears on the council file,” according to Tso.

The delay is limiting discussion on an important topic, said Stephanie Richard, a clinical professor who leads the Sunita Jain Anti-Trafficking Initiative at Loyola Law School, which released its own comprehensive report on human trafficking and the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics in December.

Continue reading here

Ducks lose to Toronto

William Nylander broke a tie on a power play 36 seconds into the third period and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ducks 6-4 on Thursday night to end an eight-game losing streak.

The victory was tempered by the loss of captain Auston Matthews on a knee-on-knee hit from Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas with four minutes left in the second period. Matthews stayed down favoring his left leg before being helped to the locker room. Gudas was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct.

Matthews scored earlier to end a 12-game goal drought.

Cutter Gauthier, Ian Moore, Pavel Mintyukov and Alex Killorn scored for the Pacific Division-leading Ducks. Lukas Dostal stopped 23 shots.

Continue reading here

Ducks summary

NHL standings

This day in sports history

1894 — J.L. Johnstone of England invents the starting gate for horse racing.

1920 — NYU wins the national amateur basketball championship in Atlanta. The Violets beat Rutgers 49-24 in the final of the AAU tournament.

1961 — Floyd Patterson knocks out Ingemar Johansson in the sixth round to retain the world heavyweight title in Miami Beach.

1982 — Elaine Zayak of the United States wins the world figure skating championship.

1983 — Randy Smith’s consecutive game streak ends at 906 games, the longest in NBA history. Smith played for Buffalo, San Diego (twice), Cleveland and New York during the streak.

1997 — The America’s Cup, the oldest trophy in international sports and yachting’s most coveted prize, is all but destroyed by a Maori protester who struck it repeatedly with a sledgehammer in Auckland, New Zealand.

1998 — Bryce Drew hits a leaning three-pointer as time expires to give Valparaiso a shocking 70-69 upset of Mississippi in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional.

2001 — Philadelphia’s Mark Recchi picks up his 1,000th point during a 5-2 win over St. Louis. He’s the 60th player in NHL history to reach the mark.

2007 — Lance Mackey wins the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, becoming the first musher to win major long-distance North American sled dog races back-to-back. On Feb. 20, Mackey won his third consecutive Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, a 1,000-mile race between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon.

2007 — Dallas’ Mike Modano becomes the 39th player in NHL history and second born in the United States to reach 500 goals, scoring with 10:24 left in the third period of a 3-2 victory over Philadelphia.

2008 — Bode Miller clinches the men’s overall World Cup ski title. Miller earns his second title in four years with a 12th-place finish in the super-G combined, along with Didier Cuche’s announcement that he would not enter the season-ending slalom in Bormio, Italy.

2011 — The NCAA men’s basketball selection committee releases its 68-team draw, which included a record 11 teams from the Big East, the deepest conference in the nation. The tournament adds three more at-large teams that will open the tournament in what the NCAA is calling the “First Four.”

2012 — BYU pulls off the biggest comeback in NCAA tournament history on a wild opening night. Noah Hartsock scores 16 of his 23 points in the second half and the Cougars rally from 25 points down to beat Iona 78-72 in the first round. It marks the biggest comeback in an NCAA tournament game. Previously, the largest deficit overcome was 22 points in 2001 when Duke fought back to beat Maryland 95-84 in the national semifinals. It’s the second incredible turnaround of the night in Dayton. With President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron watching, Western Kentucky comes back from a 16-point deficit in the final 5 minutes to beat Mississippi Valley State 59-58.

2018 — Russell Westbrook picks up the 100th triple-double of his career and the Oklahoma City Thunder uses a 16-0 run late in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Atlanta Hawks for a 119-107 victory. Westbrook scores 32 points, dishes out 12 assists and grabs 12 rebounds to become the third-fastest player to reach the milestone.

2020 — Elite football in Britain, including England’s Premier League, EFL, Women’s Super League plus in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is suspended until at least April 3 because of COVID-19 pandemic.

2022 — After a 40-day retirement, record breaking quarterback Tom Brady announces he will play at least one more season in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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.

Makai Lemon got another chance Thursday to demonstrate his skills for NFL scouts.

About 50 of them — representatives from each of the 32 teams — gathered at USC to spend a few hours evaluating the school’s latest class of draft prospects. Lemon, who won the Biletnikoff Award last fall as college football’s top receiver, had everyone’s attention.

“Running good routes, catching the ball, running fast,” he said of his objectives for the day. “Whatever I showcase, let them know I can do it at a high level.”

It was a more comfortable setting than Indianapolis. At the scouting combine, Lemon’s performance at the podium drew scrutiny — not for anything he said, but for how he said it. He swayed. He was measured, unhurried, visibly unbothered. Some read it as detached. Others saw something else entirely.

“We don’t want a guy who’s phony and coached up,” said one team executive, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We want a guy to be his authentic self. As long as he’s not a jerk, we love it.”

Rams general manager Les Snead, who attended Thursday’s workout of 17 USC players, put it another way. “At the combine you’re usually getting some version of a personality,” he said. “A lot of times it’s, ‘This is my interview personality,’ and that’s not necessarily who they are 365 days a year.”

USC receiver Makai Lemon catches pass during a drill at the NFL combine in Indianapolis last month.

(Julio Cortez / Associated Press)

The other USC prospects who participated in Thursday’s workouts were receivers Ja’Kobi Lane, Jaden Richardson and Jay Fair; running back Eli Sanders; tight end Lake McRee; offensive linemen J’Onre Reed and DJ Wingfield; defensive linemen Anthony Lucas and Keeshawn Silver; linebacker Eric Gentry; cornerbacks DJ Harvey and DeCarlos Nicholson; safeties Bishop Fitzgerald and Kamari Ramsey; punter Sam Johnson; and long snapper Hank Pepper.

Former Trojan linebacker Mason Cobb, who was on the team in 2024, also participated.

Lemon’s credentials are not in dispute. He finished last season with 79 catches for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns. At 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds he’s not big for the position, and according to a school release ran the 40 in 4.46 seconds, which is fast but not blistering. But those aren’t his main strengths.

“One of the underrated aspects when you’re watching wide receivers is toughness, and he kind of oozes toughness,” said Daniel Jeremiah, lead draft analyst for NFL Network. “He catches everything. He’s super strong physically and super strong to the ball.”

The technical detail that stands out for Jeremiah: Lemon doesn’t leave his feet to catch unless he has to. He stays grounded, keeps himself in position to do something after the ball arrives. Receivers who lunge and cradle in the air have nowhere to go. Receivers who catch with their feet under them turn completions into more yards.

“He’s got a really good feel for the game,” Jeremiah said. “I think he’s going to be a high-volume guy. I think he’ll catch 90-plus balls every year and be the quarterback’s best friend.”

Snead, who has a history of finding productive receivers that others miss — among them Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua — is skeptical of the 40 as a measuring stick.

“You rarely see a route in football where the receiver runs straight for 40 yards and then makes his break,” he said. “Even on a go route you’re usually trying to get an edge on the defender, so you’re not running straight. The 40 might tell you how many gears you have in your body. But sometimes you need to run a route in third gear and then shift into fourth or fifth, or decelerate.”

Jeremiah ranks Lemon among the two best receivers in this draft, giving a slight edge to Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, who projects as more of a down-the-field, big-play threat. Comparisons to Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown (also a former USC player) and Tampa Bay’s Emeka Egbuka have circulated. Jeremiah sees those, but also reaches back to Jarvis Landry, the former Louisiana State standout who made five Pro Bowl appearances.

“I actually think Lemon is a better player than Jarvis Landry coming out,” Jeremiah said. “When you’re instinctive, you’re tough and you catch everything, that’s a pretty high floor. Absolute worst case, you’re going to have a steady, dependable, reliable player.”

Watching from the sideline Thursday was Marqise Lee, who won the Biletnikoff in 2012 — the only other USC player to do so — and was a second-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014. He has spent much of the past several months as a mentor to Lemon, and when the combine criticism arrived Lee wasn’t surprised by any of it.

“My biggest thing to him was just enjoy it,” Lee said. “I know he got a lot of backlash about the media stuff and things like that, but when you know the guy, he’s not a big talker. He’s calm, he’s all about business.”

Lee believes Lemon has the skills to thrive at the next level, but knows how much context matters once a player gets there.

“The league is different until you actually get there and get the opportunity to practice and go through it,” Lee said. “Some people have a hard time adapting. Once he gets on a team I’ll be texting him: ‘How’s the comfort level? How’s the offense?’ Because that stuff matters. Offensive coordinator, people loving you — all that matters.”

Lemon, for his part, already sounds like someone who has thought about this.

“I want to go in there and be myself,” he said. “Don’t want to try to be anybody else.”

Trent McDuffie was a young high school player in Southern California when the Rams returned from St. Louis to Los Angeles in 2016.

During Rams training camp that summer, McDuffie watched HBO “Hard Knocks” episodes about the team with his parents, and they were enamored by coach Sean McVay.

“I remember just being like, ‘Dang, I would like to play for that guy,’” McDuffie said Thursday.

McDuffie, an All-Pro cornerback acquired by the Rams in a blockbuster trade, recalled those thoughts during an introductory news conference at the team’s facility in Woodland Hills after he signed a record-breaking four-year extension that reportedly includes $100 million in guarantees.

“Fast forward all these years, and now I’m here and it’s just a full-circle moment,” he said of getting to play for McVay. “Watched this guy, wanted to play for this guy and now this guy wants me.”

To land McDuffie, Rams general manager Les Snead sent the Kansas City Chiefs the 29th overall pick and fifth- and sixth-round picks in this year’s draft, and a 2027 third-round pick.

The Rams also signed former Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson to a three-year contract that includes $34 million in guarantees.

The moves were a complete departure from last year, when the Rams wrongly gambled that a young and aggressive pass rush could offset their decision to not make a single upgrade to the secondary.

The additions of McDuffie and Watson to an already deep and talented roster that features reigning NFL most valuable player Matthew Stafford, the Rams will be a favorite to play in Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium in February.

And make no mistake: Like they did in 2021, the Rams will do anything possible to ensure that owner Stan Kroenke is walking the Super Bowl sideline in the stadium he built in Inglewood.

McDuffie noted that the Rams have been “knocking on the door, year-in and year-out” since his rookie season with the Chiefs in 2022. A winning culture already is in place.

“This team is ready to go,” said McDuffie, a first-round pick out of Washington who starred in high school at Anaheim Servite and Bellflower St. John Bosco highs. “I don’t think I’m coming in here with a team that doesn’t understand the value that they have.

“So those little nuggets that I feel I can just pour into guys that can get us over the hump, I’m going to do everything I can.”

Rams cornerback Jaylen Watson speaks during his introductory news conference in Woodland Hills on Thursday.

(William Liang / Associated Press)

McDuffie and Watson, a 2022 seventh-round pick, were part of Chiefs teams that won two championships in three Super Bowl appearances.

“We really learned what it takes to win a Super Bowl, get to the Super Bowl, the preparation and the time it takes to be detailed in your craft,” McDuffie said.

When news about the trade broke last week, one of the first calls McDuffie answered was from Rams star receiver Puka Nacua, a former Washington teammate.

“He was just screaming at the top of his lungs,” McDuffie said. “I’m like ‘Puka, bro, I miss this energy. I miss what you bring.’ I’m just excited to be back on the field with him.”

McDuffie and Watson also are excited about continuing their partnership, which began when they were among five defensive backs drafted by the Chiefs four years ago.

Watson, 27, grew up in Georgia but played two seasons at Ventura College before finishing his college career at Washington State.

Like McDuffie, he is happy to be back in Southern California weather.

“Everyone’s just so nice here,” Watson said of the region, before quipping, “then you’ve got your taxes.”

The 5-foot-11 McDuffie and the 6-2 Watson will give secondary coach Jimmy Lake — who coached McDuffie in college — options for matchups.

“That’s why I think me and Trent complement each other so well,” Watson said. “His strengths are short-area quickness, the small shifty guys. And my strengths are the big receivers.

“So we should be pretty diverse. We should be able to match up pretty well against a lot of different looks we get.”

McDuffie and Watson join a cornerback group that includes Emmanuel Forbes Jr. The Rams have until May 1 to determine if they will exercise a fifth-year option on Forbes, a 2023 first-round draft pick by Washington who was claimed off waivers by the Rams in 2024.

Forbes will earn about $2 million this season, but would be guaranteed $12.6 million if the Rams exercise the option.

The Rams will begin offseason workouts in April.

McDuffie is happy to be back home.

“It’s hot, the sun’s out,” he said. “It’s a beautiful thing.”

Lakers center Deandre Ayton shoots over the Timberwolves’ defense on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Ethan Swope / Associated Press)

With 33 missed shots between both teams in the first quarter, Deandre Ayton certainly had plenty of opportunities for rebounds, and the 7-foot center made the most of them.

Ayton almost single-handedly kept the Lakers in contention in the first half, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the second quarter and had a first-half double-double with 11 rebounds.

Ayton, who was scoreless in the first quarter but had six rebounds, scored three of his first four baskets off offensive rebounds. The only exception came when Reaves drove in the lane, wrapped a pass around his back as he found Ayton cutting down the lane for a vicious two-handed dunk. The crowd roared.

“He was a monster,” said Reaves, who had 31 points and eight assists. “… He was the only person scoring for us efficiently and then just being high energy on the other end, just doing what he does. That’s what we need him to do. When he does that, we’re a different team and we’re thankful to have him.”

Ayton’s effort has waned throughout the season, sometimes resulting in him getting benched late in games. But he provided major lifts in marquee wins against the Knicks (six points, eight rebounds) and Timberwolves to earn the confidence and trust of his teammates.

The Lakers needed Ayton at his best after backup centers Jaxson Hayes (back soreness) and Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain) were ruled out of the game about 15 minutes before tip-off. Hayes was starring in his reserve role in recent weeks, bringing much-needed energy off the bench and a seamless connection with Doncic, but hearing that Ayton would have to hold down the front line by himself gave the former No. 1 draft pick extra motivation.

“I know I’m the only big,” Ayton said, “so I try my best to stay out there as long as possible, especially down the stretch.”

When Birmingham High’s Tekeio Phillips and X’Zavion McKay were asked if they are surprised that the Patriots are playing for a Division III state boys’ basketball championship on Friday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento after losing in the first round of the City Section Open Division playoffs, the answer was unanimous: Yes.

The Patriots (22-7) have won four consecutive state playoff games to earn a spot against Antioch Cornerstone Christian (28-8) in a 4 p.m. final. Fellow City Section member Sylmar (24-12) is playing San Marin (21-13) for the Division V title at noon. On Saturday, Palisades’ girls’ team plays Faith Christian at 10 a.m.

Birmingham lost to Fairfax 66-58 on Feb. 11 in the City playoffs and didn’t play another game until March 3. How do you get your team motivated for state playoffs after three weeks off?

“We didn’t do anything the rest of the week and took the next week off,” Halic said. “We rested our bodies and emotionally refreshed.”

Most importantly, Patriot players decided they wanted to win in the state playoffs.

“It definitely helped us offensively connect better,” Halic said. “We’re playing a better game these last four games. When you lose you’re disappointed and sometimes going into state, people don’t care. It’s such a great opportunity for us.”

Phillips is averaging 22.8 points. McKay is averaging 12.6 points and 10.5 rebounds. Phillips has twice played at Golden 1 Center when he was a member of the Alijah Arenas-led Chatsworth team.

“It’s just a bigger gym,” Phillips said. “I feel comfortable.”

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

From Mirjam Swanson: Wham, Bam, pfft.

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo scored 83 points Tuesday night, the second most in an NBA game in history, surpassing Kobe Bryant’s iconic 81 points two decades ago.

Congrats to Adebayo, I guess.

The way it went down was highly questionable. Nothing romantic or real about it. We thought flopping and foul-baiting made for unethical hoops, but those are but basketball misdemeanors; Adebayo’s big night was felonious.

Tuesday’s game featured intentional clock-stopping, game-extending fouls by the Heat. And it was ripe with free-throw-abetting fouls by the Washington Wizards, an actively tanking team that got itself blown out, 150-129.

So, no. Bryant’s necessary, organic 81 this was not. The Lakers trailed that game against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006, at halftime and actually needed Kobe’s 55 second-half points to pull away for the win.

The Heat were up by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter with Adebayo continuing to play pop-a-shot in the historic farce — which also moved him past LeBron James, whose 61 points in 2014 stood as Miami’s previous franchise record.

Now a Laker, LeBron cheered the effort on X, writing: “BAM BAM BAM” with a bunch of fire emojis.

Clippers run up big score in victory

Kawhi Leonard scored 45 points and the Clippers routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 153-128 on Wednesday night, moving above .500 with their third straight victory and sixth in seven games.

Eighth in the Western Conference at 33-32 after opening 6-21, the Clippers had their highest point total of the season. They blew out Minnesota after beating New York on Monday night to open a five-game homestand.

Leonard was 15 of 20 from the the field, six of nine on threes and made nine of 10 free throws. Los Angeles made 19 of 37 threes.

Continue reading here

Clippers box score

NBA standings

USC men’s basketball season ends with a thud

From Luke DeCock: The eventual end of the USC men’s basketball season came the same way that it fizzled out during the past month, with yet another second-half collapse that featured the added pain of overtime.

Tuesday’s 83-79 overtime loss to Washington in the Big Ten tournament, the Trojans’ eighth straight defeat, brought to a close what USC coach Eric Musselman called the toughest stretch of his coaching career. It included not only USC’s longest losing streak in a decade, but a pair of 19-point losses to UCLA and the dismissal of leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara from the team in the past 10 days alone.

The Trojans led the Huskies by 13 in the second half and had chances to win at the end of regulation and overtime, only to miss all three potential game-winning or game-tying shots and go 2-for-5 from the free-throw line in overtime. For a team that was once in NCAA tournament consideration before stumbling, that failure to finish was a persistent flaw.

Continue reading here

Iran won’t play in World Cup

From Kevin Baxter: Iran’s sports minister said his nation will not participate in this summer’s World Cup following the attacks on the country by the U.S., one of the tournament’s hosts.

The U.S. bombing campaign against Iran, which began two weeks ago, has triggered a region-wide conflict and killed more than 1,300 Iranians including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, according to Iran’s U.N. ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani.

“Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said on state television Wednesday.

“Our players do not have security, and fundamentally the conditions for participation do not exist.”

Donyamali’s statement came just hours after FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he had received assurances from President Trump that Iran would be allowed to participate in the tournament, which will be played in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1937 — The first National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) men’s basketball tournament is won by Central Missouri State. Central Missouri wins the eight-team, single-elimination tournament by defeating Morningside College (Iowa) 35-24.

1966 — In the last race of his 40-year career, John Longden wins the San Juan Capistrano Handicap at Santa Anita, aboard George Royal. He retires with a then-record number of victories, 6,032.

1984 — Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean of Britain become the first ice dancing team to record nine perfect marks of 6.0 during the world championships.

1985 — Larry Bird scores 60 points, including Boston’s last 16, to set a Celtics record and lead them to a 126-115 victory over Atlanta.

1994 — The Arkansas men’s track and field team wins its 11th straight NCAA Indoor Championship with a meet-record 94 points. The 54-point victory margin is the biggest in the meet’s 30-year history.

2002 — Siena (17-18), with an 81-77 victory over Alcorn State in the play-in game, becomes first team in 47 years to win an NCAA men’s basketball tournament game with a losing record.

2003 — Damian Costantino’s NCAA-record hitting streak ends at 60 games, one day after he broke Robin Ventura’s 16-year-old mark. Costantino, an outfielder for Division III Salve Regina of Newport, R.I., fails to get a hit in the first game of a doubleheader against Baldwin-Wallace. It’s the first time he finishes a game hitless since March 25, 2001.

2005 — Bode Miller becomes the first American in 22 years to win skiing’s overall World Cup title. He finishes ahead of his only remaining challenger, Benjamin Raich of Austria, in the season’s final giant slalom to capture the crown.

2008 — The Houston Rockets are the third team in NBA history to win 20 straight games and ties for the second-longest winning streak with an 83-75 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

2009 — Syracuse outlasts Connecticut in the second-longest Division I game ever played, capping a Big East tournament quarterfinal doubleheader in which the second- and third-ranked teams in the nation both lose. Andy Rautins hits a three-pointer 10 seconds into the sixth overtime to give the Orange their first lead since regulation and they go on to a 127-117 victory over the third-ranked Huskies. Much earlier in the evening, West Virginia beats No. 2 Pittsburgh 74-60.

2011 — The No. 21 Connecticut Huskies win their seventh Big East championship by winning five games in as many days. Kemba Walker shatters the tournament scoring record, getting 19 points in the ninth-seeded Huskies’ 69-66 victory over No. 14 Louisville.

2017 — Joakim Jensen finally ends what is believed to be the longest game in hockey history, scoring in the eighth overtime in the Norwegian League playoffs. More than 8 1/2 hours after the game started — and after 217 minutes, 14 seconds of play — Jensen breaks through to give the Storhamar Dragons a 2-1 victory over the Sparta Warriors. Storhamar leads the best-of-seven quarterfinal series 3-2.

2018 — Alex Ovechkin scores twice to reach 600 goals as the Washington Capitals beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 in overtime. The Russian winger is the 20th player and fourth-fastest in NHL history to reach 600 goals.

2018 — Marc-Andre Fleury makes 38 saves to become the 13th goalie in NHL history with 400 wins, and Ryan Carpenter scores the winning goal with 2:40 left to lead the Vegas Golden Knights over the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2.

2020 — 2020 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is cancelled over concerns of the spread of COVID-19; first time ‘March Madness’ not held since it began in 1939; women’s tournament also cancelled.

2020 — NHL announces the pausing of the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

Iran’s sports minister said his nation will not participate in this summer’s World Cup following the attacks on the country by the U.S., one of the tournament’s hosts.

The U.S. bombing campaign against Iran, which began two weeks ago, has triggered a region-wide conflict and killed more than 1,300 Iranians including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, according to Iran’s U.N. ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani.

“Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said on state television Wednesday.

“Our players do not have security, and fundamentally the conditions for participation do not exist.”

Donyamali’s statement came just hours after FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he had received assurances from President Trump that Iran would be allowed to participate in the tournament, which will be played in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

“President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” Infantino wrote in an Instagram post. “We need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support.”

Last year President Trump signed an executive order suspending visa issurance to nationals of 19 countries, including Iran, although the State Department can make exceptions for “participants in certain major sporting events” such as the World Cup.

Iran, which has played in the last three World Cups, earned its place in this summer’s tournament by dominating its group in the Asian confederation tournament. However it did not send a representation to a World Cup planning summit last week in Atlanta.

Iran was drawn into Group G for the World Cup and is scheduled to begin play June 15 against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Iran’s second group-stage game, against Belgium, is also scheduled for SoFi Stadium before the team finishes the first stage of the tournament against Egypt in Seattle.

According to The Athletic, no country has withdrawn from a World Cup after qualifying since the 1950 tournament in Brazil, when India, Scotland, France and Turkey pulled out, mostly over costs and logistical issues.

Donyamali did not say whether he has begun the formal process or withdrawing Iran from the World Cup but FIFA could be facing a time crunch if it had to replace Iran in the 48-team field. Article 6.7 of FIFA’s 2026 World Cup regulations states: ‘If any Participating Member Association withdraws and/or is excluded from the FIFA World Cup 26, FIFA shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary. FIFA may decide to replace the Participating Member Association in question with another association.”

The most likely replacement scenario would have Iraq, the top non-qualifier from the Asian confederation, taking Iran’s place. Iraq is scheduled to play the winner of a Suriname-Bolivia playoff in Mexico later this month for a final World Cup berth but with airspace over the Middle East closed because of the war, the Iraqis are unsure how they will get to Mexico. Giving them Iran’s berth would solve that problem but it would create another; who would replace Iraq in the playoff against the Suriname-Bolivia winner? Based on the Asian qualifying tournament, the UAE would be the most likely candidate but it, too, would face travel concerns in getting to Mexico.

FIFA could leave those playoffs untouched and give Iran’s spot to Italy, which is ranked 13^th in the world but must win a four-team UEFA playoff later this month to qualify for the World Cup. Basically FIFA can do whatever it wants.

FIFA regulations say that any team that withdraws from the tournament “no later than 30 days before the first match” will be fined and could face other “disciplinary sanctions” including expulsion from subsequent FIFA competitions. This summer’s World Cup kicked off June 11 in Mexico City and Toronto. The U.S. opener is scheduled for June 12 in Inglewood.

Earlier this week six members of Iran’s delegation to the Women’s Asian Cup were granted humanitarian visas and allowed to remain in Australia rather than return to Iran where they feared persecution for not singing the national anthem during the tournament.

The big question surrounding last year’s Academy Awards was whether the show would address the L.A. wildfires, which had rattled the city mere months prior.

This year, the elephant in the room is the ongoing Iran war, which like last year’s wildfires, puts a celebration like the Oscars in sharp relief. But for Conan O’Brien, balancing gravity and levity is part of his job description as host.

“My job is to always try and hit this very, very thin line between entertaining people and also acknowledging some of the realities,” O’Brien said during a Wednesday news conference with the Oscars creative team.

“It’s a dance that goes on up until the show begins,” the former talk show host said, adding that he and his team of writers are still revising material ahead of the show to ensure their content is as relevant as possible.

“Between us,” he said, referencing Oscars telecast executive producers Katy Mullan and Raj Kapoor, “we will find the right tone.”

O’Brien also during the news conference recalled Johnny Carson’s turn hosting the Oscars during the Iran hostage crisis, when 52 Americans, including diplomats and other personnel, were held hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran from 1979 to 1981. The comedian remembered the television host parodying ABC’s “Nightline” with his joke, “It’s day 444 of the Oscars.”

“It was such a funny, topical joke that touched on something everyone was thinking about, and at the same time, got a big laugh and was unifying,” O’Brien said. “That was meaningful to me.”

Kapoor said during the news conference that the production team is putting systems in place to alleviate attendees’ safety concerns amid the tense global situation and reported threats to California.

“Every year, we monitor what’s going on in the world,” the showrunner said, adding that the ceremony has the support of the FBI and LAPD. “This show has to run like clockwork.”

He added, “Everybody that is coming to this show, that is witnessing this show, that is even a fan of the show when they’re standing outside the barricades — we want everybody to feel safe and protected and welcome.”

As for the telecast’s creative direction, the team cited “human touch” as a unifying theme — a not-so-subtle slight to AI.

“We’re celebrating human touch, human connection and what I like to call actual intelligence, as opposed to artificial,” said music director Michael Bearden. “We want to get back to the communal … and so the music will reflect that.”

That spirit of celebration will be especially tangible in the “KPop Demon Hunters” performance, Kapoor said. That performance will be complemented by a “Sinners” moment featuring Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq as well as guests Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush, Shaboozey and Alice Smith.

“We have this lovely story celebrating Korean culture with authentic Korean drummers and singers and even choreography,” the producer said. “So again, we’ve expanded our reach, and we’re telling these global stories, celebrating international films that have had a global impact and doing things in a really different way.”

Mullan and Kapoor closed the news conference by teasing a pair of reunions featuring cast members from “Bridesmaids” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Bridesmaids” alum Rose Byrne is nominated for a lead actress Oscar for her role in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” which marked O’Brien’s dramatic acting debut. (If Byrne wins, he said, “half that Oscar’s mine.”)

“We’re gonna have superstars, superheroes, and there is also going to be an extraterrestrial on the stage, so you can figure that one out,” Mullan said.

The 2026 Oscars will air live Sunday on ABC, with streaming available on Hulu, YouTube TV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.

A look at the top 20 high school softball teams in the Southland, as ranked by CalHiSports for The Times.

Rk., School, Record

1. Murrieta Mesa, 11-0

2. JSerra, 10-1

3. Norco, 7-2

4. Fullerton, 9-1

5. Oaks Christian, 8-0

6. La Mirada, 10-2

7. Orange Lutheran, 5-3

8. Sherman Oaks Notre Dam 8-1e,

9. Garden Grove Pacifica, 7-4

10. Anaheim Canyon, 6-2

11. Etiwanda, 8-1

12. Temescal Canyon, 6-2

13. Valley View, 10-0

14. Ganesha, 3-0

15. Santa Margarita, 7-1

16. Long Beach Poly, 3-0

17. California, 5-1

18. La Habra, 8-2

19. El Modena, 4-4

20. King, 4-2

Five players who defected from the Iranian women’s soccer team after the team’s final match in the Asian Women’s Cup in Australia were granted asylum Tuesday.

Police assisted the women in leaving their hotel and placed them in a safe house. There, they met with Australian home affairs minister Tony Burke and their humanitarian visas were processed.

At least seven players left the hotel, according to Raha Pourbakhsh, a journalist for Iran International TV. Families of at least three of the five players granted asylum had been threatened, Pourbakhsh told CNN. At least two other players who left the hotel haven’t been located.

According to an X post by Reza Pahlavi, son of the deposed Shah of Iran, the players who “successfully sought refuge in Australia” are Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi.

Pahlavi warned in a separate post that the women would face “dire consequences” if they return to Iran.

“I don’t want to begin to imagine how difficult that decision is for each of the individual women, but certainly last night it was joy, it was relief,” Burke said.

Burke said the asylum offer was extended to all 26 players and the coaching staff, but the team left Australia for Iran on Tuesday, Ten Network News reported. It was unclear whether anyone besides the seven players who had left the team hotel had defected.

The team remained silent during the Iranian national anthem before their first Asian Cup match a week ago, which was interpreted as a protest against the regime. They saluted and quietly mouthed words to the anthem before a match against Australia after pushback from the Iranian government and accusations of treason.

Australia assisted the women, who apparently fear persecution at home. Following the United States-Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliation in the Middle East, Iranian state television labeled the soccer team “wartime traitors” and alluded to repercussions upon their return to the country.

Protesters converged near the bus transporting the team after its final match Sunday night, shouting “save our girls” and carrying the Iranian Lion flag used before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Today, the flag is a symbol of resistance against the current regime.

Iran is now under the rule of Mojtaba Khamenei, a new hardline supreme leader. Khamenei is the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the 86-year-old leader who was killed on the first day of U.S. and Israeli attacks.

President Trump, in a statement Monday on Truth Social, said the United States would grant the Iranian players asylum if Australia did not. Trump posted a second time, saying he had spoken to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and that five players had “already been taken care of” and that “the rest are on their way.”

However, Iranian first Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref objected to the involvement of Trump and Australia, saying: “Iran welcomes its children with open arms and the government guarantees their security. No one has the right to interfere in the family affairs of the Iranian nation and play the role of a nanny who is kinder than a mother.”

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told ABC that her country sides with the men and women of Iran.

“For Australians to see [Iranian players] in Australia and the Matildas swapping jerseys with them was, I think, a very evocative moment,” Wong said. “We know this regime has brutally oppressed many Iranian women and we stand in solidarity with the men and women of Iran, particularly Iranian women and girls.”

Protesters blocked a bus carrying Iran’s women’s football team outside a hotel in Australia after five players slipped away to seek asylum duing the Women’s Asian Cup. They say the remaining players could face danger if forced to return to Iran after staying silent during the national anthem.

Bell’s baseball team has started in a similar fashion as it did in 2024, when the Eagles surprised everyone by winning the City Section Open Division championship at Dodger Stadium.

The Eagles are 8-1 with wins over Palos Verdes and West Torrance. Gustavo Ramirez had a grand slam last week in a mercy-rule win over Granada Hills Kennedy.

Many of the players who were sophomores on the 2024 team are coming through this season, led by pitcher/infielder Jayden Rojas, who’s 2-0 on the mound and hitting .385.

Bell won the 2024 City title at Dodger Stadium.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Senior pitcher Adolfo Esquivel is 3-0 with 22 strikeouts in 17 innings. He also leads the team with 10 hits.

Bell faces San Pedro in its next nonleague game on Wednesday against San Pedro.

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

The Iranian women’s footballers returning to the country after their Asian Cup campaign in Australia will be welcomed home “with open arms”, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.

Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei urged the players to “come home” on Tuesday, hours after five members of Iran’s squad sought asylum in Australia following their team’s exit from the tournament.

“To Iran’s women’s football team: don’t worry – Iran awaits you with open arms,” Baghaei wrote on X.

His post came shortly after the office of Iran’s general prosecutor said the remaining members of the team were invited back to the country “with peace and confidence”.

“These loved ones are invited to return to their homeland with peace and confidence, and in addition to addressing the concerns of their families,” the general prosecutor’s office was quoted as saying by Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

Australia’s decision to provide visas to five players came amid uncertainty and concerns for the team’s safety following their decision to stand in silence during Iran’s anthem before their first match of the tournament on March 3.

The players sang and saluted the anthem in their remaining two matches, on Thursday and Sunday, prompting fears that they could face punishment upon their return home.

Australian Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke told a news conference on Monday that he had informed the five members “that they are welcome to stay in Australia, that they are safe here, and they should feel at home here”.

He added that he had also offered the other team members the chance to stay in Australia.

The Department of Home Affairs named the five team members as captain Zahra Ghanbari, midfielders Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Sarbali Alishah, Mona Hamoudi, and defender Atefeh Ramezanizadeh.

The players’ decision to stand in silence during Iran’s anthem before their match against South Korea was labelled as the “pinnacle of dishonour” by a commentator on Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster.

The announcement to grant the players visas came after United States President Donald Trump, who is currently waging war on Iran alongside ally Israel, said he had spoken to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the “delicate situation” faced by the team, and that Albanese was “on it!”

Iran’s Baghaei dismissed Trump’s statement, questioning the US president’s claims of “saving” the players after new footage of a February 28 attack on an Iranian elementary girls’ school in Minab, which killed 165 students, suggested that the site of the school was likely hit by a Tomahawk missile – a weapon used by the US that Israel and Iran do not possess.

The US had previously accused Iran of the attack.

“They slaughtered more than 165 innocent Iranian schoolgirls in a double-tap Tomahawk attack in the city of Minab, and now they want to take our athletes hostage in the name of ‘saving’ them?” Baghaei said.

Following the Australian government’s decision to grant humanitarian visas to five Iranian players, they were moved to an undisclosed location under police protection, Australian officials were quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency.

Iranian media quoted Farideh Shojaei, vice president for women’s affairs at the Iranian Football Federation, as saying the team had left the hotel through the back door with the police.

“We have contacted the embassy, the football federation, the ‌Foreign Ministry and anywhere possible to see what will happen,” she said.

“We have even spoken with the families of these five players.”

Some of the Iranian players left their hotel in the northeastern city of Gold Coast on Tuesday afternoon on a bus that was surrounded by members of the diaspora protesting against the Iranian government. They flew to Sydney airport on Tuesday evening before being transferred to the international terminal.

It was not clear how many players arrived at the airport or where they were going.

Trump initially posted on social media that Australia was “making a terrible humanitarian mistake” by allowing the team to be sent back home, apparently unaware that Australia had been in secret talks with the women for several days.

Trump said members of the team would “likely be killed” if forced to return to Iran. “The US will take them if you won’t,” he added.

In a later post, Trump said he had spoken to Albanese and that the Australian leader was “doing a very good job having to ⁠do with this rather delicate situation”.

The Iranian general prosecutor’s office said “some members of our country’s women’s football team have, unintentionally and emotionally provoked by the enemy’s conspiracy and mischief, behaved in a way that has caused the delusional excitement of the criminal leaders of the imposed American-Zionist war.”

The US and Israel attacks on Iran have killed 1,255 people in the country and left 1,200 injured after 11 days.

Tehran has responded by launching waves of missiles and drones at Israel and towards several military bases in the Middle East where US forces operate.

From Gary Klein: The Rams’ remodeled secondary will have a heavy Kansas City Chiefs influence.

A week after trading for cornerback Trent McDuffie, the Rams on Monday agreed to terms with cornerback Jaylen Watson, a person with knowledge of the situation said. The person requested anonymity because deals cannot become official until Wednesday.

Watson’s deal with the Rams is for three years and includes $34 million in guarantees, NFL Media reported.

Watson and McDuffie, who on Sunday agreed to terms on an extension that reportedly includes $100 million in guarantees, won two Super Bowls with the Chiefs.

Watson, 27, has three career interceptions, including two last season. Watson, 6 feet 2 and 197 pounds, played at Ventura College for two seasons before transferring to Washington State. The Chiefs selected him in the seventh round of the 2022 draft.

The Rams have made several moves involving the secondary. In January, safety Quentin Lake received a three-year extension that includes $25 million in guarantees. They traded the 29th pick in this year’s draft and other picks this year and next for McDuffie, and also agreed to terms with safety Kam Curl on a three-year extension that includes about $24 million in guarantees.

Continue reading here

NFL free agency tracker

Chargers making moves

Former Baltimore Ravens tight end Charlie Kolar agreed to a deal with the Chargers on Monday.

(Terrance Williams / Associated Press)

The Chargers aren’t hesitating when it comes to bolstering their run-blocking options for new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, reportedly agreeing to terms Monday with former Baltimore Ravens tight end Charlie Kolar.

Kolar and the Chargers agreed to a three-year, $24.3-million deal that includes $17 million in guarantees, NFL Media reported.

Widely considered the best run-blocking tight end available ahead of free agency, Kolar should help an uneven Chargers running attack that forced coach Jim Harbaugh to often rely too much on quarterback Justin Herbert — even when his running backs were healthy.

Continue reading here

Dodgers prospect Ryan Ward waiting for his chance

Ryan Ward hits for the Dodgers during a spring training game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Feb. 25.

(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

From Jack Vita: There comes a point in every big leaguer’s career when they graduate from their farm system, a time in which they’ve proven everything they can at the minor league level, and it’s time to see what they are made of in the big leagues.

For some, it’s a fast track. For others, it may come after a few seasons in the minors.

And then there’s players such as 28-year-old Dodgers prospect Ryan Ward. Drafted in the eighth round in 2019, Ward has played 402 games at triple-A Oklahoma City over the past three seasons. Last year, his 36 home runs, 122 RBIs, and .290/.380/.557 slash line made him the MVP of the Pacific Coast League. But after Sunday’s Cactus League game against the Athletics, the Dodgers optioned Ward and left-hander Ronan Kopp to Oklahoma City.

The wait continues for Ward.

Continue reading here

Dodgers-Brewers box score

MLB spring training scores

MLB spring training standings

Changes at Casey Wasserman’s agency

Casey Wasserman, chairman of the Los Angeles Organizing Committee, speaks during an IOC meeting in Milan on Feb. 3.

(Luca Bruno / Associated Press)

From Meg James: Casey Wasserman’s name has been scrubbed from the agency he founded decades ago, replaced with an amorphous moniker: “The Team.”

Monday’s move comes amid the lingering controversy over the sports mogul’s decades-old association with Ghislaine Maxwell, accomplice of the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Following revelations of Wasserman’s salacious 2003 emails with Maxwell, several musicians and athletes — led by pop artist Chappell Roan and soccer star Abby Wambach — said that, to stay true to their values, they would leave the agency then known as Wasserman.

Fears of a broad flight of artists and agents prompted Wasserman to announce that he was selling his talent representation and sports marketing firm. Talks with prospective buyers have been ongoing, according to a person close to the agency but not authorized to speak publicly.

Continue reading here

Clippers back at the .500 mark

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, right, controls the ball in front of New York Knicks guard Josh Hart during the second half of the Clippers’ win Monday at Intuit Dome.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

From the Associated Press: Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points, Bennedict Mathurin added 28 points, and the Clippers beat the New York Knicks 126-118 at Intuit Dome on Monday night to climb back to .500 for the first time since early November.

The Clippers are 32-32 and have won five of their first six games in March as they try to improve their potential position in the NBA play-in tournament. They began the season in a 6-21 tailspin.

It was Leonard’s 42nd straight game with 20-plus points, the second-longest active streak in the NBA and third-longest in team history.

Continue reading here

Clippers-Knicks box score

NBA scores

NBA standings

Kings beat Blue Jackets in overtime

Kings forward Adrian Kempe celebrates after scoring in overtime against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday.

(Jay LaPrete / Associated Press)

From the Associated Press: Adrian Kempe scored his second goal of the game with 2:26 left in overtime to give the Kings a 5-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday.

With the victory, the Kings moved within a point of Seattle in the race for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.

Columbus tied the score late for the second straight home game. Kirill Marchenko scored on the power play at 18:04 to force the extra period.

Continue reading here

Kings-Blue Jackets box score

NHL scores

NHL standings

Tom Brady is heading to L.A.

Tom Brady looks on before the NFC championship game between the Rams and the Seattle Seahawks on Jan. 25 at Lumen Field.

(Jane Gershovich / Getty Images)

From Chuck Schilken: Tom Brady‘s return to the football field will take place on U.S. soil.

Right here in Los Angeles, to be specific.

The Fanatics Flag Football Classic, featuring Brady and a slew of other NFL stars and athletes, will take place March 21 at BMO Stadium, the venue that is also slated to host flag football during the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The event was originally scheduled to take place on the same date, but at a location more than 8,000 miles away at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia.

Continue reading here

U.S. defeats Mexico in World Baseball Classic

Aaron Judge, center, celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run for the U.S. against Mexico in the World Baseball Classic on Monday.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

From the Associated Press: Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer and Roman Anthony added a three-run blast in a big third inning to lead the United States to a 5-3 win over Mexico in the World Baseball Classic at Houston’s Daikin Park on Monday night.

The U.S. improved to 3-0 and will meet Italy (2-0) on Tuesday night, seeking to secure a spot in the quarterfinals in Houston this weekend.

Jarren Duran homered twice for Mexico (2-1), which will face Italy Wednesday night in the last game of Group B play.

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1913 — The Quebec Bulldogs win the Stanley Cup in two games over Sydney.

1920 — Quebec’s Joe Malone scores six goals to lead the Bulldogs to a 10-4 rout of the Ottawa Senators.

1961 — Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors becomes the first NBA player to score 3,000 points in a season. Chamberlain scores 32 points in a 120-103 loss to Detroit to bring his season total to 3,016.

1963 — Wilt Chamberlain of the San Francisco Warriors scores 70 points in a 163-148 loss to Syracuse.

1985 — Dick Motta becomes the fourth NBA coach to record 700 victories as Dallas beats New Jersey 126-113.

1991 — Eddie Sutton of Oklahoma State becomes the first coach to lead four schools into the NCAA tournament. Sutton also coached Creighton, Arkansas and Kentucky in the tournament.

1992 — New York Islanders coach Al Arbour becomes the second coach in NHL history to win 700 games with a 5-2 victory over Philadelphia.

2001 — With Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark looking on, Hermann Maier wins the giant slalom for his 13th victory this season, equaling one of the mightiest alpine skiing records. Maier, winner of the overall World Cup title three of the last four years, ties the record Stenmark set in 1979.

2002 — John Stockton, the NBA’s career assist leader, has 13 assists in Utah’s 95-92 loss at Houston to give him exactly 15,000 for his career.

2004 — Orlando’s Tracy McGrady scores a franchise record 62 points in a 108-99 win over Washington.

2011 — Veteran referees Jim Burr, Tim Higgins and Earl Walton, cited for two errors in the final seconds of the St. John’s-Rutgers game, withdraw from the rest of the Big East tournament. The three officials missed two calls — a travel and stepping out of bounds — in the final 1.7 seconds of St. John’s 65-63 win in the second-round of Big East tournament. The Big East acknowledged after the game the officials blew the calls.

2014 — The game between Dallas and the Columbus Blue Jackets is postponed by the NHL after Stars forward Rich Peverley collapses on the bench during the first period.

2018 — Texas Southern beats Arkansas-Pine Bluff 84-69 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game. Texas Southern (15-19) earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament after starting out 0-13 this season. The Tigers didn’t win a game until Jan. 1 and never beat a nonconference opponent.

2018 — The Vegas Golden Knights set a record for road wins by an expansion team with a 2-1 shootout victory at Buffalo. At 20-12-3, the Golden Knights break a tie with the 1993-94 Anaheim Ducks for most road wins by an NHL team in its first season.

2022 — After a 99-day lockout, Major League Baseball and MLB Players Assn. reach a new collective bargaining agreement; MLB teams set to play full 162 game season in 2022.

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.

Benvenuti a The Times Lakers newsletter, where, after a month in Italy, we are so back.

The Lakers are largely in the same situation as when I left. They’re still safely in the playoff race with a 39-25 record, but flirting with the play-in. LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are still searching for their three-man chemistry. Deandre Ayton hasn’t dyed his hair again.

But the tl;dr version of February does have one major change for the Lakers.

Hot hand Luke

Lakers guard Luke Kennard reacts after making a three-pointer against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 7.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

JJ Redick always knew how good of a shooter Luke Kennard was. This former Duke sharpshooter wouldn’t expect anything less from another Blue Devils star. But Kennard’s influence since joining the Lakers in a February trade has gone beyond his league-leading three-point percentage.

The Lakers are 5-1 in the past six games with Kennard shooting a blazing 56.7% from three-point range. He jump-starts the Lakers’ offense with his constant motion and elite floor spacing, making the transition from midseason acquisition to integral bench piece look effortless.

“It all comes down to, like, the point-five decision making,” Redick said. “… That’s where we try to focus a lot of the development [on] being able to recognize when there has been an advantage created, and then playing off that and not giving up the advantage. And we have some guys that have to grow in that area.

“Luke,” Redick added, “that’s what he does.”

The Lakers were shooting 34.9% from three before the trade, 21st in the league. Since acquiring Kennard, the Lakers are shooting 39.2% from three-point range, ranking second in the NBA during that stretch.

Kennard, shooting 50% from the three-point line, is on track to become just the sixth NBA player to shoot 50% or better from three over an entire season. There are some players in the NBA who couldn’t hit 50 out of 100 three-pointers in an empty gym, Redick said.

Redick has known Kennard for more than a decade. Not only was he comfortable with the coaching staff, Kennard also has history with former Memphis teammates Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart and being in L.A., playing with the Clippers from 2020 to 2023. Kennard said he “lit up inside,” when he heard he would be heading to the Lakers, who sent Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round pick to Atlanta in the deal.

The organization is “the biggest stage you can play on in basketball,” Kennard said. And he gets to share it with generational talents.

Playing with Doncic and James has created some of the most open three-point shots Kennard has had in his career, he said. When he gets one wide-open three early, that only helps his rhythm. Then teams start to help too much on his shooting and that opens the paint. It’s the type of chain reaction Kennard watched with envy from the opposite sideline when Doncic, then with Dallas, was slicing up the Clippers in the playoffs.

“It’s definitely something you think about like, ‘Man, I wish that was me there getting those open looks,’” Kennard said. “But now it’s a reality.”

Kennard marvels at his new reality sometimes. When Doncic was in his peak, “Luka Magic” form Friday, banking line-drive step-back threes off the backboard in the Lakers’ rout over the Indiana Pacers, Kennard said he caught himself just gawking at his teammate a few times.

But Doncic, who scored 44 points in the win, was quick to credit the team’s bench contributions. Kennard had 15 points on three-of-five three-point shooting, and Doncic said he has encouraged Kennard to shoot more.

A smile broke across Kennard’s face when he was told of the praise.

“Especially coming from a guy like that,” Kennard said, “one of the best scorers ever to play the game, it just builds confidence in you as a player to play off of him.”

Catching Kareem

Lakers star LeBron James shoots over Denver’s Zeke Nnaji to set the all-time NBA record for most successful field goals on Thursday.

(Chris Swann / Clarkson Creative / Getty Images)

He used it to break the NBA’s most iconic record. It seemed fitting that James used a midrange fadeaway shot to claim another record from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Already the leader in NBA seasons played, minutes played and points scored, James added another record to his resume last week by passing Abdul-Jabbar for most made field goals in NBA history. His record-breaking 15,838th made shot came against Denver on Thursday, and, with a 180-degree pirouette added, looked similar to the shot he used to claim the scoring record from Abdul-Jabbar in 2023.

“At the end of the day, just to be able to link my name to being mentioned with some of the greatest to ever play this game has always been humbling and a pretty cool thing,” James said after the Lakers lost. “I grew up watching, reading [about], idolizing a lot of the greats and if I ever was able to be part of the NBA, I wanted to put myself in position that I can be named with some of the greats by doing something right.”

The record is a true testament to James’ staying power. He established the regular-season scoring record in the same 20 seasons as Abdul-Jabbar played, but the field-goal record would have been well out of reach had James not continued into his historic 23rd season. When comparing their NBA careers, Abdul-Jabbar, who averaged 10.15 made field goals per game across his career to James’ 9.86, made more shots than James in 16 of 20 seasons. Abdul-Jabbar had two 1,000 field goal seasons while James’ highest total was 875 in his third year. Michael Jordan, in 1989-90, was the last NBA player with more than 1,000 made field goals in a season (1,034).

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

James’ longevity and productivity at the twilight of his career is so unmatched that even the idea that the James era could end soon barely even registers for some competitors.

“I think he can play forever,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said when asked if he thinks about how any game could be the last he coaches against James. “That’s just my personal opinion. I know he won’t, but the shape that he is in and how he takes care of his body is just amazing.”

James, who is ineligible for postseason awards for the first time in his career because he missed more than 17 games, is questionable for Tuesday’s game with a right hip contusion and left foot arthritis. He has missed the last two games with a left elbow contusion he sustained in the final minutes against Denver. He did not practice Monday.

The next personal milestone for James may be career games played, where he trails Robert Parish’s 1,611 by five.

On tap

Records and stats current before Monday’s games.

Tuesday vs. Timberwolves (40-24), 8 p.m.

With two October wins that feel like a lifetime ago, the Lakers already own the head-to-head season tiebreaker against the Timberwolves, meaning that a win Tuesday could vault the Lakers to third place in the West.

Thursday vs. Bulls (26-38), 7:30 p.m.

This is the only should-win game of the week against a team well outside of the playoff race. The Bulls added Collin Sexton at the trade deadline, but the former Charlotte guard left Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings with a leg injury.

Saturday vs. Nuggets (39-26), 5:30 p.m.

This game will decide the season series tiebreaker between the Lakers and Nuggets, who split their first two games.

Monday at Rockets (39-24), 6:30 p.m. PDT

The Lakers and Rockets have consecutive games in Houston on Monday and Wednesday. The Rockets are not the same team that dominated the Lakers on Christmas Day, though. Steven Adams has been out since Jan. 20 with a season-ending ankle injury, and a team that was on pace to be the best rebounding squad in a generation is seventh over the last 15 games with a 51.5% rebounding rate.

Favorite thing I ate this week

Gnocchi with spider crab and tomato sauce and black spaghetti with tuna tartare in Venice, Italy.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

I’ve been back from Italy for a week, but I didn’t share any meals from my post-Olympic vacation. We definitely saved the best for last in Italy.

Possibly my favorite of my entire month was in Venice at Oniga, a cozy restaurant we found away from the otherwise crowded narrow streets. Staying true to Venetian seafood tradition, we began with an appetizer of mussels and clams in a tomato sauce that had me wiping the bowl with our fresh baked bread. Our mains (pictured) were fresh gnocchi with local spider crab and tomato sauce and black spaghetti with tuna tartare and garlic oil. For dessert, we had salted caramel panna cotta and pistachio tiramisu. Squisito!

In case you missed it

Lakers prove against Knicks they can achieve gritty defensive wins

Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves carry LeBron-less Lakers to win over Knicks

Luka Doncic joins elite Lakers company with 44-point effort in win over Pacers

Luka Doncic is one technical foul away from an automatic suspension

LeBron James breaks another Kareem Abdul-Jabbar record, but hurts his elbow in loss

Swanson: The Lakers are the wrong kind of interesting amid relentless fan scrutiny

Lakers hope comeback win over Pelicans gives the team a timely boost

All five starters score in double figures as Lakers defeat the Pelicans

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at thucnhi.nguyen@latimes.com, and please consider subscribing if you like our work!

The Chargers aren’t hesitating when it comes to bolstering their run-blocking options for new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, reportedly agreeing to terms Monday with former Baltimore Ravens tight end Charlie Kolar.

Kolar and the Chargers agreed to a three-year, $24.3-million deal that includes $17 million in guarantees, NFL Media reported.

Widely considered the best run-blocking tight end available ahead of free agency, Kolar should help an uneven Chargers running attack that forced coach Jim Harbaugh to often rely too much on quarterback Justin Herbert — even when his running backs were healthy.

Kolar can also help complement tight end Oronde Gadsden II in the passing game when necessary, but he should mostly serve as a replacement for Will Dissly, who was released by the team last week. It’s also no coincidence that Kolar played for Harbaugh’s brother, John, in Baltimore and was drafted in 2022 when Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz was the director of player personnel for the Ravens.

Kolar, 27, had 10 catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns last season. In four seasons with the Ravens, he had 30 catches for 409 yards and four touchdowns.

Like most Chargers offseasons, it’s clear Hortiz is prioritizing ways to add to the Chargers’ offense while also bolstering its protection options. On Sunday, the team agreed to terms with Alec Ingold, reuniting the former Miami Dolphins fullback with McDaniel.

The famed Magic City adult entertainment club won’t be featured at next week’s Atlanta Hawks promotional night, the NBA announced on Monday.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged concerns from others in the league on Monday, saying that his decision to cancel the collaboration is in the best interests of the “broader NBA community.”

“While we appreciate the team’s perspective and their desire to move forward,” he said in a statement, “we have heard significant concerns from a broad array of league stakeholders, including fans, partners and employees.”

The Hawks announced its “Magic City Monday” promotion in late February, featuring a halftime performance by Atlanta-based artist T.I., a collaborative hoodie and the offering of some of the club’s popular wings, including the lemon-pepper variety named after former Hawks player Lou Williams.

Hawks principal owner Jami Gertz was a producer on “Magic City: An American Fantasy,” a docuseries that aired on Starz. Still, the team’s decision to collaborate with the Atlanta strip club ruffled some feathers in the NBA.

San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet asked the Hawks to cancel the promotional night in a post on Medium last week, saying that it would “reflect poorly on us as an NBA community, specifically in being complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women in our society.”

Others had argued that Magic City is a big part of Atlanta culture and should be celebrated as such.

The Hawks wrote in a statement on Monday that it was disappointed with the NBA’s decision but would respect it.

Rapper T.I. will still perform at halftime, but the live recording of the Hawks AF Podcast featuring Gertz, T.I. and Magic City founder Michael Barney was canceled. Fans who pre-ordered the collaboration hoodie will still receive one, but the sweatshirts won’t be available for purchase at the game, the Hawks wrote on X.

“As a franchise, we remain committed to celebrating the best of Atlanta — with authenticity — in ways that continue to unite and bring us all together,” the Hawks wrote.

Times staff writer Chuck Schilken contributed to this report

Casey Wasserman’s name has been scrubbed from the agency he founded decades ago, replaced with an amorphous moniker: “The Team.”

Monday’s move comes amid the lingering controversy over the sports mogul’s decades-old association with Ghislaine Maxwell, accomplice of the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Following revelations of Wasserman’s salacious 2003 emails with Maxwell, several musicians and athletes — led by pop artist Chappell Roan and soccer star Abby Wambach — said that, to stay true to their values, they would leave the agency then known as Wasserman.

Fears of a broad flight of artists and agents prompted Wasserman to announce that he was selling his talent representation and sports marketing firm. Talks with prospective buyers have been ongoing, according to a person close to the agency but not authorized to speak publicly.

For now, the agency is still owned by Wasserman and private equity firm Providence Equity Partners.

Wasserman continues to lead LA28, the nonprofit group that will be staging the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in two years. The LA28 board’s executive committee unanimously voted to keep Wasserman as chairman, after reviewing known details surrounding his more than 20-year-old flirtations with Maxwell and his “strong leadership” of the Games.

Visitors to the Wasserman agency website were greeted with a message saying the firm, as of Monday, was rebranding as the Team.

“For 24 years, this company has been shaped by our work, our people and our unifying belief in the power of Sports, Music and Entertainment,” the message read. “That philosophy remains the foundation of who we are — and where we are going.”

Wasserman was not mentioned in the website messaging. Nor was he pictured in its photos depicting smiling agents. Old press releases have been changed to refer to the company as the Team, not Wasserman.

The website’s background is now adorned with a grid of T’s.

In a Feb. 13 memo to his staff, Wasserman acknowledged his appearance in a recent batch of documents released by the Department of Justice related to the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell had “become a distraction.”

Wasserman said he was “heartbroken that my brief contact with them 23 years ago” had brought hardship to the agency he created in 2002.

“I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort,” Wasserman wrote to his staff. “It’s not fair to you, and it’s not fair to the clients and partners we represent so vigorously and care so deeply about.”

Wasserman appears to have met Maxwell on a September 2002 humanitarian trip through Africa, sponsored by former President Clinton.

Wasserman, a prolific Clinton fundraiser whose famous grandfather helped the Democrat win the 1992 presidential election, was joined on Epstein’s jet by his then-wife, Laura, actor Kevin Spacey, Epstein and his longtime companion Ghislaine Maxwell and others, including security agents.

It’s not clear when Wasserman and Maxwell began corresponding via email. The messages contained in the Justice Department files are from March and April of 2003. In them, Wasserman writes about wanting to see Maxwell in a tight leather outfit and she offered to give him a massage that can “drive a man wild.”

Maxwell was convicted of sexual abuse in 2021.

Wasserman has worked nearly a decade to bring the Olympics to Los Angeles.

Former Mayor Eric Garcetti recruited him to help L.A. win its host bid and the International Olympic Committee reportedly were impressed with Wasserman’s “network of contacts.”

Behind the scenes, there have been tensions with Los Angeles political leaders. Mayor Karen Bass has said that Wasserman should step down from the high-profile role overseeing the Games. Bass said that “we need to look at the leadership” of LA28 and that her job is to make sure that the city is “completely prepared” for the Games.

Tom Brady‘s return to the football field will take place on U.S. soil.

Right here in Los Angeles, to be specific.

The Fanatics Flag Football Classic, featuring Brady and a slew of other NFL stars and athletes, will take place March 21 at BMO Stadium, the venue that is also slated to host flag football during the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The event was originally scheduled to take place on the same date, but at a location more than 8,000 miles away at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia.

No official reason for the relocation has been given, although the move was made amid increased tensions in the Middle East after the United States and Israel began military strikes against Iran this month. Last week, Iran used two drones to strike the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital city.

The event will feature three 12-player teams. Brady, the retired seven-time Super Bowl champion and minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will co-captain the Founders FFC team, which will be coached by Denver Broncos’ Sean Payton.

A second team, Wildcats FFC, will be co-captained by Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, with San Francisco 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan coaching. During a March 18 draft, the two teams will be built from a pool of athletes that include Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, former Rams receiver Odell Beckham Jr., four-time Super Bowl-winning tight end Rob Gronkowski and WWE star Logan Paul.

The third team in the event is the U.S. national flag football team, the reigning IFAF flag football world champion coached by Jorge Cascudo and captained by Aamir Brown and Darrell “Housh” Doucette.

NFL free agency is here!

Well, kind of.

The league’s so-called legal tampering period begins Monday at 9 a.m. PT, when teams are allowed to start negotiating with the agents for players who are about to become unrestricted free agents. No contracts can actually be signed, however, until the the start of the new NFL league year, which is Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT.

So, basically, fans will start finding out what moves their teams make and where various players will land starting Monday morning.

Hours before the legal tampering period started, the Miami Dolphins announced they will release longtime quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The 2023 All Star will count $99 million against the Dolphins’ salary cap, the biggest dead cap hit in NFL history. The money can be split over the next two seasons if Tagovailoa is designated a post-June 1 release.

In six years with the Dolphins, Tagovailoa went 44-32 as a starter, completing 68% of his passes for 18,166 yards with 120 touchdowns and 59 interceptions. He made the Pro Bowl in 2023.

“Wearing this jersey and representing this city has been one of the greatest joys of my life,” Tagovailoa wrote Monday on Instagram, adding: “I also carry deep regret that I couldn’t get the job done and bring a championship home to this city. Miami deserves that, and I’ll always wish I could have delivered it for you.”

Who are some of the other big names in the free agency market? As far as quarterbacks are concerned, Green Bay Packers backup Malik Willis could be a hot commodity. Daniel Jones is a free agent after a strong season with Indianapolis, although the Colts placed the transition tag on him and can match any offer.

Veteran quarterback Kyler Murray was informed by the Arizona Cardinals last week that they will be letting him go at the start of the new league year. The Atlanta Falcons have made a similar announcement regarding Kirk Cousins. Other available veteran quarterbacks include Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco, Russell Wilson and Marcus Mariota.

Teams in need of a running back might be interested in the services of Kenneth Walker III, who will be a free agent just weeks after he was named Super Bowl LX MVP as a member of the Seattle Seahawks. Travis Etienne of the Jacksonville Jaguars could also find a new home.

This also seems to be a big year for free agent edge rushers (including Trey Hendrickson, Jaelan Phillips, Odafe Oweh, K’Lavon Chaisson and Boye Mafe) and wide receivers (including Alec Pierce, Mike Evans, Romeo Doubs, Rashid Shaheed and Jauan Jennings).

Check back here for updates as teams begin making moves.