teams

From Ryan Kartje: At the bitter end of a brutal January, Kennedy Smith put her head down, determined to will her way to the hoop. All month long, USC faded in the most unfortunate moments, letting games get away from them. There was the 16-point lead lost in Ann Arbor. The frustrating final five minutes against Oregon. The seven fourth-quarter turnovers at Minnesota. And so on.

The Trojans had lost six of their last seven entering Thursday, not far from the worst stretch of Lindsay Gottlieb’s tenure as coach. But as No. 8 Iowa climbed back in the third quarter, threatening to add another defeat to that list, Smith, the Trojans’ emotional leader, took matters into her hands.

She drove once, then again, then again. Four times in a matter of two minutes, the relentless Smith attacked the hoop, carrying the weight of USC’s weeks-long slump on her shoulders as she did. When she finally let up, the Trojans were well out in front again, rolling from there to an 81-69 victory.

The Hawkeyes (18-3 overall, 9-1 Big Ten) had not lost in Big Ten play coming into Thursday, while Gottlieb’s Trojans had struggled to find a foothold in the conference. But it all finally came together at Galen Center in what was arguably USC’s best game to date, an upset that could turn the tide of the Trojans’ season.

Gottlieb said after the game that she felt a single win like Thursday’s could spark a turnaround.

Nevertheless, she said, “right now, this was really, really needed.”

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USC box score

Big Ten standings

Reaves still out, Doncic questionable

From Broderick Turner: The Lakers have upgraded guard Austin Reaves (left calf strain) to questionable from out and listed guard Luka Doncic (left ankle soreness) as questionable for Friday night’s game against the Washington Wizards.

Reaves has been out since getting injured on Christmas Day against the Houston Rockets, a span of 17 games.

In 23 games this season, Reaves is averaging career highs in points (26.6), assists (6.3) and rebounds (5.2). Reaves is shooting 50.7% from the field and 36.5% from three-point range.

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‘We want Bronny’: Guard Bronny James shines during Lakers’ ugly loss to Cleveland

Kings’ winning streak ends

Alex Tuch had his fourth career hat trick to push his season goals total to 22, leading the surging Buffalo Sabres to a 4-1 victory over the Kings on Thursday night.

Alex Lyon made a season-high 37 saves for his 10th consecutive victory to break the franchise record set by Gerry Desjardins in December 1976.

Tuch reached the 20-goal mark for the fourth straight season and fifth overall. Mattias Samuelsson also scored to help the Sabres win for the 20 time in 24 games.

Adrian Kempe scored for the Kings, and Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves. The Kings had won three straight games and earned points in six in a row.

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Kings summary

NHL standings

Canucks pluck Ducks

Nikita Tolopilo made 32 saves, Drew O’Connor opened the scoring with 9:42 left and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Ducks 2-0 on Thursday night.

Tolopilo was denied his first NHL shutout after missing the first 2:11 of the second period because of concussion protocol after he was run over by Ryan Poehling late in the first period.

Lukas Dostal made 24 saves for the Ducks (28-23-3).

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Ducks summary

NHL standings

Jordan Chiles might get her medal back

From Chuck Schilken: Jordan Chiles might be able to keep the bronze medal she won, then was stripped of, at the 2024 Paris Olympics after all.

On Jan. 23, Swiss Federal Supreme Court sent the U.S. gymnast’s case back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to re-examine the matter “on the basis of an audio-visual recording” that could provide evidence in Chiles’ favor, the court said Thursday in a news release.

“The Federal Supreme Court acknowledged that this new evidence may justify a modification of the contested award,” Switzerland’s highest court stated. “It referred the case back to the CAS for it to re-examine the situation, taking this new evidence into account.”

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Rams hire special teams coordinator

From Gary Klein: Sean McVay did not waste any time attempting to address the Rams’ problematic special teams going into next season.

The Rams hired Raymond “Bubba” Ventrone as their special teams coordinator, a person with knowledge of the situation said Thursday. The person requested anonymity because the hiring has not been announced.

Ventrone, a former NFL player, was the Cleveland Browns special teams coordinator the last three seasons. He also has been a coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts, and coached for the New England Patriots.

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Super Bowl Sunday

Sunday, Feb. 8
at Santa Clara
Seattle vs. New England
3:30 p.m. PT, NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, KLAC AM 570
Halftime show: Bad Bunny
National anthem: Charlie Puth
Odds: Seahawks favored by 4.5 points
Over/Under: 45.5 points

This day in sports history

1926 — The major league rules committee mandates that pitchers must have access to a rosin bag.

1971 — UCLA starts its 88-game winning streak with a 74-61 win over UC Santa Barbara.

1983 — John Riggins rushes for a Super Bowl-record 166 yards in 38 carries to spark the Washington Redskins to a comeback 27-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins. For Riggins, the game’s MVP, it’s his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game during the playoffs, also a record.

1992 — Jockey Mike Smith wins six races in one day at Aqueduct for the second time in the month. His first six-winner day at Aqueduct was on Jan. 13.

1993 — Monica Seles beats Steffi Graf 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to capture her third straight Australian Open.

1994 — The Dallas Cowboys, behind MVP Emmitt Smith and safety James Washington, beat Buffalo 30-13 for their second straight NFL title while giving the Bills four straight Super Bowl losses.

1996 — Magic Johnson finishes with 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the Lakers’ 128-118 victory over Golden State. It is Johnson’s first regular-season game back from a 4 1/2-season retirement.

1999 — Martina Hingis wins her fifth Grand Slam title and third straight Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over France’s Amelie Mauresmo.

2001 — Daron Rahlves wins the super giant slalom, the first American to capture the event at the world championships.

2002 — Utah’s Karl Malone becomes second player in NBA history to register 34,000 points by scoring 18 in a 90-78 win over Chicago at the Delta Center; trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points).

2006 — Teemu Selanne scores two goals for his 1,000th point in the Ducks’ 4-3 overtime victory over the Kings.

2010 — Serena Williams ends Justine Henin’s hopes of a Grand Slam title in her return from retirement with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory in the Australian Open final.

2011 — MVP DeAngelo Hall has one of his team’s five interceptions and returns a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown to help the NFC match a Pro Bowl scoring record in a 55-41 victory over the AFC. AFC quarterbacks Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Matt Cassel each throw first-half interceptions to help the NFC open a 42-0 lead.

2011 — Loui Eriksson’s second goal, an empty-netter at 18:49 of the third period, helps seal an 11-10 victory for Team Lidstrom against Team Staal in the NHL All-Star Game.

2015 — The Phoenix Open continues without Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The biggest shock is Woods, who bogeys on his last hole for an 82, the worst score in his two decades as a pro. Mickelson shoots 76 and misses the cut by two shots.

2016 — Angelique Kerber upsets Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win the Australian Open title, ending the six-time champion’s unbeaten streak in finals at Melbourne Park.

2018 — Houston guard James Harden puts up highest scoring triple-double in NBA history (60 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) as the Rockets beat Orlando Magic, 114-107 in Houston.

2022 — Australian Open Men’s Tennis: Rafael Nadal wins record 21st Grand Slam singles title with an epic 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 win over Daniil Medvedev of Russia.

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.

Sean McVay did not waste any time attempting to address the Rams’ problematic special teams going into next season.

The Rams hired Raymond “Bubba” Ventrone as their special teams coordinator, a person with knowledge of the situation said Thursday. The person requested anonymity because the hiring has not been announced.

Ventrone, a former NFL player, was the Cleveland Browns special teams coordinator the last three seasons. He also has been a coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts, and coached for the New England Patriots.

Special teams were a weakness for a Rams team that finished 12-5 and advanced to the NFC championship game before losing to the Seattle Seahawks.

Kicking game miscues cost the Rams in several early-season losses, leading them to sign kicker Harrison Mevis to replace Joshua Karty and veteran snapper Jake McQuaide to replace Alex Ward. McVay fired coordinator Chase Blackburn in December, the day after Seattle’s Rashid Shaheed returned a punt for a touchdown in a Week 16 overtime defeat at Seattle.

Ben Kotwica served as interim special teams coordinator the rest of the season.

The Rams had a punt blocked in a wild-card victory at Carolina.

In the NFC championship game, returner Xavier Smith muffed a punt that was recovered by the Seahawks, who scored on the next play.

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Lakers teammates and coaches clapped. LeBron James stared stoically at the video board. Instead of acknowledging the Cleveland crowd showering the Lakers star with applause after a video tribute on Monday, James lifted his jersey over his face.

He wiped his eyes.

Recognizing that the end of his illustrious basketball career is closing in soon, returning to where it all started stirred up emotions in James that surprised even him. He scanned the arena before the game to look for his mother in a suite. He glanced up at the championship banner he helped win in 2016. Then he had one of his worst games as an opponent against the Cavaliers, finishing with just 11 points, five assists and six turnovers in the Lakers’ 129-99 blowout loss.

It was the team’s worst loss of the year.

The Cavaliers (29-26) played a video tribute for James in the first quarter, focusing on the highlights of him scoring 25 consecutive points in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. James said he remembered it “like it was yesterday.” The video finished with the message “Welcome Home.” James clutched the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the final image.

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Lakers box score

NBA standings

Cleveland court is a known hazard

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Luka Doncic grabbed at his left leg. He immediately thought of Dru Smith. The Miami Heat guard’s knee injury suffered in 2023 when he slipped off the side of the Cleveland Cavaliers court haunted Doncic while he winced in pain near the Lakers bench.

The Lakers superstar avoided serious injury after falling off the side of the Cavaliers’ raised court on Monday, but the threat of a player being hurt by Cleveland’s unique 10-inch drop off between the court and the arena floor came into focus again during the Lakers’ 129-99 loss to the Cavaliers.

“It is absolutely a safety hazard,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after Doncic was able to return later in the first quarter. “And I don’t know why it’s still like that. I don’t. You know, you can lodge formal complaints. A lot of times you don’t see any change when you lodge a formal complaint.”

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UCLA women win 14th in a row

Lauren Betts overcame early foul trouble to score 23 points and pull down nine rebounds, leading No. 2 UCLA to an 80-67 win Wednesday night over Illinois.

Betts, the Bruins’ 6-foot-7 AP All-American center, picked up her second and third fouls — the latter on a technical foul — with 1:29 left in the first quarter.

She sat out the rest of the first quarter and the second quarter, returned to the court after halftime, and ended up playing nearly 24 minutes. She had just six points at halftime.

Angela Dugalic scored 12 points for UCLA (20-1, 10-0 Big Ten), which won its 14th straight. Gabriela Jaquez had 11, and Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Sienna Betts — Lauren’s sister — each added 10.

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UCLA box score

Big Ten standings

UCLA men rout Ducks

Tyler Bilodeau had 18 points, Eric Daily Jr. had his second double-double this season, and UCLA beat shorthanded Oregon 73-57 on Wednesday night to extend the Ducks’ losing streak to seven games.

Dailey finished with 14 points and a career-high tying 11 rebounds. Donovan Dent scored 11 of his 15 in the second half for UCLA (15-6, 7-3 Big Ten) and Trent Perry, who was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting before halftime, added 12 points.

The Bruins have won three in a row and five of their last six.

Kwame Evans Jr. led Oregon (8-13, 1-9) with 24 points, which included four three-pointers, and nine rebounds. Nate Bittle, Jackson Shelstad and Takai Simpkins — who are first (16.3 per game), second (15.6) and fourth (12.4), respectively, on the team in scoring this season — did not play for the Ducks due to injuries.

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UCLA box score

Big Ten standings

USC men lose close one to Iowa

Bennett Stirtz scored 20 points, including two free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining, as Iowa survived USC‘s comeback bid to win 73-72 on Wednesday night.

The Hawkeyes (15-5, 5-4 Big Ten) led by as many as 17 points in the second half, but a rally by USC put the Trojans ahead by one point with eight seconds to go. Stirtz was fouled by USC’s Jerry Easter II, and made both free throws to put Iowa back ahead.

A 20-4 run early in the second half gave the Hawkeyes a double-digit lead, but Kam Woods single-handedly got the Trojans (15-6, 4-6) back into the game with a solo 12-0 run. Woods scored 19 straight points for USC before Jacob Cofie made the go-ahead layup. Woods finished with 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting after playing all 40 minutes. His previous season high was eight points.

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USC box score

Big Ten standings

Bob Chesney is impressing high school coaches

From Eric Sondheimer: As far as first impressions go, new UCLA football coach Bob Chesney has been hitting the ball out of the park, according to high school coaches who have been receiving visits since Chesney started focusing on introducing himself to local coaches when the college transfer portal closed on Jan. 16.

“He’s a high-energy guy who has a clear vision,” St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro said. “He’s going to bring some excitement back. I was highly impressed. If he’s going to execute what his plan is, he’s going to have immediate success.”

There are so many Chesney sightings at high schools around Southern California, you have to wonder if he’s also scouting for a new house, but that’s probably left to his wife. On his visit to St. John Bosco, his driver was former St. John Bosco assistant Marshawn Friloux, a holdover in the Bruins’ recruiting department from the previous staff.

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Will Gary Patterson ride to the rescue?

From Ryan Kartje: When Gary Patterson resigned as coach of Texas Christian in October 2021, midway through his 21st season with the Horned Frogs, the now-65-year old coach decided to take a step back and reevaluate where he and the college game were headed.

“I’d had a job since I was 9 years old,” Patterson said. “Just kind of wanted to take a break.”

For decades, football had been at the forefront of his and his family’s life, so much so that his wife joked she was merely his “mistress.” He wanted to spend time with her, with his grandkids. Plus, after a few seasons, he knew he’d be eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame, which was important to him.

Patterson ended up filling that time with football, anyway, biding his time for the right opportunity to come along.

It came earlier this month, four years after his departure from Fort Worth, in the form of a text message from USC coach Lincoln Riley, whom he knew from their days coaching across from each other in the Big 12. The Trojans’ defensive coordinator, D’Anton Lynn, had left in late December for the same job at Penn State. Riley needed a replacement.

“He wasn’t going to jump back into this for anything,” Riley said Wednesday. “It had to be the right opportunity, the right kind of place, the right kind of setting. I know he knows and believe he’s found that.”

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Sydney Barros steps up for UCLA gymnastics

From Anthony Solorzano: UCLA gymnast Sydney Barros was not prepared to be a part of the rotation during their meet against Michigan State on Sunday. Leading up to the meet, she was ready to watch from the sidelines as she was recovering from a minor ankle injury.

During the previous competition against Nebraska on Jan. 17, when the Bruins came out with a win, Barros’ only action came with performances on the uneven bars and floor exercise.

Due to illnesses to some of her teammates, it was her turn to compete.

“When I realized I might have to step up this weekend, I had to mentally put myself in that position really quickly,” Barros said. “… I made sure I was in the best mental space possible and just trusted my training that I did have.”

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Bill Belichick is not a first-ballot Hall of Famer

From Chuck Schilken: Bill Belichick is one of the most successful coaches in NFL history.

He won’t be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

ESPN broke the news Tuesday that Belichick won’t be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Multiple media outlets have since confirmed the report. The Hall of Fame has declined to comment on its class of 2026 before it is announced Feb. 5 at NFL Honors in San Francisco.

Belichick won six Super Bowls and nine AFC championships as head coach of the New England Patriots from 2000-2023. He’s a three-time coach of the year. He has more postseason wins (31) than any other NFL head coach and his 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs — counting his five seasons as the Cleveland Browns’ head coach from 1991-1995 — are the second most to Don Shula’s 347. He also won two Super Bowls as the New York Giants defensive coordinator.

“I don’t understand it. I mean, I was with him every day,” former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who played 20 seasons under Belichick, told Seattle Sports 710-AM on Wednesday. “If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, which is completely ridiculous because people deserve it.”

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Super Bowl Sunday

Sunday, Feb. 8
at Santa Clara
Seattle vs. New England
3:30 p.m. PT, NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, KLAC AM 570
Halftime show: Bad Bunny
National anthem: Charlie Puth
Odds: Seahawks favored by 4.5 points
Over/Under: 45.5 points

This day in sports history

1950 — In an Associated Press poll of sports writers and broadcasters, Jack Dempsey is voted the greatest fighter of the last 50 years. Dempsey received 251 votes to 104 for Joe Louis.

1958 — The St. Louis Cardinals give Stan Musial a contract for $100,000, making him the highest paid player in the National League.

1963 — Eleven players and six officials are elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jim Thorpe, Red Grange, Bronco Nagurski, Sammy Baugh, Dutch Clark, Johnny McNally, Ernie Nevers, Mel Hein, Pete Henry, Cal Hubbard and Don Hutson are the players. The six officials are Bert Bell, Joe Carr, George Halas, Curly Lambeau, Tim Mara and George Preston.

1971 — Hal Greer of Philadelphia becomes the sixth player in NBA history to score 20,000 points as the 76ers lose to Milwaukee 142-118.

1985 — Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders scores his 1,000th point with a goal in a 4-4 tie with the Minnesota North Stars.

1994 — Julio Cesar Chavez suffers his first loss in 91 fights when Frankie Randall knocks him down in the 11th round and wins the WBC super lightweight championship on a split decision.

1997 — Brian Himmler rolls two perfect games to take the lead after the first two rounds of qualifying at the PBA’s Columbia 300 Open.

2000 — Utah’s Karl Malone becomes the third player in NBA history to score 30,000 points when he makes a layup with 8:53 left in the third quarter of a 96-94 loss to Minnesota.

2005 — Serena Williams fends off six break points in the fifth game of the second set, then wills herself to overcome an aching back in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Lindsay Davenport in the Australian Open final.

2005 — Irina Slutskaya joins the elite company of Katarina Witt and Sonja Henie by winning a sixth title at the European Figure Skating Championships.

2006 — Roger Federer wins his seventh Grand Slam title, overcoming an early challenge from unseeded Marcos Baghdatis to win the Australian Open 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2.

2010 — Bernard Lagat wins his eighth Wanamaker Mile at 103rd Millrose Games in New York. Lagat, who finishes in 3:56.34, had shared the record with Irish great Eamonn Coghlan.

2012 — Lydia Ko becomes the youngest person ever to win a pro golf tour event by winning the Bing Lee/Samsung Women’s NSW Open on the ALPG Tour. She is 14 and 8 months, one year younger than the previous youngest person ever to win a professional golf tour event, Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa.

2012 — Novak Djokovic outlasts Rafael Nadal to defend his Australian Open title in the longest ever Grand Slam final and becomes the fifth man to win three straight majors in the Open Era. Djokovic completes a 5-hour, 53-minute 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 victory over Nadal at 1:37 a.m.

2014 — Ben Scrivens sets an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout with 59 in a spectacular performance that help the Edmonton Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks 3-0.

2017 — Roger Federer wins his 18th major title by beating Rafael Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to capture the Australian Open.

2018 — Australian Open Men’s Tennis: Roger Federer beats Marin Čilic 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to win his record 20th Grand Slam title.

2018 — Cleveland Indians announce they will remove “Chief Wahoo” caricature logo from uniforms in 2019.

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.

From Kevin Baxter: A growing number of international leaders are suggesting it’s time to reconsider the idea of playing the World Cup in the United States this summer.

Oke Gottlich, vice president of the German Football Assn., told a German newspaper last week that he wants to discuss a boycott of the tournament, much like the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

“By my reckoning,” Gottlich said, “the potential threat is greater now than it was then. We need to have this discussion.”

Politicians in Britain and France had already raised the idea of a World Cup boycott. But now the whispers are growing into a chorus.

Nearly two dozen European football association heads held informal talks in Budapest last week to discuss their participation in the World Cup. A veteran coach of several African national teams urged a boycott, and a United Nations diplomat and international law expert has canceled his World Cup tickets, fearing for his safety in the U.S. amid violent federal immigration crackdowns in Minnesota and other cities throughout the United States.

“ICE may decide that I am a gang member and I’ll be locked in prison for a year with no charges, no hearing, no trial, no right to consult a lawyer, no phone call,” Mohamad Safa, the Lebanese-born executive director of the U.N. organization Patriotic Vision, wrote in a social media post.

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From Ryan Kartje: Entering a particularly consequential season for coach Lincoln Riley at USC, a brutal Big Ten slate won’t cut the Trojans or their coach any slack in 2026.

That much was clear long before the Big Ten officially released its schedule for next season Tuesday. USC already knew it would face the conference’s top three teams from a season ago (Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon). But the official unveiling of the slate would further solidify just how grueling the climb could be for USC next season.

Oregon will face Portland State, an FCS team, a week before coming to USC on Sept. 26. Ohio State will have a bye week before its Halloween meeting with USC at the Coliseum, and so will the defending champ, Indiana, which USC will face in Bloomington on Nov. 14.

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USC 2026 football schedule
Times TBA

Aug. 29: TBA
Sept. 5: vs. Fresno State
Sept. 12: vs. Louisiana
Sept. 19: at Rutgers
Sept. 26: vs. Oregon
Oct. 3: vs. Washington
Oct. 10: at Penn State
Oct. 17: BYE
Oct. 24: at Wisconsin
Oct. 31: vs. Ohio State
Nov. 7: BYE
Nov. 14: at Indiana
Nov. 21: vs. Maryland
Nov. 28: at UCLA

From Anthony Solorzano: The Big Ten Conference announced on Tuesday the opponents new head coach Bob Chesney and the Bruins will face during the 2026 season.

Whether the games will be played at the Rose Bowl or SoFi Stadium remains to be determined, but the Bruins will not be suiting up against Curt Cignetti and defending national champion Indiana.

UCLA will hard launch the Chesney era on the road against rival California on Sept. 5 at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

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2026 UCLA football schedule
Times TBA

Sept. 5: at California
Sept. 12: vs. San Diego State
Sept. 19: vs. Purdue
Sept. 26: at Maryland
Oct. 3: BYE
Oct. 10: at Oregon
Oct. 17: vs. Wisconsin
Oct. 24: vs. Michigan State
Oct. 31: vs. Nevada
Nov. 7: at Minnesota
Nov. 14: vs. Illinois
Nov. 21: at Michigan
Nov. 28: vs. USC

Why did Mike McDaniel choose the Chargers?

Just like his famously inventive offenses, Mike McDaniel had many options.

He interviewed for several head coaching jobs after his four-year tenure in charge of the Miami Dolphins ended this month, and he could have been an offensive coordinator pretty much anywhere he pleased.

McDaniel still wants to be a head coach again someday, but he chose to join the Chargers alongside Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert because the combination of time, place and personnel seemed perfect for this idiosyncratic coach who also happens to be one of the top offensive minds in football.

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Super Bowl Sunday

Sunday, Feb. 8
at Santa Clara
Seattle vs. New England
3:30 p.m. PT, NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, KLAC AM 570
Halftime show: Bad Bunny
National anthem: Charlie Puth
Odds: Seahawks favored by 4.5 points
Over/Under: 45.5 points

Clippers defeat the Jazz

Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points, James Harden had 16 points and 10 assists, and the Clippers beat the Utah Jazz 111-99 on Tuesday night for their ninth win in 10 games.

Leonard has scored at least 20 points in 25 consecutive games. He joins Bob McAdoo, World B. Free and Blake Griffin as the only players in franchise history with such a streak.

Kris Dunn added 14 points and a season-best five steals for the Clippers (22-24), who have the best record in the NBA since Christmas. They have won 16 of their last 19 games — immediately after going 3-16 in their previous 19.

The Clippers took control during a 10-2 run in the third quarter powered powered by Dunn’s two steals and layups, along with a three-pointer that made it 73-61. They led by double figures the rest of the way.

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Clippers box score

NBA standings

Kings’ win streak reaches three

Anton Forsberg made 26 saves and the Kings beat the Red Wings 3-1 on Tuesday night as Detroit winger Patrick Kane moved into a tie with Dallas’ Mike Modano as the highest-scoring American-born players in NHL history.

Kane matched Modano by recording his 1,374th point on an assist on a goal by Alex DeBrincat late in the third period. He accomplished the feat just a couple of months after turning 37, while Modano was 40 when he scored a goal to register point No. 1,374. For his career, Kane has 500 goals and 874 assists in 1,341 NHL regular-season games. Modano retired in 2011 with 561 goals and 813 assists in 1,499 games.

Samuel Helenius, Andrei Kuzmenko and Corey Perry scored for the Kings, who won their third straight game.

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Kings summary

NHL standings

This day in sports history

1901 — The American League is founded. The league plans for a 140-game schedule, set player rosters at 14 and recognizes the Players Protective Association, the players’ union.

1943 — Max Bentley of the Chicago Blackhawks has four goals and three assists in a 10-1 rout of the New York Rangers. Bentley scored all four goals and an assist in the third period. Max’s brother, Doug, has four assists in the third period.

1949 — Monte Irvin and Ford Smith are signed by the New York Giants. They are the first Black players to sign with the club.

1984 — Wayne Gretzky’s record 51-game scoring streak is halted as the Kings post a 4-2 victory. Over the 51 games, Gretzky scored 61 goals and had 92 assists.

1990 — The San Francisco 49ers beat the Denver Broncos 55-10 in the most lopsided Super Bowl. The 49ers are the first repeat NFL champion in a decade and tie the Pittsburgh Steelers with four Super Bowl wins.

1992 — Brett Hull becomes the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in 50 games more than once in a career when the St. Louis Blues tie the Kings 3-3.

2001 — Baltimore’s brazen defense backs up its bragging by beating the New York Giants 34-7 in the Super Bowl. The Ravens intercept Kerry Collins four times, the final pick returned 49 yards for a touchdown by Duane Starks.

2006 — Amelie Mauresmo wins her first Grand Slam singles title when Justine Henin-Hardenne retires in the second set of their Australian Open final because of stomach pain. Mauresmo led 6-1, 2-0.

2007 — Roger Federer captures his 10th Grand Slam singles title without dropping a set at the Australian Open, beating Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4.

2012 — Towson ends its NCAA record 41-game losing streak with a 66-61 victory over North Carolina Wilmington. The victory is the first career win at Towson for coach Pat Skerry and the Tigers’ first win since a win at La Salle on Dec. 29, 2010.

2014 — Calling the NCAA a dictatorship, Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter and the United Steelworkers announce plans to form the first labor union for college athletes. Colter details the College Athletes Players Assn. at a news conference in Chicago, flanked by leaders of Steelworkers union that agree to pay legal bills for the effort.

2017 — Serena Williams wins her record 23rd Grand Slam singles title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over her older sister Venus in the Australian Open final.

2017 — Arrogate beats California Chrome again, winning the $12 million Pegasus World Cup in his rival’s last race before retirement.

2018 — Australian Open Men’s Tennis: Roger Federer beats Marin Čilic 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to win his record 20th Grand Slam title.

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.

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Luka Doncic skipped, shimmied and shot. The Lakers dunked, hollered and won.

Doncic dazzled yet again with 46 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds in the Lakers’ 129-118 win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday. The Lakers (28-17) notched their fourth win in five games. It was his third game in the last four with at least 10 assists — all wins.

The Lakers are less than two weeks removed from losing five of six games, a skid that prompted coach JJ Redick to challenge Doncic and LeBron James during a team meeting to look for their teammates more. The Lakers weren’t “trusting the pass” Redick said last week after the team’s loss to the Clippers.

Doncic has responded with 11 assists in back-to-back games since the loss to the Clippers and the Lakers have had 26 assists in each of their previous two wins. James, in addition to 24 points, had three assists Monday.

“They took it in a good way and that’s what they’ve been doing,” forward Rui Hachimura said of James’ and Doncic’s response to Redick’s message. “And then, we’re winning. And then everybody gets touches and everybody shares a ball. It’s fun. That’s how basketball should be.”

Continue reading here

Lakers box score

NBA standings

Rams’ loss in on McVay’s shoulders

From Bill Plaschke: Late in the mess that was the Rams’ final game of the season, Sean McVay was seen frustratingly burying his face in his play card.

That couldn’t hide the truth.

The Rams’ 31-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in the NFC championship game must be draped on the deflated shoulders of the Rams’ resident genius.

As blasphemous as it sounds when referencing one of the greatest coaches in Los Angeles sports history, this one was on McVay.

A day after his 40th birthday, McVay coached like he was no longer the child prodigy, but instead an aging leader who leaves himself open to second-guessing.

McVay has rarely deserved criticism in his nine successful seasons here. But in the wake of an afternoon at Seattle’s deafening Lumen Field that should have propelled the Rams to the Super Bowl, this is one of those times.

Continue reading here

Cooper Kupp delivers poetic justice against Rams team that dumped him

Takeaways from the Rams’ loss to Seattle in NFC championship

Tart, Chargers have a deal

Defensive lineman Teair Tart is returning to the Chargers with a three-year contract extension.

The Chargers announced the deal Monday night for Tart, who joined the team in August 2024 after he was released by the Miami Dolphins. Tart quickly became a contributor to Los Angeles’ defense, and he started all 18 games this season in the middle of the Bolts’ line.

Tart has 61 tackles, nine tackles for loss, one sack and an interception in his two seasons with the Chargers. He has been particularly effective in run defense, stepping up to fill a need created when Poona Ford left last year to sign with the Rams.

Continue reading here

Chargers hire ex-Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator

Super Bowl Sunday

Sunday, Feb. 8
at Santa Clara
Seattle vs. New England
3:30 p.m. PT, NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, KLAC AM 570
Halftime show: Bad Bunny
National anthem: Charlie Puth
Odds: Seahawks favored by 4.5 points
Over/Under: 45.5 points

Dodgers TV deal explained

From Bill Shaikin: The Dodgers’ $240-million signing of Kyle Tucker revived anguished cries that the team is ruining baseball. It also revived a strange chapter in team history, with frenzied online commentary that the signing of Tucker was made possible in large part because Major League Baseball long ago rewarded the Dodgers’ owners with preferential financial treatment that continues to this day. Is that true? Here’s a Q&A that explains all:

Continue reading here

Ducks’ win streak ends

Mattias Ekholm scored a hat trick and the Edmonton Oilers rode a dominant second period to a 7-4 victory over the Ducks on Monday.

Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid each added a goal and an assist for the Oilers, Spencer Stastney scored his first in an Edmonton jersey and Darnell Nurse also scored.

Three of the Ducks’ four goals came from Mikael Granlund on the power play, starting with his 10th tally of the season 3:24 into the game.

The result broke a seven-game win streak for the Ducks,

Continue reading here

Ducks summary

NHL standings

Kings game is postponed

The NHL postponed the Columbus Blue Jackets’ home game against the Kings on Monday night because of a major winter storm that created dangerous travel conditions across much of the United States.

Almost a foot of snow fell in Columbus, Ohio, and windchill factors were forecast to be around minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday night. The game is rescheduled for March 9 in Columbus.

This day in sports history

1937 — Tris Speaker and Cy Young are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1973 — UCLA, led by Bill Walton, sets an NCAA record for consecutive victories with its 61st win, an 82-63 victory over Notre Dame. UCLA breaks the record of 60 set by San Francisco in 1956. Walton scores 16 points, grabs 15 rebounds and blocks 10 shots.

1982 — Geoff Houston of the Cleveland Cavaliers hands out 27 assists, two short of the NBA record and scores 24 points in a 110-106 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

1991 — The New York Giants survive the closest Super Bowl ever when Scott Norwood’s 47-yard field goal attempt with 8 seconds left in the game goes wide. The Giants win their second Super Bowl in five years, 20-19 over the Buffalo Bills.

1993 — American Chad Rowan is awarded the highest rank in sumo wrestling, the ancient Japanese sport, making him the first foreign “yokozuna.” The 6-foot-8, 455-pounder from Honolulu, becomes the 64th person to hold the top rank in the sport’s history.

1996 — The U.S. Golf Assn. elects Judy Bell as the first female president in its 101-year history.

2001 — Jennifer Capriati upsets three-time winner Martina Hingis 6-4, 6-3 to win the Australian Open and her first Grand Slam tournament title.

2003 — Hermann Maier wins a World Cup super giant slalom in Kitzbuehel, Austria, a victory he ranks among his finest triumphs. The win comes 18 months after he almost loses his leg in a motorcycle crash.

2007 — Serena Williams wins her third Australian Open singles title, routing Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2. Unseeded and ranked 81st, Williams wins her eighth and most improbable Grand Slam. She is the second unseeded woman to win the Australian title in the Open era.

2008 — Novak Djokovic fends off unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the Australian Open final, earning his first Grand Slam title.

2008 — Eric Staal wins the most valuable player award in the NHL All-Star game, registering two goals and an assist in the East’s 8-7 win over the Western Conference. Staal helps set up Marc Savard’s winning goal with 20.9 seconds left.

2010 — Washington’s Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton are suspended without pay for the remainder of the season by NBA commissioner David Stern. Both players admit to bringing a gun or guns into the Wizards’ locker room — a violation of the collective bargaining agreement — after a dispute stemming from a card game on a team flight.

2011 — Roger Federer, the 16-time Grand Slam winner, is knocked out of the Australian Open by Novak Djokovic in a semifinal match, 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-4. Federer’s loss marks the first time since 2003 that he wouldn’t hold any of the four major titles.

2013 — Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 to become the first man in the Open era to win three consecutive Australian Open titles.

2013 — Little-known Max Aaron wins his first title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and helps knock down three-time men’s champion Jeremy Abbott to third place.

2013 — Speedskater Heather Richardson edges Canada’s Christine Nesbitt in the final women’s race to become the first American woman to win the World Sprint Championships since 2005.

2013 — The NFC blew past the AFC 62-35 in the Pro Bowl. Minnesota tight end Kyle Rudolph is voted the game’s MVP with five catches for 122 yards and a touchdown.

2018 — Australian Open Women’s Tennis: Caroline Wozniacki beats Simona Halep 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 to win her first Grand Slam title.

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.

Since premiering her new floor routine, Olympic medalist and Bruin Jordan Chiles has been riding a surge of emotions. Her choreography has gone viral, and she placed first in back-to-back meets which helped push her to the top of the national ranks with multiple all-around individual titles.

She had to wait until Sunday, the fourth meet of the season, to finally earn a magical perfect 10.

“I’ve tried everything,” Chiles said before her triumphant moment during a team victory at Michigan State. “The scores are the scores. This is the beginning of the process of the judges getting back into the flow of things.”

Instead of focusing on a matter she has no control over, Chiles said she’s having fun and doing the best she can every time she hits the mat.

“Is every single time going to be perfect?” Chiles asks. “Probably not, but I’m going to make it as perfect as I can.”

The choreography was one of the hardest elements to figure out — topping her last viral floor routine that featured Prince’s music initially felt impossible. During her run to the 2024 Paris Olympics, she heavily featured Beyoncé in her floor routine and received a bouquet of flowers from the legend. Chiles’ final UCLA floor routine started to click once she realized it wasn’t about surpassing herself, but rather showcasing what the future holds and inspiring young gymnasts to be themselves.

“It’s being authentic to who you are and authentic in ways that you want to shine and do what you have to do,” Chiles said.

The music supporting her performance includes icons Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder and Tina Turner, a deliberate choice by Chiles. She wanted to highlight the legacy of the uniform she’s worn for the last four years as a Bruin.

Her experience on “Dancing With the Stars” during the summer, when she finished third, broadened her palette of dance styles. Being around talented dancers helped her see what dance elements could be added to her floor routine, said BJ Das, associate head coach and choreographer of the Bruins.

“She’s like a sponge,” Das said. “She learns quickly and she observes and she really takes in the world around her.”

When they came together to devise the last routine of her college career, they wanted to create a piece that would be timeless and engage the audience. Chiles wanted to bring people together through joy, passion and energy with music everybody would love.

“We wanted people on their feet, getting into it,” Das said. “… I think that’s always been her mark, on the sport of gymnastics … just really being herself.”

Collaborating came naturally for Chiles and Das. Through their years together, the trust they built turned the process into a fun experience that came together faster than expected.

“When I bring her ideas, she’s generally on board and she’ll have her own ideas and we just feed off each other,” Das said.

The work doesn’t stop between competitions. Throughout the week they focus on refining Chiles’ form and sticking landings as they fine-tune her overall performance. The routine is advanced, requiring significant endurance and cardio training.

Das also works on making the presentation crisper and sharper each week.

“The performance for her is so natural that it’s always gonna be there,” Das said. “I just want the movement quality to keep elevating as the season goes on and she gets more and more comfortable with the routine.”

UCLA gymnasts Nola Matthews and Tiana Sumanasekera cheer as Jordan Chiles lands a jump during her floor routine at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 17.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Any time she hits the mat, Das wants Chiles’ performance to shine a light on her impact on the sport of gymnastics. She wants the routine to exemplify Chiles’ voice in the sport — showing the importance of versatility and staying true to herself.

From her air guitar movement during the Stevie Wonder section to the shimmy during the Tina Turner section, every movement in the exercise captures her personality.

“I hope that this routine just emphasizes the freedom that you can have while being in the sport of gymnastics,” Das said.

Chiles’ floor routine allows her to command the attention of everyone in the building. Fans in the stands all get on their feet when it’s her turn to compete. She’s the anchor of the UCLA floor rotation. Her teammates long ago memorized her routine and enthusiastically cheer her on every time she competes. The audience roars approval after she executes a fun dance sequence or a difficult tumbling sequence. Her coaches grin and join the crowd cheering for Chiles.

“I’ve always wanted to dance and I’m an entertainer,” Chiles said. “I love entertaining people not just because of my sport, but just because I know I have the opportunity to really show the world that there are other sides of me. I am more than just a gymnast.”

UCLA coach Janelle McDonald knew Chiles eventually would clinch her elusive perfect 10 as the Bruins work to improve their scores with an eye on winning a national championship.

“Jordan rises when the pressure comes,” McDonald said.

What a difference a week makes

UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin went from accepting responsibility for the Bruins’ blowout loss at Ohio State to stringing together back-to-back wins over then-No. 4 Purdue and Northwestern.

What changed?

The Bruins’ defense has improved despite star Skyy Clark’s absence while he recovers from a hamstring injury.

“If you don’t give up layups and dunks, you’ve got a chance to stop people,” Cronin said. “However you accomplish that. … We’ve been trying to adjust defensively how we do things. Stuff that obviously to the lay person you might not see. … We have some weaknesses that we have to hide.”

Whatever Cronin implemented besides leaving his starters on defense for an entire practice, it worked well. UCLA limited Purdue to 28 points in the paint and Northwestern to 24 points in the paint en route to much-needed wins.

Improving while stacking up wins

UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close is trying to keep her team focused on improving amid a 13-game win streak, including an 80-46 rout of Northwestern on Sunday.

“Really focusing with our players [on] how good can their attention to detail can be when the score doesn’t hold you accountable to that,” Close said. “… I’m just looking for how are we going to continue to get better? We did get better [Sunday]. We only had four live-ball turnovers of our 13. We obviously need to get that number down in terms of offensive fouls and travels. But I do think we made some steps in the right direction.”

The No. 3 Bruins (19-1, 9-0 Big Ten) play at Illinois (15-5, 5-4) on Wednesday before a big test Sunday against No. 10 Iowa (18-2, 9-0) at 1 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion.

Survey time

UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin has had a lot of success with the Bruins, but his yelling on the sideline also has a few detractors. So this week’s question: Do you support Mick Cronin as coach?

Vote in our survey here

In case you missed it

Jordan Chiles delivers perfect 10 on floor, helps UCLA gymnasts beat Michigan State

Gabriela Jaquez leads No. 3 UCLA past Northwestern for its 13th straight victory

Tyler Bilodeau and Trent Perry keep UCLA perfect at home with win over Northwestern

UCLA’s freshman gymnasts playing vital role in the team’s strong start

UCLA women dominate in near 50-point rout of Purdue

Donovan Dent and Tyler Bilodeau lead UCLA to stunning upset of No. 4 Purdue

Will UCLA be forced to stay at the Rose Bowl? Legal scholars weigh in on the case

No. 3 UCLA women crush No. 12 Maryland for their 11th straight win

‘Everyone is intertwined in what’s going on.’ How a tiny coal town shaped UCLA’s Bob Chesney

Unlocking the future

My name is Iliana Limón Romero and I’m the assistant managing editor for Sports at the L.A. Times. As you may have noticed, longtime UCLA beat reporter Ben Bolch left The Times and signed off from this newsletter. We remain committed to UCLA coverage and providing you with a vibrant, insightful newsletter every Monday. If you have any questions or requests, email me at iliana.limonromero@latimes.com or contact our Sports newsletters editor listed below.

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where the college football season has finally, officially come to an end. Indiana is our national champion — a sentence I never thought, as a long-ago IU sports columnist, that I would write under any circumstances. Many have tried since last Monday to make sense of what Indiana’s title says about this new era of college football. But in truth, I don’t know that we learned much more than we already knew.

A great quarterback is, as always, a must. Winning at the line of scrimmage, on both sides of the ball, is essential. Older, more experienced players — like Indiana’s fleet of 24-year olds — are usually better than younger, inexperienced ones, especially in this age of the transfer portal. And a great coach, in the college game, can make up for pretty much anything.

None of those lessons are really all that revelatory. That doesn’t mean they’re easy to apply. But what Indiana has shown definitively this season is that more programs are capable of winning a national title now than ever before. USC has always been among those annual contenders. Only now, the waiting room is a bit more crowded than before.

But with the college football season firmly in the rearview mirror, let’s set aside football briefly to zoom in this week on USC’s basketball programs, both of which are facing a make-or-break stretch of their schedules.

The return of Alijah Arenas was supposed to be USC’s saving grace midway through the conference slate, as he swooped in just in time for the home stretch. But nothing came smoothly the five-star freshman last week. After Arenas left Galen Center gasping with an early, 360 lay-in, he hit just one of his remaining 10 shots from the field against Northwestern. Then on Sunday, he made three for 12.

He was understandably rusty. Coach Eric Musselman took the blame after the game for putting too much on the freshman’s plate in his debut. But I could understand why he played Arenas as much as he could. Because, in many ways, it feels like the rest of USC’s season hinges on the freshman finding his stride as fast as possible.

Sunday’s road win at Wisconsin, however, offered an alternative case. Arenas continued to struggle, but USC’s offense rolled on without him. Chad Baker-Mazara scored 29, and Ezra Ausar scored 17 as the Trojans charged back to beat the Badgers in front of a hostile crowd.

The win was USC’s first against a Quad 1 team and arguably its biggest statement of the season. Still, the Trojans rank 51st in the NCAA’s NET rankings and are firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble, according to ESPN’s bracketology.

Sunday offered a glimpse of what they’re capable of. But so did Wednesday’s loss to Northwestern.

The truth is that the Trojans, especially in this injury-ravaged form, have to play their best to beat teams like Wisconsin. They have to rely heavily on Baker-Mazara, who has been anything but reliable with his performance the past month, and hope that someone else, such as backup point guard Jordan Marsh, scores in bunches.

In the wake of Wednesday’s loss, it was clear there was frustration in the locker room.

“This is all about habits and consistency,” Ausar said. “That’s where we lack — all around as a team.”

The margin for error is similarly thin for Lindsay Gottlieb and the USC women, who sit at 11-9 and 12th in the Big Ten after a narrow loss to Michigan on Sunday. But the women of Troy are still 25th in the NET rankings, a point that Gottlieb was sure to reiterate to me when we spoke on Friday.

I asked her what silver linings she could see after losing five of six.

“None of [our losses] have been terrible relative to resume. Three of them, we didn’t have Kennedy [Smith]. We still had big leads in some. That doesn’t absolve us from not taking them to the finish line, but what you take from it, other than [the] UCLA [game], we’re not getting blown out.”

Kara Dunn has been on a roll for USC.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Five of the Trojans’ last eight opponents are currently ranked in the top 20, so the recent losing streak doesn’t mean USC is a lost cause the rest of the way. What it does mean is that the ceiling of this year’s squad is looking lower than we might have thought it would be without JuJu Watkins.

That shouldn’t come as a huge surprise with its superstar sidelined. But USC has pieces that could have helped replace her in the aggregate. Freshman Jazzy Davidson continues to improve. Kara Dunn has been a revelation recently on offense, having scored 21 or more in each of her last six games. Smith is still the same lockdown defender as ever.

It’s elsewhere that USC’s roster is lacking this season. And like with the Trojan men, there aren’t many ways to rearrange the hand that Gottlieb has been dealt. The frontcourt has little in the way of firepower (USC’s four-big rotation has taken just 164 shots combined this season, eight fewer than Londynn Jones on her own), and the point guard position has been a problem at times, too.

Both teams still have a path to the NCAA tournament. Both offer some reason to believe. But as both enter a critical stretch of their season, there’s still plenty of time left to stumble as well.

Eric Gentry after last season’s win over Nebraska.

(Bonnie Ryan / Associated Press)

—The Gary Patterson hire could be a huge success. There’s also some risk baked in. Patterson’s credentials, among the coaches accessible to USC in its search, are unmatched. Ask anyone who has been around college football, and they will tell you that he’s one of the best evaluators of defensive talent this century. Few coaches have gotten more out of less on that end than Patterson. But if you’re searching for reasons to be skeptical, the fact that he hasn’t been a full-time coach since 2021 — or that he left his last consultant gig at Baylor right before the 2024 season — might give you some pause. A lot has changed about coaching college football since then. Even at the time, the perception at Texas Christian was that his tenure there had grown stale. Whether the game has passed him by or not, we’ll have to wait and see. But from 2017 through 2020, Patterson still had arguably the Big 12’s best defense, ranking in the top 30 nationally in yards allowed all four seasons. It sounds like he’s been itching to be back in an on-field role. Maybe, at USC, he’ll be reinvigorated. Because if he can get his Trojan defense to that level, USC will be in the Playoff.

—The College Football Playoff is sticking to 12 teams … for now at least. This was the expected outcome, given the ongoing disagreement between the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference over the format. The Big Ten wanted 24 (!!) teams. The SEC wanted 16. The Big Ten wanted more automatic qualifiers. The SEC wanted more at-large bids. The stalemate leaves us with the status quo, which is … really not that bad. A 24-team playoff would totally de-emphasize the regular season to a degree that I personally think would have a negative impact on the game. There’s already a calendar issue, as is, with 12 teams. Imagine how expansion might make that worse.

—Remember Abdul-Malik McClain, the former USC linebacker arrested for EDD fraud? I wrote pretty extensively five years ago on the strange saga that started with his brother, wideout Munir McClain, being suspended from USC’s football team suddenly and without any clear reason. As it turned out, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, it was his brother, Abdul-Malik, who was the target of federal scrutiny for a scheme that sought to defraud the government of over $1 million in COVID-related unemployment benefits. Abdul-Malik McClain, who the DOJ says was responsible for at least three dozen fraudulent applications, pleaded guilty in June 2024 to one count of felony mail fraud. He was finally sentenced last Tuesday to time served and ordered to pay $228,995. But he’ll pay a fraction of that. The Court, in its opinion, ordered McClain to pay just $50 per month.

—Eric Gentry’s measurables at the Shrine Bowl were even more insane than you’d expect. When I first wrote about Gentry, upon his transfer to USC a few years back, I wrote how there wasn’t a linebacker like him in the NFL. His most recent measurables bare that out. He ranks in the 99th percentile in height (6-6 ⅜) and in arm length (35 ¼”), and in the 96th percentile in hand size (10 ½”)

—2026 hoops signees Adonis and Darius Ratliff both shot up 247’s recruiting rankings this week. The twin sons of former NBA player Theo Ratliff moved up 34 spots and 20 spots, respectively, in the site’s latest re-rank. Musselman and his staff were high on both early on – seems like others are getting on board with their evaluation.

Times of Troy survey

After an anxious few weeks for Trojan fans, USC finally has its next defensive coordinator. So after all that anticipation, how do you feel about the Gary Patterson hire?

—Thrilled! We got a Hall of Famer!
—Cautiously optimistic it could work
—Mildly concerned it will fail
—Convinced this will be a disaster

Click here to vote in our survey.

Olympic sports spotlight

USC’s women’s golf team, which opens the spring season ranked No. 2 in the nation, kicked off the spring with a 3 ½ to 1 ½ match play victory over crosstown rival UCLA.

USC did so without its top-ranked player, Jasmine Koo, in the five-woman field. The sophomore ranks No. 9 in the nation at the start of spring. Instead, Elise Lee (No. 16), Sarah Hammett, and Kylie Chong (No. 44) won to edge out UCLA.

In case you missed it

Chad Baker-Mazara sparks USC to rally past Wisconsin

USC women rally from 16-point deficit but fall to No. 7 Michigan

USC’s Lindsay Gottlieb says struggling Trojans are ‘right there’ despite losing five of six

Alijah Arenas’ debut spoiled by USC’s loss to Northwestern

USC hires Gary Patterson to be the Trojans’ defensive coordinator

Secondary coach Doug Belk departs USC, Trojans hire Mike Ekeler to lead special teams

Trespassing charge against ex-USC star Jordan Addison dropped

What I’m watching this week

George R. R. Martin at the world premiere of “A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms’ in Berlin.

(Ebrahim Noroozi / Associated Press)

When HBO decided to green-light a half-dozen ideas for “Game of Thrones” spinoffs, the executives in that conference room were probably imagining someone like yours truly in front of my TV, devouring whatever they put in front of me. So I was pretty much guaranteed to gravitate towards “A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms,” the latest Thrones spin-off to premiere on HBO.

But what I didn’t expect was how different the tone would be in this slice of the Thrones universe. The story follows Ser Dunk, a bumbling and abnormally large hedge knight, who resolves to enter a tournament that seems impossible for him to win. The show is much lighter and funnier than its predecessor, and Dunk might actually be a character you’d want to root for. It’s too early to know where this spinoff is headed. But the pilot gave me enough to get me invested.

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 ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It was a historic weekend for coach Harvey Kitani, who became only the third high school basketball coach in state history to reach 1,000 wins.

Kitani memories

Harvey Kitani is surrounded by his players after earning his 1,000th career victory on Friday night at Mater Dei in Rolling Hills Prep’s 60-45 win over Bishop Gorman.

(Nick Koza)

Harvey Kitani joined Gary McKnight of Mater Dei and Mike LeDuc of Damien as the only high school basketball coaches to reach 1,000 wins. Kitani got his 1,000th career win coaching Rolling Hills Prep to victory on Friday against Bishop Gorman.

Many of his victories came during a 35-year stay as head coach at Fairfax. Let me offer some of the most memorable moments covering him since 1979.

No. 1 is when his star player, Sean Higgins, called a news conference in 1987 to announce his college choice. He signed with UCLA. But Higgins didn’t show up to the news conference. Sitting in the principal’s office and waiting and waiting for Higgins to arrive was so strange. Then word came that Higgins was pressured to sign with UCLA by his stepfather. He ended up getting released from his letter of intent and enrolling at Michigan.

Kitani’s best team was that 1987 season winning the City 4-A title and was unbeaten until the state tournament. Higgins, Chris Mills and JD Green were the standout players. Kitani would win a 3-A title and two more upper division titles.

The Fairfax vs. Westchester rivalry became one of the best in the Southland. Westchester coach Ed Azzam, who is the City record holder for most career wins, always got along with Kitani, who hired Azzam to teach middle school students when he retired. Their teams played for City titles against each other in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2015. Those were the days. Besides playing two league match-ups they’d face off again in the playoffs.

Kitani got to coach the Shipp brothers, Joe, Josh and Jerren. They ended up playing basketball for Cal, UCLA and Arizona. Josh helped Fairfax win a state title in 2004. He also coached center Renardo Sidney.

He retired from teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2016 and decided to accept the coaching position at Rolling Hills Prep, which is 15 minutes from his home and where two of his sons attended.

“If Fairfax was here, I’d still be at Fairfax,” he said.

He’s won four Southern Section titles. He truly has a body of work to admire.

“Unbelievable,” he said of staying in coaching for 46 years.

Boys basketball

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame’s NaVorro Bowman scored 26 points in a win over Harvard-Westlake on Saturday.

(Craig Weston)

NaVorro Bowman, a junior guard for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, has thrust himself into consideration for Mission League MVP. He had 26 points Saturday in Notre Dame’s 71-66 win over Harvard-Westlake. The Knights are on the verge of finishing second in the regular season and clinching a playoff spot before the Mission League tournament begins Thursday.

Sierra Canyon, led by Brandon McCoy and Brannon Martinsen, a pair of former Trinity League all-stars, defeated Harvard-Westlake to lock up the No. 1 seed for the Mission League tournament. Here’s the report.

Former Notre Dame star Monte Marcaccini has returned to high school basketball as an assistant coach at Oaks Christian, where his son, James, is a promising freshman. Here’s the report.

Palisades, which hasn’t played a basketball game or any sporting event on its campus since the Palisades fire in January of 2025, will hold its first home basketball game Thursday against Fairfax at 6 p.m. Classes return to the campus Tuesday. Palisades (11-11) has emerged as the favorite to win the City Open Division basketball title.

L.A. Southwest College and Pasadena City College are expected to be the championship sites for the City Section basketball finals Feb. 27 and 28.

Cleveland won an important West Valley League game against rival Birmingham. Here’s the report.

The City Section’s top four teams have become real clear: Palisades, Cleveland, Birmingham and Washington Prep.

Second-year coach Leon Jacob has turned around the Angelou program. Here’s the report.

Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by Times.

Girls basketball

Aryanna Reyes of Pioneer set a school record with a 52-point performance against Artesia.

Changes are coming in the Southern Section power rankings. No. 2 JSerra lost to Santa Margarita in a Trinity League game. Mater Dei upset highly regarded Bishop Gorman from Las Vegas. Etiwanda routed No. 5 Rancho Christian 104-73.

For some reason, the rankings always ignore Etiwanda in the early going even though the Eagles always contend for Southern Section and state titles. Sierra Canyon is 21-2 and headed for another unbeaten Mission League season. The Trailblazers have never lost a Mission League game.

Harvard-Westlake, led by freshman Lucia Khamenia, has moved into a tie for second place with Marlborough in the Mission League.

Ontario Christian remains No. 1 with a 25-1 record.

Reagan Enright from Rolling Hills Prep scored the 1,000th point of her career.

Westchester is 17-3 and 6-0 in the Western League behind the City Section’s best player, Savannah Myles, averaging 22.1 points. Here’s the report.

Wrestling

Abraham Datte of Monroe is the two-time City Section heavyweight wrestling champion and wants to be a paramedic.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Abraham Datte is a two-time City Section heavyweight wrestling champion from Monroe who wants to become a paramedic. He chose Monroe because of its Fire Academy. Here’s a profile.

The Southern Section Divisional championships are set for Feb. 13-14.

Here are the boys’ sites.

Central — Westminster High

Coastal — Fountain Valley High

Eastern — Canyon Springs High

Inland — Great Oak High

Northern — Moorpark High

Southern — Glenn High

Here are the girls’ sites.

Central — San Dimas High

Eastern — Roosevelt High

Northern — Adelanto High

Southern — Marina High

The Masters Meet is Feb. 20 for boys and Feb. 21 for girls.

The state championships are Feb. 26-28 at Dignity Health Arena in Bakersfield.

Soccer

South East (16-1-3) and El Camino Real (12-3-1, 5-0-1) are looking like the teams to beat in City Section boys soccer. El Camino Real plays at Birmingham on Wednesday.

Servite handed Mater Dei its first defeat 2-1 to move ahead of the Monarchs in the Trinity League standings.

Cathedral is 12-2-1 and 4-0-1 in the Del Rey League heading into a big match Friday at Bishop Amat.

In girls soccer, Santa Margarita is ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section power rankings and is 13-0-2.

Baseball

Chatsworth coach Marcus Alvarado has resigned.

(Nick Koza)

Marcus Alvarado, who coached Chatsworth to a 2022 City Section Open Division championship, said he resigned on Friday, saying he had lost his love for baseball after repeated complaints from parents. Here’s the report.

Gabe Cerna, the baseball coach at Sun Valley Poly since 2009, has been replaced by his assistant, Freddy Flores, who will be an interim coach. Cerna also was the school’s athletic director. Cerna is now teaching at Fulton Prep. He said the school decided to go in “a different direction.”

Harvard-Westlake has put the jerseys of nine former players who reached the major leagues on its outfield walls at O’Malley Family Field. They start in left field and go to center field. They might run out of room, but coach Jared Halpert said, “That’s a good problem to have.”

Pete Crow-Armstrong, Jack Flaherty, Nik Turley and Josh Satin were on hand on Saturday for a ceremony. Meanwhile, the baseball team played teams from Las Vegas, and No. 1 pitcher Justin Kirchner, a Yale commit, struck out 10 in four innings.

Notes . . .

There was an altercation Friday night at the conclusion of the Chatsworth at Taft girls’ basketball game involving the Chatsworth coach and a relative of one of his players. L.A. School Police are investigating. Here’s the report.

Oaks Christian has hired Rudy Carlton as its new football coach. He was an assistant coach at JSerra last season and has extensive college coaching experience from his days at Azusa Pacific. Former Oaks Christian standout Ron Pitts is becoming the general manager and the school is creating an advisory council of former NFL players. . . .

Matt Villasenor has resigned as football coach at Nogales to become head coach at Muir. . . .

Dujuawan Jones is the new football coach at San Marino. . . .

Former Corona del Mar and UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers has been hired to coach quarterbacks at Corona del Mar. . . .

A lawsuit targeting St. John Bosco football coach Jason Negro has misfired after a judge’s rulings. Here’s the report. . . .

Kevin Encinas is the new football coach at Nogales. . . .

The Southern Section Council will discuss a proposal Tuesday that would allow football at-large playoff berths for teams with a .300 or better overall record. It’s currently .500 or better. The aim is not to allow teams with 1-9 or 2-8 records. It’s a non-action item. . . .

Jaden Soong competes at the Southern California Golf Assn. Amateur Championship at Saticoy Club in Somis.

(Courtesy of SCGA)

Sophomore golfer Jaden Soong of St. Francis will try to qualify for the PGA’s Farmer’s Insurance Open on Monday in Mission Viejo. He needs to finish in the top four. He turns 16 on Monday. . . .

After only one season as coach, Doug Bledsoe said he has resigned as football coach at Narbonne. He took over the program after numerous rules violations resulted in a three-year postseason ban by the City Section and an exodus of players. Narbonne went 0-10. . . .

Garfield running back Ceasar Reyes set a school record with 420 yards rushing and four touchdowns in win over South Gate

(Nick Koza)

There was major transfer news in football, with two-time All-City running back Ceasar Reyes going from Garfield to Salesian. Here’s a link to The Times’ transfer portal keeping track of key players switching schools. . .

Shortstop Bobby Brooks from La Habra has committed to Sacramento State. . . .

Even though Morningside High has closed, former Morningside basketball star Stais Bozeman had his jersey retired Friday.

From the archives: Ryan Turell

Yeshiva’s Ryan Turell brings the ball up court against St. Joseph’s Anton Jansson.

(Joe Bednarsh / Yeshiva Athletics)

Former Valley Torah basketball star Ryan Turell is playing for Haifa in Israel’s second division pro basketball league. He entered this week averaging 13.3 points.

He became a standout college player at Yeshiva. He had one game in which he scored 51 points.

Here’s a story from 2021 in which he was being called the Jewish Jordan.

Here’s a story from 2024 about Turell trying to become the first Orthodox Jewish player in the NBA.

Recommendations

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on sophomore girls’ basketball star Tatianna Griffin from No. 1 Ontario Christian.

From AL.com, a story on Alabama creating separate playoff divisions for private and public schools.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on former Harvard-Westlake soccer star Gisele Thompson.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

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