Season on the brink for Pelinka, Redick
From Bill Plaschke: They mentioned “The Odyssey,” they talked about “Lord of the Rings,” they referenced “The Hobbit,” they cited the hero’s journey, they predicted a season filled with mythological tales of triumph.
What they didn’t promise was that their Lakers’ team would contend for a championship.
What they couldn’t mention was what will happen to them if they don’t.
The bard Rob Pelinka? Off with your head!
The soothsayer JJ Redick? Drawn and quartered!
In their annual pre-training camp news conference at their practice facility Thursday, Pelinka and Redick talked about fictional characters perhaps because the reality is too grim for words.
Their jobs are on the line with a rebuilding team that might not be good enough to save them, and no amount of cute Gandalf references can change that.
Lakers’ new era opens with a thanks for the LeBron James era
Dodgers lose to Padres
From Kevin Baxter: The Dodgers didn’t win Thursday. But they got something far more valuable before they even took the field for their 4-2 loss to the San Diego Padres.
With the Atlanta Braves’ loss to the Cincinnati Reds earlier in the day, the Dodgers clinched the second seed in the National League playoffs and the first-round bye that goes with it. That means the Dodgers will get five days off next week to prepare for their playoff opener, a godsend for a bruised and bloodied team that has stumbled to the finish of the regular season.
“I think we all know why it’s important,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said of the break. “There’s a lot of us kind of limping toward the end here, a lot of aches and pains this year.”
For the Padres (89-70), the victory was important because it clinched a wild-card berth and a franchise-record third consecutive trip to the postseason.
In addition to Freeman, who has been hobbled all month by a sore right knee, the Dodgers are rushing to get designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, starting pitcher Blake Snell and closer Edwin Díaz healthy.
Shaikin: For the Dodgers, the varsity will take it from here
Angels defeat Athletics
Christian Moore hit a two-run double and had three RBIs, Bryce Teodosio drove in two runs, and the Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 6-4 on Thursday night.
Moore’s RBI single in the second gave the Angels a 1-0 lead, and Teodosio’s one-run groundout pulled the Angels within 3-2 in the fifth before Zach Neto drove in the tying run.
Moore plated two more runs in the sixth with a double to put the Angels back on top for good, 5-4. Teodosio capped the scoring with an RBI single in the eighth.
Nneka Ogwumike stars in final game
From Marisa Ingemi: The Sparks’ season was mere seconds away from ending on a high note. Then, the Golden State Valkyries scored 13 consecutive points late in the fourth quarter to dissolve a double-digits Sparks lead.
Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike concluded her WNBA career with 17 points and 15 rebounds in the 76-75 loss to the Valkyries. Her double-double was her 19th this season, which set a Sparks single-season record.
Immediately after the game, the Sparks announced that they would name their new practice facility in El Segundo after Ogwumike, who retires as the Sparks’ all-time leading scorer.
The loss itself mattered little. The Sparks were eliminated from postseason contention nearly a month ago after beginning with championship aspirations. In one of their most disappointing seasons to date because of the expectations attached, the Sparks go into the offseason trying to put the pieces together again
Aaron Donald wants to earn his spot
From Gary Klein: Aaron Donald is still earning his spot.
In his mind, anyway.
During defensive line drills, the Future Hall of Famer continues to go third — even when groups are split — rather than lead.
“Earning my keep right now,” Donald said after Rams practice Thursday. “I’m a guy that likes to work and earn everything I get.”
Donald, 35, has one game under his belt after returning from a two-year retirement to rejoin the team that selected the three-time NFL defensive player of the year in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft.
Donald played 33 snaps in the Rams’ 28-6 victory over the New York Giants on Monday. He made three tackles, including one for a loss.
This day in sports history
1866 — Jerome Park, named for its founder Leonard Jerome, opens in the Bronx in New York. Jerome, seeking to emulate the British racing system, also establishes the American Jockey Club, precursor to the present Jockey Club, formed in 1894.
1920 — Molly Bjurstedt Mallory wins her fifth title in six years with a two-set victory over Marion Zinderstein in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assn. championships.
1926 — Walter Hagen wins his third straight and fourth overall PGA Championship. Hagen beats Leo Diegel 4 and 3 in the championship match at Salisbury Golf Links in Westbury, N.Y.
1949 — Louise Suggs wins the U.S. Women’s Open by 14 strokes over Babe Didrikson Zaharias.
1962 — Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson at 2:06 of the first round at Comiskey Park in Chicago to win the world heavyweight title.
1966 — Gloria Ehret wins the LPGA Championship by three strokes over four-time champion Micke Wright.
1982 — Ricky Edwards rushes for 177 yards and four touchdowns to help Northwestern end its 34-game losing streak in a 31-6 victory over Northern Illinois.
1988 — Americans sweep the medals in the long jump at the Seoul Olympics; Carl Lewis wins his second gold of the Games with leap of 8.72m ahead of teammates Mike Powell & Larry Myricks.
1988 — Super swimmer Matt Biondi wins his fifth gold medal of the Seoul Olympics anchoring the victorious American 4 x 100m medley relay team.
1994 — Oliver McCall scores a major upset by stopping Lennox Lewis 31 seconds into the second round to capture the WBC heavyweight title in London.
1995 — Jerry Rice has 181 yards receiving in San Francisco’s 27-24 loss to Detroit. It’s his 51st 100-yard game, which breaks Don Maynard’s NFL record.
1997 — WNBA announces it will add Detroit & Washington, D.C. franchises.
2000 — American basketball player Vince Carter jumps over 7 foot 2 Frédéric Weis in 2000 Summer Olympics, known in France as “le dunk de la mort” (the dunk of death).
2004 — Bobby Seck of Hofstra throws eight touchdown passes to tie an Atlantic 10 mark and set a school record in the Pride’s 62-43 victory over Rhode Island.
2005 — Fernando Alonso becomes Formula One’s youngest champion by finishing third in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Alonso, 24, a six-time winner in his third full season in Formula One, ends Michael Schumacher’s five-year hold on the title.
2010 — Collingwood and St. Kilda plays to a 68-68 tie, the first in an Australian Rules football grand final since 1977, setting up a rematch to decide the league title.
2011 — The Detroit Lions snap a 13-game losing streak with a 26-23 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The Lions, who won in the Metrodome for the first time since 1997, are 3-0 for the first time since 1980.
2013 — Skipper Jimmy Spithill and Oracle Team USA win the America’s Cup with one of the greatest comebacks in sports history to keep the oldest trophy in international sports in the United States. Spithill steers Oracle’s space-age, 72-foot catamaran to its eighth straight victory, speeding past Dean Barker and Emirates Team New Zealand in the winner-take-all Race 19 on San Francisco Bay. All but defeated a week ago, the 34-year-old Australian and his international crew twice rallies from seven-point deficits to win 9-8.
2016 — Rory McIlroy rallies to enter a three-man playoff and win the FedEx Cup. After trailing by three shots with three holes to play in the Tour Championship, McIlroy holes a 15-foot birdie putt on the fourth extra hole to win the playoff and claim the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus.
2022 — Laver Cup Men’s Tennis, London: Team World sweeps final day for 13-8 victory over Team Europe; tournament marks retirement of Roger Federer.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1941 — Pete Reiser’s homer and Whitlow Wyatt’s five-hitter helped Brooklyn beat the Boston Braves 6-0 and clinch the Dodgers’ first pennant in 21 years.
1955 — Detroit’s Al Kaline, at the age of 20, became the youngest player to win a batting title, finishing his second season with a .340 average. Ty Cobb was one day older when he won the crown, batting .350 in 1907, also playing for Detroit.
1956 — Sal Maglie of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitched a 5-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies.
1960 — The New York Yankees clinched manager Casey Stengel’s 10th and last American League pennant with a 4-3 victory over Boston.
1965 — Satchel Paige, at 60, became the oldest player in the majors, taking the mound for Kansas City and pitching three scoreless innings over the Boston Red Sox. He gave up one hit, to Carl Yastrzemski.
1965 — Willie Mays, who hit 51 home runs in 1955, joined Ralph Kiner as only the National Leaguers to have more than one 50-home run season.
1974 — Dr. Frank Jobe transplanted a tendon from Tommy John’s right wrist to the Dodger pitcher’s left elbow. The revolutionary ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction allowed John to win an additional 164 games, more than half of his career total of 288 victories.
1980 — Oakland’s Brian Kingman lost his 20th game when the A’s were defeated by the Chicago White Sox 6-4. Kingman was the first pitcher to lose 20 games with a winning team since Dolf Luque went 13-23 for the 1922 Cincinnati Reds.
1984 — Rusty Staub of the Mets became the second player to hit homers as a teenager and past his 40th birthday. Staub’s game-winning home run off Larry Anderson to give the Mets a 6-4 victory over Philadelphia at Shea Stadium. Ty Cobb was the other major leaguer to accomplish the feat.
1987 — San Diego’s Benito Santiago set a modern major league record for rookies by hitting safely in his 27th consecutive game in a 5-3 loss to the Dodgers.
1998 — The New York Yankees set the AL record for wins with their 112th, beating Tampa Bay 6-1 to break the victory mark held by the 1954 Cleveland Indians.
2001 — Richie Sexson and Jeromy Burnitz became the first teammates to hit three home runs apiece in a game as Milwaukee defeated Arizona 9-4.
2003 — Toronto’s Carlos Delgado became the sixth player to homer in four straight at-bats in one game as the Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 10-8 at SkyDome. Delgado tied the game at 8-8 in the eighth with his fourth homer, a solo shot off Lance Carter.
2007 — Prince Fielder, at 23 years, 139 days old, became the youngest major league player to hit 50 home runs in a season, connecting twice in Milwaukee’s 9-1 rout of St. Louis.
2013 — The New York Yankees failed to make the playoffs for only the second time in 19 years, getting mathematically eliminated during their 8-3 loss to Tampa Bay.
2016 — Jose Fernandez, 24, ace right-hander for the Miami Marlins, was killed in a boating accident.
2017 — Aaron Judge broke Mark McGwire’s major league record for home runs by a rookie, hitting a pair for the second straight day to raise his total to 50 and lead the New York Yankees over the Kansas City Royals 11-3.
2018 — Max Scherzer became the 17th pitcher since 1900 to strike out 300 batters in a season, reaching that milestone by fanning 10 in seven innings during Washington’s 9-4 win over Miami.
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.