RSS FeedsSPORTS COMMEMORATIVE EDITION
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 Clockwise from the back left are: Ann Meyers; Tiger Woods; John Wooden; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; Magic Johnson; Babe Didricksen Zaharias; Wayne Gretzky; Sandy Koufax; Tom Lasorda; Mary Lou Retton.
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In L.A.'s sports world, the first million-dollar paycheck the Dodgers cut wasn't to anyone in uniform, but to Vin Scully.
By Sam Farmer
 "For so long, people have looked at Los Angeles as a USC football and UCLA basketball town. Maybe one day that will change."
The city played host to Summer Games in 1932 and 1984 that were aesthetically pleasing and enormously successful.
PLASCHKE: This columnist is honored to be referred to as "You're No Jim Murray."
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SPECIAL SECTION - 125 YEARS OF LA SPORTS
Standout athletes have been stars among stars, creating era-defining, genuine drama in a town that thrives on make-believe.
125 YEARS | THE MOMENTS
Sports are tribal. We line up with our team, our school, our city; paint our faces Trojan colors, dye our hair Dodger blue. We immerse ourselves in the history, in the rivalries: Magic against Larry, John Roseboro against Juan Marichal, Al Davis against the world. This is how we place ourselves.
125 YEARS | THE RING
Before football came and went, before the Dodgers and Lakers, boxing was the center of the Los Angeles sporting world.
125 YEARS | THE HIGHLIGHTS
From Jeffries' title to Bryant's 81 points, a look at the events that have defined L.A. sports.
125 YEARS | THE LOOK
Clothing developed through modern technology has played a role in the improved performance of athletes.
125 YEARS | THE TRACK
IN 1982, there was a wonderful documentary film about the Weavers, the blacklisted folk singers, subtitled, "Wasn't That a Time!" Wistful California racetrack operators could use the same words to describe the so-called golden age of horse racing, which had an incredibly long run, arguably until the 1980s, before the start of a downward spiral that grips the sport still.
125 YEARS | THE DYNASTIES
Rock music throbs through UCLA's John Wooden Recreation Center, home of the longest current sports dynasty in Los Angeles, as the powerful athletes fling their bodies through a four-hour practice session.
125 YEARS | THE TOURNAMENTS
Before they became among the best their sports had ever seen, Pete Sampras and Tiger Woods were Southern California teenagers performing in old, venerable tournaments.
125 YEARS | THE COACH
EVEN though most people call him Coach, John Wooden prefers to think of himself as a teacher, and not just one who taught hundreds of UCLA basketball players during his 28 seasons coaching the Bruins. His Pyramid of Success, a diagram of core values, has helped shape the lives of thousands.
125 YEARS | THE OLYMPICS
The city played host to Summer Games in 1932 and 1984 that were aesthetically pleasing and enormously successful financially.
PATT MORRISON
ANGELENOS and our sports — we're a match made on the 50-yard-line, at home plate, at center court.
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