Allen vs. Fearsome Foursome? Carroll vs. Robinson? Vote in the final four of the football regional

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get to the tournament!

The third round of voting in the football regional “Biggest Icon in L.A. Sports History” is over. Today, voting in the fourth round begins.

Some rules.

1. There are four regionals, with 32 people in each regional, seeded from No. 1 to No. 32. The winner of each regional will face off in the Final Four. Those two winners will meet in the championship round.

2. With each matchup, there will be a link for you to click on to vote. You can also send your picks by email by clicking here. Or you can vote on Twitter by clicking here.

3. When voting, ask yourself “When I think L.A. sports, whom do I think of first?” and vote for that person.

4. A brief sentence or two accompanies each entrant below. It is not meant to be an all-encompassing list of their accomplishments, just a brief reminder of why they are on this list.

If you missed the fourth round of basketball and baseball, you can click here to vote in the basketball regional and click here to vote in the baseball regional.

So without further ado, let’s get to the fourth round of the football regional, with the third round results after approximately 14,000 votes. Voting ends at midnight Tuesday. Remember, you can vote by email by clicking here, on Twitter by clicking here, or you can click on the link after each matchup.

Biggest Icon in L.A. Sports History, football regional (final four)

No. 1 Marcus Allen vs. No. 5 The Fearsome Foursome

Marcus Allen: He was a legend for two local teams. He won the Heisman Trophy while playing for USC in 1981 after becoming only the second person in NCAA history to gain 2,000 yards rushing in a season. Then, with the L.A. Raiders, he ran for 191 yards, caught two passes for 18 yards, and scored two touchdowns in the Raiders’ 38–9 victory over Washington in Super Bowl XVIII.

How he got here
Defeated No. 32 Red Sanders in the first round, 88.1%-11.9%
Defeated No. 16 Jim Plunkett in the second round, 87.5%-12.5%
Defeated No. 8 John McKay in the third round, 56.3%-43.7%

The Fearsome Foursome: Lamar Lundy, Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones and Rosey Grier was one of the most dominant defensive lines in NFL history. They transformed the Rams from a mediocre team to an NFL powerhouse.

How they got here
Defeated No. 28 Kenny Washington in the first round, 87.4%-12.6%
Defeated No. 12 Mike Garrett in the second round, 87.3%-12.7%
Upset No. 4 Eric Dickerson in the third round, 59%-41%

Vote via Polldaddy

No. 2 Pete Carroll vs. No. 6 John Robinson

Pete Carroll: Let’s face it, most Trojans fans were disappointed when he was hired, but he coached the team back to prominence. Under Carroll, the Trojans reached the BCS title game two times (winning once) and seven consecutive BCS bowl appearances.

How he got here
Defeated No. 31 Ricky Bell in the first round, 82.5%-17.5%
Defeated No. 15 Jackie Slater in the second round, 60.8%-39.2%
Defeated No. 7 Anthony Davis in the third round, 65.3%-34.7%

John Robinson: Was USC’s coach from 1976-82 and again from 1993-97, leading the team to four Rose Bowl victories overall and a national title in 1978. In between, he coached the Rams to two NFC title games and his 79 victories with the team are the most in franchise history.

How he got here
Defeated No. 27 Dick “Night Train” Lane in the first round, 71.8%-28.2%
Defeated No. 11 Matt Leinart in the second round, 70.5%-29.5%
Upset No. 3 Reggie Bush in the third round, 55.4%-44.6%

Vote via Polldaddy

Don’t forget to vote

You can vote one of three ways: Click on each individual Polldaddy link above, click here to vote via email (with all your picks in one email) or vote here via Twitter. Check out the entire football bracket by clicking here.

BASEBALL

With more than 400 major league games already called off because of the coronavirus outbreak, baseball on Tuesday reversed a policy that had restricted fans from widespread refunds on tickets to those games.

On a conference call, Major League Baseball informed team officials that they no longer needed to advise fans to hold on to those tickets. The decision clears the way for teams to announce refund policies for the games.

The Dodgers are expected to communicate a plan Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The Angels said they would not comment until then either.

The change comes one week after MLB and all 30 teams were named as defendants in a lawsuit over the failure to refund tickets. StubHub, the league’s official resale partner, and three other ticket outfits also were named as defendants.

UCLA MEN’S BASKETBALL

Daishen Nix, UCLA’s top recruit and the country’s top high school point guard, will forgo college basketball to become the latest high school player to join the NBA’s pro developmental program.

Nix, a 6-foot-5 guard from Las Vegas Trinity Prep ranked No. 11 nationally by 247 Sports, will join Fresno’s Jalen Green and Virginia’s Isaiah Todd on the NBA G League’s select team.

“I think it was the right thing for me because it was a family thing and a myself thing,” Nix told The Times. “Playing in G League is basically getting me ready for the NBA draft. It’s just one step below the NBA.”

Nix’s move to professional basketball is a huge blow for UCLA coach Mick Cronin, who landed his first five-star recruit when Nix signed with the Bruins in November. Jaylen Clark, a shooting guard from Etiwanda, is now Cronin’s lone freshman signee for next season, joining Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang as newcomers.

BORN ON THIS DAY

1918: Rams coach George Allen (d. 1990)

1934: Baseball player Luis Aparicio

1936: Football player Bernie Parrish (d. 2019)

1944: Football player Jim Hart

1947: Distance runner Jim Ryun

1947: Golfer Johnny Miller

1951: NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt (d. 2001)

1963: Former Ducks coach Mike Babcock

1965: Basketball player Reggie Miller

1967: Hockey player Curtis Joseph

1970: Tennis player Andre Agassi

1976: Basketball player God Shammgod

1983: Football player Jay Cutler

1993: Golfer Justin Thomas

DIED ON THIS DAY

2015: Golfer Calvin Peete, 71

AND FINALLY

Reggie Miller‘s career highlights. Watch them here.