The Sports Report: The Pac-12 has a new commissioner

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

Ryan Kartje on the Pac-12: Desperate for a different direction after years spent falling behind its Power Five peers, the Pac-12 is placing its bet on an outsider with no college sports experience to save the struggling conference.

The Pac-12 has hired George Kliavkoff, president of entertainment and sports at MGM Resorts International, as the conference’s new chief executive. He replaces outgoing commissioner Larry Scott, whose hiring also once was sold as an innovative move with an eye on the future of college athletics.

The landscape has changed significantly since, leaving the Pac-12 at “a critical crossroads,” Oregon president Michael Schill said Thursday. It was with those stakes in mind that the Pac-12 again set their aim outside the box, choosing Kliavkoff, whom Schill hailed as “a forward thinker” and “the new prototype for a sports commissioner.”

George Kliavkoff has been named the new Pac-12 commissioner.

(Pac-12)

Until July, when Kliavkoff takes the baton from his embattled predecessor and begins a five-year contract, his sole exposure to college athletics will have been his tenure as a collegiate rower at Boston University. At the start of his introductory news conference, Kliavkoff, 54, joked about his anonymity.

“I understand I wasn’t on any of the media’s shortlists for this role,” he said.

But an inconspicuous four-week search that Schill, the search committee chair, said included 200 applicants settled unexpectedly on the longtime media executive, whose resume includes stops at Major League Baseball Advanced Media, NBC Universal, Hearst, and Hulu.

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Who is George Kliavkoff, the new Pac-12 commissioner?

CLIPPERS

Rajon Rondo brings the ball up court while guarded by Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball.

(Associated Press)

Andrew Greif on the Clippers: At a time when the Clippers should have been tuning up for the postseason, their offense was breaking down Thursday evening.

In their worst offensive quarter in more than two weeks, the Clippers missed nine of 10 three-pointers, 11 of 16 shots overall, and even three of five free throws during a second quarter in which they were outscored by 11.

Yet most concerning was their six turnovers in the quarter, a carelessness coming just two days after 18 turnovers against Toronto led star Kawhi Leonard to say that such mistakes “just comes between the ears. What type of mindset are we gonna have?”

The answer was to move on Thursday as if the second quarter never happened.

The Clippers made 13 of 15 shots in the third quarter, and 11 of 22 in the fourth to turn a wobbly performance against Charlotte into another rout on this final regular-season trip. Their 113-90 win improves them to 47-23 entering Friday’s game in Houston in which Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said he is hopeful center Serge Ibaka will play after missing every game since March 14 because of a back issue.

WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS

1. x-Utah, 50-20
2. x-Phoenix, 48-21, 1.5 GB
3. x-Clippers, 47-23, 3 GB
4. x-Denver, 46-24, 4 GB
5. Portland, 41-29. 9 GB
6. y-Dallas. 41-29, 9 GB
7. Lakers, 40-30, 10 GB
8. pb-Golden State, 37-33, 13 GB
9. pb-Memphis, 37-33, 13 GB
10. pb-San Antonio, 33-37, 17 GB
11. e-New Orleans, 31-39, 19 GB
12. e-Sacramento, 31-39, 19 GB
13. e-Minnesota, 22-48, 28 GB
14. e-Oklahoma City, 21-49, 29 GB
15. e-Houston, 16-54, 34 GB

x-clinched playoff berth; y-clinched division; pb-clinched play-in berth; e-eliminated from playoff contention.

POSTSEASON SCENARIOS

Where the Lakers might land with two games left

(Portland and Dallas hold tiebreaker over Lakers)

No. 5 seed: Win twice while Dallas loses twice and Portland loses once

No. 6 seed: Win twice while either Dallas or Portland loses out

No. 7 seed: Any combination of a loss or one win by Dallas and Portland; play-in game vs. Golden State

Note: Play-in tournament begins Tuesday; first round of playoffs open Saturday

In the play-in tournament, the No. 7 team plays the No. 8 team with the winner getting the No. 7 seed. The No. 9 team plays the No. 10 team, with the winner playing the loser of the No. 7-No. 8 game. The winner of that game gets the No. 8 seed.

KOBE BRYANT ENTERS THE HALL OF FAME

Kobe Bryant looks to get past Kevin Durant during a 2010 playoff game.

(Getty Images)

Be sure to keep checking this page for all of our coverage in the lead up to and following Kobe Bryant’s Hall of Fame induction.

KINGS

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scores against Kings goaltender Troy Grosenick.

(Associated Press)

Tyson Jost scored two of Colorado’s five second-period goals as the Avalanche clinched the West Division and the top overall seed in the NHL playoffs with a 5-1 win over the Kings on Thursday night.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Joonas Donskoi and Andre Burakovsky also scored in the pivotal period. Backup Jonas Johansson made 21 saves to help the Avalanche finish 7-1 against the Kings this season.

SPARKS

Seimone Augustus

(Associated Press)

Thuc Nhi Nguyen on the Sparks: The Sparks roster isn’t the only thing that changed Thursday when teams had to trim their lineups in preparation for the season.

Instead of returning to the court for her 16th WNBA season, four-time WNBA champion Seimone Augustus will retire and join the Sparks bench as a third assistant coach, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed. In addition to clearing the 37-year-old’s roster spot, the Sparks also waived forward Kristine Anigwe and traded guard Sydney Wiese to finalize their 12-player roster less than 30 hours before their season opener against the Dallas Wings on Friday.

Augustus was on a training camp contract this year after joining the Sparks on a one-year deal in 2020. The WNBA has allowed teams to hire a third assistant coach if at least one staff member is a former WNBA player. Augustus will join a coaching staff that includes assistants Latricia Trammel and Fred Williams and head coach Derek Fisher. Her 6,005 points rank ninth on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list. Last season, she averaged 5.9 points a game and shot 54.5% from three-point range in 21 regular-season appearances off the bench.

SOCCER

Carlos Vela

(Ted S. Warren / Associated Press)

Kevin Baxter on MLS: Southern California is where the money is in Major League Soccer, with the region’s two teams boasting the two highest-paid players in the league, according to salary information released Thursday by the league’s players’ association.

LAFC’s Carlos Vela has the highest guaranteed salary in MLS at $6.3 million and the Galaxy’s Javier “Chicharito” Hernández has the highest base pay at $6 million. Vela’s base salary is $4.5 million.

Inter Miami’s Gonzalo Higuaín is the next-best-paid player, with a base salary of $5.1 million and guaranteed compensation of $5.794 million.

Toronto’s Jozy Altidore is the only American in the top 28 of the salary list; he is guaranteed $3.6 million. Seventy-two players will make at least $1 million in guaranteed pay in 2021, up from 58 in 2019, the last year for which salary data is available.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1913 — Washington’s Walter Johnson gives up a run in the fourth inning against the St. Louis Browns to end his streak of 56 scoreless innings. The Senators win 10-5.

1919 — Four days after his Kentucky Derby victory, Sir Barton, ridden by Johnny Loftus, wins the Preakness Stakes by four lengths over Eternal.

1920 — Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators records his 300th victory with a 9-8 win over the Detroit Tigers.

1967 — Mickey Mantle hits his 500th home run, a shot off Stu Miller that lifts the New York Yankees to a 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

1977 — The Montreal Canadiens edge the Boston Bruins 2-1 to win the Stanley Cup in four games.

1981 — The Boston Celtics win the NBA championship with a 102-91 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 6.

1989 — James Worthy scores 12 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers rally from a 29-point first-half deficit to beat Seattle 97-95 and sweep the Western Conference semifinals.

1995 — Kelly Robbins overcomes a three-shot deficit in the final seven holes to win the LPGA Championship by a stroke over defending champion Laura Davies.

1999 — Annika Sorenstam shoots an 11-under 61, the best score in LPGA history on a par-72 course, to take a two-shot lead over Michelle McGann after the opening round of the Sara Lee Classic.

2003 — Jean-Sebastien Giguere stops 35 shots for his third straight shutout, and Anaheim beats Minnesota 4-0 for a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. He’s the first goalie in modern NHL history to record three consecutive shutouts in the next-to-last round of the playoffs.

2004 — Richard Jefferson scores 18 of his 31 points after regulation to lead New Jersey to a 127-120 triple-overtime victory over Detroit and a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The last playoff game to be decided in three overtimes was Phoenix’s 129-121 victory over Chicago in Game 3 of the 1993 NBA Finals.

2010 — The Philadelphia Flyers overcome a couple of 3-0 deficits to finish off the Boston Bruins. Simon Gagne scores on a power play with 7:08 left to cap a comeback from a three-goal deficit, and the Flyers win 4-3 for a berth in the Eastern Conference finals. The Bruins become the third team in NHL history to lose a series after winning the first three games.

2017 — Stephen Curry scores 40 points and hits a tying 3-pointer with 1:48 remaining, and the Golden State Warriors rally after Kawhi Leonard is lost to an ankle injury to beat the San Antonio Spurs 113-111 in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Draymond Green gives Golden State the lead for good on a three-point play after the Warriors trail by as many as 25 points in the first half.

2018 — The Supreme Court clears the way for states to legalize betting on sports, breaking a longtime ban and creating a potential financial boon for states and the gambling industry. Despite opposition from the major sports leagues and the Trump administration, the high court strikes down a federal law that barred betting on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states.

And finally

Mickey Mantle hits his 500th home run. Watch it here.