The Sports Report: The Dodgers turn to Julio Urías to seal the deal

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Dylan Hernández on the Dodgers: Mookie Betts smiled as he searched for the right words to describe Julio Urías.

“Just seems like Julio has this weird but, like, old soul about him,” Betts said. “He just gets on the mound like he’s been there, he’s done it.”

Because the Dodgers left-hander has.

And this is the paradox of Urías.

He’s already six years into his major league career. He’s also only 25, which makes him the oldest 25-year-old in baseball.

He was a prospect forever, the conversations about him always about the future, the future, the future.

Tomorrow has finally come.

Assigned an adult’s workload for the first time, Urias came of age as a pitcher this season, starting 32 regular-season games, pitching 185 2/3 innings and becoming the sport’s first 20-game winner in five years.

On Thursday, the Mexican star will scale the mound at Oracle Park for the Dodgers in their most important game of the season, Game 5 of the National League Division Series against the San Francisco Giants.

“I don’t think we could have any more confidence in someone going than we do in Julio,” said right-hander Walker Buehler, who started Game 4 on Tuesday night.

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Elliott: Mookie Betts and Dodgers look perfectly comfortable with season on line

Max Scherzer unlikely to pitch for Dodgers in Game 5, Dave Roberts says

RAMS

Gary Klein on the Rams: Jon Gruden gave Rams coach Sean McVay his first job in the NFL. He mentored McVay, and the coaches have remained close.

But McVay said Wednesday he was surprised and saddened by the content of emails discovered during an investigation of the Washington Football Team that led to Gruden’s resignation as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

The email exchanges with former Washington executive Bruce Allen included racial, homophobic and misogynistic comments by Gruden, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Los Angeles Times.

“I have not seen that side of him,” McVay said, “and I was surprised by it.”

CHARGERS

Jeff Miller on the Chargers: The idea was planted back in the spring when the Chargers were running around in shorts and T-shirts.

New coach Brandon Staley warned his offense not to assume a punt was coming just because it was fourth down.

“Hey, man, don’t start jogging off the field yet,” center Corey Linsley remembers Staley saying. “We could go for a fourth [down] if we feel comfortable, doesn’t matter [where or when].”

The rookie coach has followed through on those words. Through five games, the Chargers’ offense is seven for seven on fourth down. The team’s only failed fourth-down attempt came on a fake punt.

SOCCER

Kevin Baxter on soccer: World Cup qualifying is an odyssey not a day trip. And the 14-game CONCACAF tournament hasn’t even reached the halfway point yet.

But it’s not too early to draw some conclusions about the U.S. team, which battled back from an early deficit to beat Costa Rica 2-1 Wednesday in a game decided by a shot that caromed across the goal line off a backup keeper.

At 3-1-2 and with 11 points, good for second place after the first two qualifying windows, the U.S. is comfortably on track to win a spot in next year’s World Cup in Qatar. But as with most odysseys, there are challenges ahead.

PAC-12 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Thuc Nhi Nguyen on Pac-12 women’s basketball: Ten years after beginning as the head coach at Cal, Lindsay Gottlieb is back in the Pac. But this isn’t the same conference she left.

As Gottlieb takes over as coach at USC, two years after leaving the job at Cal for the NBA, she returns to the premier women’s basketball conference in the country that boasts defending national champion Stanford. To keep up and even push the Pac-12 forward, the former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant is leaning on the knowledge and relationships gained during her stint in the NBA and is back as a “version 2.0” of the coach who led California to the Final Four in 2013.

“The thing that’s most different is I’m different,” Gottlieb said at Tuesday’s Pac-12 media day of how she has changed since beginning at Cal in 2011. “The perspective I bring is different. You just gain knowledge with the years and gain relationships with players. You figure out how to connect with different people, different styles, so I think I’m a little more self-assured and know a few more things in terms of letting it come to me.”

Just as Gottlieb has grown, so too has the conference. Six Pac-12 teams made the NCAA tournament last year, three advanced to the regional finals and two — Arizona and Stanford — played in the national championship game.

But the Trojans are falling behind. USC has missed the NCAA tournament the last seven seasons.

After winning 20 games and advancing to the tournament in seven of her eight seasons in Berkeley, Gottlieb is confident the Trojans can catch up.

“I don’t think it’s broken,” Gottlieb said. “There’s not a lack of talent in the room. There’s not a lack of willingness. I think it’s just they need a leader to show them the direction.”

PAC-12 MEN’S BASKETBALL

Ben Bolch on Pac-12 men’s basketball: UCLA’s run to the Final Four was surprising; the Bruins being the overwhelming favorite to win the Pac-12 men’s basketball title was not.

The media picked UCLA on Wednesday to win the conference in its preseason poll in a runaway, the Bruins snagging all but two of the 34 first-place votes. Defending Pac-12 champion Oregon, which received the other two votes, was picked to finish second.

USC, coming off an appearance in the Elite Eight that it was its deepest NCAA tournament run in 20 years, was projected to finish third. The Los Angeles Times does not vote in media polls per its longstanding policy.

Oregon State, another NCAA tournament surprise that advanced to the Elite Eight after its run to the Pac-12 tournament title, was picked in a tie for fourth alongside Arizona, which is set to start its first season under coach Tommy Lloyd.

KINGS

Jack Harris on the Kings: Ahead of the Kings’ season opener on Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, here are 10 things to know about their 2021-22 campaign.

1. Last year … the Kings didn’t start terribly, going 13-11-6 over their first 30 games in a difficult Pacific Division. They faded down the stretch, however, finishing the shortened season with a 8-17-1 skid to miss the postseason for a third consecutive year.

2. Player to watch … Anze Kopitar, who last year tallied a team-high 50 points in the 56-game season, eclipsing the 1,000 point mark for his career. Drew Doughty also continues to anchor the team’s blue line, after finishing second on the club last season with 34 points. The two veterans were key pieces on the Kings’ last contending teams a decade ago. To return to relevancy this year, they’ll likely need to lead the way again.

Click here to read the rest of the list.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1945 — The Chicago Cardinals snap the longest losing streak in NFL history at 29 games with a 16-7 victory over the Chicago Bears.

1951 — Detroit’s Jack Christiansen returns two punts for touchdowns, but the Lions still lose, 27-21, to the Los Angeles Rams.

1962 — Houston’s George Blanda throws six touchdown passes to lead the Oilers to a 56-17 rout of the New York Titans.

1967 — The Kings, led by Brain Kilrea, beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 in their NHL debut. The game is held at Long Beach Arena. Kilrea scores two goals, including the first one in Kings history.

1978 — Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leafs gets seven assists in a 10-7 victory over the New York Islanders.

1979 — Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky scores his first NHL goal in a 4-4 tie with the Vancouver Canucks. Gretzky beats goaltender Glen Hanlon with the game-tying power-play goal with 1:09 remaining in the third period.

1990 — Joe Montana passes for career highs of 476 yards and six touchdowns and Jerry Rice ties an NFL record with five scoring receptions as the San Francisco 49ers beat the Atlanta Falcons 45-35.

1991 — New York Rangers right wing Mike Gartner scores his 500th career goal in the first period of a 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals.

2005 — Ryan Newman sets a NASCAR record by winning his fifth consecutive Busch Series race, the Charlotte 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

2006 — Mats Sundin scores his 500th career goal, completing a hat trick with a short-handed overtime game-winner and giving Toronto a 5-4 victory over Calgary. The third goal is Sundin’s 15th in overtime — the most in NHL history.

2007 — Tom Brady of New England passes for 388 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in a 48-27 win over previously unbeaten Dallas. The five TDs gives Brady the NFL mark with at least three in each of the first six games of the season.

2011 — Japan’s Kohei Uchimura becomes the first man to win three titles at the world gymnastics championships in Tokyo. Uchimura finishes with 93.631 points in the men’s all-around, more than three points ahead of Germany’s Philipp Boy.

2012 — Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers sets a career high and ties a franchise record with six touchdown passes, three to Jordy Nelson, and the Packers rout the Houston Texans 42-24. Rodgers completes 24 of 37 passes for 338 yards and ties Matt Flynn’s single-game record for TD passes, set in last year’s regular-season finale against Detroit.

2015 — Sylvia Fowles has 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Minnesota Lynx capture their third WNBA title in five years with a 69-52 victory over the Indiana Fever in Game 5.

2018 — Stephen Gostkowski hit a 28-yard field goal as time expires, and the New England Patriots beat the Kansas City Chiefs 43-40 after blowing a big halftime lead. Tom Brady passes for 340 yards and a touchdown and runs for another score in his 200th victory as a starting quarterback, tops in NFL history. With New England leading 24-9 at halftime, Patrick Mahomes directs an impressive rally by Kansas City in the second half. He finishes 23 of 36 for 352 yards in his first loss as a starting quarterback, with three of his four TD passes going to Tyreek Hill.

Supplied by the Associated Press

And finally

Video from the Kings’ first game. Watch and listen here.