The Sports Report: Shaun White’s career comes to an end

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Thuc Nhi Nguyen on snowboarding: Shaun White lifted his helmet off, the red hair that made him famous much shorter than it once was. He waved his black helmet to the crowd, lifted his hand and nodded his head.

Awaiting a score he knew he wouldn’t change the standings, White wiped a tear from the corner of his eye as fans cheered.

This is how it ends.

The snowboard legend finished fourth in the snowboarding halfpipe final on Friday at Genting Snow Park in the last competition of his storied career. The 35-year-old, three-time gold medalist dropped in for his final run in fourth place with a chance to overtake Switzerland’s Jan Scherrer for the bronze medal.

Instead, White fell on his second hit. He slid on his back to the flatbottom thinking about how this wasn’t how he wanted it to go.

“You don’t always get what you want,” an emotional White said, “but I have to be thankful for everything that I do have and what I have gotten over my career. And I gotta be happy for these guys.”

Japanese star Ayumu Hirano landed historic triple corks in each of his three runs and won his first Olympic gold medal after settling for silver in the last two Games. When simply landing a triple cork in his second score of 91.75 didn’t surpass Australian Scotty James’ 92.5, Hirano pushed the triple-flipping, quadruple-twisting trick even higher to overtake James on the final attempt of the day.

After stomping the winning run that earned 96 points, Hirano modestly raised his mittened hand. James, who won bronze in Pyeongchang, took silver.

American Taylor Gold finished fifth after falling on his last two runs while Chase Josey placed seventh.

WINTER OLYMPICS

Note: Our Olympics coverage is done in real time, so if you don’t want to know what happened before you watch TV today, skip down to the TV schedule.

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Justin Schoenefeld stood at the top of the aerials course at Genting Snow Park with simple instructions. All we have to do, his coach said, is land.

“I can do that,” Schoenefeld responded.

In a twisting blur of red, white and blue, the 23-year-old clinched the inaugural Olympic gold medal in mixed team aerials for the United States on Thursday, helping the Americans upset the favored Chinese team with an aggressive, high-risk strategy.

Schoenefeld, Ashley Caldwell and Christopher Lillis went for the most difficulty in the competition, and the gamble paid off with the United States’ third gold medal of the day and fourth of the Beijing Games.

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From Helene Elliott: Nathan Chen’s figure skating talent was apparent at a precocious age, surfacing quickly after he followed his hockey-playing older brothers out to the ice and realized he enjoyed the tickling breeze on his face and the problem-solving satisfaction of conquering a tricky jump or intricate spin. His resolve was obvious at an early age, too, never wavering despite his occasional bruised knee or bruised ego.

That unshakable sense of purpose was a key reason he commanded the ice this week and became an Olympic champion, the seventh American man to win an Olympic singles figure skating gold medal. It was the eighth gold medal won by American male singles skaters, including those that Dick Button won in 1948 and 1952. In addition, seven American women have won Olympic singles gold medals.

Clearly, Chen is in rare and exalted company.

“I actually didn’t know it was that few. That’s amazing,” he said on Thursday, after he landed five quadruple jumps in his Elton John-themed free skate performance and defeated Yuma Kagiyama of Japan by a staggering 332.60 points to 310.05.

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U.S. Ski and Snowboard is investigating allegations of sexual harassment that were levied against head coach Peter Foley by former team member Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, according to a story published on Friday by the website Outsports.com.

Chythlook-Sifsof alleged via Instagram that Foley had made inappropriate comments to her of a sexual nature while she was a minor. She also said he had taken photos of unclothed female athletes and that “other athletes have engaged in racist, misogynist behavior, actively participated in the strange dynamics that Peter Foley created and caused female athletes/staff to be victims of sexual violence.”

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From Stephanie Yang: The international political disputes and human rights concerns surrounding the Beijing Winter Olympics have not bothered the Chinese, who have been closely following their favorite athletes, copping near-impossible event tickets and scouring stores for dwindling merchandise of the popular Olympic mascot, Bing Dwen Dwen.

Strict COVID-19 protocols have limited access to ceremonies and competitions and muted the excitement and economic boost the Olympics usually draw. Despite the unusual circumstances, Chinese fans watching from home have reacted with pride to the nation’s theatrical performances and athletic showing — the country has so far won five medals, including a gold by Eileen Gu, an American-born freestyle skier with a Chinese mother.

But some, like Karri Wang, a 30-year-old cryptocurrency and equity investor who started snowboarding four years ago, believe they’ve missed the rare chance of being in the stands to watch the Games. As the pandemic dragged on, it became clear that getting into the closed loop of tightly regulated venues or obtaining a limited-release ticket would be out of reach for most.

“If I didn’t have a day job, I’d definitely be in the bubble,” said Wang, a sentiment that he added was shared by friends in his snowboarding club. “We really want to be there, to be honest, regardless of the price.”

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Germany has swept the gold medals in luge’s four events at the Beijing Games.

The Germans won the team relay Thursday night, holding off Austria and Latvia for the victory. Natalie Geisenberger won the women’s gold, Johannes Ludwig the men’s gold, and Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt the doubles gold. They then teamed up to take the relay by less than one-tenth of a second over Austria.

The U.S. was seventh, with the team of Chris Mazdzer, Ashley Farquharson and the doubles sled of Zack DiGregorio and Sean Hollander.

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Irene Schouten of the Netherlands has completed a speedskating sweep of the women’s distance events at the Beijing Games, setting another Olympic record with a victory in the 5,000 meters.

Schouten also won the 3,000 on Saturday, setting an Olympic mark on the opening day of speedskating at the Ice Ribbon oval.

She was even more dominant Thursday in the longest women’s race with a winning time of 6 minutes, 43.51 seconds. That broke the 20-year-old Olympic mark held by Germany’s Claudia Pechstein.

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Beijing Olympics live: Latest news and results from the 24th Winter Games

LAKERS

Dan Woike on the Lakers: An exhausted LeBron James sat in a converted locker room late Wednesday night, longing for full glass of wine and an empty bed to crash, the Lakers’ star desperately needing some sleep.

It’s all been exhausting this season for the Lakers, their inabilities to overcome clear weaknesses dooming them to life around — and right now below — the .500 mark. While Thursday wasn’t the Lakers’ last chance to make changes to its roster, it was the final one this season to make some big ones.

Instead, the Lakers did nothing.

“You can’t force another team to present yourself with a deal that is going to make your team be better,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said after the NBA trade deadline passed.

The Lakers had limited options to make the team dramatically better — or even different — thanks to the handcuffs put on the roster by their trade for Russell Westbrook before the season. With three players on maximum-contract deals and 10 on minimum contracts, only Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn had the necessary salaries to be used in any serious trade construction.

With Horton-Tucker’s inconsistency and Nunn’s injury issues — he’s still yet to play this season because of a bone bruise in his right knee — that duo was unable to attract any real interest from teams willing to return players to the Lakers to help them solve some of their deficiencies.

In addition to those options, the Lakers also could’ve looked to deal the struggling Westbrook, though unloading his massive contract would likely have required the Lakers to include a future first-round pick, the kind of asset forfeiture that’s too much to give up for a team with so few tools to improve its roster.

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NBA ASG draft: LeBron James makes Giannis Antetokounmpo first pick

CLIPPERS

Andrew Greif on the Clippers: Kristaps Porzingis was still a Dallas Maverick and blue-and-green posters featuring his picture covered nearly every seat inside American Airlines Center when he walked off the arena floor he has called homecourt for three years a little before 10:50 a.m. Thursday.

Within three hours, as the NBA’s trade deadline passed, arena workers collected the Porzingis posters and took them to garbage cans and Porzingis had been pictured checking his phone while at a Dallas sandwich shop, potentially learning mid-order he’d been traded to Washington.

Few rosters felt the shift of incoming and outgoing parts on deadline day quite like the Mavericks, who are now searching for a new running mate for all-star wunderkind Luka Doncic. Porzingis may have been the face on the arena’s seats but Doncic is the franchise’s undisputed face and future, the kind of talent who erupted for 28 first-quarter points and a career-high 51 overall Thursday in a 112-105 win against the Clippers to tie Dallas’ franchise record for points in a non-overtime game.

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The Clippers wound up making their biggest move ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, six days before the buzzer.

After adding starting guard Norman Powell and reserve wing Robert Covington from Portland last week, a trade that set up Powell, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George as the Clippers’ three-wing core for the future, the franchise completed one more deal ahead of Thursday’s deadline by sending backup center Serge Ibaka to Milwaukee as part of a four-team trade.

The NBA has yet to make the deal official, but according to a person with knowledge of the terms, the Clippers received wings Rodney Hood and Semi Ojeyele from Milwaukee while creating a traded-player contract exception worth $9.7 million, which can be used to take in additional salary at a later date. It also trimmed $31 million off their luxury-tax bill, which now stands at $82 million.

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NBA trade deadline: 76ers acquire Nets’ James Harden for Ben Simmons

UCLA BASKETBALL

Ben Bolch on the Bruins: In the week since a spitting incident resulted in a misdemeanor assault charge, UCLA redshirt freshman forward Mac Etienne has undergone counseling while also feeling the warm embrace of his coach.

“Look, it’s easy to just sit there and say obviously how disappointed I was,” Bruins coach Mick Cronin said Thursday of the ordeal that occurred after his team’s loss to Arizona last week at the McKale Center, “but at the same time, it’s my job to care about him and love him.”

Cronin compared his role to that of a parent for Etienne, a New York native who enrolled in the middle of last season and contributed mostly off the bench before suffering a torn knee ligament in fall workouts that will keep him out of every game this season.

Etienne accompanied the team on every trip until last week, when he flew home after he was accused of spitting on taunting Arizona students following the Bruins’ 76-66 defeat. Police cited Etienne, who faces a charge of assault with intent to injure, insult or provoke.

Cronin said his support of Etienne did not equate to excusing his behavior.

“I take seriously our program’s need to be a shining light for our university,” Cronin said. “When people look at the four letters and when they’re looking through the lens of men’s basketball, I want it to all be positive, so that hurt.

“Right now, that’s what I’m trying to do with him and by the time he’s back on our bench, he’ll full know the responsibility that goes with that, that goes with being on our team, being a part of it, the way you gotta represent our university.”

USC BASKETBALL

Ryan Kartje on the Trojans: A broken nose is not expected to sideline USC’s leading scorer for Saturday’s pivotal meeting with crosstown hoops rival UCLA.

Isaiah Mobley should be ready to rejoin USC’s lineup by then, coach Andy Enfield said Thursday, but how comfortable the Trojans captain will be upon returning for the crucial conference matchup remains to be seen.

Mobley, who missed Tuesday’s game, was fitted this week for a protective mask that’s expected to arrive Friday. As of Thursday’s practice, it was still unclear if Mobley would have to wear a mask at all.

GALAXY

Kevin Baxter on the Galaxy: Last month, Douglas Costa posted a picture of himself in a Galaxy jersey on social media. Last week, Costa’s Wikipedia page listed him as a Galaxy player. And Tuesday, after arriving on a United flight from Rio de Janeiro through Houston, he headed straight to the Galaxy’s offices to meet with club officials, then went to a Lakers game with his wife.

So it was a bit anticlimactic Thursday when the Galaxy announced that Costa, a Brazilian international who has played with three of the biggest clubs in Europe, had agreed to a deal with the MLS club through the 2023 season.

Costa, who was with Grêmio in Brazil’s second division on loan from Juventus, will finish out the loan with the Galaxy this summer, then play the next year and a half under contract to the team. Financial details of the agreement were not announced, but it is reportedly worth at least $5 million. Costa, 31, will occupy both a designated player and international roster slot.

ERIC KAY TRIAL

Jorge Castillo on the trial: Eric Kay’s defense Thursday attempted to discredit the government’s contention that Tyler Skaggs’ ingestion of fentanyl — and nothing else found in his system — was the reason he choked on his vomit and died in a suburban Dallas hotel room in July 2019.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Reagan Wynn asked Dr. Marc Krouse, formerly a Tarrant County medical examiner who conducted Skaggs’ autopsy report, if he could say Skaggs would be alive if he didn’t take fentanyl. Krouse said there is a “greater probability” Skaggs, a 27-year-old Angels pitcher, wouldn’t have died based on the evidence, but “no scientist” could be 100% sure.

According to the autopsy report, which ruled the death as accidental, Skaggs, had fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol in his system when he was found dead in Room 469 of the Hilton Dallas/Southlake Town Square on July 1, 2019, hours before the Angels were scheduled to begin a series against the Texas Rangers.

Krouse was fired last March after an audit discovered he committed significant mistakes on other autopsies — a development Wynn resurfaced to conclude the cross-examination — but he has not been accused of errors while examining Skaggs.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1878 — The Boston Bicycle Club, the first bicycle club in the United States, is formed.

1949 — Willie Pep becomes the first boxer in the history of the 126-pound class to regain a lost championship with a 15-round unanimous decision over Sandy Saddler at Madison Square Garden.

1950 — Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings scores three goals for his first NHL hat trick. Howe also has two assists in the 9-4 victory over the Boston Bruins.

1952 — Philadelphia’s Paul Arizin scores 26 points to win MVP honors and lead the East team to a 108-91 win over the West in the second NBA All-Star game. George Mikan of the Minneapolis Lakers leads the way for the West with 26 points and 15 rebounds.

1970 — The Atlanta Hawks score 97 points, the most ever scored in the second half of an NBA game, en route to a 155-131 win at San Diego.

1971 — Montreal’s Jean Beliveau scores his 500th goal in the Canadiens’ 6-2 victory over the Minnesota North Stars.

1982 — Houston Rockets center Moses Malone grabs an NBA-record 21 offensive rebounds in a 117-100 win over Seattle.

1982 — For the first time in NHL history, referee Kerry Fraser awards penalty shots in the same period. Vancouver’s Thomas Gradin and Ivan Hlinka each score against Red Wings goalie Gilles Gilbert in the third period of a 4-4 tie at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena.

1988 — Wayne Gretzky gets his NHL-record ninth 100-point season. Gretzky scores a goal and has two assists in the Edmonton Oilers’ 7-2 victory at Vancouver to give him 101 points, He passes Marcel Dionne, who had eight seasons.

1990 — Mike Tyson loses for the first time when James “Buster” Douglas knocks him out in the 10th round and captures the heavyweight championship in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.

1992 — Anfissa Reztsova wins the women’s 7.5-kilometer biathlon event to become the first woman to get gold medals in two different Winter Olympic sports. She skied the final 5-kilometer leg on the Soviet Union’s winning 20K cross-country relay team in the 1988 Olympics.

1995 — For the first time an NBA team to has two of its players sweep the All-Star Saturday competition. Harold Miner wins the Slam Dunk and Glen Rice captures the Long Distance Shootout for the Miami Heat.

2000 — Boston’s Ray Bourque becomes the second defenseman, and ninth player, in NHL history to reach 1,500 points. Bourque he scores a goal for the Bruins in a 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers.

2007 — Anja Paerson captures the downhill, becoming the first skier to win gold medals in all five disciplines at the world championships. Paerson, who also won the super-G and combined titles earlier in the week, won gold medals in the giant slalom at the last two worlds and one in the slalom in 2001.

2017 — Ajee’ Wilson breaks the American record in the women’s indoor 800 meters to win the event for the fourth straight year in the NYRR Millrose Games. Wilson finishes in 1:58.27 at The Armory to break the mark of 1:58.71 set by Nicole Teter in 2002.

2017 — Henrik Lundqvist makes 32 saves for his 400th career win and the New York Rangers beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2.

2018 — In Pyeongchang, South Korea, David Gleirscher is a surprise winner giving Austria its first gold in men’s luge in 50 years. Chris Mazdzer, who’s season hit rock-bottom less than a month ago, makes history for the U.S., giving the Americans their first men’s singles medal by finishing second in 3:10.728.

Supplied by the Associated Press

And finally

Buster Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson. Watch and listen here.