The Sports Report: Arte Moreno is willing to sell the Angels

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

Arte Moreno, whose 20-year ownership of the Angels started with the most successful decade in franchise history but is now mired in a dreadful eight-year run in which the team has failed to make the playoffs, announced Tuesday that he has begun to explore the process of selling the franchise.

“It has been a great honor and privilege to own the Angels for 20 seasons,” Moreno, the first Mexican American to own a major sports team in the United States, said in a statement. “As an organization, we have worked to provide our fans an affordable and family-friendly ballpark experience while fielding competitive lineups which included some of the game’s all-time greatest players.

“Although this difficult decision was entirely our choice and deserved a great deal of thoughtful consideration, my family and I have ultimately come to the conclusion that now is the time. Throughout this process, we will continue to run the franchise in the best interest of our fans, employees, players, and business partners.”

Moreno does not have a potential buyer lined up, with one person familiar with his thinking but not authorized to speak publicly about it likening Tuesday’s announcement to the owner a putting a “for-sale sign on the lawn.”

Moreno began considering the possibility of selling the team in recent months, the person said. Moreno doesn’t have a succession plan. He has three adult children, but none have been involved in the running of the team or were interested in taking over.

In March, Forbes valued the team at $2.2 billion, but that number could climb because the Angels are one of four teams in Major League Baseball’s two biggest markets — the other three are the Dodgers, New York Mets and New York Yankees.

Moreno bought the team from the Walt Disney Co. for $183.5 million shortly after the Angels won their only World Series championship in 2002 and was praised for lowering beer prices in Angel Stadium and his hefty free-agent investments that brought 2004 American League most valuable player Vladimir Guerrero, 2005 Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colón and pitcher Kelvim Escobar to Anaheim.

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Q&A: What’s next for the Angels: Leaving Anaheim? New owner? Shohei Ohtani?

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Mike Trout homers for his 1,500th career hit in Angels’ loss to Rays

Best owner in Angels’ history

Vote in our survey and tell us who you think the best owner in Angels history is. Your choices are Gene and Jackie Autry, Disney or Arte Moreno. Click here to vote.

DODGERS

From Jack Harris: The worst-case scenario has come true for Walker Buehler.

The Dodgers pitcher announced in a post on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon that he underwent Tommy John surgery, a major development that will probably keep the right-hander sidelined for most, if not all, of the 2023 season.

The Dodgers announced that Buehler had a “flexor tendon repair” during his surgery Tuesday. A defined timeline for his return has not been disclosed.

Buehler had been out since early June with a flexor tendon injury and had the season-ending elbow surgery after a setback in his rehabilitation this month.

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How the Dodgers became baseball’s improbable men of steal

CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: The mystery surrounding the absence of J.C. Jackson was solved Tuesday when the Chargers announced the cornerback had ankle surgery.

He is expected to return in two to four weeks, putting in doubt his availability to start the season on time.

The Chargers open at SoFi Stadium against Las Vegas in 2½ weeks, on Sept. 11. That game will be a rematch of an emotional 2021 Week 18 showdown won in overtime by the Raiders in January.

The Chargers then play at Kansas City four days later in a Thursday night game, the NFL schedule-makers throwing them immediately into the thick of the AFC West, which is widely regarded as the league’s best division.

Not having Jackson would leave the Chargers’ pass defense shorthanded against quarterbacks Derek Carr and Patrick Mahomes. Carr’s weapons include Davante Adams, a two-time All-Pro acquired by the Raiders via trade.

RAMS

From Gary Klein: Quarterback Matthew Stafford has not faced an opposing team’s defense since February, when he led the Rams to victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.

On Wednesday, Stafford will see the Bengals again when the Rams hold the first of two joint practices with the defending AFC champions.

Coach Sean McVay does not play starters during preseason games, so the workouts offer Stafford and other frontline players a lone opportunity to run plays against someone other than teammates before the Sept. 8 opener against the Buffalo Bills.

“It’s a heck of a test for us going up against our defense every single day, but I think it’s good for both sides of [the] ball,” Stafford said last week. “Just see something different. Feels like a game. ... As long as everybody keeps their head on straight and doesn’t go too crazy or we have to call practice earlier or whatever that is, I think it’s a positive.”

LAKERS

From Dan Woike: The Brooklyn Nets attempts, albeit half-hearted, to trade star forward Kevin Durant have ended with the organization releasing a statement saying the two sides have reconciled.

The decision should have a significant impact on how the Lakers approach the remainder of the offseason.

The Nets, whom the Lakers had spoken with in trade discussions for Kyrie Irving, never showed interest in accepting Russell Westbrook back in a deal. There was some speculation that the Nets’ stance would soften after a Durant trade or that it’d be easier to include a third (or fourth) team in a deal after that situation was resolved.

With Durant (and now almost certainly Irving) staying in Brooklyn for the time being, the Lakers’ pathway to dealing Westbrook actually gets a little clearer. There are also some wait-and-see considerations to monitor when it comes to Utah and Donovan Mitchell, who have been in discussions with the Knicks about a deal.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1904 — Holcombe Ward wins the men’s singles title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles title.

1908 — Tommy Burns knocks out Bill Squires in the 13th round at Sydney, Australia to retain the world heavyweight title.

1925 — Helen Wills, 19, wins her third straight U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles title with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory over Kathleen McKane. An hour later, Wills teams up with Mary K. Browne to win the doubles title.

1929 — Helen Wills wins her sixth U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles title by defeating Phoebe Holcroft Watson, 6-4, 6-2.

1963 — The Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. is covered by ABC’s Wide World of Sports for the first time.

1963 — Don Schollander becomes the first swimmer to break the two-minute barrier in the 200-meter freestyle with a 1:58.4 time in a meet at Osaka, Japan.

1963 — John Pennel breaks the 17-foot barrier in the pole vault with a 17-0¾ vault in a meet at Miami.

1988 — Minnesota North Stars forward Dino Ciccarelli is sentenced to one day in jail and fined $1,000 for hitting another player with his stick. Ciccarelli, who was given a match penalty and 10-game suspension by the league for the Jan. 6, 1988 attack on Toronto’s Luke Richardson, is believed to be the first NHL player to receive a jail term for an on-ice attack of another player.

1996 — Hsieh Chin-hsiung sets a Little League World Series record with his seventh home run as Taiwan wins the title for the 17th time with a 13-3 victory over Cranston, R.I.

2003 — Jockey Julie Krone becomes the first female rider to win a million-dollar race taking the Pacific Classic at Del Mar aboard Candy Ride.

2004 — Four-time world 1,500 champion Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco, a heartbreak loser at the last two Olympics, holds off Bernard Lagat down the stretch to win in 3 minutes, 34.18 seconds. El Guerrouj edges Lagat by .12 seconds for the gold medal. El Guerrouj had lost four races in the last eight years, but two of those defeats came at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

2007 — The NFL indefinitely suspends Michael Vick without pay just hours after he acknowledged in court papers that he did, indeed, bankroll gambling on dogfighting and helped kill some dogs not worthy of the pit.

2008 — On the final day of the Beijing Games, the United States beats Spain 118-107 and win the gold medal in men’s basketball for the first time since 2000. China has one of the most dominating and diverse performances at an Olympics ever, winning a games-leading 51 golds and an even 100 overall. The United States finishes with 110 medals and trails well behind the Chinese in golds with 36, the first time since 1992 it doesn’t lead the category.

2008 — Hawaii’s mini-mashers get a little help from Mexico’s miscues to win a fourth straight Little League World Series title for the United States. Tanner Tokunaga smacks two homers and Iolana Akau adds a solo blast as the boys from Waipahu, Hawaii, defeat Matamoros, Mexico, 12-3.

2008 — Danny Lee becomes the U.S. Amateur’s youngest champion, supplanting Tiger Woods by holding off Drew Kittleson 5 and 4. The 18-year, 1-month-old Lee is six months and 29 days younger than Woods when he won the first of his three.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Hawaii wins the 2008 Little League World Series. Watch and listen here.