The Sports Report: Tempers flare at Rams-Bengals practice

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

From Gary Klein: Before the Rams held joint practices with the Cincinnati Bengals, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford made an optimistic prediction.

“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,” Stafford said.

Cooler heads did not prevail Thursday, the second day of practices between last season’s Super Bowl participants.

Tempers flared. Helmets came off and were swung. Punches were thrown and there was also kicking and shoving before Rams coach Sean McVay and Bengals coach Zac Taylor ended the workout prematurely.

On another warm and humid day, tempers rose on offense, defense and special teams. Rams defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson and linebacker Justin Hollins were among players involved in skirmishes earlier in the practice, which was conducted on two fields.

The rising tensions culminated with a brawl that caused McVay to run from the far field in attempt to break it up. He emerged visibly angry, but later downplayed the emotion.

“I just see guys swinging and some guys have helmets on, some don’t, there’s a scrum, you just never know what can occur,” McVay said, “and my biggest concern in just unnecessary injuries for people that we’re counting on. ... God forbid anybody gets hit in the head with a helmet off.”

A video appears to show Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald with a Bengals helmet in his hand as he fell to the ground. Donald was scheduled to speak with reporters after practice but in the aftermath of the fight was not made available. He also, through a team spokesperson, declined a request to speak with reporters later at the team hotel.

McVay said he did not know “exactly what instigated” the brawl that ended the practice.

CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: The Chargers conclude the preseason Friday in New Orleans with a game that mostly will feature players at the back end of their roster or about to be waived.

They had their final training camp workout Wednesday in Costa Mesa and will practice three times next week before the regular season officially arrives the following week.

A look at the five most important developments of training camp 2022.

LAKERS

From Dan Woike: Russell Westbrook wanted a timeout. Patrick Beverley wanted a steal.

Neither got what they were looking for. And for now, they’re teammates on the Lakers.

The Lakers acquired Beverley in a trade Wednesday night, sending Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson to the Utah Jazz.

In the 2013 playoffs, as Westbrook crossed the half-court line and pulled up to call a timeout, Beverley manically zoomed toward the all-star guard and barreled into him, trying to poke the ball out before a referee could blow his whistle.

Westbrook immediately started to hobble and pounded the scorer’s table. He’d torn his meniscus — and Beverley ignited a round of controversy.

Was this dirty? There’s playing hard, but was this too hard?

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Vanessa Bryant plans to give verdict proceeds to Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation

USC FOOTBALL

From Ryan Kartje: After everything they’d weathered during one year together, all Caleb Williams needed now from his coach was a look from the sideline. A shoulder shrug. A head nod. A thumbs-up. That, the USC quarterback says, would be signal enough for him to know exactly what Lincoln Riley was thinking.

By that point, the USC coach could usually tell what was coming from his quarterback, too.

“The way he walks out on the field, I can almost tell you the kind of day he’s going to have,” Riley said. “I’ve seen now so much, every mannerism and every word. I’ve got to a place where he can tell and I can kinda know what’s in his head even before. And I think he, in a lot of ways, [feels] the same thing with me. I think a lot of times I’m getting ready to make a point to him, whether it’s about playing the position or leading or anything and he can kinda take the words right from me. We’re in lockstep.”

Nothing is more crucial for USC in its first year under Riley than that relationship between the coach and his Heisman contender quarterback, and in Williams’ case, there seem to be no concerns on that front. As the pair enters its second year together, both describe a connection that borders on telepathic. By their telling, it’s not unreasonable to think coach and quarterback could finish each other’s sentences.

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Student Body Right plans to resurrect disbanded USC alumni clubs and pay players

DODGERS

From Bill Plaschke: It feels weird issuing this plea to a baseball team bullying its way toward historic ground, but, sorry, somebody has to say it.

Hey, steamrolling Dodgers?

Chill.

Hey, dominant Dodgers playing well enough to approach records for both franchise and major league wins?

Don’t push it.

The hotter-than-hot Dodgers — who lead the National League West by a compelling 19½ games with an astounding run differential of 275 after Wednesday’s 12-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers — need to start playing it cool.

They can eclipse the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 2001 Seattle Mariners record of 116 victories by winning 31 of their last 39 games, but they shouldn’t even try.

LAFC

From Kevin Baxter: LAFC’s roster includes a five-time Champions League winner, a former league MVP, a U.S. national team regular and the captain of the last team to win the European Championship. Yet its leading scorer over the last 12 months is a relatively unknown Colombian with just 10 minutes of international experience.

In fact, Cristian Arango is so anonymous even his teammates don’t always recognize his name. When Kellyn Acosta was asked about Arango this week, he drew a blank until someone repeated the question using Arango’s nickname.

“Oh, Chicho!” he said. “A lot of people don’t call him Cristian Arango. It sounds so weird sometimes.”

Not to opponents, who have seen Chicho — er, Arango — score 26 goals and hand out seven assists in his last 40 games; LAFC has lost just nine of them. No player in MLS has scored more often over that span. So when opponents focus on Carlos Vela, the most prolific single-season goal scorer in MLS history, or Gareth Bale, once soccer’s most expensive transfer, Arango steps up to punish them.

ANGELS

Drew Rasmussen won his third consecutive start, Manuel Margot got four hits and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Angels 8-3 Thursday to complete a four-game sweep.

The Angels lost their sixth in a row.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1933 — Helen Hull Jacobs captures the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles title when Helen Wills Moody defaults in the third set because of back and hip pain.

1939 — The first major league baseball game is televised. NBC broadcasts a doubleheader at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field between the Cincinnati Reds and the Dodgers.

1950 — Australia wins its third straight Davis Cup by beating the U.S. 4-1.

1961 — The International Hockey Hall of Fame opens in Toronto.

1972 — The New York Cosmos win the NASL championship by defeating the St. Louis Stars 2-1.

1989 — Chris Drury pitches a five-hitter and Trumbull, Conn., becomes the first American team since 1983 to capture the Little League World Series, defeating Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 5-2.

1993 — Sean Burroughs, the son of former major leaguer Jeff Burroughs, pitches his second no-hitter of the Little League World Series and hits two home runs, sending defending champion Long Beach, Calif., past Bedford, N.H., 11-0 in the final of the U.S. bracket.

1995 — Greg Norman sinks a 66-foot chip on the first playoff hole, to capture the World Series of Golf and become the leading money winner in PGA Tour history. Norman wins $360,000 in his third tour victory this year to raise lifetime earnings to $9.49 million and overtake Tom Kite.

1997 — Carl Lewis finishes his track-and-field career anchoring star-studded team to victory in the 400-meter relay to cap the ISTAF Grand Prix meet in Berlin. The team of Olympic 100-meter champion Donovan Bailey, former world record-holder Leroy Burrell and Namibian sprint champion Frankie Fredericks, win in 38.24 seconds.

1999 — Michael Johnson shatters another world record at the world championships — this time, breaking the 400-meter mark with a time of 43.18. He cuts 0.11 seconds off the record of 43.29 set by Butch Reynolds in 1988 and ties Carl Lewis for the most gold medals at the championships with eight.

2011 — The Tulsa Shock snap the longest losing streak in WNBA history with a 77-75 win over the Sparks. The Shock (2-25) had 20 straight losses before Sheryl Swoopes hit a jumper with 2.9 seconds left.

2011 — Kyle Busch records his record-breaking 50th NASCAR Busch Series victory, edging teammate Joey Logano in the Food City 250 at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch breaks a tie with Mark Martin for the record in NASCAR’s second-tier series.

2012 — Lydia Ko wins the Canadian Women’s Open to become the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history and only the fifth amateur champion. The 15-year-old South Korean-born New Zealander closes with a 5-under 67 for a three-stroke victory over Inbee Park.

2016 — Dan Raudabaugh throws six touchdown passes and the Philadelphia Soul win their second ArenaBowl title, beating the Arizona Rattlers 56-42.

2017 — Kyle Snyder scores a late takedown of Olympic gold medalist Abdusalim Sadulaev in the deciding match, and the U.S. wins the world freestyle wrestling title for the first time in 22 years.

2017 — Floyd Mayweather Jr. stops UFC champion Conor McGregor on his feet in the 10th round in Las Vegas. The much-hyped 154-pound fight is more competitive than many expected when an unbeaten, five-division world champion boxer takes on a mixed martial artist making his pro boxing debut.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Chris Drury pitches the U.S. to the 1989 Little League World Series title. Watch and listen here.