The Sports Report: Lakers lose season opener

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

From Dan Woike: Before the Lakers took the court to open their season, before the Golden State Warriors put the cap of their 2022 championship by receiving their championship rings, the first defining decision of the Lakers’ season came via tweet.

With the normally open Darvin Ham holding things close for the past 24-plus hours, there was legitimate mystery as to what the team would do with Russell Westbrook.

At 6:30 Tuesday night, 30 minutes prior to the scheduled tip-off of the team’s first game of the season, the Lakers and Darvin Ham made it clear – they’re riding with Westbrook as a starter.

What the Lakers are doing and will eventually do with Westbrook has been the dominant storyline following the team since last year’s debacle.

But after another rough preseason and a 123-109 loss to the Warriors, the Lakers’ problems might extend beyond that.

They missed jump shots. They turned the ball over. And if trying to guard the Warriors was being “thrown into the deep end,” as Ham described, they spent large chunks of the night totally submerged.

The Lakers trailed by as many as 27, a push in the fourth quarter cutting the lead all the way down to 12, but by then, the mistakes were already too damaging.

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DODGERS

From Jack Harris: Andrew Friedman called it the most disappointing elimination in his eight years as the Dodgers’ top front office executive, an “organizational failure” that the team hadn’t been anticipating after a franchise-record 111-win season.

But, three days removed from the Dodgers’ stunning National League Division Series loss to the San Diego Padres, the club’s president of baseball operations didn’t sound as though big changes were on the horizon.

In an end-of-season news conference at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, Friedman confirmed that manager Dave Roberts will return next season.

“One hundred percent,” he said.

The rest of the coaching staff likely will, as well.

“I don’t anticipate [any changes] right now,” he said.

Friedman said the team still was working through roster decisions, including whether to bring back third baseman Justin Turner and outfielder Cody Bellinger, but stopped short of promising any significant overhaul.

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UCLA FOOTBALL

From Ben Bolch: Everything Brett Hundley wanted at UCLA remains a possibility for Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

A Pac-12 championship. A Rose Bowl. Maybe even something better.

“It’s awesome to see,” Hundley said over the phone, “because I love UCLA to death.”

Hundley never reached those heights while leading his teams to two mid-tier bowl victories and a 3-0 record against those repugnant rivals across town.

Hundley’s name was in the news again when, during UCLA’s victory over Utah earlier this month, Thompson-Robinson threw for touchdown No. 76 of his career, surpassing Hundley’s school record.

“All records are meant to be broken,” Hundley said, “so it was just fun opportunity to see him succeed and I’m happy for him.”

USC FOOTBALL

From Ryan Kartje: In each of his first three seasons as Oklahoma’s coach, Lincoln Riley entered October with an unblemished record and a top-10 ranking … only to drop a game unexpectedly.

In 2017, it was Iowa State that upset the third-ranked Sooners. A year later, Texas knocked No. 7 Oklahoma off its throne with a game-winning field goal. A year after that, Riley’s Sooners were once again upended in October, this time by Kansas State.

Each of the three defeats at the time appeared to doom any hope of Oklahoma making the College Football Playoff. But in all three cases, Riley’s team didn’t lose another game for the rest of the regular season. All three ended up earning places in the Playoff.

It’s no wonder then, as USC enters its bye week, that no one, least of all Riley, is panicking after the Trojans suffered their first loss of the season last Saturday at Utah.

CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: After halftime Monday, the Chargers allowed Denver only 72 total yards of offense and five first downs during their overtime win.

Impressive numbers, but not as impressive as the numbers to which their defense limited Russell Wilson.

In the second half and overtime, the Broncos quarterback completed three passes. Total. Three completions on 11 attempts over the span of seven possessions.

Three completions for 15 yards, Wilson’s longest connection covering seven yards.

“We were really connected in that entire second half, and you saw the results,” coach Brandon Staley said Tuesday. “We’re a work in progress. But [Monday] night was definitely our best night for sure … that or Las Vegas [in Week 1].

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ANGELS

From Sarah Valenzuela: We’ve seen Shohei Ohtani as a power hitter. We’ve seen Shohei Ohtani as an ace pitcher. What about Shohei Ohtani, the closer?

It’s not out of the realm of possibility if the Angels’ two-way star decides to play for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

“If you’re going to pitch as a starter [in the WBC], you’d have to be built up to 60, 70 pitches. So you have to take that into account,” Ohtani told reporters in Japanese on Tuesday at Tokyo-Haneda Airport. “But if they say you don’t have to start, there’s no reason to move up anything.”

The Tokyo Dome will host Round 1 games for Pool B teams — Japan, China, Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic. Those games start March 9, 2023. Angels pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training Feb. 13, 2023, opening Cactus League play Feb. 25.

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USC BASKETBALL

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: She was days away from giving birth to her second child, but Lindsay Gottlieb was still coaching. The USC head coach sent emails when she couldn’t sleep, fired off a few short texts and made time for a quick phone call to check on her team’s progress. Just like her daughter’s due date, USC’s opener against Cal State Bakersfield on Nov. 8 was approaching quickly and Gottlieb couldn’t put either on hold, despite pleas from her coaching staff to rest.

“We’re like, please have a baby,” assistant Wendale Farrow joked at a recent practice, “and worry about motherhood.”

While Gottlieb isn’t in the gym, her influence remains strong as the Trojans continue their rebuild under the second-year coach. The team is hopeful Gottlieb, who gave birth to Reese Caroline Gottlieb Martin on Oct. 15, can return in November while associate head coach Beth Burns, Farrow and fellow assistant Nneka Enemkpali start the season.

KINGS

Gabriel Vilardi scored the shootout winner and had a goal and an assist in regulation in the Kings’ 4-3 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.

Matt Roy had two third-period goals and Cal Petersen made 31 saves in regulation and overtime and denied all three Nashville attempts in the shootout to help extend the Kings’ winning streak to three.

DUCKS

Defenseman Dougie Hamilton broke a tie 33 seconds into the third period, Mackenzie Blackwood made 18 saves and the New Jersey Devils beat the Ducks 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Jesper Bratt set up Hamilton with a cross-crease pass to Hamilton parked to the right of goaltender Anthony Stolarz.

The Ducks — after winning their opener at home against Seattle — were coming off two losses to start a five-game trip, 7-1 to the Islanders on Saturday and 6-4 to the Rangers on Monday.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1940 — Alabama snaps Tennessee’s defensive scoreless streak of 71 quarters but still loses 27-12. Tennessee hadn’t allowed a point since Oct. 29, 1938, when it beat LSU 14-6.

1957 — Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadians scores his 500th goal in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks.

1960 — After 13 years in Minneapolis, the Lakers opened their inaugural season in Los Angeles with a 140-123 loss at Cincinnati.

1966 — Bobby Orr makes his NHL regular season debut for the Boston Bruins.

1985 — Robbie Bosco of Brigham Young passes for 585 yards in a 45-23 victory over New Mexico.

1985 — Dale Klein of Nebraska ties an NCAA record with seven field goals in a 28-20 victory over Missouri.

1986 — Lloyd Burruss of Kansas City intercepts three passes and returns two for touchdowns to lead the Chiefs to a 42-21 victory over the San Diego Chargers.

1994 — Duke beats North Carolina 3-2 in women’s soccer to end the Tar Heels’ unbeaten streak of 101 games.

1997 — Pittsburgh goaltender Tom Barrasso makes 22 saves to earn his 300th victory with a 4-1 win over Florida. Barrasso becomes the first American-born goaltender and 13th overall to record 300 wins.

1997 — Sandy Alomar of the Cleveland Indians hits the 700th World Series home run.

2002 — Avon Cobourne becomes the fifth Division I-A rusher with four 1,000-yard seasons as West Virginia beats Syracuse 34-7. Cobourne has 108 yards in the game for 1,002 yards this season.

2012 — The NHL announces the cancellation of the 2012-13 regular-season schedule through November 1. A total of 135 regular-season games are now lost from Oct. 11 through Nov. 1.

2014 — Peyton Manning breaks Brett Favre’s NFL record of 508 touchdown passes and he throws four TD passes in Denver’s 42-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The record-breaker was an 8-yarder to Demaryius Thomas with 3:09 left in the first half. Manning reaches the milestone in his 246th regular-season game. Favre needed 302.

2014 — DeMarco Murray becomes the first running back in NFL history to start a season with seven straight 100-yard games in a 31-21 win over the New York Giants. Murray, with 128 yards and a touchdown, breaks Hall of Famer Jim Brown’s 56-year-old record.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Peyton Manning sets the record for touchdown passes. Watch and listen here.