The Sports Report: Short-handed Lakers find a way to win

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. We start today with an unlikely Lakers victory, check in on Damar Hamlin, touch on a soap operaesque story in soccer and invite you to stick around to the end for a Justin Turner Dodgers poll. Satisfaction guaranteed or the cost of this newsletter will be refunded.

From Dan Woike: Of all the coaching challenges Darvin Ham has had this season, this might’ve been the toughest.

After a rough 12-day road trip that began with a flight to Dallas late on Dec. 23, the Lakers crossed three time zones Tuesday to come back to Los Angeles, where the Heat have been waiting since Sunday.

And to make matters worse, he wouldn’t have LeBron James.

“Next man up,” Ham said seriously before cracking. “Somebody’s gonna have to give us 43, 15 and 9.”

With James home sick with what the Lakers called a “non-COVID illness,” the short-handed Lakers had even less firepower than usual. The team, of course, was still without Anthony Davis and, in a development, had to play without Lonnie Walker IV because of knee tendonitis. Add in Troy Brown Jr. being shut down at half because of a sore quad muscle and suddenly the Lakers’ bench became the least densely populated real estate downtown.

It only got worse, Dennis Schroder injuring his right ankle late in the fourth.

Under all of those circumstances, a close game would be validation for the Lakers’ culture under Ham – one built on toughness.

Circumstances, though, mean nothing in the standings.

But wins, like the Lakers’ unlikely 112-109 victory Wednesday, definitely count.

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DAMAR HAMLIN

From Gary Klein and Jeff Miller: The outpouring of support for Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin continued Wednesday as NFL teams returned to practice for the first time since Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the field during a “Monday Night Football” broadcast.

Hamlin, 24, remained sedated and in critical condition in a Cincinnati hospital. His recovery was moving in “a positive direction,” Hamlin’s marketing representative said Wednesday.

“We all remain optimistic,” Jordon Rooney told the Associated Press, adding that he was unable to go into further detail about Hamlin’s status at the request of the family.

Chargers and Rams players and coaches expressed their support and said they prayed for Hamlin and his family.

Several Chargers coaches have ties to Hamlin.

Coach Brandon Staley said he recruited a teenage Hamlin as an assistant at John Carroll University.

“This is a great kid,” Staley said. “It’s little bit more personal because you know this guy.”

The Chargers brought in Dr. Eugene Yim, their team physician, to talk to the players and tell them the specifics of what happened on the play. Team chaplain George Gregory and team clinician Dr. Herb Martin also attended.

“The big thing is telling them the truth of what happened, what actually happened on the field from a medical perspective,” Staley said.

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With Damar Hamlin situation in mind, how decision on Bills-Bengals game affects NFL

Family ‘elated’ at direction of Damar Hamlin’s recovery, a representative says

CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: On Sunday, the Chargers will play one of their most important games of the season.

Unless the game means nothing.

A victory at Denver or a loss by Baltimore clinches the AFC’s No. 5 seed for the Chargers, who have the same 10-6 record as the Ravens but hold the tiebreaker because of a better conference record.

The NFL on Wednesday set the kickoff of Baltimore’s regular-season finale at Cincinnati for 10 a.m., West Coast time.

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SOCCER

From Kevin Baxter: The parents of national team forward Gio Reyna admitted Wednesday they reported a 31-year-old domestic violence incident involving U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter last month after the team’s exit from the World Cup in Qatar.

In a statement, Reyna’s mother Danielle said she reported a physical altercation between Berhalter and his now-wife Rosalind to Earnie Stewart, U.S. Soccer’s sporting director, after Berhalter, speaking at a summit on moral leadership, referenced some internal issues in Qatar involving a player he did not name.

The player did not display sufficient intensity in training, the coach said, and was nearly sent home. It was later revealed that player was Gio Reyna, who was little used in the World Cup.

“I did call Earnie Stewart just after the news broke that Gregg had made negative statements about my son Gio at a leadership conference,” Danielle Reyna said. “I have known Earnie for years and consider him to be a close friend. I wanted to let him know that I was absolutely outraged and devastated that Gio had been put in such a terrible position, and that I felt very personally betrayed by the actions of someone my family had considered a friend for decades.

“I want to be very clear that I did not ask for Gregg to be fired, I did not make any threats, and I don’t know anything about any blackmail attempts,” continued Danielle Reyna, a roommate of Rosalind Berhalter at the University of North Carolina in 1991, when the confrontation with Gregg Berhalter, who played for the school’s soccer team, took place.

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UCLA BASKETBALL

From Ben Bolch: Mick Cronin arrived at UCLA with a reputation as a defensive savant. Known for making other teams uncomfortable, the coach kept floor moppers and trainers as busy as his players given the need to wipe up all that sweat and bandage all those knees bruised from diving on the court.

The Bruins haven’t disappointed in Cronin’s first 3½ seasons, forcing a flurry of turnovers and routinely holding opponents well below their season scoring averages.

The thing is, they might be just as good — if not better — on offense.

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SPARKS

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Karen Bryant was supposed to be interviewing candidates for the Sparks’ general manager position. Then she turned into the top choice.

The former Seattle Storm executive went from behind-the-scenes contributor to the Sparks’ rebuild to primary architect Tuesday when the team announced her hire as general manager and chief administrative officer. With the franchise mired in its worst two-year stretch, Bryant will create the foundation of the Sparks’ new era through the upcoming free agency period.

“This is a critical year for us,” Bryant said in her virtual introductory news conference Wednesday along with head coach Curt Miller. “Curt and I are here to help lead a transformation on the basketball side of the organization and we have a lot of work to do.”

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ANGELS

From Sarah Valenzuela: The Angels have a new face joining their broadcast booth for 2023. On Wednesday, the team’s broadcast partner Bally Sports West announced that Wayne Randazzo had been added to the list of play-by-play announcers for the season.

Randazzo, whose hometown is Chicago, has close to 20 years of broadcasting experience at the local and national level.

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DUCKS

John Gibson stopped 35 shots for his 24th career shutout, Mason McTavish had a goal and an assist, and the Ducks defeated the Dallas Stars 2-0. It was Gibson’s first shutout since Nov. 2, 2021, against New Jersey, and his second in 14 games against the Stars. The shutout appeared to be in peril after Troy Terry was called for tripping with 1:55 remaining, but the Ducks were able to kill off the power play.

Gibson tied Guy Hebert for second in franchise history with 173 wins. Adam Henrique also scored for the Ducks.

DODGERS

Let’s do a fun poll now. With the departure of Justin Turner, who is the greatest third baseman in Dodger history? Your choices are Turner, Ron Cey, Adrián Beltré and Billy Cox. Click here to vote. Results will be announced in Friday’s newsletter.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1964 — Keith Lincoln of the San Diego Chargers, rushes for 206 yards in 13 carries, catches seven passes for 123 yards, completes one pass for 20 and scores two touchdowns in a 51-10 rout of the Boston Patriots for the AFL title.

1983 — In his 42nd game, Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky scores his 100th point of the season with an assist in the Oilers’ 8-3 triumph over the Winnipeg Jets.

1991 — Kevin Bradshaw of U.S. International scores 72 points to break Pete Maravich’s NCAA Division I single-game scoring record of 69, but Loyola Marymount sets an NCAA team scoring record in defeating the Gulls 186-140.

1993 — Reggie Jackson, who hit 563 homers and played on five championship teams in 21 seasons, is the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1997 — The second-year Carolina Panthers, behind John Kasay’s four field goals, beat the Dallas Cowboys 26-17 to advance to the NFC Championship game.

1999 — Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount are voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the biggest class of first-time candidates since Babe Ruth and four others were chosen in the original election of 1936.

2003 — Jeff Garcia hits Tai Streets with a 13-yard touchdown pass with 1 minute left, and the New York Giants botch the snap on a 41-yard field goal attempt as time expires in San Francisco’s 39-38 victory — the second-biggest comeback in NFL playoff history.

2009 — Pittsburgh makes it to the top of The Associated Press’ men’s college basketball poll for the first time. The Panthers are one of a record nine Big East teams in the poll. The 16-team league had a record eight schools ranked for three weeks earlier in the season.

2013 — Aaron Rodgers connects with an NFL playoff-record 10 receivers as he throws for 274 yards in his first playoff victory at home, leading Green Bay to a 24-10 victory over Minnesota.

2013 — Arian Foster rushes for 140 yards and a touchdown in Houston’s 19-13 win over Cincinnati, and becomes the first NFL player to have 100-yard games in each of his first three playoff games.

2017 — The Columbus Blue Jackets lose 5-0 to the Washington Capitals ending their winning streak at 16 games, one shy of the NHL record. Columbus lose for the first time since Nov. 26, ending a captivating run that fell short of the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins’ record of 17 consecutive wins.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Reggie Jackson’s Hall of Fame induction speech. Watch and listen here.