The Sports Report: LeBron James is the worst GM ever

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

From Bill Plaschke: The tweet appeared within hours of the news that the Lakers had not been able to pull off a trade for Kyrie Irving.

The tweet was from LeBron James, who had openly campaigned for Irving despite overwhelming evidence he would be a bad fit.

The tweet, as usual, was a passive-aggressive shot at Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka.

“Maybe It’s Me,” James declared Sunday afternoon.

No maybes about it.

It is him.

LeBron James has been such a horrible general manager that the Lakers would be fools to allow him to continue making the trades.

His support of Irving wasn’t the main reason the Lakers lost the Irving bidding to the Dallas Mavericks, but it sure didn’t help.

As he tenaciously and incredibly and inspirationally approaches Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record, off the court James is unfortunately also approaching the record for being a Lakers all-time pain.

He pushed for an Anthony Davis trade that, despite leading to one bubble championship, has ruined the Lakers’ immediate future.

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Nets trade Kyrie Irving to Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith

NASCAR

From Kevin Baxter: Martin Truex Jr. needed a little more than two hours to weave through 37½ miles of traffic Sunday. Along the way he endured tailgaters, slowed to avoid more than a dozen accidents and averaged just 64 mph, a speed that wouldn’t draw the attention of the most efficacious Highway Patrol officer.

That pretty much describes the morning commute for most people in Southern California. But Truex finished where he started, on the floor of the Coliseum, and when he climbed out of his car rather than arriving late for work with a headache, he was handed a trophy, a gold medal and a check for the winner’s share of a $2.085-million purse for NASCAR’s second Clash at the Coliseum.

“It was definitely satisfying. Anytime you win, it’s satisfying,” said Truex, who won for the first time since September 2021. “It’s just a good feeling to be able to win a race.”

Truex, who posted the fastest in Saturday’s qualifying then won his heat race Sunday to start second in the final, bided his time in the main event, staying out of trouble and avoiding a number of accidents before taking the lead with 25 laps to go.

Racing before a crowd of about 50,000, Truex took the lead from Ryan Preece and never gave it back, pulling away to win the season-opening exhibition to NASCAR’s 75th year. The dizzying 150-lap dash around a three-lane asphalt oval, the narrowest track in NASCAR, saw the yellow flag come out 16 times for accidents and spin outs.

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UCLA BASKETBALL

Charisma Osborne had 23 points, Londynn Jones added 20 off the bench, and No. 14 UCLA pulled away in the second half, defeating Arizona State 82-63 on Sunday to end a three-game losing streak.

Osborne made seven of 15 shots, including four of seven three-pointers, and was five of five from the free-throw line. She added five rebounds and four assists. Jones shot five of eight, made four of six three-pointers, and was perfect in five free-throw attempts for the third 20-point game of her freshman season.

Gabriela Jaquez added 14 points off the bench for the Bruins (18-6, 7-5 Pac-12), who had a 42-6 advantage in bench scoring.

USC BASKETBALL

Cate Reese scored a career-high 33 points, including four clinching free throws in the last 7.5 seconds of the second overtime, to give No. 22 Arizona an 81-75 win over USC on Sunday.

Shaina Pellington and Jade Loville each had 17 points for the Wildcats (18-5, 8-4 Pac-12 Conference), who picked up a critical sweep in Los Angeles after beating No. 14 UCLA 71-66 in overtime Friday.

Destiny Littleton had 21 points for the Trojans (17-6, 7-5), playing all 50 minutes, as did Kadi Sissoko, who scored 15 points. Rayah Marshall had 17 points, 20 rebounds and six blocks in 48 minutes. Rokia Doumbia, a senior transfer from Purdue, had a career-high 17 in 28 minutes off the bench before fouling out in the first overtime.

SUPER BOWL

Sunday, February 12
at Glendale, Ariz.
Philadelphia vs. Kansas City, 3:30 p.m. PT, Fox

SUPER BOWL POLL

We will win the Super Bowl? Click here to vote.

Super Bowl LVII: Start time, odds and halftime show

Kirk Cousins leads NFC to victory over AFC in Pro Bowl Games

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1943 — Montreal’s Ray Getliffe scores five goals to lead the Canadiens to an 8-3 triumph over the Boston Bruins.

1958 — Ted Williams signs a contract with the Boston Red Sox for $135,000, making him the highest paid player in major league history.

1967 — Muhammad Ali successfully defends his world heavyweight title with a 15-round decision over Ernest Terrell in the Houston Astrodome.

1970 — The NBA expands to 18 teams with the addition of franchises in Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston and Portland.

1981 — Wayne Gretzky scores three goals and three assists in a 10-4 Edmonton victory over the Winnipeg Jets, giving him 100 points in the season.

1985 — Seventeen-year-old Dianne Roffe becomes the first U.S. woman to win a gold medal in a World Alpine Ski Championship race, capturing the giant slalom in 2:18.53.

1988 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan wins the NBA Slam Dunk contest with a perfect score of 50 on his final dunk, in front of a hometown crowd at Chicago Stadium.

1990 — Brett Hull of the St. Louis Blues scores his 50th goal, making him and his Hall of Famer father, Bobby Hull, the only father-son combination in NHL history to reach that milestone.

1993 — Riddick Bowe easily wins his first defense of his WBA and IBF heavyweight boxing titles by beating Michael Dokes in the first round of their championship bout held at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

2000 — Randy Moss sets records with nine catches for 212 yards, and Mike Alstott scores three touchdowns in the NFC’s 51-31 victory over the AFC, the highest-scoring Pro Bowl.

2000 — Pavel Bure records the 11th hat trick in All-Star history and goalie Olaf Kolzig plays a shutout third period as the World team routs North America 9-4 in the NHL’s 50th All-Star game.

2005 — The New England Patriots win their third Super Bowl in four years, 24-21 over the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s their ninth straight postseason victory, equaling Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers.

2011 — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady becomes the first unanimous choice for The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Brady gets all 50 votes since the AP began using a nationwide panel of media members who cover the league.

2011 — Aaron Rodgers throws three touchdown passes and Nick Collins returns an interception for another score, leading the Green Bay Packers to a 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Michael Jordan wins the 1988 Slam Dunk contest. Watch and listen here.