The Sports Report: Can the Dodgers be great this season?

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

From Jack Harris: Andrew Friedman sat with his newest star acquisition to his left, a group of enthusiastically trustful fans screaming his praises from nearby, and smiled as he made a bold proclamation about the Dodgers’ fortunes 12 months ago.

“I can argue that the next five years’ outlook,” Friedman said last March, during an introductory news conference for Freddie Freeman at the Dodgers Camelback Ranch spring-training complex, “is better than what we accomplished over the previous five.”

In other words, even after a run in which the Dodgers won one World Series, three National League pennants, and more games than any other club in Major League Baseball, Friedman envisioned a future that could be even better.

He hoped the next chapter of Dodgers baseball could match, if not surpass, the last.

And one year later, the organization is about to get its best indication yet of whether that goal — seen as aspirational by some, outlandish by others — might come true.

After perhaps the most extensive offseason roster turnover of Friedman’s nine-year tenure in L.A., the Dodgers are entering the 2023 season in the midst of a transitional phase.

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‘We’ve just got to figure it out.’ Dodgers, Angels brace for pitch clock implications

ANGELS

From Sarah Valenzuela: Logan O’Hoppe had a feeling good news was coming when Angels manager Phil Nevin asked him to call his dad.

“[Nevin] came into the locker room and was like ‘Come with me and bring your phone,’” O’Hoppe recalled Tuesday. “And then he asked how my dad was doing. … I said he was good and he had me call him up and that’s when I had a good idea.”

O’Hoppe was added to the opening day roster Monday and told he would be the catcher when the Angels open the season Thursday at Oakland.

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LAKERS

From Dan Woike: Long after the Lakers locker room has cleared out, the smallest player on the team waddles toward his locker.

Dennis Schroder has been beaten up. His legs are wrecked. And his postgame massage has outlasted any stragglers in the room.

None of his teammates have had the year he has, the most minutes played by any Laker this season. He’s run to the point of exhaustion. He’s grabbed at his shorts and gritted his teeth after rolling an ankle.

With players entering and exiting all the time, Schroder has been a constant for the Lakers.

“I trust him,” coach Darvin Ham said in the hallway after a recent win.

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RAMS

From Gary Klein: Sean McVay pondered many uncertainties, about himself and his team, before deciding to return for his seventh season as coach of the Rams.

But quarterback Matthew Stafford’s physical condition was apparently not among them.

McVay said Tuesday that there would be “no limitations” on Stafford when the Rams begin offseason workouts April 17.

Stafford, a 15th-year pro, played through right elbow tendinitis and came back from a concussion before suffering a season-ending spinal bruise that sidelined him for the final seven games of the Rams’ embarrassing 5-12 season.

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HOCKEY

With the NHL playoffs three weeks away, the Kings have established themselves as one of the best teams in the Western Conference, if not the league. Their 7-6 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena extended their points streak to a franchise-record 12 games (10-0-2).

Since the All-Star break, the Kings are 15-3-3, putting them in contention for the Pacific Division title and the top spot in the West. Beginning play Tuesday, they were tied for sixth in the NHL with 96 points.

A second consecutive postseason for the Kings (43-21-10) is a virtual lock. The only lock for the Southland’s other team, the Ducks, is that they will miss the playoffs for the fifth season in a row. Anaheim is 23-41-10 and 29th out of 32 teams in points.

Can the Kings seriously contend for the Stanley Cup? And when will the Ducks be back in playoff contention? Times columnist and Hockey Hall of Fame honoree Helene Elliott, along with Times hockey editor Hans Tesselaar (a former Kings season-seat holder) and Times staffers Curtis Zupke (former beat writer for both teams) and Jim Barrero ( a current Kings season-seat holder) discussed these topics and more.

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Jacob Markstrom was spectacular on Tuesday making 32 saves to backstop the Calgary Flames to a critical 2-1 victory over the red-hot Kings. Sean Durzi had the lone goal for Los Angeles, which had scored 19 goals in their previous three games. The Kings have been the NHL’s hottest team, entering the night on a franchise record 12-game points streak (10-0-2).

SOCCER

From Kevin Baxter: Anthony Hudson likes a lot of things but he’s passionate about just two: dogs and soccer.

He ranks them in that order, apparently, because on the biggest day of his professional career, Hudson almost left the World Cup to look after his two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, who were locked in a high-rise Chicago apartment half a world away.

When Hudson, then Gregg Berhalter’s top assistant coach with the U.S. national team, departed for Qatar last November, he left the dogs with a caretaker. But when the sitter was involved in a car accident, the abandoned animals, hungry and lonely, began howling.

Soon Hudson’s neighbors were calling. With no one to care for them, who’d let the dogs out?

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Men’s tournament results, schedule

All times Pacific

Final Four

Saturday

No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 9 Florida Atlantic, 3 p.m., CBS

No. 4 UConn vs. No. 5 Miami, 5:40 p.m., CBS

Championship

Monday, April 3

Final Four winners, 6:15 p.m., CBS

Women’s tournament

All times Pacific

Final Four

Friday

No. 1 Virginia Tech vs. No. 3 LSU, 4 p.m., ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN+

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Iowa, 6 p.m., ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN+

Championship

Sunday

Final Four winners, 12:30 p.m., ABC, ESPN+

WHO WILL WIN?

Who will win the men’s basketball title, Florida Atlantic, Miami, San Diego State or UConn? Vote here and let us know. Results will be in Friday’s newsletter.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1929 — The Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup with a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers to complete a two-game sweep.

1940 — Joe Louis knocks out Johnny Paychek in the second round at Madison Square Garden in New York to retain the world heavyweight title.

1941 — Wisconsin, led by Gene Englund’s 13 points, wins the NCAA basketball championship with a 39-34 victory over Washington State.

1952 — George Mikan of the Minneapolis Lakers scores an NBA playoff record 47 points in an 88-78 loss in Game 1 of the Western Division Finals against Rochester.

1960 — Boston’s Bill Russell pulls down an NBA Finals record 40 rebounds, as the Celtics lose to St. Louis 113-103 to even the series at 1-1. Bob Petit has 35 points and 22 rebounds for the Hawks.

1962 — Elgin Baylor (45) and Jerry West (41) of the Lakers become the first teammates to both score 40 or more points in an NBA playoff game. It isn’t enough as the Lakers lose to Detroit, 118-117, in Game 4 of the Western Division finals.

1966 — Muhammad Ali defeats George Chuvalo in 15 rounds for the heavyweight boxing title.

1976 — Indiana beats Michigan, 86-68. First time 2 teams from the same conference (Big Ten) play in title game.

1982 — Michael Jordan’s jump shot with 16 seconds remaining gives North Carolina a 63-62 victory over Georgetown for the NCAA men’s basketball championship.

1984 — The NFL Colts leave the city of Baltimore in the early hours of the morning, headed for Indianapolis.

1985 — Wayne Gretzky breaks own NHL season record with 126th assist.

1990 — Houston’s Akeem Olajuwon is the third player in NBA history to achieve a quadruple double during a 120-94 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. He scores 18 points, 16 rebounds, 11 blocked shots and 10 assists.

1992 — Olympic champion Kristi Yamaguchi becomes the first American woman to win consecutive world figure skating championships since Peggy Fleming in 1968.

1994 — Jimmy Johnson quits as coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

1996 — The Vancouver Grizzlies break the NBA record for consecutive losses in a season with their 21st in a 105-91 loss to the Utah Jazz. The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks lost 20 straight.

1996 — Cleveland Browns choose new name for their relocated team - Baltimore Ravens.

1996 — UConn beats Duke 77-74 in the Men’s NCAA National Title game. Huskies’ first National Championship.

2003 — Michelle Kwan becomes the third American to win five World Figure Skating Championships. Kwan, a seven-time U.S. champion, ties Dick Button and Carol Heiss for most world crowns by an American.

2008 — Curlin rolls to a record-setting 7 3/4-length victory in the $6 million Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest race. Curlin is the fourth horse to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic and then take the World Cup the following year.

2015 — Seventh-seeded Michigan State caps an improbable Final Four run with 76-70 overtime victory over Louisville. Duke beats Gonzaga 66-52 to send coach Mike Krzyzewski to a 12th Final Four, matching coaching record by John Wooden.

2015 — Belmont breaks three NCAA Division I records and tied a fourth during a 20-run sixth inning in a 34-10 victory over UT Martin.

2016 — The United States fail to qualify for consecutive Olympic men’s soccer tournaments for the first time in a half century. Roger Martinez scores twice, Americans Luis Gil and Matt Miazga are ejected and Colombia’s under-23 team defeats the U.S. 2-1 to earn the last berth in the Rio de Janeiro Games with a 3-2 aggregate win in the two-leg, total-goals series.

2017 — Russell Westbrook has 57 points — the most in a triple-double in NBA history — 13 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 114-106 overtime win over the Orlando Magic.

—Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally...

Michael Jordan makes the game winner against Georgetown in 1982. Watch and listen here.