The Sports Report: Magic Johnson talks Lakers, team ownership in exclusive interview

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

From Broderick Turner: Magic Johnson was still on a high a few days after the news that the former Lakers great and successful businessman had become a part owner of the Washington Commanders, which sold for a record $6.05 billion.

Johnson recalled how his first venture into having an ownership stake in pro sports franchises began with the Lakers and now has spread to MLB’s Dodgers, the WNBA’s Sparks, MLS’ LAFC and the NFL’s Commanders. That means the five-time NBA champion and three-time NBA most valuable player is a part owner of teams in four U.S. sports leagues.

Of course, he’s still a Lakers fan to his core. He had high praise for Rob Pelinka, the team’s vice president of basketball operations and general manager, and the job he did assembling a team around LeBron James and Anthony Davis that can compete for the franchise’s 18th NBA title.

Johnson, while vacationing on his yacht in Europe, spoke with The Times in a question and answer interview Monday.

Q. While growing up in Lansing, Mich., could you ever have dreamed of being a part owner of four U.S. sports franchises, which now includes the NFL’s Washington Commanders?

Johnson: No. No. No. Probably could not have dreamed of just one, let alone four. My dreams were to play in the NBA and to become a businessman. I didn’t even think about being an owner of a team. It just blew my mind. But I would have to say if it wasn’t for [Lakers owner] Dr. Jerry Buss allowing me to own the Lakers first, none of this would have happened. The Dodgers wouldn’t have happened and all the other three wouldn’t have happened. But for him to allow me to be an owner — write a check — and to be part owner of the Lakers really allowed me to do what I’m doing today. Also, it was what Dr. Buss taught me, terms of business, and what he allowed me to do in terms of owning the Lakers. Then that opened up the whole world to me once I was one of the owners of the Lakers.

Q. What are your thoughts on the job Pelinka did over the summer in assembling this Lakers roster? He re-signed Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimira and D’Angelo Russell, and signed Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes.

Johnson: I think he followed it up with another outstanding job, first from the trade deadline and then he kept it going in the summer. He did better than anybody in the summer. All the moves he made, he was the No. 1 GM in the NBA this offseason. No question about it. All the guys that we signed will help LeBron and the other guys because now we are deeper. Rob is going to be executive of the year.

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DODGERS

From Jack Harris: Chris Taylor sailed a throw too high. Jason Heyward tried to slide too low.

In the top of the 11th inning Monday, misplays by both Dodgers defenders proved costly, leading to the deciding runs in the team’s 6-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

In a back-and-forth affair highlighted by a two-hit performance from Max Muncy — who forced extra innings with a tying home run in the bottom of the eighth — it was his replacement at third base, Taylor, who started the snowball in the 11th inning.

Matt Chapman began the frame with a seemingly harmless ground ball to third. Taylor, however, air-mailed a throw across the diamond, pulling Freddie Freeman off the first base bag for a leadoff error.

After a single from Whit Merrifield loaded the bases, Daulton Varsho roped a line drive to right field that Heyward couldn’t corral. The veteran outfielder tried to make a diving stop on the sinking one-hopper. Once it got by him, though, two runs easily scored for the Blue Jays, who tacked on a third later in the inning against reliever Phil Bickford.

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Dodgers box score

All MLB box scores

NL WEST STANDINGS

Dodgers, 57-42
San Francisco, 54-47, 4 GB
Arizona, 54-47, 4 GB
San Diego, 48-53, 10 GB
Colorado, 40-60, 17.5 GB

WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify

Cincinnati, 55-47
Miami, 54-47, 0.5 GB
San Francisco, 54-47
Arizona, 54-47

Philadelphia, 53-47, 0.5 GB
Chicago, 48-51, 5 GB
San Diego, 48-53, 6 GB
New York, 46-53, 7 GB

For full standings, go here

AL WEST STANDINGS

Texas, 59-42
Houston, 57-44, 2 GB
Angels, 51-49, 7.5 GB
Seattle, 50-50, 8.5 GB
Oakland, 28-74, 31.5 GB

WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify

Tampa Bay, 61-42
Houston, 57-44
Toronto, 56-45

Boston, 53-47, 2.5 GB
New York, 53-47, 2.5 GB
Angels, 51-49, 4.5 GB
Seattle, 50-50, 5.5 GB
Cleveland, 49-51, 6.5 GB

For full standings, go here

UCLA

From Ben Bolch: Before a group of UCLA players commenced a recent summer weightlifting session, a strength coach gave a stomach-turning rundown of the hazing allegations at Northwestern that have rocked the college football world.

When he was finished, the coach delivered a reminder.

“It was just like, ‘Y’all know that’s not tolerated,’ ” Bruins edge rusher Laiatu Latu recalled Friday at Pac-12 media day at Resorts World Las Vegas.

In his mind, Latu went over the list of accusations. None of it sounded even vaguely familiar to anything he had experienced at UCLA given the no-nonsense culture established by coach Chip Kelly and his players.

Another safeguard could be on the way, at least for UCLA, USC and other schools within California.

Legislation that passed the California Assembly last month known as the College Athlete Protection Act, or A.B. 252, could help prevent the kind of alleged abuses that occurred at Northwestern and other schools across the country, including UCLA under former coach Jim Mora. In 2019, four former Bruin offensive linemen — Kenny Lacy, John Lopez, Poasi Moala and Zach Batemen — filed lawsuits against their alma mater claiming that coaches and trainers mishandled serious injuries and expected them to play through pain.

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WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

From Kevin Baxter in New Zealand: There are a lot of words that could be used to describe Jun Endo.

Conformist, however, is not one of them, which goes a long way toward explaining why she’s one of just two NWSL players on Japan’s Women’s World Cup team.

“In Japan, I kind of struggled with being myself and having fun playing soccer,” said Endo, whose irrepressibility has made her arguably the most popular player on an Angel City roster full of stars. “Once I came to L.A., I kind of got rid of it. I enjoy soccer, I enjoy the fans who watch me play.”

She also enjoyed the freedom to dye her jet-black hair pink, dress in outfits that could most charitably be described as colorful and play with such abandon that many games see her cycle through every position but goalkeeper. In team photos she’s always the one on the end, grinning and waving while her teammates stand grim-faced before the camera.

Now that Endo, 23, is back with Japan for the World Cup, her pink hair is black again and her spontaneity has been replaced by compliance. In the team photo before the Zambia game, she stares straight at the camera — although the hint of a mischievous smirk seizes her face.

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Monday’s Results

Group F
Brazil 4, Panama 0

Group G
Italy 1, Argentina 0

Group H
Germany 6, Morocco 0
Colombia 2, South Korea 0

Standings
Top two in each group qualify for Round of 16
All times Pacific

Group A
Team, W-D-L, GD, Pts
Switzerland, 1-0-0, +2, 3
New Zealand, 1-0-0, +1, 3
Norway, 0-0-1, -1, 0
Philippines, 0-0-1, -3, 0

July 20
New Zealand 1, Norway 0
Switzerland 2, Philippines 0

Monday (10:30 p.m.)
New Zealand vs. Philippines

Tuesday
Switzerland vs. Norway, 1 a.m. FS1, Telemundo

Sunday
Norway vs. Philippines, 12 a.m. FS1, Universo
Switzerland vs. New Zealand 12 a.m. Fox, Telemundo

Group B
Team, W-D-L, GD, Pts

Australia, 1-0-0, +1, 3
Canada, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Nigeria, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Ireland, 0-0-1, -1, 0

July 20
Australia 1 Ireland 0
Nigeria 0, Canada 0

Wednesday
Canada vs. Ireland 5 a.m. FS1, Universo

Thursday
Australia vs. Nigeria 3 a.m. FS1, Universo

Monday, July 31
Canada vs. Australia 3 a.m. FS1, Universo
Ireland vs. Nigeria 3 a.m. Fox, Telemundo

Group C
Team, W-D-L, GD, Pts

Japan, 1-0-0, +5, 3
Spain, 1-0-0, +3, 3
Costa Rica, 0-0-1, -3, 0
Zambia, 0-0-1, -5, 0

July 21
Spain 3, Costa Rica 0

July 22
Japan 5, Zambia 0

Tuesday
Japan vs. Costa Rica 10 p.m. FS1, Universo

Wednesday
Spain vs. Zambia 12:30 a.m. FS1, Telemundo

Monday, July 31
Japan vs. Spain 12 a.m. Fox, Telemundo
Costa Rica vs. Zambia 12 a.m. FS1, Universo

Group D
Team, W-D-L, GD, Pts

Denmark, 1-0-0, +1, 3
England, 1-0-0, +1, 3
China, 0-0-1, -1, 0
Haiti, 0-0-1, -1, 0

July 22
England 1, Haiti 0
Denmark 1, China 0

Friday
England vs. Denmark 1:30 a.m. FS1, Telemundo
China vs. Haiti 4 a.m. FS1, Universo

Tuesday, Aug. 1
China vs. England 4 a.m. Fox, Telemundo
Haiti vs. Denmark 4 a.m. FS1, Universo

Group E
Team, W-D-L, GD, Pts

USA, 1-0-0, +3, 3
Netherlands, 1-0-0, +1, 3
Portugal, 0-0-1, -1, 0
Vietnam, 0-0-1, -3, 0

July 21
U.S. 3, Vietnam 0

July 23
Netherlands 1, Portugal 0

Wednesday
U.S. vs. Netherlands 6 p.m. Fox, Telemundo

Thursday
Portugal vs. Vietnam 12:30 a.m. FS1, Universo

Tuesday, Aug. 1
Vietnam vs. Netherlands 12 a.m. FS1, Universo
Portugal vs. U.S. 12 a.m. Fox, Telemundo

Group F
Team, W-D-L, GD, Pts

Brazil, 1-0-0, +4, 3
France, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Jamaica, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Panama, 0-0-1, -4, 0

July 23
France 0, Jamaica 0

July 24
Brazil 4, Panama 0

Saturday
France vs. Brazil 3 a.m. Fox, Telemundo
Panama vs. Jamaica 5:30 a.m. Fox, Telemundo

Wed., Aug. 2
Panama vs. France 3 a.m. Fox, Universo
Jamaica vs. Brazil 3 a.m. FS1, Telemundo

Group G
Team, W-D-L, GD, Pts

Sweden, 1-0-0, +1, 3
Italy, 1-0-0, +1, 3
Argentina, 0-0-1, -1, 0
South Africa, 0-0-1, -1, 0

July 22
Sweden 2, South Africa 1

July 23
Italy 1, Argentina 0

Thursday
Argentina vs. South Africa 5 p.m. FS1, Universo

Saturday
Sweden vs. Italy 12:30 a.m. FS1, Telemundo

Wed., Aug. 2
Argentina vs. Sweden 12 a.m. Fox, Telemundo
South Africa vs. Italy 12 a.m. FS1, Universo

Group H
Team, W-D-L, GD, Pts

Germany, 1-0-0, +6, 3
Colombia, 1-0-0, +2, 3
South Korea, 0-0-1, -2, 0
Morocco, 0-0-1, -6, 0

July 24
Germany 6, Morocco 0
Colombia 2, South Korea 0

Saturday
South Korea vs. Morocco 9:30 p.m. Fox, Universo

Sunday
Germany vs. Colombia 2:30 a.m. FS1, Telemundo

Thursday, Aug. 3
Morocco vs. Colombia 3 a.m. FS1, Telemundo
South Korea vs. Germany 3 a.m. Fox, Universo

SPORTS ON TV

Local teams on TV today:
All times Pacific

3:30 p.m., Angels at Detroit, Bally Sports West

7 p.m., Toronto at Dodgers, SportsNet LA

7 p.m., Indiana at Sparks, NBA TV

The rest of today’s sports on TV listings can be found here.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1902 — Jim Jeffries knocks out Bob Fitzsimmons in the eighth round to retain the world heavyweight title.

1941 — Lefty Grove of the Boston Red Sox wins his 300th and last game, beating the Cleveland Indians 10-6.

1956 — Swaps sets an American record in a 1 5/8-mile race at Hollywood Park. Swaps runs the course in 2:38 1-5.

1956 — Jack Burke Jr. defeats Ted Kroll 3 and 2 in the final round to win the PGA championship.

1976 — In Montreal, Edwin Moses of the United States sets an Olympic record in the 400 hurdles with a time of 47.63.

1982 — Janet Anderson wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf title, her first tournament victory.

2010 — Jamie McMurray’s victory in the Brickyard 400 gives owner Chip Ganassi the first team triple crown in American auto racing: winning the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 in the same year. McMurray won the season-opening Daytona 500 in February, and Ganassi IndyCar series driver Dario Franchitti won the Indy 500 in May.

2011 — Taylor Hoagland hits a two-run home run, Valerie Arioto and Megan Langenfeld have RBI singles and the United States beats rival Japan 6-4 to win its fifth straight World Cup of Softball championship.

2015 — Maya Moore scores a record 30 points to lead the West to a 117-112 victory over the East in the WNBA All-Star Game. The league’s reigning MVP scores eight straight points in the final 2 minutes to turn a one-point deficit into a 113-106 advantage.

2021 — USA’s men’s basketball lose to France 83-76 ending their 25-game Olympic winning streak.

—Compiled by the Associated Press