The Sports Report: Dodgers see no reason for big changes
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From Jack Harris: The Dodgers have suffered back-to-back “organizational failures,” in Andrew Friedman’s words.
Based on what the club’s top executive said Tuesday, however, the Dodgers don’t seem to think they have any glaring organizational problems, either.
That was the tone Friedman struck during an end-of-season news conference alongside general manager Brandon Gomes at Dodger Stadium, bemoaning the club’s three-game sweep against the Arizona Diamondbacks last week — a second straight shock exit for a team well-accustomed to October disappointment — while offering few explanations or actionable offseason answers.
After another 100-win campaign and National League West division title — the fifth and eighth times, respectively, the Dodgers achieved those feats in his nine-year reign as president of baseball operations — Friedman insisted the club’s internal processes remain sound and that few sweeping changes are needed for the team this winter.
A few examples: Manager Dave Roberts will be back for his ninth season next year. The rest of the coaching staff is likely to remain intact. And the core of the front office doesn’t seem to be grappling with any existential crisis.
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NLCS SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
All games on TBS
Arizona vs. Philadelphia
Philadelphia 5, Arizona 3 (recap, box score)
Philadelphia 10, Arizona 0 (recap, box score)
Thursday at Arizona, 2 p.m.
Friday at Arizona, 5 p.m.
*Saturday at Arizona, 5 p.m.
*Monday at Philadelphia, 2 p.m.
*Tuesday at Philadelphia, 5 p.m.
ALCS SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
Texas vs. Houston
Texas 2, Houston 0 (recap, box score)
Texas 5, Houston 4 (recap, box score)
Today at Texas, 5 p.m., FS1
Thursday at Texas, 5 p.m., FS1
*Friday at Texas, 2 p.m., FS1
*Sunday at Houston, 5 p.m., FS1
*Monday at Houston, 5 p.m., Fox/FS1
*-if necessary
CHARGERS
From Dylan Hernández: The Chargers have an offensive-ground-game problem. They have a defensive-third-down problem. Now, they also have a Justin Herbert problem.
Herbert might not be the reason why the Chargers were defeated on Monday night, but he couldn’t make himself the reason they won either.
And that’s a problem.
The Chargers made a record investment in him before the season because they believed he could make the kinds of throws he missed in a 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
They signed him to a contract extension worth as much as $262.5 million. because they believed he could win the kind of game they lost at SoFi Stadium.
They guaranteed him more than half that amount because they believed he could be the kind of quarterback who could make up for the team’s shortcomings.
Herbert isn’t delivering, and the Chargers have a 2-3 record with a visit to Kansas City coming up next.
“I gotta make more plays at quarterback,” said Herbert, who played with a fractured middle finger on his non-throwing left hand.
Chargers-Cowboys takeaways: Derwin James Jr. penalties continue to be a problem
Brutal brawls among fans at SoFi Stadium follow fight between Chargers and Cowboys
RAMS
From Gary Klein: In the last three years, the Rams won a Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium, experienced the worst Super Bowl hangover in NFL history and have begun this season with a 3-3 record.
Throughout that period, Rams season-ticket prices remained the same.
On Tuesday, the Rams sent correspondence to season-ticket holders informing them that prices would increase for the 2024 season.
It is the first increase since prices for the 2021 season were announced in 2018, the team said.
USC FOOTBALL
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Paul Haws was a hard-working cowboy. His grandson is a warrior.
Mason Cobb got his mentality from his grandfather, and after Haws died Friday at the age of 90, USC’s senior linebacker is carrying on the family’s hard-working legacy as he anchors the Trojans defense.
“He’s a soldier, man,” Cobb said Tuesday after practice. “An OG, man. … He worked until his last breath.”
A day after Haws’ death, Cobb took the field at Notre Dame, honoring his grandfather with five tackles in the rivalry game. Cobb will return home to Utah for the funeral service Thursday before the No. 18 Trojans (6-1, 4-0 Pac-12) host No. 14 Utah (5-1, 2-1) on Saturday. The family, including Cobb, will be tasked with digging Haws’ grave, as stipulated in his will. No machines allowed.
LAKERS
From Broderick Turner: Magic Johnson paced the basketball court at the Crenshaw Family YMCA on Tuesday, holding a microphone instead of a ball as the Lakers legend addressed the audience about the importance of maintaining good health.
Johnson had teamed up with pharmarceutical company GSK to talk about respiratory syncytial virus [RSV] at another of their “Sideline RSV” events.
He‘s a longtime advocate for health care and wanted to share with his community why it means so much to him.
“Dealing with HIV for 32 years, it’s important that I know everything about my health,” said Johnson, who announced to the world on Nov. 7, 1991, that he was HIV positive.
CLIPPERS
From Andrew Greif: While four-fifths of the Clippers’ starting lineup has appeared set for weeks, their audition process for the final spot continued in their third preseason game Tuesday, a 116-103 win in which the Clippers played their stars while Denver did not.
Paul George scored 23 points in just 18 minutes, making nine of 13 shots, and added five rebounds for the Clippers, who are 2-1 in preseason play.
Starting center Ivica Zubac added 13 points with eight rebounds, Russell Westbrook had seven points, seven assists and five rounds and Kawhi Leonard added seven points with a pair of rebounds and assists apiece. Clippers starters made 22 of 33 shots with 10 assists against five turnovers, winning the possession battle that coach Tyronn Lue has called a priority.
These teams could look quite different during their Thursday rematch, also at Crypto.com Arena. Denver didn’t play the stars of last season’s championship run by resting Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
KINGS
Cam Talbot made 26 saves and the Kings beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 on Tuesday night for their first victory of the season.
Trevor Moore had two goals and an assist, Phillip Danault had a goal and two assists and Arthur Kaliyev had a goal and an assist. Pierre-Luc Dubois also scored.
The Kings opened with a two-game homestand, falling 5-2 to Colorado and 6-5 to Carolina in a shootout.
Mark Scheifele ended Talbot’s shutout bid with 1:16 left.
ANGEL CITY
From Helen Li: Moon has been an Angel City supporter since before the club was officially formed and has attended almost every home match. The 28-year-old is easy to spot in the supporters’ sections at Angel City FC and LAFC games waving his Palestinian flag on a bamboo stick.
This past Sunday, he left Angel City’s match 25 minutes in after being told to remove his Palestinian flag by security.
“That flag has always been there at Angel City and has never caused an issue,” said Moon, who only shared his first name due to fear of harassment.
As fans began arriving for the tailgate near BMO Stadium Sunday, Angel City posted an announcement around 10:30 a.m. on social media that read: “Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our players, fans, and staff, only representations related to the two teams competing in today’s match will be allowed inside BMO stadium. This includes, but is not limited to flags, banners, and apparel.”
“I immediately stopped thinking about how this was the last opportunity we had to make the playoffs,” Moon said. “My thoughts were only about what I was going to do. Am I going to live up to my morals and wave the Palestinian flag like I had with every game?” When he was younger growing up in Casablanca, Morocco, Moon watched the live footage of the death of Muhammad al-Durrah in Gaza, which reshaped his views on the events in Israel and Palestine.
Moon decided to bring the flag inside. In front of the supporters’ sections, fans held a banner that read: “THE FOUNDERS DON’T SPEAK FOR ALL” in response to a message signed by Angel City’s founders posted on the team’s X account condemning Hamas’ attacks in Israel. Some Angel City supporter group members agreed not to cheer nor drum for the first five minutes in protest of the club’s statement and flag policy change. Afterward, Moon pulled out his flag at the 10-minute mark and began to wave it amid a chorus of drums.
SOCCER
Gio Reyna ran to the corner flag with a wide smile, then hugged Christian Pulisic and more American teammates. About a half-hour later, Reyna did it again and jumped with an arm overhead in front of the fans and tapping his chest for emphasis.
Reyna scored his first two international goals since a family feud with coach Gregg Berhalter erupted at last year’s World Cup, leading the United States to a 4-0 rout of Ghana in an exhibition on Tuesday night.
“Gio, what I’ve seen from training session number one in this camp was extreme amount of focus and ability,” Berhalter said. “So when he plays like that, like he did this entire camp, he’s certainly a guy that can help this group, and it’s really good to see him respond like that.”
AUTO RACING
From John Cherwa: The stories he wrote were memorable. The friends he made were boundless. And the awards he’s won, well, they just keep coming even some 16 years after his death.
NASCAR announced on Tuesday that legendary Times motorsports writer Shav Glick has been awarded the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence. The lifetime achievement honor is named for broadcasters Ken Squier and Barney Hall and is part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
“Shav Glick was a giant in motorsports journalism and the racing authority on the West Coast,” said Jim France, NASCAR chairman and chief executive. “For decades, Shav delivered the sport to fans in a highly entertaining and informative manner, while introducing NASCAR to a new audience as the sport grew nationally.
HORSE RACING
From John Cherwa: The California Horse Racing Board announced on Tuesday it is working with The Jockey Club to come up with an IT solution to a rule change that was seemingly unenforceable in real time. The move comes a day after The Times reported that a trainer had 527 violations that weren’t detected primarily because of a lack of resources by the CHRB. The alleged transgressions occurred after a horse broke down and was euthanized and an investigation by the CHRB turned up the violations.
At question was Rule 1878, which requires that trainers have a pre-veterinary exam no less than 72 hours prior to a workout.
Dr. Jeff Blea, equine medical director for the CHRB, told The Times last week that the sheer number of workouts compared to the available resources precluded the regulatory agency from checking to see if horses had the required pre-veterinary exams.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1924 — Harold “Red” Grange accounts for six touchdowns in Illinois’ 39-14 win over Michigan. Grange returns the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. He follows with touchdown runs of 66, 55 and 40 yards in the first 12 minutes of the game. Grange later passes for another touchdown and returns another kick for a touchdown.
1953 — Woodley Lewis of the Rams has 120 yards in punt returns, including a 78-yard touchdown return, and 174 yards in kickoff returns in a 31-19 victory over the Detroit Lions.
1968 — Bob Beamon of the United States shatters the world record in the long jump at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Beamon’s leap of 29 feet and 2 1-2 inches betters the mark by one foot, 9 3-4 inches. The previous record, 27-4 3-4, was held by Soviet jumper Igor Ter-Ovanesyan and Ralph Boston.
1969 — Mike Adamle rushes for 316 yards as Northwestern beats Wisconsin 27-7.
1974 — Chicago center Nate Thurmond, in his first game with the Bulls, records the NBA’s first quadruple-double. Thurmond has 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks in the Bulls’ 120-115 overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Stadium.
1977 — Reggie Jackson hits three consecutive home runs, all on the first pitch, to lead the New York Yankees to the World Series championship over Los Angeles in six games.
1978 — Dave Gall becomes the first jockey to win eight races during a single program. He rides in 10 consecutive races for the day at Cahokia Downs in Alorton, Ill., finishing second and fifth in his two losing efforts.
1992 — Miami and Washington are tied for No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 football poll. It’s the first tie at the top in 51 years and the third since the poll started in 1936.
1997 — Willamette’s Liz Heaston, a junior, becomes the first woman to play in a college football game when she kicks two extra points in a 27-0 win over Linfield College in the NAIA.
2002 — New Zealand’s Michael Campbell wins the longest match (43 holes) in World Match Play history in the morning, then defeats Ian Woosnam later in the day to reach the semifinals. Campbell’s 10-foot birdie putt at the seventh sudden-death hole beats Nick Faldo, the longest match in the event’s 39-year history by three holes.
2005 — Boston’s Brian Leetch becomes the seventh defenseman — and 69th player — in NHL history to reach 1,000 career points with a goal and an assist in the Bruins’ 4-3 loss to Montreal.
2015 — The Green Bay Packers stop San Diego on fourth-and-goal from the 3 with 15 seconds left and overcome a career day by Philip Rivers to hold off the Chargers 27-20. Rivers sets career highs with 43 completions, 65 attempts and 503 yards passing with two touchdowns.
2016 — Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa became the 44th NHL player to reach 500 career goals.
—Compiled by the Associated Press
And finally...
Reggie Jackson hits three homers in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series. Watch and listen here. Bob Beamon shatter the long jump record. Watch and listen here.
Until next time...
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
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