The Sports Report: Can Caleb Williams, USC rebound from Notre Dame loss?
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From Ryan Kartje: His first loss at USC, almost exactly one year ago, hit Caleb Williams like an emotional haymaker. The quarterback carried the Trojans all the way to the brink, conjuring whatever magic he could to extend USC’s spotless start to the season. But it wasn’t enough. Utah slipped past USC on a late two-point conversion, a devastating dagger to the Trojans.
Williams left the field that night in Salt Lake City with tears in his eyes and a fire in his gut, convinced it could be a catalyst.
“I hate losing,” he said, bleary-eyed. “I really, really hate it.”
So through the rest of October and November, Williams simply didn’t allow USC to lose. The Trojans went on a five-game win streak, while Williams went absolutely nuclear, scoring 22 touchdowns and locking up the Heisman Trophy in the process. It wasn’t until the Trojans got a rematch with Utah in the Pac-12 title game that Williams felt the sting of defeat again.
That familiar feeling crept to the surface once again last Saturday at Notre Dame, in the wake of USC’s first loss of this season. But considering how last season played out, the hope around USC is that a crippling midseason defeat once again could serve as an emotional springboard into the second half of its schedule, which is far less forgiving than the first.
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UCLA FOOTBALL
From Ben Bolch: Chip Kelly is known for sticking with young players through mistakes.
When Kelly coached at Oregon, true freshman running back De’Anthony Thomas fumbled on back-to-back plays for the Ducks in 2011. They were pivotal mistakes in a loss to Louisiana State, but Kelly did not bench his emerging star from Crenshaw High.
“As I learned from Paul Westhead a long time ago,” Kelly said at the time, referencing the former Lakers and Loyola Marymount basketball coach, “you may stop the bleeding, but you may kill the patient and that’s not going to happen here.”
Then again, Kelly sounded every bit as exasperated as fans this week when he discussed UCLA true freshman quarterback Dante Moore’s third consecutive game with a pick-six.
“You can’t do that, you can’t give up points,” Kelly said. “The defense doesn’t even have a shot to get on the field in those situations.”
So what does Kelly do Saturday night against Stanford in Palo Alto?
NCAA investigating Michigan football amid allegations of sign stealing
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)
Arizona 2, Philadelphia 1 (recap, box score)
Today 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)
Houston 8, Texas 5 (recap, box score)
Houston 10, Texas 3 (recap, box score)
Today at Texas, 2 p.m., FS1
Sunday at Houston, 5 p.m., FS1
*Monday at Houston, 5 p.m., Fox/FS1
*-if necessary
‘Stand with Israel’: Jewish MLB players appear in video condemning Hamas attack
A Phillies pool party in Arizona? They plan to celebrate like Dodgers did 10 years ago
RAMS
From Gary Klein: The Rams will have a new starter on offense and could have one on defense Sunday when they play the Pittsburgh Steelers at SoFi Stadium.
Rookie Zach Evans, Royce Freeman, Darrell Henderson or Myles Gaskin will start at running back in place of injured Kyren Williams.
And it remains to be seen whether the Rams will play cornerback Derion Kendrick, who faces two misdemeanor gun charges. Kendrick was held out of practice Wednesday — his arraignment was continued until Dec. 5 — and coach Sean McVay said Kendrick’s situation would be evaluated as his legal situation unfolds.
McVay said before practice he had not spoken with Kendrick, but had spoken with his attorney and Kendrick’s mother.
“Once I have the totality of the information and all the legal matters are cleared up, I think it will be appropriate for us to be able to move forward,” McVay said.
If Kendrick does not play, rookie Tre Tomlinson or Duke Shelley could replace him.
LAKERS
From Dan Woike: LeBron James raced to the basket on one end. Kevin Durant swished an arcing jumper on the other. Frank Vogel, now the Suns coach, called James and Durant “two iconic figures in the game of basketball today.”
And even though it was the preseason, the two on the floor together for the first time since 2018 was a fitting capper.
Playing in front of a sold-out crowd at the Acrisure Arena just outside of Palm Springs, the Lakers’ regulars went through their final rehearsal before opening the season Tuesday in Denver.
The Durant-James duel delivered. The Lakers? Not so much.
Phoenix used a big second half to dominate the Lakers, 123-100, their fourth loss of the six-game preseason
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Lakers beat reporter Dan Woike and NBA writer Broderick Turner talk about the state of the Los Angeles Lakers and who might take it all this season. They discuss the floor and ceiling for them, the Celtics and more.
Each week, the two get together to catch up on what is happening in the ever-rocking and rolling world of the Lakers. Which players are performing well, which need to pick things up, a coach that could be in hot water. The list is endless. The season is long and the stories are always fascinating.
CLIPPERS
From Andrew Greif: With crossovers and hesitation moves, Bones Hyland was getting wherever he wanted against his old team Thursday night.
Then the third-year guard crumpled to the court in the third quarter, and suddenly couldn’t get to the Clippers’ locker room without the assistance of teammates and staffers who helped Hyland keep weight off his sprained left ankle.
The injury did not allow Hyland to return to add to his 25-point performance against Denver, the team that traded him last February, but with the Clippers’ regular-season opener not until Wednesday, there was initial optimism that the sprained ankle might not cost Hyland game time, according to a person not authorized to speak publicly on the prognosis.
The Clippers went on to lose their fourth and final preseason exhibition, 103-90, to the Nuggets, who played their stars while the Clippers did not.
KINGS
Pierre-Luc Dubois scored twice within 12 seconds in the first period, and Cam Talbot stopped 29 shots in the Kings’ 7-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.
Dubois scored for the second straight game, giving him three goals in four games this season. His two scores 12 seconds apart in the first marked the third-fastest two goals scored in franchise history. Ralph Backstrom had a pair of goals six seconds apart in 1972 and Jari Kurri did the same 10 seconds apart in 1991.
Carl Grundstrom and Vladislav Gavrikov each scored their second goal of the season for Los Angeles, which has won back-to-back road games after going winless in two games at home to start the season. Trevor Moore added his fourth goal of the season, his third straight game with a goal, midway through the third. Adrian Kempe and Blake Lizotte had empty-net goals.
DUCKS
Leo Carlsson scored a goal in the third period while making an impressive NHL debut in the Ducks’ 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.
Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist for the Stars, and Mika Heiskanen got credit for the tiebreaking goal with 13:13 to play when Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler kicked a centering pass under goalie John Gibson.
Carlsson, the 18-year-old Swede picked second overall by Anaheim in June, hit the ice to cheers from a Honda Center crowd eager for the start of a new era after five straight non-playoff seasons. The cheers became a standing ovation when he confidently fired home his first goal on the rush off Troy Terry’s pass.
Terry had a goal and an assist, and Gibson stopped 21 shots.
MARY LOU RETTON
From Chuck Schilken: U.S. gymnastics legend Mary Lou Retton remains in intensive care after suffering “a pretty scary setback” in her recovery from pneumonia, according to her daughter.
Shayla Schrepfer, the oldest of Retton’s four daughters, said in a video posted Wednesday night on Instagram that her 55-year-old mother “had a better day today” following the setback Tuesday.
“Basically, at the beginning of this week, we were ... so excited. Seeing so much progress,” Schrepfer said. “And then yesterday, we had a pretty scary setback. She is still in ICU and we’re just working through some things as far as her setback goes, so I just wanted to give an update there. She had a better day today, which is great, just really, really exhausted. She is really exhausted.”
ANGEL CITY
From Kevin Baxter: Daniel Ball remembers the first time he knew Becki Tweed would be a great soccer manager.
The two were assistant coaches with NJ/NY Gotham when the team hit a rough patch late in the 2021 NWSL season, losing three of four games and going six matches without a win. That led to coach Freya Coombe’s departure and with new manager Scott Parkinson’s arrival delayed by personal issues, Tweed was asked to take over on an interim basis.
“She took a game and led a pregame speech,” Ball, now Angel City’s goalkeeper coach, recounted after practice Tuesday. “Carli Lloyd sat at her locker and led this raucous cheer after she finished talking. It was incredible.”
Thus inspired, Gotham ended its losing streak that day and started an eight-game unbeaten one that ended with the team reaching the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
Fast forward two years. Tweed and Ball are again assistants under Coombe, this time in Los Angeles. After losing three of four games to fall to 11th in the 12-team league, Coombe is again let go and Tweed is again named interim manager.
Angel City lost just one of its final 14 games to reach the playoffs for the first time, a tournament it opens Friday in Seattle against Megan Rapinoe and the OL Reign.
And Lloyd is again leading the cheers.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1944 — Michigan State and Maryland attempt one pass, the fewest in college football history. The Terrapins threw the pass, while the Spartans did not attempt a pass and Michigan State wins the game 8-0 in College Park, Md.
1963 — Jim Brown sets NFL single-season rushing record of 1,863 yards.
1963 — Clem Daniels of the Oakland Raiders rushes for 200 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-26 victory over the New York Jets.
1968 — American Dick Fosbury using his unconventional technique wins the men’s high jump gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics; “Fosbury Flop” becomes accepted as the most efficient technique.
1972 — The Buffalo Braves score an NBA record 58 points in the fourth quarter, but still lose to the Celtics at Boston Garden, 126-118.
1976 — The Philadelphia 76ers acquire Julius Erving from the New York Nets for $3 million.
1994 — George McCandless, 83, becomes the oldest harness driver to win a pari-mutuel race when he guides Kehm’s Scooter to victory in the fourth race at Freehold (N.J.) Raceway.
2004 — Just three outs from getting swept in the AL championship series three nights earlier, the Boston Red Sox finally beat the New York Yankees, winning Game 7 in a 10-3 shocker to become the first major league team to overcome a 3-0 postseason series deficit.
2013 — Tim Cahill scores the fastest goal in MLS history, and the New York Red Bulls beat the Houston Dynamo 3-0. Cahill puts New York ahead 8 seconds into the game. The previous fastest goal in MLS history was Dwayne De Rosario’s score 11 seconds into a 2003 game.
2016 — Nneka Ogwumike’s short jumper with 3.1 seconds left gives the Sparks a 77-76 victory over the Minnesota Lynx for their first title in 14 years in the deciding game of the WNBA Finals.
—Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time...
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