Rams need to ignore all the Super Bowl talk
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From Sam Farmer: A crescendo is building, and the Rams might be best to ignore it.
So much can happen from week to week in the NFL — check out Philadelphia’s loss to Dallas — that the Rams can’t get too comfortable, even with the way they’re playing.
In the last five games, culminating with their 27-point stomping of Tampa Bay on Sunday night, the Rams have outscored opponents in the opening quarter, 63-3.
Matthew Stafford has thrown 27 touchdown passes without an interception.
In four of the games in this six-game winning streak, the Rams defense has allowed 10 points or fewer.
But it’s uncomfortably early for anyone in the organization to be thinking about Santa Clara in February. The Rams need to play with blinders on. Yes, they’ve secured the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the moment, but they have a one-game lead over the Eagles, who beat them earlier this season and therefore have the tiebreaker. There’s no wiggle room.
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: Shohei Ohtani will once again represent Team Japan in next year’s World Baseball Classic.
Whether or not he pitches in the international tournament, however, remains unclear.
On Monday, Ohtani announced on Instagram he is planning to participate in the WBC for the second time in his career.
In the 2023 WBC, he won tournament MVP with a .435 batting average and 1.86 pitching ERA, helping Japan to that year’s title. He punctuated the event with his memorable strikeout of Mike Trout for the final out in the championship game.
LAKERS
From Seema Mehta: Claire Rothman, a trailblazing sports and entertainment industry executive indelibly tied to the Los Angeles Lakers during their 1980s heyday, has died.
Family members confirmed her death, on Saturday, was due to complications from a fall. She was 97.
As the president and general manager of the “Fabulous Forum,” Rothman was pivotal in bringing big-name musicians to the Inglewood venue and had deep ties to the Lakers when it was the team’s home during the “Showtime” era, when the Lakers won five championships in a decade.
USC BASKETBALL
Rodney Rice scored a season-high 27 points and Chad Baker-Mazara had 11 points and eight rebounds as USC beat Boise State 70-67 on Monday in the Southwest Maui Invitational.
USC (5-0) will play on Tuesday against Seton Hall, which beat North Carolina State earlier.
Rice split two defenders at the top of the key to get into the paint for a runner while being fouled with 14.8 seconds left in the game. He made the basket and free throw to give USC the lead at 68-65.
KINGS
Brandt Clarke scored a power-play goal with 6:10 to play to lift the Kings to a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night.
Clarke’s slap shot from just inside the blue line came with just two seconds left on the man advantage and snapped the Kings’ three-game losing streak.
Warren Foegele also scored for the Kings and Joel Edmundson assisted on both of the team’s goals. Darcy Kuemper made 27 saves.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1925 — Red Grange, playing his first game as a pro with the Chicago Bears, is held to 36 yards in a 0-0 tie with the Chicago Cardinals.
1934 — The Detroit Lions suffer the first defeat in franchise history, 3-0 to the Green Bay Packers. The Lions had won the first 10 games of the season.
1948 — Howie Dallmar of the Philadelphia Warriors matches his NBA record for futility by missing all 15 shots against the Washington Capitols.
1976 — Buffalo’s O.J. Simpson rushes for 273 yards and scores two touchdowns in a 27-14 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
1979 — Pat Summerall and John Madden broadcast a game together for the first time, a pairing that lasts 22 years and becomes one of the most well-known partnerships in TV sportscasting history.
1980 — “No Mas, No Mas.” Roberto Duran quits with 16 seconds to go in the eighth round at New Orleans, allowing Sugar Ray Leonard to regain the WBC welterweight title.
1983 — Larry Holmes knocks out Marvis Frazier at 2:57 of the first round to retain the world heavyweight title in Las Vegas.
1985 — Clemson’s Grayson Marshall sets an NCAA record with 20 assists in an 83-57 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore.
1995 — Tim Biakabutuka rushes for a career-high 313 yards as Michigan upsets Ohio State 31-23.
2002 — Ozzie Newsome becomes the first black general manager in NFL history, signing a new five-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens that includes an upgrade in his title.
2007 — San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson becomes the 23rd player in NFL history rush for 10,000 yards, reaching the milestone on a 36-yard run in the Chargers’ 32-14 win over Baltimore.
2007 — Minnesota returns three interceptions by Eli Manning for touchdowns in a 41-17 win over the New York Giants. Darren Sharper scores on a 20-yard return, Dwight Smith rumbles 93 yards and Chad Greenway follows from 37 yards just a few plays later.
2012 — The Toronto Argonauts beats the Calgary Stampeders 35-22 in the 100th Grey Cup. Toronto earns its 16th Grey Cup title and first since 2004.
2014 — Lionel Messi becomes the UEFA Champions League all-time scorer.
2018 — Chargers Quarterback Philip Rivers sets an NFL single-game record completing 25-straight passes in a 45-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time...
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