The Sports Report: What time is the Kobe Bryant memorial?
Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.
On the eve of when the Lakers and the NBA will pay tribute to Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson eloquently spoke about how the iconic player’s death has affected Los Angeles and basketball fans around the world.
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Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna; John Altobelli, 56; Keri Altobelli, 46; Alyssa Altobelli,13; Christina Mauser, 38; Ara Zobayan, 50; Sarah Chester, 45, and Payton Chester, 13 died last month in a helicopter crash in Calabasas.
“It’s going to be hard for the city to move on,” Johnson said. “… it’s hard in a two-minute, five-minute time to say everything that he meant to the world, to the NBA, to basketball fans, because he’s just bigger than life. It’ll take a long year to get over his passing, and daughter and the seven other people who lost their lives as well.”
There will be “A Celebration of Life for Kobe & Gigi Bryant” Monday morning at Staples Center.
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Johnson spoke Sunday morning at Staples Center before the Lakers played the Celtics at an event Los Angeles owner Jeanie Buss and Boston owner Wyc Grousbeck hosted in celebration of one of the best rivalries in the NBA and in sports.
Bill Russell, considered the best Celtic ever because of his 11 NBA championships, was also at the event, showing his appreciation for Bryant by wearing his No. 24 jersey.
Former Lakers Michael Cooper and Kurt Rambis and former Celtics Cedric Maxwell and Brian Scalabrine were part of the panel that talked about their times competing in the rivalry.
Johnson eased his way into the room after the group had started talking, but it didn’t take long for him to speak about Bryant.
“He loved the Lakers organization. He loved Jeanie. He loved [former Lakers owner] Dr. [Jerry] Buss,” Johnson said.
As for the memorial itself Monday, here is what you need to know:
MEMORIAL START TIME
The memorial begins at 10 a.m. Monday and is expected to conclude by 1 p.m.
HOW TO WATCH
Spectrum News 1 will carry the memorial, as will ABC News Live (the network’s streaming service) on various platforms, including Roku, Hulu, Facebook Watch and Apple TV. Viewers also can watch live on latimes.com. Most local stations are expected to carry the memorial live as well.
In Orange County, home to all nine of the crash victims, the city of Santa Ana will offer a service at City Hall for those hoping to watch the event in solidarity with others. A prayer and a moment of silence will precede the memorial.
The memorial will also be shown at the Orange County Great Park soccer stadium. Attendees may bring a blanket for seating on the stadium field or watch from the traditional seating.
The city of Lynwood, a predominantly Latino community that embraced Bryant, will show the memorial at the Lynwood Community Center gymnasium.
Staples Center has instructed people not to enter the surrounding L.A. Live area during the service. Restaurants and other businesses in the complex will be closed Monday morning. Surrounding streets will be barricaded by the Los Angeles Police Department.
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CLIPPERS
When Clippers forward Paul George invited new teammate Reggie Jackson to his house last Thursday, Jackson didn’t think twice about accepting.
The two have known each other since Jackson’s rookie season, in 2011, and the point guard calls George one of his best friends. George’s friends are now Jackson’s friends. Game night at the George estate doubled as a reunion.
As the night wore on, Jackson — who only hours earlier had signed with the Clippers — brought out an iPad. Not to play games, but to study them.
“I was like, ‘All right, so, as fun as this is, I need to know some of these plays,’” Jackson said Saturday, following a 112-103 loss to Sacramento in his Clippers debut.
In a copycat league where, Jackson said, “everybody kind of steals each other’s plays,” acclimating to a new team is in the nuances — memorizing a Clippers-specific name for a play he might have run in Detroit, and learning new teammates’ unfamiliar tendencies. Like forward Marcus Morris, another recent Clippers addition, Jackson is leaning on years of NBA experience to aid his transition to a new team.
“I’ve been on teams with guys who can score, and that can do a lot,” Morris said. “For me, it’s about figuring out how I can play off of guys and where I can fit in best.”
USC BASKETBALL
A flu-ridden Nick Rakocevic sat at the end of the bench, a towel draped over his head, trying not to vomit. Isaiah Mobley hobbled behind in obvious pain, trying to stretch out his swollen ankle. As March and the judgment it wrought drew ever closer, every conceivable force of nature seemed to be conspiring against USC and its dwindling NCAA tournament hopes.
So as USC fell into a familiar 15-point, second-half hole against Utah, it was a desperate act of self-preservation that saw them scratch and claw their way back late.
And again, it was self-inflicted wounds that saw them fall short in their final road trip of the season, as they lost 79-65 to Utah, leaving their already slim tournament chances in serious jeopardy.
USC has struggled against top competition, winning just two of nine against opponents considered Quadrant 1 by the NCAA’s NET rankings. It entered the final stretch of this season largely unscathed by bad losses.
But after tiptoeing along the edge of tournament contention, the bubble may have finally burst in Salt Lake City.
UCLA BASKETBALL
If UCLA doesn’t make the NCAA tournament at the end of this stirring late-season run, the groans of Bruins fans could be drowned out by the sighs of relief from the teams still playing.
Call it March Gladness.
UCLA has become a team almost nobody wants to play, and only partly because of its stifling defense. The Bruins also unleashed a rare display of offensive precision during their 70-63 come-from-behind victory over No. 18 Colorado on Saturday at the CU Events Center, committing zero turnovers in the second half.
Redshirt freshman point guard Tyger Campbell was unflappable, handing out a career-high 11 assists to go with only one turnover against a defense that was geared to stop him.
“We tried to start double-teaming Campbell and try to make it a little tougher on him to make his reads and make his plays,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said afterward, “and that didn’t work.”
It’s become something of a theme. UCLA (17-11 overall, 10-5 Pac-12 Conference) has proved nearly unstoppable during a stretch in which it’s won nine of 11 games, including a season-high five in a row, to get back into contention for an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament.
UCLA GYMNASTICS
After UCLA’s Grace Glenn earned the first leadoff perfect 10 on beam in NCAA history, Utah freshman Abby Paulson stole the spotlight as her perfect score sealed a dramatic 198.075-198.025 win for the Utes in Pauley Pavilion on Sunday.
Paulson’s clutch performance decided the meet even before senior Kyla Ross could finish her floor routine. While Utah celebrated boisterously, with coach Tom Farden slapping the beam in a team huddle, UCLA huddled on the side of the floor after the meet.
The Bruins, with a season-high score, were reveling too.
“It feels like we won,” UCLA coach Chris Waller said with a beaming smile. “We killed it. It was amazing.”
KINGS
Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists in his return after missing six games because of a quad injury and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Kings 4-2 Sunday night.
Leon Draisaitl scored on the power play, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and Edmonton moved ahead of idle Vancouver into second place in the Pacific Division. Mike Smith made 21 saves.
The Oilers are 9-4-2 in their past 15 games.
Anze Kopitar had a power-play goal, Dustin Brown also scored and Calvin Petersen made 27 saves for the Kings, who have lost three of four.
DUCKS
William Karlsson got his third career hat trick, Shea Theodore scored in overtime and the Vegas Golden Knights extended their winning streak to a season-high six games with a 6-5 victory over the Ducks on Sunday night.
Theodore’s winner 3:50 into OT came after the Golden Knights squandered a two-goal lead late in the third period. Mark Stone picked up his fourth assist on Theodore’s goal.
Vegas’ 5-3 lead appeared safe until Adam Henrique forced overtime with goals 1:42 apart. Both came when the Ducks brought on the extra attacker.
Henrique brought the Ducks within a goal with 2:57 remaining when he knocked in a rebound after Nick Ritchie was stopped by Vegas’ Malcolm Subban, then sent it to overtime with 1:15 remaining when the Ducks crashed the net.
ANGELS
Four spots in the Angels rotation were claimed before the team reported to spring training, leaving one spot for four pitchers to win.
Right-hander Jaime Barría on Sunday became the first of the group to throw, giving up one hit in two scoreless innings in the Angels’ 7-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
A focus on throwing first-pitch strikes was key. Barría, who was touted for his ability to get early-count outs as a minor leaguer, threw in line with new pitching coach Mickey Callaway’s philosophy and didn’t walk anyone.
“I think that’s my forte, is throwing strikes,” Barría said in Spanish. “I want to control all the corners, in and out, against the batters. All my pitches were in the zone and I was able to dominate.”
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GOLF
Two shots behind with four holes to play, Patrick Reed ran off three straight birdies to overtake a faltering Bryson DeChambeau, closing with a 4-under 67 for his second World Golf Championships title.
Reed made it interesting in the end with a wild tee shot into the trees on the 18th hole at Chapultepec Golf Club, forcing him to chip back to the fairway. He had to two-putt from 35 feet for eighth victory of his PGA Tour career.
In a wild final round in which five players had a share of the lead — and four were tied heading for the back nine — DeChambeau appeared to seize control with five birdies in a six-hole stretch starting at No. 9.
Everyone around him faltered — Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Erik van Rooyen — everyone but Reed, who played bogey-free until he only needed a bogey to win.
TODAY’S LOCAL MAJOR SPORTS SCHEDULE
All times Pacific.
Memphis at Clippers, 7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Prime Ticket, AM 570
BORN ON THIS DATE
1874: Baseball player Honus Wagner (d. 1955)
1915: Golfer Jim Ferrier (d. 1986)
1940: Boxer Jimmy Ellis (d. 2014)
1955: Race car driver Alain Prost
1956: Baseball player Eddie Murray
1957: Football player Phil McConkey
1963: Football player Fuad Reveiz
1972: Hockey player Manon Rheaume
1973: Hockey player Alexei Kovalev
1974: Football player Simeon Rice
1976: Golfer Zach Johnson
1977: Boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
1981: Tennis player Lleyton Hewitt
DIED ON THIS DATE
1990: Baseball player Tony Conigliaro, 45
2007: Football player Lamar Lundy, 71
AND FINALLY
Floyd Mayweather Jr. knocks out The Big Show at WrestleMania. Watch it 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.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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