The 50 most-read Los Angeles Times Sports stories of 2025

Sovereignty follows prerace favorite Journalism to the front before passing him down the final stretch to win the 2025 Kentucky Derby in muddy conditions.

The City of Pasadena and the company that operates the Rose Bowl file a lawsuit to prevent UCLA from trying to get out of its football contract with the stadium.

Trevor Bauer was awarded more than $300,000 in damages after alleging Lindsey Hill violated their settlement agreement. Hill did not contest the claim.

The Dodgers’ bullpen has been a source of frustration for the team all season, and the Toronto Blue Jays exploited it to the fullest in an 11-4 World Series Game 1 win.

Chatsworth High star and USC commit Alijah Arenas was injured in an auto crash involving a Tesla Cybertruck that left him hospitalized.

Freddie Freeman hits a leadoff home run in the 18th inning as the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series.

Former Lakers center Elden Campbell, who played 8 ½ seasons of his 15-year NBA career with Los Angeles, has died.

Father-son Lakers teammates LeBron and Bronny James denied ‘each and every allegation’ made in a lawsuit tying them to a 2022 car crash in the Antelope Valley.

The three sports talk voices, who all once worked at Fox Sports, discuss a hairstylist’s lawsuit against Skip Bayless, Joy Taylor and Charlie Dixon.

Bill Belichick says he appeared on ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ to promote his new book, not talk about how the 73-year-old met his girlfriend, 24-year-old Jordon Hudson.

Mookie Betts busts out of his slump and Kiké Hernández executes an incredible game-ending double play as the Dodgers prevail in Game 6 of the World Series.

Shohei Ohtani becomes the first player to hit three home runs and strike out 10 batters in a game as the Dodgers sweep the Brewers in the NLCS to reach the World Series.

The Dodgers have declined to release a statement in support of their fans protesting ICE raids that have ripped apart families in Southern California.

Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia gave up three homers in the span of six batters and Shohei Ohtani strikes out at a critical moment in a 5-4 loss to Toronto.

Cooper Lutkenhaus, 16, set a world U18 record in the 800 meters with an electric stretch run at the U.S. Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.

Singer and social media star Nezza posted on TikTok that she sang national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium despite the team’s objections.

Jeff Sperbeck, a longtime friend and business partner to Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, has died after falling from a golf cart reportedly driven by Elway in La Quinta, Calif.

Sovereignty surges ahead of Journalism to win the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes in a similar repeat of how the race unfolded in the Kentucky Derby.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homers off Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers are limited to six hits in a 6-2 loss that means the World Series will be decided in Toronto.

Kai Trump, 18, is competing in the LPGA Tour Annika event on a sponsor exemption. It has been criticized as a publicity stunt, which no one at the tournament disputes.

At 45, Venus Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match, behind Martina Navratilova. Afterward, she confirmed her engagement to actor Andrea Preti.

Hulk Hogan, who helped pro wrestling reach new heights of popularity, was booed out of the building on “Monday Night Raw.”

Thousands of Dodgers fans filled downtown Los Angeles to celebrate the team’s World Series victory.

William Byron was sitting in ninth place heading into the final lap of overtime when a late crash allows him to take his second straight Daytona 500 win.

Technically, the Dodgers still have to close out their NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies. They still have to win the NL Championship Series. But they will.

A lawsuit filed by three ex-St. John Bosco High employees alleges that coach Jason Negro embezzled money from the Catholic school and had assistants pay players’ tuition in cash.

Mark Sanchez, currently a Fox Sports analyst, was stabbed during a fight overnight in downtown Indianapolis. Police have arrested him for three misdemeanors.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the first Dodgers pitcher in nearly 40 years to throw back-to-back complete games in the playoffs in a 5-1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 2 of the World Series.

L.A. Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke feels equally grateful and guilty that his home in Altadena was spared as wildfire ravaged his neighborhood.

Noushin Faraji has accused ex-Fox Sports host Skip Bayless of making unwanted sexual advances toward her, including offering the hairstylist $1.5 million to have sex with him, a lawsuit states.

The Lakers’ hopes of pairing Mark Williams with newly acquired star Luka Doncic have fallen through in the wake of the Charlotte center failing his physical.

Despite mounting pressure to move the 2028 Olympics, steep financial penalties and historical precedent make it unlikely host L.A. could back out.

The Lakers acquire Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick.

Dodgers pitcher Dustin May talks about how he sustained a serious tear in his esophagus that derailed his hopes of returning to the mound last season.

Brett Steigh said during a podcast that he paid parents to secure football transfers at Narbonne and St. Bernard and is now assisting Bishop Montgomery.

The Blue Jays didn’t just win Game 1, they hammered the Dodgers into a maple-leafy pulp, battering their ace and bruising their ego and sending a message.

A bases-loaded throwing error to home plate by Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering in the 11th inning allows the Dodgers to take a series-clinching 2-1 win.

The Milwaukee Brewers have nearly the same record as the high-spending Dodgers and might be an underdog worth rooting for amid baseball’s competitive balance wars.

Toronto starter Trey Yesavage holds the Dodgers to just three hits and Blake Snell struggles as the Blue Jays take a 6-1 win in Game 5 and a 3-2 series lead.

UCLA 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara, who proved to be one of the biggest game-changers for the Bruins last season, has decided to leave Westwood.

Bishop Montgomery pulls out of a scheduled game against the Monarchs after problems in Hawaii.

Times columnist Bill Plaschke, like many once a critic of the Lakers drafting LeBron James’ oldest son, looks back on his rookie year as an ingenious move.

U.S. soccer star Trinity Rodman has been attending Wimbledon to support her boyfriend, Ben Shelton. She’d prefer that her father, NBA legend Dennis Rodman, not be mentioned during the tennis coverage.

Eight years after the Chargers left San Diego, the organization is reintroducing itself to the city with two days of training camp this week.

UCLA has fired football coach DeShaun Foster in the wake of a 35-10 loss to New Mexico that sent the Bruins to 0-3 on the season.

JuJu Watkins sustains a season-ending knee injury while driving to the basket during a win over Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Times columnist Bill Plaschke writes about his experience taking a boxing class to help fight Parkinson’s disease symptoms.

The Lakers dealt their murky present for an awe-inspiring future, and now you have to wonder, with the NBA trade deadline just four days away, are they done?

Police escorted ex-Rams Pro Bowl long snapper Jake McQuaide from an Ohio church after he questioned an official about computer porn rumors.

The Times’ sports reporting staff selects their favorite story from 2025, a showcase of stories that hold a special place with 17 writers.