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From Bill Plaschke: He led this country to a gold medal.
But maybe he can’t lead the Lakers to the playoffs?
He was the leader of a team that beat the best team in the world.
But maybe he can’t lead the Lakers to a win against the Memphis Grizzlies?
The dilemma facing LeBron James and a team that can never hope to bring him a championship was made abundantly clear this summer, when one of James’ most illustrious career moments brought a sigh of relief to Los Angeles.
What a wonderful thing. What a waste.
What a gift. What a waste.
The world was astonished when the 39-year-old James led Team USA to a fifth consecutive gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Meanwhile, his city just frowned and wondered why he couldn’t do this for us.
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Dodgers
From Mike DiGiovanna: Dodgers relief pitcher Evan Phillips caught a full-count fastball to Junior Caminero too close Saturday night, allowing the Tampa Bay slugger to blast a 96 mph ball 418 feet over the center field wall for a game-tying home run in the ninth inning of a 9-8, 10-inning loss to the Rays.
Phillips struck out the next three batters he faced, Christopher Morrell, Dylan Carlson and Johnny DeLuca, with perfect pitches: 84 mph sweep balls on the outside corner above the knees for Morrell and Carlson, and a 95 mph fastball above the knees for DeLuca.
The four-hitter was a microcosm of the past two months for Phillips, who lost his closer spot for 2023 and the first half of 2024 after a poor July performance but then dominated in August to put him back near the top of the “trust tree” manager Dave Roberts uses to describe the bullpen’s hierarchy.
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Hernandez: From friendship to fans, Luis Cruz marvels at Shohei Ohtani’s achievements
MLB Score
MLB standings
From Ben Bolch: UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers went to dinner with his starting offensive linemen at a Santa Monica barbecue joint on Sunday, and the only thing heavier than the five 300-pound guys was probably the bill.
There was no doubt who would pick it up: the same man who would rely on these Beefeaters more than anyone else this season.
“Yeah, yeah,” right tackle Garrett DiGiorgio admitted with a laugh Monday.
As the Bruins open their season at Hawaii on Saturday, preventing Garbers from absorbing hits will be one of their top priorities, especially considering what happened last season. UCLA has allowed 42 sacks in 2023, ranking 113th out of 130 major college football teams.
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Rams
From Gary Klein: The Rams practiced for the first time Monday at their new temporary facility in Woodland Hills, but linebacker Ernest Jones IV was not there.
Jones, the team captain, defensive playmaker and leader in tackles last season, is in the final year of his rookie contract and the Rams want him to play out the rest before considering an extension.
The Rams gave Jones’ agent permission on Sunday to explore a trade or new contract with another team.
After word of the situation leaked, Jones tweeted that he never asked for a trade, but the tweet was quickly deleted.
Read more
NFL
From Sam Farmer: Most NFL owners are only focused on their own franchises. Not Jerry Jones.
Naturally, the Dallas Cowboys are what matters most to Jones, but the team’s longtime owner also keeps a keen eye on the intrigue out West.
Few people have been more involved in the NFL’s return to Los Angeles than Jones, who brings players to Oxnard for training camp each summer. He was a vocal supporter of the Inglewood stadium project (which would become SoFi Stadium) and was influential enough to bring many of his fellow owners along for the ride.
Jones is proud not only of the league’s return to the nation’s No. 2 market, but also of the byproduct of the Raiders’ relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas.
Our own Sam Farmer spoke with Jones about this, the new kickoff rule, the expansion to 18 games and other NFL issues in an interview that you can read here.
Sports Day
1928 – Helen Wills beat Helen Hal Jacobs to win the women’s title at the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association Championships. Wills needed just 33 minutes to beat Jacobs, 6-2, 6-1.
1975 – New Zealand’s Onnie Parun beat Stan Smith 6-4, 6-2 in the first night match of the U.S. Open before a crowd of 4,949 at the Westside Tennis Club.
1978 – Joe Morgan becomes the first player to hit 200 home runs and steal 500 bases.
1978 – The Cosmos defeat the Tampa Bay Rowdies, 3-1, to win the NASL Championship.
1982 – Rickey Henderson steals 119 bases in a season, breaking Lou Brock’s record.
1985 – At age 14, Mary Jo Fernandez becomes the youngest player to win a match at the U.S. Open. Fernandez defeats Sarah Gomer 6-1, 6-4.
1996 – Stefan Edberg beat Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 at the U.S. Open, winning his final of a record 54 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.
1999 – Maurice Greene and Inger Miller win the 200 meters at the World Championships, dominating the sprinting worlds for the United States. Greene becomes the first athlete since Carl Lewis at the 1984 Olympics to win both the 100 and 200 meters at major world championships.
2006 – 19-year-old Marco Andretti wins the Indy Grand Prix at Sonoma by 0.66 seconds, becoming the youngest winner of a major open-wheel event.
2018 — Simona Halep becomes the first No. 1 seed in her 50 years as a professional to lose in the opening match at the U.S. Open. She is dominated by No. 44 Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, 6-2, 6-4.
2023 – Gymnast Simone Biles wins her record eighth U.S. Championship in San Jose, California.
The Associated Press compiled
Until next time…
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