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Manchester City sought to defend an early Erling Haaland goal, but Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench to equalise.

Arsenal equalised in the third minute of stoppage time through Gabriel Martinelli to snatch a 1-1 draw in their match on Sunday with Manchester City, whose rare defensive performance under Pep Guardiola narrowly failed to deliver a win in the Premier League.

Erling Haaland scored an early goal on the counterattack, and City went on to frustrate Arsenal with a defensive approach that was unlike any team coached by Guardiola, who is famed for possession and attacking football.

There was a late twist, however, when Eberechi Eze played a ball over City’s packed defence and Martinelli latched onto it before lobbing goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

It left Liverpool, the defending champions, with a five-point lead after just five games, with Arsenal in second place on goal difference over Tottenham and Bournemouth. City are already eight points off the pace.

Arsenal controlled the opening exchanges until City scored from a rapid counter in the ninth minute.

Tijjani Reijnders broke from deep with Haaland on his shoulder before he played the Norwegian striker in to finish coolly past David Raya.

Arsenal looked short on ideas before a double change at half-time gave them more impetus, with substitute Eberechi Eze forcing a sharp save from Donnarumma as the hosts swarmed all over City.

The visitors recorded 32.8 percent possession, the lowest-ever possession average by a Guardiola team in his 601st top-flight league match, according to Opta.

City had seemed to have weathered the storm, though, finishing the game with five at the back as Arsenal probed without creating the killer opening they needed.

But substitute Martinelli – who delivered a goal and an assist off the bench against Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday – ran on to Eze’s speculative ball over the top and produced a superb lob in the 93rd minute to give Arsenal a share of the spoils.

Arsenal captain Declan Rice suggested City’s defensive approach was a sign of respect for the Gunners, and he praised Martinelli for his “moment of magic” in grabbing the equaliser.

“We’ve gained the respect of the opposition. They know the quality we have from front to back,” Rice told Sky Sports.

“We passed and moved well in the first half and in the second, but there was always the threat on the counter.

“In the end, we deserved the goal and would have been disappointed to come away losing.”

Speaking about Martinelli’s late equaliser, he added: “The run and finish is unbelievable. He fully deserves it – you wouldn’t meet a nicer guy. He’s come on and produced a moment of magic.”

Guardiola conceded that Arsenal were the better team in a post-match interview.

“It’s difficult to analyse with all that’s happened this week. We play games like United and in the Champions League on Thursday, and now today. The teams are like so powerful in all aspects,” Guardiola told Sky Sports.

“[It’s] so difficult when you’re not effective or high pressing and you’re not effective in build-up.”

He added, “I think the result is fair. But in general, Arsenal were better.”

Elsewhere in the Premier League on Sunday, Aston Villa ended their goal drought but still could not beat 10-man Sunderland in a 1-1 draw.

Matty Cash blasted a swerving shot from 25 metres (82 feet) that Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs could only parry into his own net in the 67th minute, giving Villa their first goal after five games in the league.

However, Sunderland – playing with 10 men from the 33rd minute after Reinildo’s red card for kicking out at Cash – equalised in the 75th minute through Wilson Isidor to leave Villa without a victory and third from bottom.

Meanwhile, Newcastle rotated their team after a Champions League loss to Barcelona on Thursday and struggled to create many clear-cut chances in a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.

It meant Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, who used to coach Bournemouth, has now not beaten his former side in seven attempts.

Nvidia (NVDA -0.18%) has made an incredible ascent to the top of the stock market, and it’s in a league of its own as the only stock with a market cap above $4 trillion. It’s up 1,300% over the past five years, and it doesn’t look like it’s anywhere near done.

Its growth prospects are up for debate amid increasing competition and its sheer size, which makes it harder to report high percentage growth. Still, there are many reasons to believe in Nvidia’s future. Here’s one reason investors still have time to buy Nvidia stock.

Image source: Getty Images.

Hyperscalers are spending

There are several ways to envision Nvidia’s opportunity, and one of them is to analyze how its largest clients are spending money on its products.

Nvidia works with the largest cloud operators in the world, the hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms. These companies are building out their large language models (LLM) and offering top artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to their millions of customers, who in turn are using these platforms to create the next generation of generative AI apps.

This is the AI revolution that’s changing how people do business, shop, pay, and more, and these hyperscalers need Nvidia’s powerful chips to drive their AI models.

Just take a look at how much these three companies are spending this year on capital expenditures, and you can see how Nvidia’s business is going to be a crucial part of this process for the foreseeable future. Amazon is spending at a run rate of $120 billion, Microsoft at $100 billion, and Meta at about $65 billion. These are accelerations from last year, and as companies require more power, those numbers are likely to keep going up. Nvidia doesn’t collect every dollar of these sales, but it dominates this market.

I wouldn’t bet on Nvidia offering the same kind of growth it has in the past over the next five years, but it’s still likely to beat the market and offer value for shareholders.

US Vice President JD Vance has announced the identity of the ‘new ABC late night host’ after Jimmy Kimmel was pulled from the air indefinitely following his Charlie Kirk comments in Monday’s opening monologue

US Vice President JD Vance has made a surprising announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter. He revealed that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be stepping in to fill the shoes of Jimmy Kimmel on ABC.

The network has yet to officially confirm this news, but Vance dropped the bombshell on Thursday morning. This comes just a day after the sudden cancellation of the comedian’s long-standing late-night programme, Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Jimmy’s show was abruptly axed by the broadcaster following his opening monologue earlier this week, where he mentioned Charlie Kirk.

In an unexpected turn of events, the VP announced, “Everyone please congratulate @marcorubio, the new host of ABC’s late-night show!”.

ABC, which is owned by Disney, pulled the plug on Jimmy Kimmel Live! after his comments about the death of right-wing podcaster Charlie Kirk. Specifically, his remarks about the suspected killer and his mockery of Trump’s icy response to questions about his associate’s death, according to the Irish Star.

Charlie Kirk, the host of the podcast Turning Point, was attending the first event of The American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University when he was shot in the neck. Officials believe the weapon used was a high-powered rifle.

Kirk did not survive his injuries and has since become a martyr for the Republican Party.

Jimmy declared, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA Gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

He continued, “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.

“On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half staff, which drew some criticism, but on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this,” he continued, cutting to a clip of Trump being interviewed by the press on the White House lawn talking about the new ballroom when asked about how he was holding up after his friend’s death.

“Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish, okay? And it didn’t just happen once,” Jimmy said, before showing another clip of the president on Fox News talking about the ballroom when asked about how he heard the news of Charlie’s death.

The host went on to ask, “Why are we building a $200 million ballroom in the White House? Is it possible that he’s doing it intentionally so we can be mad about that instead of the Epstein list?” His sudden dismissal has left the country rattled amid fears over freedom of expression.

Marco Rubio, despite having no previous experience as a television host apart from guest appearances on Fox News and other networks, is rumoured to be taking up the Vice President’s post.

However, it remains unconfirmed whether the politician will be hosting his own show on ABC.

In a surprising move, some affiliate stations are planning to broadcast a Charlie Kirk memorial instead of the usual Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Friday during its regular time slot.

Liverpool edge thriller at Anfield in the UEFA Champions League with an injury-time winner from captain Virgil van Dijk.

Title holder Paris Saint-Germain roared to victory in the opening game of their Champions League defence, and Liverpool found yet another late winning goal in its stunning start to the season.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk soared to score with a header in the second minute of stoppage time to seal a 3-2 win against Atletico Madrid when it seemed his team was going to waste a two-goal lead seized after just six minutes.

Bayern Munich and Inter Milan both won rematches of past finals – against Chelsea and Ajax, respectively – to start their eight-game league-phase programmes, and newcomers Bodo/Glimt and Pafos impressed with hard-earned draws on the road.

PSG cruised to a 4-0 win at home over Atalanta and had the luxury of a penalty miss by Bradley Barcola not mattering much in the end.

Liverpool seemed to be sailing with early goals from Andy Robertson and a typically fine strike by Mohamed Salah, but was pegged back by Marcos Llorente’s goals in first-half stoppage time and the 81st.

Llorente also scored twice at Anfield in 2020 when Atletico eliminated the then-defending champion in the round of 16.

“We need to maybe get back to winning a bit simpler and easier,” Liverpool’s Robertson told TNT Sports after the game.

“It’s a great thing to be able to go to the end, but when you are 2-0 up, it should have been a more comfortable night.”

Bayern held off Chelsea 3-1 with two goals from Harry Kane, whose England teammate Cole Palmer scored an impressive goal for the visitors.

It was a very belated revenge for Bayern losing the 2012 final to Chelsea in its home stadium.

Inter got two powerful headed goals from Marcus Thuram in its 2-0 win at Ajax, which beat the Italians in the 1972 European Cup final.

Norway’s champion Bodo/Glimt had a second-half penalty kick saved and trailed by two goals late at Slavia Prague, before rallying to level at 2-2 in the 90th.

Pafos grinded out a 0-0 draw at Olympiakos after playing with 10 men from the 26th minute. Journeyman Brazilian midfielder Bruno Felipe was sent off for a second yellow-card foul.

Russian-owned Pafos is the first Cypriot team in the Champions League main phase since 2017, and Bodo/Glimt ended Norway’s 18-year absence.

Sept. 17 (UPI) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday is expected to announce fresh rate cuts in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump‘s demands to do so amid ongoing tariff worries and its impact on the American economy.

The central bank has not lowered interest rates since December and the Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to lower rates by a quarter percent at its next meeting around 2 p.m EDT. It comes in an ongoing feud with White House that’s infuriated the president as the bank has been targeted by the Trump administration as it seeks to consolidate greater federal control under the executive branch.

On Monday, Trump’s newly appointed member to the Federal Reserve Stephen Miran was confirmed by the GOP-controlled Senate in a 48-47 vote.

It’s been suggested that Miran will dissent from the anticipated Fed decision as the administration seeks a higher rate reduction.

The Fed opted to take a “wait and see” approach on rates as the economy shifted under the aggressive economic and tariff policies implemented by Trump.

Trump for months has been vocally critical of Fed Char Jerome Powell and the independent board in his demands to lower interest rates as the president has recently attempted to illegally remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook from her role.

Powell did not give clear indications of the FOMC’s plan for Wednesday in a speech at the end of August to the annual Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

On Monday, Trump said in a social media post in all caps the FOMC “must cut interest rates, now, and bigger than (Powell) had in mind.”

“In terms of the Fed’s dual-mandate goals, the labor market remains near maximum employment, and inflation, though still somewhat elevated, has come down a great deal from its post-pandemic highs,” Powell said in Wyoming.

“At the same time, the balance of risks appears to be shifting,” he said on August 22.

But a Goldman Sachs economist said Tuesday the “key question” for the September FOMC meeting was whether it will “signal that this is likely the first in a series of conservative cuts.”

“We expect the statement to acknowledge the softening in the labor market but do not expect a change to the policy guidance or a nod to an October cut. However, Chair Powell might hint softly in that direction in his press conference,” David Mericle wrote to CNBC in a note.

Meanwhile, a separate economist suggests that “such an emergency-sized move” that Trump envisions “is not justified by the current data.”

“Any decision to cut by 50 basis points at this stage would appear to be driven more by political pressure than economic necessity,” Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, told CNN.

Goal Arsenal! – Leandro Trossard

The Emmys ceremony was about more than just glamour and excellence in television. The current heated political climate and the attack on cultural institutions on and off screen was also a flash point, even though much of it was bleeped for viewers.

During her acceptance speech after winning supporting actress in a comedy series, Hannah Einbinder of “Hacks” proclaimed, “F— ICE” at the end of her speech, denouncing the crackdown on immigrants across the country by the federal government.

Einbinder also mentioned Palestine in her speech and was among several actors, filmmakers and others who wore pins calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Megan Stalter, another “Hacks” cast member, carried a bag pinned with a note that said “Cease Fire.”

When the writing staff for HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” took the stage after winning for writing for a variety series, senior writer Daniel O’Brien said he and his colleagues were happy to be in the company of writers of late-night comedy “while it’s still the type of show that is allowed to exist.”

Television Academy President Cris Abrego paid tribute to the Corp. for Public Broadcasting, which was presented with the Governors Award last week during the Creative Arts Emmys. When he noted that CPB’s federal funding had been shut down by Congress and that CPB would shut its doors, the comment elicited a loud “boo” from the audience.

Hannah Einbinder, who won an Emmy for supporting actress in a comedy series, in the trophy room at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. She referenced ICE and Palestine in her acceptance speech.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

“CPB has been the backbone of American public media, giving us everything from ‘Sesame Steet’ to ‘Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood’ to ‘Finding Your Roots,’” he said. “In many small towns, those stations were not just a cultural lifeline to small towns across the nation, but an emergency alert system that families could count on.”

He continued, “When division dominates the headlines, storytelling still has the power to unite us. Television and the artists who make it do more than address society — they shape our culture. At times of cultural regression, they remind us of what’s at stake.”

Before presenting the award for talk show, Bryan Cranston took a swipe at West Point’s recent cancellation of the Sylvanus Thayer Award to Tom Hanks, who has been a frequent critic of President Trump. Although a reason for the cancellation was not given, the move was seen by pundits to be politically motivated.

Cranston said in his remarks that the hallmark of an exceptional talk show was to have intelligent conversations with a variety of guests, “from the learned and inspirational Neil deGrasse Tyson, to the degenerate and woke Tom Hanks.”

The award went to “Late Night With Stephen Colbert,” which CBS is ending next year at the conclusion of its season. Although the cancellation was attributed to financial considerations, Colbert’s harsh criticism of Trump has also been blamed for the termination.

During his acceptance speech, Colbert said the show had initially been about love, but had evolved into a show about loss: “Sometimes you only know how much you love something when you get a sense you might be losing it.”

He also said he hoped the show’s end would not bring an end to the late-night talk show tradition.

It’s not often that a stock absolutely skyrockets right after it misses analysts’ expectations for both revenue and profits, but that was what Oracle (ORCL -4.50%) did following its recent fiscal 2026 first-quarter report. The market’s excitement about the stock appeared to stem from the company’s growing cloud computing business. The stock has now more than doubled so far in 2025.

Let’s take a closer look at Oracle’s earnings report and prospects to see whether or not it’s too late to buy the stock.

Cloud excitement

Sometimes there is a last-mover’s advantage, and in the cloud computing space, Oracle appears to have one. Before the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, the company’s cloud computing unit was new and pretty small. However, it’s now building it out quickly with all the latest technology. As a result, top AI model companies are flocking to its services, and even the big three cloud computing infrastructure providers — Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft — are partnering with it.

Oracle is particularly excited about its opportunity in the inference space. It said it has a big edge because its customers can connect all of their Oracle databases and cloud storage to “vectorize” their data. They can then apply the large language model (LLM) of their choice to answer questions using a combination of private enterprise data and publicly available information. It expects the AI inference market to become much bigger than the AI training market over time.

Image source: Getty Images.

Oracle’s cloud computing strength could be seen in its latest quarterly results. Its cloud infrastructure revenue surged 55% year over year to $3.3 billion. Meanwhile, within the segment, it said its multicloud database revenue from the big three cloud providers soared by 1,529% in the quarter. Meanwhile, it plans to build 37 new data centers for them in the coming years. What got investors really excited was the company’s forecast that its cloud infrastructure revenue would hit $144 billion by fiscal 2030, up from just $10.3 billion in fiscal 2025. It’s looking for cloud infrastructure revenue to increase by 77% to $18 billion this year, and then just continue to surge.

Below is a table of Oracle’s cloud infrastructure revenue projections.

Note: Oracle’s fiscal years end on May 31 of the calendar year.

Management said much of this revenue is already locked in: The company has $455 billion in remaining performance obligations (RPOs), with most of these contracts generally non-cancelable. That was a whopping 359% increase from a year ago when its RPOs were $99 billion, and up from just $138 billion a quarter ago. The huge increase was the result of Oracle signing four major contracts with three different customers in the quarter.

Oracle’s overall revenue increased 12% to $14.93 billion, which missed the $15.04 billion analyst consensus by less than 1%. Cloud revenue jumped 28% to $7.2 billion. Within the cloud segment, cloud infrastructure revenue soared by 55% to $3.3 billion while cloud application revenue rose 11% to $3.8 billion.

Adjusted earnings per share (EPS), meanwhile, rose 6% to $1.47. That came up just short of the $1.48 analyst consensus.

Looking ahead, Oracle maintained its forecast that its fiscal 2026 revenue will increase by 16% on a constant-currency basis. However, it upped its budget for capital expenditures to $35 billion from an earlier plan to spend just $25 billion. Management said most of those outlays will go toward things like graphics processing units (GPUs).

For its fiscal Q2, it guided for revenue to climb by between 14% and 16% year over year and for cloud revenue to soar by between 32% and 36%. It projected its adjusted EPS will rise by between 10% and 12% to a range of $1.61 to $1.65.

Is it too late to buy the stock?

Oracle’s projected cloud infrastructure growth over the next five years is nothing short of spectacular, and with contracts locked in, it has a clear line of sight into its future finances. However, it is worth noting that it will have to spend a lot of money to increase capacity so that it can meet these commitments, and it isn’t in as good financial shape as the big three cloud infrastructure providers.

Oracle currently has more than $80 billion in debt on its books, and it didn’t generate any free cash flow in the past year or in Q1, as it has been pouring all of its operating cash flow into expanding its data center capacity. Its cash flow from operations was $20.8 billion last year and $8.1 billion in Q1, so it likely will have to go further into debt over the next five years to build more data centers. That’s a sharp contrast to the financial situations of the big three cloud computing providers.

From a valuation perspective, Oracle now trades at a forward P/E of about 50 based on analysts’ estimates for its fiscal 2026, so it’s not cheap.

Given Oracle’s valuation, the state of its balance sheet, and the volume of capital expenditures in its future, I wouldn’t chase the stock after its huge surge.

You Bet! host and TV favourite Stephen Mulhern has made a rare admission about his father following his death as he revealed how he gave him his start in magic

Stephen Mulhern has made a rare admission about his father following his death. The magician, 48, was left devastated in November last year when his father Christopher passed away at the age of 76.

In the weeks that followed, coupled with a reaction an anaesthetic, the former Dancing On Ice host collapsed in front of diners at Pizza Express in Sunningdale, Berkshire. It is believed Stephen had the bad reaction to some medication after having a few drinks with his meal. Earlier in the day, he underwent a procedure, for which he was administered the anaesthetic.

Since then, the TV star has remained relatively private about the tragedy, but during an appearance on Friday’s This Morning, he was able to open up about his father when host Dermot O’Leary sensitively reminded him about his dad, who was also a magician, played a major part in kickstarting his career.

READ MORE: ITV You Bet! On Tour viewers say the same thing about Stephen Mulhern’s new showREAD MORE: Stephen Mulhern’s heartbreaking reason for first cry on television in new show with Ant and Dec

Dermot began: “There’s a lovely story, I remember we were eating dinner together and you were telling me about what a great man your dad was. He was almost responsible, wasn’t he?”

Stephen replied: “My dad loved magic and he was a brilliant magician. I started when I was 11 and he would teach me tricks.”

Dermot added: “Wasn’t one of the acts ill or something?” and Stephen, shocked at what the TV star could remember replied: “God, you’ve got a good memory!

“Yeah, so [at Butlin’s] one of the acts didn’t turn up and my dad said, ‘Well my son’s a magician and he’ll fill in for you.’ I got my spot on stage and I feel incredibly lucky.”

Just weeks after losing his father, Stephen was back on screens at the Royal Variety. He took to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall, performing a magic trick in front of His Majesty The King and millions of viewers at home.

Upon completion, the star dedicated the performance to his late father saying: “That was for you dad.”

Following his two-year stint as a Redcoat, Stephen joined The Magic Circle as its youngest-ever member at the age of just 17, and gained an appearance on Blue Peter off the back of this.

After appearing on The Big Big Talent Show with Jonathan Ross in the late 1990s, he was invited to perform at the Royal Variety before becoming a regular on CITV alongside Holly Willoughby.

In more recent years, he has hosted Britain’s Got More Talent and regularly fronts Catchphrase, but due back on the box with a new series of You Bet for ITV1, in which stars such Josie Gibson, Josh Widdecombe and Alesha Dixon bet on of members of the public and their ability to carry out certain tasks.

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A YOUNG mum has revealed the reason she never gets to school on time.

Carmen Louise, from the UK, revealed she went to great lengths to avoid playground politics and ‘DryRobe mums’.

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The mum was sat in her car, possibly waiting for her kids to come out of school.

She revealed she would wait until the last minute to get out to avoid the other parents.

Carmen said: “I am the mum that waits till the very last minute to go and pick the kids up.

“I can’t deal with people.

Claiming she ‘hated everyone,’ Carmen said she avoided mum groups as much as possible.

She continued: “I don’t like those mums that are standing in a f**king group, stuck up their own b**holes wearing DryRobes.”

Carmen also joked that they all stank in their oversized rain coats.

“I just take my car. So I don’t have to speak to people,” she added.

It seemed that the mum’s vent on clicky school mums was something many others could relate to.

The video went viral on her TikTok account @carmslouise97 with over 1 million views and 77k likes.

Plenty of people took to the comments agreeing with her statement and revealed they did the exact same thing.

One person wrote: “Omg the dry robes is TRUE.”

Another commented: “For 3 months I pretended I didn’t speak English.”

“I am the mum that pays for breakfast and afterschool club to avoid people and all those mums you speak of,” penned a third.

Meanwhile a fourth said: “It’s funny cus I wear my dry robe but also my head phones and sunglasses so nobody can approach me, I can’t see or hear you huns.”

“Same! Cannot stand playground politics,” claimed a fifth.

Someone else added: “I’ve been a school run mum for a few months now and it’s horrible.”

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At some point, the Dodgers hope, they will be able to field a fully healthy lineup.

A late scratch on Wednesday to catcher Will Smith, however, meant it would have to wait at least a couple more days.

Despite activating Tommy Edman from the injured list pregame, and proceeding to sweep the Colorado Rockies with a 9-0 win that stretched their National League West lead to three games, the Dodgers were left dealing with another injury headache Wednesday, removing Smith from the starting lineup just 15 minutes before first pitch after swelling developed around the bone bruise he has been dealing with in his right hand.

“Not overly concerned,” manager Dave Roberts said of Smith’s status, “but we’ve got to get that swelling under wraps.”

Smith’s absence hardly hampered the Dodgers in their fourth straight win.

Their lineup exploded for four runs in the second inning and five in the eighth behind a huge night from Mookie Betts, who continued his recent tear with a four-for-five, five-RBI performance that included a run-scoring double early and a grand slam to put things away late. Betts is now on a 16-game on-base streak, has multiple RBIs in five-straight contests, and is batting .352 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs over his last 32 games.

Behind the plate, Ben Rortvedt filled in to catch Blake Snell’s scoreless six-inning, 11-strikeout start, which continued a dominant run from a Dodgers’ rotation that now has a 1.18 ERA over the last six games.

And thanks to a loss earlier in the day by the San Diego Padres, the team grew its lead atop the division for a second day in a row, effectively taking a 3-½ game NL West lead (when accounting for its head-to-head tiebreaker over San Diego) with 16 games to play.

“That was a big home series sweep, to get us going … get us moving in the right direction,” Snell said. “All of us have been looking forward to getting it going. This was a really good step.”

Yet, after activating Max Muncy off the injured list Monday, and welcoming Edman back into the fold Wednesday afternoon, the Dodgers were finally on the verge of having a full-strength squad for the first time since early July.

Instead, they were reminded of the tenuous reality of their oft-injured roster — and the difficulty of trying to manage Smith’s hand in particular.

It had only been a week since Smith first got hurt, when a foul ball in Pittsburgh ricocheted off his dangling throwing hand behind the plate and left him with a bone bruise that sidelined him until Tuesday — though didn’t require an injured list stint. Smith had looked OK in his return to action that night, lining a double in his first at-bat while helping Emmet Sheehan carry a no-hitter into the sixth. He was back in the original lineup the Dodgers posted Wednesday, as they sought a series sweep over the 106-loss Rockies.

The issue, it appeared, might be behind him.

But then, when the Dodgers emerged from the dugout Wednesday night, it was Rortvedt who went to squat behind home plate.

“Literally 15 minutes before the game, as he’s getting ready, his hand started to swell up,” Roberts said. “After [his pregame] hitting, getting dressed, getting ready for the game, that’s when it started to show itself. He tried to get out there and throw. It just didn’t respond well.”

After Smith first got hurt, Roberts cautioned his injury could linger for the rest of the season. After Wednesday, he said the team would monitor Smith on Thursday’s off day –– and potentially send him for an MRI –– then decide on Friday whether he’ll play in this weekend’s series-opener in San Francisco.

“We’ve got to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Roberts said.

Miguel Rojas slides home to score a run in the second inning.

(Eric Thayer/Eric Thayer For The Los Angeles)

Smith’s hand won’t be the only injury the Dodgers (82-64) will have to manage down the stretch.

While Edman returned from an ankle injury that had plagued him all year, and sidelined him since its own flare-up on Aug. 3, Roberts said pregame he was still curious to see how the utilityman looked.

Edman slotted in center field on Wednesday — where he tracked down a fly ball on the game’s first pitch — and will likely see most of his playing time there for at least the foreseeable future. Roberts noted that, unlike earlier this year when Edman was mainly limited to infield duties, the quick reactions required at second base might be tougher on his ankle now.

“Getting off the ball is something I’m going to be really mindful of watching,” Roberts said of Edman. “Once he gets to full speed, it’s a lot easier [to decide what he can handle].”

With Edman in center, the Dodgers also ran out a new outfield alignment, with Andy Pages moving to left field and Michael Conforto dropping to the bench.

Roberts said Conforto will still see playing time against right-handed pitchers (the Rockies started left-hander Kyle Freeland on Wednesday). He also didn’t close the door on eventually flipping Pages (who had three hits Wednesday, including an RBI double in the second to open the scoring) and Teoscar Hernández (who went deep in the eighth for his third home run in the last two nights) in the corners, though noted he is keeping Hernández in right for now thanks to his improved defensive play in recent weeks.

“Teo played the season last year in left field, so we’ve shown that we can win a championship with him in left field,” Roberts said. “Not quite there yet, but thinking about it.”

Despite the moving pieces, it all brought the Dodgers closer to the lineup they envisioned having at the start of this season, the one they’ve floundered with offensively (entering the night ranked just 26th in the majors in scoring since July 4) while playing without.

“I think that we’ve all been waiting for our guys to come back to health and see what we look like,” Roberts said.

Still, they won’t be at full strength again until Smith is. Wednesday was a reminder that his health remains in doubt.

Next steps for Sasaki

After his much-improved rehab outing with triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Roki Sasaki was en route back to Los Angeles on Wednesday to meet with club officials about what his next steps will be.

Roberts said that could include finding the rookie right-hander, who finally rediscovered his 100-mph fastball Tuesday after lacking velocity and battling a shoulder injury previously this year, an opportunity to start a big-league game for the first time since April. Or, potentially pitching out of the bullpen, which is how the 23-year-old would likely be used if he were to be included on the postseason roster.

Before that latter scenario could become reality, of course, the Dodgers will need to see Sasaki have some sort of success back in the majors, where he had a 4.72 ERA in eight starts at the beginning of the season before going on the IL.

Nonetheless, Roberts described Sasaki’s rehab outing on Tuesday as “great for the Dodgers, great for Roki’s confidence, great for the organization.

“Mostly it was great for Roki,” Roberts added. “Just to really let it eat, let it fly, have some success and know that he can be the guy that he’s known to be.”

When Kamala Harris left the White House, she was trailed by three big questions.

She’s now answered two of them.

First off, the former vice president will not be running for California governor in 2026. After months of will-or-won’t-she speculation, the Democrat took a pass on a race that was Harris’ to lose because, plainly, her heart just wasn’t into a return to Sacramento.

On Wednesday, with publication of the first excerpts from her 2024 campaign diary, Harris answered a second question: What kind of book — candid or pablum-filled — would she produce?

The answer flows directly to the third and largest remaining question, whether Harris attempts a third try for the White House in 2028.

If she does, and the portions published Wednesday by the Atlantic magazine give no clue one way or the other, she’ll have some work to do mollifying the person who made her vice president, thus vaulting Harris to top-tier status should she run again.

That would be one Joe Biden.

Harris’ book — “107 Days” — recounts the shortest presidential campaign in modern U.S. history.

It’s no tell-all.

Surely, there’s a good deal of inside dope, juicy gossip and backstage intrigues that Harris is holding back for political, personal or practical reasons.

Still, it’s a tell-plenty.

The headline-grabbiest passage is Harris’ suggestion that Biden, felled by a thoroughly wretched debate performance that showed the ravages of his advanced age, should have stepped aside before being effectively forced off the Democratic ticket.

“ ‘It’s Joe and Jill’s decision,’ “ Harris wrote. “We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotized. Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness. The stakes were simply too high.

“This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition,” she went on. “It should have been more than a personal decision.”

The relationship between Harris and Jill Biden, which was famously glacial, will surely turn Arctic-cold with Wednesday’s revelations. And Biden’s thin-skinned husband, who still harbors the fanciful belief he would beaten Donald Trump had he been the Democratic nominee, isn’t likely to be any more pleased.

There’s more.

Harris suggests in many ways Biden was more hindrance than helpmate as she struggled to step out from the shadow that inevitably shrouds the vice president.

When Biden finally spoke to the nation to explain his abdication and anointment of Harris as his chosen successor, Harris notes he waited nearly nine minutes into an 11-minute address to offer his cursory blessing.

She also expresses a deep personal pique toward Team Biden and West Wing staffers who had little faith in Harris or her political abilities and had no hesitation stating so — in private, anyway.

“When the stories were unfair or inaccurate, the president’s inner circle seemed fine with it,” Harris wrote. “Indeed, it seemed as if they decided I should be knocked down a little bit more.

“Worse, I often learned that the president’s staff was adding fuel to negative narratives that sprang up around me.”

Fact check: True.

But Harris also skates around certain hard truths, suggesting the staff turnover that plagued her early in her vice presidency was just the normal Beltway churn.

Harris has a reputation for being an imperious and difficult boss — it’s not misogynistic to say so — and she did suffer a notably high level of staff burnout and turnover that hindered her vice presidential operation.

Harris embarrassed herself in some stumbling TV appearances — especially early in her vice presidency — and it’s not racist to point that out. She has no one to blame but herself.

Perhaps most critically, Harris bequeathed the Trump campaign a sterling political gift late in the campaign when she appeared on the TV chatfest “The View” and, served up a softball of a question, whiffed it spectacularly.

“What, if anything,” Harris was asked, “would you have done … differently than President Biden during the past four years?”

It’s a question she could have easily anticipated. The separation of a president and the vice president looking to follow him into the Oval Office is a political rite of passage, though always a fraught and delicate one.

It’s necessary to show voters not just a hint of independence but also a bit of spine.

George H.W. Bush handled the maneuver with aplomb and succeeded Ronald Reagan. Hubert Humphrey and Al Gore did not, and both lost.

Given her chance, Harris squandered a choice opportunity to put some badly needed space between herself and the dismally regarded Biden.

“There is not a thing that comes to mind,” was her tinny response, and that gaffe is entirely on the former vice president.

It didn’t necessarily cost her the White House. There were plenty of reasons Harris lost. But at a time when voters were virtually shouting out loud for change in Washington it stamped the vice president, quite unhelpfully, as more of the same.

‘I am a loyal person,” Harris writes, which is not only self-justifying but has the slightly off-putting whiff of someone declaring, by golly, I’m just too honest.

Perhaps behind closed doors she screamed and raged, telling the octogenarian Biden he was old and senile and sure to cost Democrats the White House and deliver the nation to the evil clutches of Donald Trump — though that seems doubtful.

“Many people want to spin up a narrative of some big conspiracy at the White House to hide Joe Biden’s infirmity,” she wrote.

In fact, she said, Biden was “fully able to discharge the duties of president.”

“On his worst day, he was more deeply knowledgeable, more capable of exercising judgment, and far more compassionate than Donald Trump on his best.”

Fact Check: Again, true.

“But at 81,” Harris went on, “Joe got tired. … I don’t believe it was incapacity. If I believed that, I would have said so. As loyal as I am to President Biden, I am more loyal to my country.”

Plenty of books have been written offering insider accounts of the White House and presenting far more dire accounts of Biden’s physical and mental acuity. Many more are sure to come.

Harris’ contribution to the oeuvre remains to be seen. Her book is set for publication on Sept. 23 and there is a lot more to come beyond the excerpts just published.

What has been revealed is Harris’ eagerness to settle old scores, to right the record as she sees it and to angrily and publicly call out some of her perceived enemies — including some still active in Democratic politics.

How does that affect her prospects for 2028 and what does it say about whether Harris runs again for president?

You can read into it what you will.

MORRISVILLE, Pa. — Trying to quilt together a patchwork of states that would give him the White House, Mitt Romney ricocheted around the country Sunday, arguing that he represented true change and that reelecting the president would mean a continuation of the status quo: chronic unemployment, high energy prices and increased dependence on government.

Romney said Obama had promised much but had fallen “so very short.”

“Talk is cheap, but a record is real and it’s measured in achievements,” the Republican nominee said, bundled against the cold at his rally in a farm field.

INTERACTIVE: Battleground states

“The president thinks big government is the answer,” Romney added. “No, Mr. President, more good jobs, that’s the answer.”

At that, tens of thousands of people who had gathered for the rally began chanting, “Send him home!”

The Romney appearance in the suburb of Philadelphia was his first in Pennsylvania since September, when he visited a military college. His wife, Ann, and his running mate, Rep. Paul D. Ryan, have appeared here more recently, with Ryan visiting on Saturday.

Campaign officials clearly hoped that Romney’s appearance, and Republicans’ recent ad spending, would turn a state that Obama handily won in 2008.

Aside from one poll that shows the race tied, all other recent surveys show Obama comfortably holding onto Pennsylvania. But a win for Romney would offset a loss in Ohio — where Obama has held onto a steady, if extremely narrow, lead in polls — or losses in a collection of less-populated states such as Wisconsin, Nevada and Iowa.

INTERACTIVE: Outside spending shapes 2012 election

Though Romney has largely ignored Pennsylvania in recent months, his spokesman argued that his visit less than 48 hours before election day was perfectly timed because the state did not have early voting.

“It’s a remarkable juxtaposition here that Mitt Romney will be in the suburbs of Philadelphia today and, you know, four years ago, Barack Obama was in Indiana,” senior advisor Ed Gillespie said on ABC’s “This Week”, referring to the Republican-dominated state that Obama ultimately won in 2008. “When you look at where this map has gone, it reflects the change and the direction and the momentum toward Gov. Romney…. The map has expanded.”

Democrats countered that the appearance in Pennsylvania, which has gone Democratic for two decades, was one of desperation as Romney grasped for a path to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

“They understand they are in deep trouble,” Obama senior strategist David Axelrod said on “Fox News Sunday.” “They’re looking for somewhere, desperately looking for somewhere to try to dislodge some electoral votes to win this election, and I can tell you, that’s not going to happen.”

The scene in Pennsylvania reflected the drama at the end of the hard-fought presidential contest. Two cranes hoisted massive American flags; fireworks closed the rally.

“This audience and your voices are being heard all over the nation. You’re being heard in my heart,” Romney said. “People of America understand, we’re taking back the White House because we’re going to win Pennsylvania.”

Romney also made what has become a familiar pitch from both candidates as election day nears.

“Now let’s make sure every single person we know gets out and votes on Tuesday,” he said. “What makes this rally and all your work so inspiring is because you’re here because you care about America. This is a campaign about our country and the future we’re going to leave to our children. We thank you and we ask you to stay at it all the way till victory on Tuesday night.”

Romney also campaigned Sunday in front of large crowds in Iowa and Ohio, where polling shows Obama holds a slim edge. And he held a late-night rally in Virginia, where the race appears to be even.

A Des Moines Register poll released Saturday showed the president ahead by 5 percentage points in Iowa. But Republicans noted that the same poll four years ago overstated Obama’s support in the state, which he won by nearly 10 percentage points.

In addition to six electoral votes, Iowa holds symbolic significance for both candidates: Its first-in-the-nation caucuses launched Obama’s bid in 2008 and proved difficult for Romney in 2008 and this year.

Republican Gov. Terry Branstad said while introducing the GOP nominee in Des Moines that the state that made Obama would take him down.

“Iowans feel betrayed. Almost a sense of — not only disappointed, but almost a sense of betrayal that our principles of sound budgeting and responsible government have been ignored by this administration for four straight years,” Branstad said, adding: “It’s time for a change. It’s time for you to go back to Chicago.”

Romney, speaking at the Hy-Vee Hall, urged his supporters to reach out to disenchanted backers of the president and persuade them that a change in direction was vital for the nation’s future.

“I need your vote; I need your work; I need your help. Walk with me. We’ll walk together. Let’s begin anew. I need Iowa,” he said.

[email protected]

YUNGBLUD shared a sweet gesture toward late star Ozzy Osbourne during his MTV VMAs tribute performance.

The singer joined Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith and Nuno Bettencourt to commemorate the rocker’s career with a medley of his greatest hits following Ozzy’s passing in July.

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Fans noticed at the start of the performance that Yungblud showed the cameras his gold cross necklace and kissed it before heading onto the stage.

They then recognized the piece as the exact necklace that had been gifted to the young artist by Ozzy himself before his death.

Viewers pointed out the connection on social media.

“Dom playing crazy train with the necklace ozzy gave him still on,” one person wrote on X, while others shared they got emotional over the touching tribute.

During a red carpet interview with E! News before the show, Yungblud flashed the momentum and said Ozzy was “here with me” throughout the night.

A FOREVER BOND

Ozzy acted as a mentor to Yungblud in the final years of his life and presented the cross necklace to him at the heavy metal star’s final concert this past summer.

The Crazy Train singer also received a special message from his son, Jack Osbourne, and grandkids, in a touching video played before the performance.

Ozzy died on July 22 from “acute myocardial infarction” and “out of hospital cardiac arrest,” per the former TV star’s death certificate.

He was laid to rest next to the lake in his Buckinghamshire home days later, with his friends and family in attendance.

The Osbournes alum had been battling numerous health conditions in recent years, including Parkinson’s Disease.

His wife, Sharon Osbourne, stayed close by the Black Sabbath star’s side throughout his health struggles, and was in tears at his funeral service.

Also in attendance were his son, Jack, his daughters, Kelly and Aimee, and a number of celebrity pals, including Marilyn Manson, Elton John, and his Black Sabbath bandmates.

Yungblud was also there to say his final goodbyes to the Dreamer singer.

“I didn’t think you would leave so soon the last time we met you were so full of life and your laugh filled up the room,” Yungblud wrote in a touching Instagram post the day Ozzy died.

WILDEST MOMENTS IN VMAS HISTORY

Madonna’s Like a Virgin performance (1984): The controversial performance at the first-ever VMAs launched her into superstardom and established the awards show as a venue for bold pop culture moments.

Britney Spears, Madonna, and Christina Aguilera kiss (2003): During a medley that showcased Britney and Christina in wedding gowns, Madonna kissed them both. But it was Britney and Madge locking lips that was the kiss seen around the world. The moment was especially shocking when the camera cut to Britney’s then-boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, whose stunned reaction seemed disapproving.

Kanye West interrupts Taylor Swift (2009): After Taylor, 19, won the award for Best Female Video, Kanye, 32, rushed onto the stage and infamously declared that Beyoncé had the “best video of all time” for Single Ladies and deserved the award instead. This was the beginning of a decades-long feud between Kanye and Taylor, which continues to this day.

Lil Mama crashes the stage (2009): In the middle of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ performance of Empire State of Mind, Lip Gloss rapper Lil Mama inexplicably walked up, despite being held back by Beyonce. She posed alongside Jay-Z and Alicia as she invited herself into the performance. She posed on stage with them at the end, despite Lil Mama not being a part of the song or the performance.

Lady Gaga’s meat dress (2010): The pop star wore a dress, hat, and shoes made entirely out of raw flank steak. She later explained the outfit was a protest against the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, stating it symbolized fighting for your rights or ending up “meat on your bones”.

Beyoncé’s pregnancy reveal (2011): At the end of her performance of Love on Top, Beyoncé unbuttoned her blazer and rubbed her belly, confirming her first pregnancy to the world. Her husband, Jay Z, watched from the crowd and celebrated with the audience.

Nicki Minaj vs. Miley Cyrus (2015): While accepting the award for Best Hip-Hop Video, Nicki called out Miley Cyrus, who was hosting that year, by asking, “Miley, what’s good?” Nicki later claimed she was genuinely upset with Miley due to comments she had recently made in an interview.

“But as it is written with legends, they seem to know the things that we don’t. I will never forget you – you will be in every single note I sing and with me every single time I walk on stage.”

He also mentioned the necklace, calling it “the most precious thing I own,” and that he was “heartbroken” over losing the music legend.

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Late night has a new tone in 2025, and Greg Gutfeld is the one setting it, one unpredictable quip at a time. Rewriting the rules and bringing his signature acerbic style to “Gutfeld!” on Fox News, his show is drawing in more than 3 million viewers nightly, making it the most-watched show at the edge of prime time at 10 p.m. Eastern time / 7 p.m. Pacific time, airing over 90 minutes earlier than such hosts as Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon

Stacking up gigs, he’s also the resident wild card on the network’s hit show “The Five,” and he hosts the new reality game show “What Did I Miss?” on Fox Nation, which was just renewed for a second season. Gutfeld isn’t just leaving his mark on the network; he’s reshaping it.

Before he became polarizing to some, and well before his New York Times bestsellers and his night of reminiscing on Jimmy Fallon’s couch, Gutfeld was climbing the editorial ranks at magazines like Men’s Health, Stuff and Maxim. His biggest break came when he landed the very late slot hosting his own Fox News show, “Red Eye,” which would set the stage for his runaway success.

Taking nothing too serious while being surrounded by complete seriousness, and with “Gutfeld!” pulling in some of the strongest ratings on TV, he’s proving that irreverence can be its own kind of relevance. His refusal to put so-called untouchables on a pedestal has everyone taking notice, and like him, loathe him or don’t know what to think about a grown man obsessed with unicorns, there’s no denying that Gutfeld has turned having a good time into a full-time job. And he’s just getting warmed up.

How do you find out you’re No. 1 in the 10 p.m. timeslot ? Is there a cake and a massive check?

It’s more brought to you and then happens over time. I get ratings every single day, so I was able to watch us win. I guess I wasn’t that surprised by it; I just knew that it was going to take time. I thought, yeah, maybe in a couple of years, but it was in like a matter of months.

For old–school fans of “Red Eye,” “Gutfeld!” feels familiar, with the blended panel that’s always down to have a good time. But now everyone gets more comfortable chairs, which is nice too.

I agree. “Gutfeld!” is basically “Red Eye” but for everybody. Red Eye was operating on the assumption that you really had a select group of people awake at 2 or 3 in the morning. It wasn’t trying to be a cultlike pleasure; it just happened to be that way. We did want it to be for everyone, though. Now we have 10 times the viewers and we’re No. 1, so in my mind I’m going, I want the same sensibility, but I don’t want to completely confuse the viewers. I realize that my humor on “Red Eye” was deliberately obtuse in some ways, and not really deliberately. It was just surreal and bizarre, and maybe that won’t fly in prime time or late night, but like “Red Eye,” our show now is as interesting and unpredictable as that show was. And that’s 90% of the fight.

There’s definitely an unpredictability theme going on because “The Five” can get somewhat fiery at times, but not for the reasons one would think.

With “Gutfeld!” and with “The Five,” I really push the concept of teasing, because when I genuinely like somebody, I tease them. When everybody is together teasing each other, it’s a very fun thing and the viewers are in on it. On “Red Eye,” we were all basically roasting each other, and on my show, we’re all making fun of each other, some more than others. On “The Five,” of course, I needle Dana [Perino] and Jesse [Watters], they needle me, I go after Jessica [Tarlov], she makes fun of us all — we all do it, and I think that’s really the secret sauce to the success of “The Five,” “Gutfeld!” and why “Red Eye” was so beloved. You felt like you were with the people. It was like a perverted version of “Friends.”

There really is this vibe that, no matter what gets said, when the camera goes off you’re all knocking back a few together.

Yeah, I think the key is that nothing you say should warrant an apology. Meaning, if I were to insult you, you’re not going to demand an apology from me. When somebody wants an apology for a comment I always ask them, “How would that apology sound? I’m sorry that the jokes I made hurt your feelings?” How insulting is that to that person you’re apologizing to! I’m sorry I hurt your feelings with this insult. It’s like the people that are demanding an apology don’t even see how absolutely insulting it is that they are asking for it.

Some people really write their own headlines. I imagine yours ramped up after you took “The King of Late Night” joke and ran with it?

I’m trying to think where “the king” came from, and I think I have to credit Dave Rubin. I think Rubin was on during the first week of the show and said something like, “You’re going to be the king of late night. You’re going to be No. 1.” I don’t like saying stuff like that because then it’ll just be thrown back in your face, but he was right! Then, of course, I had to put it on my book cover. I don’t even know how that all happened, but putting it on the cover of my book was just, like, this audacious and ridiculous thing, having me on the top like I’m a skyscraper where King Kong swatted down people.

Silly is definitely your lane. What do you think the term “late night” even means anymore? It used to be pretty neutral, and now it’s almost like you better choose a side before you watch this comic make their TV debut!

Yeah, it kind of became defined as maybe a person who wanted to go to bed angry with somebody who wanted to go to bed happy. One thing that I always want to do is not send people to bed enraged. Sure, maybe you’re sad that Biden lost, but we’re going to have so much fun, and this is going to be great! And then Trump wins. This is going to be so much fun, and this is going to be great! So, we’re going to have fun, and things are going to be great no matter who wins or loses. I’m not going to let that impact the time that we have. I think doing a late-night show that makes everyone feel bad is a disservice. I don’t understand that. That’s when you have people switching the channel to come to us. They didn’t even know that we existed until then.

What a shakeup that channel flip caused and, also, it’s pretty monumental because the viewers are staying.

You know, for a long time they couldn’t even mention my name and it was a personal thing for them, but then I think they realized that all I did was point out what was missing. I mean, they gave me the opportunity by not addressing most of the country, and it was there for the taking. There was literally free money on the table, and so I took it, and I showed [mainstream media] that they don’t own the culture. I think it’s not just about late night; it’s about all of culture. It’s the ability to tell people, you aren’t the cool kids at the table anymore. You took people for granted, you insulted everybody else, and we’re the ones now who are having fun.

Seeing you on Fallon also looked like a lot of fun. You could seriously feel your excitement as you told him your drunken story of meeting him. You think he’d ever come on ”Gutfeld!”?

It was fun! It went the way I think we both wanted it to go, which was like an old-school TV segment you would have seen on Carson. Just two people having a fun conversation. I probably talked too much, but I had to tell that drinking story because I’ve been telling that story for years, and the only person I hadn’t told that to was Jimmy. So yeah, we were both happy about it, and it’s good to see two industry people in whatever “supposed rivalry” who genuinely like each other without that other bull—. I haven’t asked him to come on, though. Our show is a little different because if you come on, you’re on for the whole hour. You’re also on with other people so it’s kind of a bigger ask of someone, but the president did do it so…

There’s no need to rehash what might have been UCLA’s most deflating football season opener since …

The Bruins produced a dud against Cincinnati in Chip Kelly’s 2018 debut?

Karl Dorrell acknowledged not knowing where to stand on the sideline while losing his first game to Colorado in 2003?

Manual Arts High blew UCLA out, 74-0, in the program’s first game in 1919?

Regardless of your choice, what happened Saturday night at the Rose Bowl was awful. Putrid. Dreadful.

UCLA’s 43-10 setback against Utah — the Bruins’ most lopsided loss in a season opener since they absorbed a 38-3 thrashing by top-ranked Oklahoma in 1986 — came largely as a result of losing the battle on both lines of scrimmage.

The offensive line couldn’t help the run game produce anything of note on the way to 37 yards from its three running backs.

The defense looked lost from the first snap. There was no containment of Utes quarterback Devon Dampier, who often saw more open field in front of him than closing defenders.

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava, appearing overly amped in his UCLA debut, overthrew several receivers on the way to completing only half of his passes but showed flashes of why his arrival was such a big deal. His slippery runs and perfect touch on a 19-yard touchdown pass to running back Anthony Woods were a possible harbinger of far greater success.

The big hope is that the Bruins accelerate their rebound from a year ago. Remember, UCLA looked equally pitiful in its home opener against Indiana last season (a 42-13 drubbing) as part of a 1-5 start, only to turn things around and nearly make a bowl game.

Defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe moved players around until he found the right combination, putting Oluwafemi Oladejo at edge rusher and inserting linebacker Carson Schwesinger into the starting lineup on the way to one of the greatest individual seasons in school history.

But is there enough talent on this team to spark a turnaround? These guys looked slow-footed and couldn’t tackle very well. Finding a capable edge rusher or two must be a top priority.

For UCLA to have any meaningful success this season, it’s going to have to pile up wins against the soft patch of its schedule that starts next weekend. A road game against Nevada Las Vegas (2-0, albeit with victories over Sam Houston and Idaho State) will be followed by a home game against New Mexico (0-1) and the Big Ten opener on the road against Northwestern (0-1).

Was the Bruins’ opener just a bad night against a good team or an omen? We’ll know soon enough.

Joey and Dante watch

Former Bruin Joey Aguilar had a nice game against Syracuse on Saturday.

(Mike Stewart / Associated Press)

Compounding UCLA’s misery was the success that two former Bruins quarterbacks enjoyed in their season openers.

Joey Aguilar, briefly a Bruin in the spring before transferring to Tennessee as part of the so-called trade for Iamaleava, starred in his Volunteers debut. Joey Football, as he’s been known since his gunslinger days at Appalachian State, looked like a gamer Saturday during Tennessee’s 45-26 victory over Syracuse, throwing for 247 yards and three touchdowns.

Dante Moore, who looked so spectacular early in the 2023 season at UCLA before throwing a pick-six in three consecutive games and losing his starting job to Ethan Garbers on the way to the transfer portal, returned to a starring role during Oregon’s 59-13 victory over Montana State. Moore completed 18 of 23 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.

It’s important to note that Aguilar and Moore thrived against far lesser competition than Iamaleava faced in the Utes, a possible College Football Playoff contender. Iamaleava also projects as the best of the bunch in terms of NFL upside and could eventually lead UCLA to a renaissance in what’s likely to be his only season as a Bruin.

Perhaps the overriding takeaway after one week is that Iamaleava doesn’t have nearly the supporting cast that he enjoyed last season at Tennessee. The big question: Can he make something worthwhile out of what he has to work with and will others step up to help him?

New fan loyalty program

Airlines, hotels and even local coffee shops have loyalty programs, so why not college sports?

In an effort to strengthen the connection between UCLA and its fans while generating additional revenue, the Bruins athletic department last week announced the creation of the Blue & Gold Society, a loyalty program in partnership with sports marketing agency Two Circles.

Daniel Cruz, UCLA’s deputy athletic director and chief revenue officer, said he wanted to find a new way to connect with fans both inside and outside of Southern California.

“For our fans in New York or the Midwest,” Cruz told The Times, “how do they get access to different things that are cool and memorable and have that connection to the school and contribute directly to the student-athlete so that we can continue to support them and continue driving this program to winning?”

Fans who join the Blue & Gold Society will have access to limited-edition merchandise, behind-the-the scenes tours and specially curated game-day experiences, among other perks. Among the items that fans could secure are surplus jerseys or maybe a piece of the old Pauley Pavilion floor. Experiences could include getting to watch a select team practice.

The program has three tiers with a corresponding level of benefits. The signature tier (priced at $39.99 per month, or available at a discounted annual price) provides a welcome pack, exclusive video and editorial content, an annual merchandise box, quarterly sweepstakes opportunities and an Olympic sports card good for admission to every UCLA sporting event besides football and men’s basketball.

The premium tier ($59.99 per month) comes with enhanced benefits, including two merchandise boxes per year, two tickets to a UCLA sporting event and behind-the-scenes tour of Pauley Pavilion. Those who splurge for the elite tier ($99.99 per month) will receive four merchandise boxes per year, four tickets to two UCLA sporting events and behind-the-scenes tours of both Pauley Pavilion and the Wasserman Football Center, among other benefits.

UCLA is the third college to launch a fan loyalty program in collaboration with Two Circles, joining Kentucky and Colorado.

“It’s not just going to a game or buying a piece of merchandise; it’s really, truly like an immersive experience for the fan,” said Nick Garner, executive vice president for Two Circles. “We want them to know that by joining the Blue & Gold Society, you will have the opportunity to do something that you couldn’t otherwise.”

Cruz said the venture could be instructive in letting UCLA know where fan strongholds exist outside of Los Angeles.

“It could maybe help one day dictate, like, OK, we have a massive fan base in this state,” Cruz said, “why don’t we try to play a game there or do something special there when we do play a team in that region, so I’m pretty excited about that.”

Heard on campus

Delays in the completion of UCLA’s new football practice fields outside the Wasserman Center, which have forced the Bruins to use Drake Stadium and the intramural fields, were twofold, according to an athletic department spokesperson.

The new grass and artificial turf fields were not completed before the season because of extended approval and bid processes after the project was submitted for campus approval in August 2024. Once construction started in July, the schedule for completion has remained on the expected timeline.

The Bruins could start using their new practice fields as soon as the last week of September. The estimated cost of the project is $2.9 million.

A blue-and-golden anniversary

There was another season debut at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

The UCLA Alumni Band, entering its 50th anniversary, performed before the game to kick off a yearlong celebration.

The band will perform a two-hour concert in the Fan Zone outside the Rose Bowl starting three hours before every home UCLA football game — including a show with the UCLA spirit squad 90 minutes before kickoff — followed by a 30-minute concert in the Court of Champions starting 45 minutes before kickoff. All fans are welcome to attend.

Olympic sport spotlight: Women’s volleyball

The free agency era of college sports could be a great thing for this team.

Coming off a sub-.500 season, the UCLA women’s volleyball team restocked its roster with a bunch of highly coveted transfers. Among the new arrivals are outside hitter Maggie Li, a former Pac-12 Conference freshman of the year at California; Zayna Meyer, a former Big West Conference setter of the year at Long Beach State; middle blocker Phekran Kong, a onetime star at Louisville; and defensive specialist-libero Lola Schumacher, a former All-Big Ten freshman from Wisconsin.

They will join senior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette, a returning first team All-Big Ten selection, in the bid for a breakthrough. UCLA opens the season Monday evening against Long Beach State at the Pyramid in Long Beach.

Opinion time

So, does UCLA’s football team rally immediately against the soft pocket of its schedule — consecutive games against UNLV, New Mexico and Northwestern — or fall further into despair before facing Penn State on Oct. 4 at the Rose Bowl?

The Bruins go 3-0 over their next three games

The Bruins go 2-1 over their next three games

The Bruins go 1-2 over their next three games

The Bruins go 0-3 over their next three games

Click here to vote in our survey.

Poll results

We asked, “How do you see the season playing out for UCLA and its new quarterback?”

The results, after 564 votes:

Iamaleava leads a resurgence to a bowl game, 68.6%

Iamaleava plays well but his team struggles, 16.7%

Iamaleava leads UCLA to the CFP, 7.6%

Iamaleava struggles for a losing team, 7.1%

In case you missed it

Plaschke: DeShaun Foster drags the Bruins into another embarrassment

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Julian Sayin had a 40-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate early in the fourth quarter, Ohio State’s defense got a couple key stops in the red zone and the third-ranked Buckeyes opened their season with a 14-7 victory over top-ranked Texas on Saturday.

It was the fourth time the AP’s No. 1 team in the preseason poll has met the previous season’s national champion in the opener. The defending champ has won the last three.

Arch Manning completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown with an interception for the Longhorns.

Texas was one of five on fourth down, including being stopped twice in the red zone. The Longhorns were driving for a tying touchdown late in the game but Jack Endries was stopped by Caleb Downs on yard short of a first down to end hopes of a comeback.

Sayin was 13 of 20 passing for 126 yards. His best pass of the day came with 13:08 remaining in the game, when Tate beat Texas cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau for the long score. Tate juggled the ball before pulling it down in the end zone to put the Buckeyes up by two touchdowns.

CJ Donaldson opened the scoring midway through the second quarter on a one-yard run up the middle to cap a 13-play, 87-yard drive that took eight minutes off the clock. The Buckeyes benefitted from a pair of penalties, including a face-mask call on Colin Simmons that wiped out an incomplete pass on third and four.

Texas finally got points with 3:28 remaining in the fourth quarter when Manning connected with Parker Livingstone on a 32-yard touchdown.

The Longhorns defense forced a three-and-out, giving Texas a chance to tie.

at No. 12 Illinois 52, Western Illinois 3: Hank Beatty returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown and broke Red Grange’s nearly 102-year-old Illinois record for yards on punt returns in the Illini’s rout Friday night to open the season.

Beatty had four returns for 133 yards to break Grange’s mark of 125 set against Nebraska on Oct. 6, 1923. The third-quarter TD return was the Illini’s first since D’Angelo Bailey did it against Ohio State in 2013.

at No. 20 Indiana 27, Old Dominion 14: Fernando Mendoza scored on a five-yard run in his debut as Indiana’s quarterback and Jonathan Brady returned a punt 91 yards for a score. Mendoza, the starter at California last season, finished 18-of-31 passing for 193 yards and ran six times for 34 yards. His TD run late in the first half gave the Hoosiers a 17-7 lead.

Indiana’s 309-yard rushing attack was led by Maryland transfer Roman Hemby, who had 23 carries for 110 yards. Kaelon Black added 92 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Indiana won its ninth straight home game to improve to 9-0 at Memorial Stadium under second-year coach Curt Cignetti.

Old Dominion started fast, with quarterback Colton Joseph faking out the Hoosiers’ defense on the first offensive play of the game and sprinting 75 yards for a TD, and the Monarchs controlled most of the first quarter. Brady’s punt return tied the game with nine seconds left in the quarter.

Joseph added a 78-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter that got ODU within 27-14. He finished with a career-high 179 yards rushing on 10 carries and completed 11 of 22 through the air for 96 yards with three interceptions.

at No. 24 Tennessee 45, Syracuse 26: Joey Aguilar completed 16 of 29 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns. He threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Staley in the second quarter and found Star Thomas for a seven-yard score in the third. He also helped close out the win when he passed to Miles Kitselman for a two-yard TD in the fourth.

Star Thomas had 92 yards on 12 carries for Tennessee, which opened a 38-14 lead in the third. DeSean Bishop and Peyton Lewis each rushed for a TD. Tennessee (1-0) rolled to 493 yards of offense, compared to 377 for Syracuse (0-1).

Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli was 23-of-40 passing for 247 yards and a touchdown in his first start with the Orange. He also had a pass intercepted and was sacked five times.

Notes

The Barry Odom coaching era at Purdue got off to a fast start in a 31-0 rout of Ball State when the Boilermakers scored in the first 40 seconds on a 49-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Browne to Arhmad Branch. … BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff passed for a touchdown and added a 69-yard scoring run in his Tulane debut, and the Green Wave rolled to a 23-3 victory over Northwestern. … Matthew Schecklman threw four touchdown passes and Northern Iowa defeated Butler 38-14 in a season opener to give Todd Stepsis a win in his debut as the Panthers’ head coach. … Evan Simon set a career high with six touchdown passes and Temple snapped an FBS-worst 20-game road losing streak in a 42-10 season-opening win over UMass.

When Bitcoin was created in 2009, it was seen as nothing more than a niche internet experiment. There are plenty of stories about people using the cryptocurrency to buy items like pizza, gift cards, or coffee (a decision they likely rue now).

But as Bitcoin became more popular, many other cryptocurrencies emerged. Some of these have legitimate use cases, and some can be viewed as nothing but a quick cash grab from their creators and early insiders. One cryptocurrency that falls into the former category is XRP (XRP 3.48%).

XRP is a cryptocurrency that enables fast and cheap cross-border payments, and it has had a great run over the past 12 months, up over 390%. That’s over five times the returns of Bitcoin and Ethereum in that span. The recent rally may have investors thinking they missed the wave, but there’s one big reason why there’s still time to hop on the boat.

Image source: Getty Images.

Cross-border payments are becoming more frequent

Sending money from one country to another has traditionally been expensive because of the reliance on banks (and pre-funded accounts) and high intermediary fees. However, with the introduction of XRP and other nontraditional sources, these transactions are increasingly becoming cheaper and more frequent.

According to Allied Market Research, the global cross-border payments market was around $206 trillion at the end of 2024. By 2034, it’s expected to be around $414 trillion. This is great news for XRP because it feeds right into its main use case of being a bridge currency to facilitate these transactions.

What traditionally could cost someone 5% to 7% of the transfer amount , XRP is able to do it for fractions of a cent and much faster. If XRP can capture even a small fraction of the cross-border payment flow, it can be a good investment for some time. 

Tributes have poured in to a “beautiful” 21-year-old woman killed in a horror, late-night crash outside a shopping centre.

Emergency services raced to Brassington Avenue in Sutton Coldfield on Friday night, after two women were struck by a car.

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One victim was sadly pronounced dead at the scene shortly after midnight – despite the efforts of medics.

Although her full name hasn’t been released, the victim has been named locally as Natasha.

The other woman survived, though sustained a leg injury.

Meanwhile, two men were arrested by police on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

One suspect was released with no further action while the other was bailed with conditions while detectives continue to investigate.

A heartbreaking 25ft (7m) long shrine – featuring hundreds of tributes and flowers – has since appeared at the scene of the tragic smash.

One poignant note from her parents reads: “I hope you know how much you were loved. You will never know how much you are missed.

“Keep dancing my beautiful little girl. Love you forever, Mom, Dad, Georgia and Milo Xxxxxxxx woof lick.”

Another from her sister says: “Sis, Totally hilarious, kind and witty. You are one in a million. Party hard up there girly.

“We will love you and miss you forever. Until we meet again, G.”

Another bouquet along the makeshift shrine, which also features dozens of photos of Natasha, added: “Beautiful inside and out. You will never be forgotten.”

One particularly poignant note from one of Natasha’s friends read: “My beautiful Tash, you were the best friend I could have ever wished for.

“You were so funny, caring and crazy. I’m so incredibly grateful for our time together. You changed my life.

“I will never ever forget you. I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

One tribute from her uncle and auntie, read: “To our darling Tish, we are broken. You will be with us forever.”

Officers from West Midlands Police are still appealing for any witnesses who may have seen the collision outside Gracechurch shopping centre to come forward.

Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes, from the force’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “I would like to thank all those who have contacted us so far and all those that went to the aid of the two young women on the night.

“Our investigation is continuing, and we would particularly like to hear from anyone who saw the car involved, a silver Toyota Corolla immediately before the collision happened.

“If you have any CCTV from the surrounding area, you should get in touch with us to share what you know.

“This was a heartbreaking incident which has robbed a young woman of her life.

“Our officers are working with her family, who remain in our thoughts at this desperately sad time, and I would ask that their privacy is respected”.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting log number 5911 of August 22 or email detectives directly at [email protected].

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A WOMAN has been raped in a horrific late-night attack close to a popular park.

Police launched an investigation after receiving a report that a woman had been sexually assaulted late last night in the Burnham Park area of Slough, Berkshire.

Thames Valley Police said the victim was attacked at some time between between 11.45pm yesterday and 12.30am today.

She is being supported by specially trained officers, cops confirmed.

Superintendent Clare Knibbs said the force was now hunting for the attacker as it “carries out a thorough investigation“.

She said no arrests have been made at this time but that officers were “following a number of enquiries”.

Supt Knibbs added that the force was working with the victim to gather further information.

She said: “We would ask anyone who was in the park or anyone who has further information to please come forward and call 101 quoting reference 43250434481.

“Additional reassurance patrols will be conducted in the Burnham Park area.”

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