From Jack Harris: The now two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers made their first moves of the offseason on Thursday.
The biggest one will ensure will ensure a familiar face is back for their pursuit of a three-peat next year.
The team picked up its $10-million club option for third baseman Max Muncy, according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly, bringing the now longest-tenured member of the roster back for what will be his ninth season in Los Angeles.
The Dodgers also picked up a $3.55-million club option for reliever Alex Vesia (keeping him out of arbitration), according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly. Additionally, they shook up the 40-man roster with a series of maneuvers that included Tony Gonsolin being designated for assignment.
None of the moves were overly surprising, starting with the option the Dodgers exercised at the end of a two-year, $24-million deal Muncy signed in the 2023 offseason.
From Ryan Kartje: The drill is simple. Just a basic throw-and-catch warm-up, called “Pat-and-Go,” that USC and many other football programs do virtually every day. Quarterbacks loosen their arms, while pass catchers get their legs warm, running routes on air. It’s the sort of drill where it’s easy enough to slough off a rep or two. Or to get a little casual, like playing catch in the yard.
But when Makai Lemon lines up during Pat-and-Go, there is nothing casual about what comes next. Every rep is taken seriously, every reception reeled in with intention. The junior has taken thousands of these reps, caught thousands of these passes over three seasons at USC, each filed away as a data point for Lemon to later access.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one he didn’t catch game-like,” USC coach Lincoln Riley says. “Rarely does he ever take a rep that isn’t very intentional.”
It’s a fitting snapshot of the Trojans’ top receiver, one that captures more than just his prowess as a football player. Every action with Lemon is deliberate, every detail accounted for. That singular focus has made him the most reliable receiver in college football and, come April, a surefire first-round NFL draft pick, all while somehow maintaining a strikingly low profile for a pass catcher of his caliber.
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: At her players’ request, Cori Close showed up inside Pauley Pavilion five hours before tipoff. The UCLA women’s basketball coach was joined by her assistants and managers for pregame shooting at 6:30 a.m., so many players filling the court that the sessions had to be staggered.
Three days after a lackluster showing in their season opener, the Bruins felt they had something to prove in their first game at home. The additional work before facing UC Santa Barbara on Thursday reflected their commitment.
“I mean, I never have to coach this team’s work ethic,” Close said. “That is never in question. And so that’s a really fun place to be in.”
The day’s biggest gratification would come later, the third-ranked Bruins resembling an All-Star team at times during an 87-50 rout of the Gauchos that showed glimpses of the firepower they hope to fully unleash by season’s end.
Forward Gabriela Jaquez revealed one of the best long-range shooting displays of her career, making four of seven three-pointers on the way to 21 points. Point guard Kiki Rice was a constant playmaker in her return to the starting lineup while scoring 20 points, grabbing eight rebounds and distributing three assists. Shooting guard Gianna Kneepkens added another dimension to the offense with four more three-pointers and 20 points.
LAKERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The only way that game could have ended was with a free throw.
Thanks to two missed free throws from San Antonio’s Julian Champagnie with 0.2 seconds remaining, the Lakers survived 118-116 Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs in a disjointed game that dragged on for nearly three hours and included 66 total fouls and 84 free throws.
The Lakers (7-2) won their fifth consecutive game, fighting through exhaustion from playing in their third game in four days and a short rotation without guard Austin Reaves. At halftime, players and coaches acknowledged how tired they felt. Coach JJ Redick said when he woke up at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday “it was like a bus had hit me.”
Here are three takeaways from the game:
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CLIPPERS
Jalen Green scored 29 points in his Phoenix debut, Devin Booker added 24 points and the host Suns beat the short-handed Clippers 115-102 on Thursday night.
Green, who missed the Suns’ first eight games with a right hamstring strain, played 23 minutes and was 10 of 20 from the field, including six of 13 from behind the three-point line.
Grayson Allen, playing through an illness, scored 18, Mark Williams had 13 points and nine rebounds and Royce O’Neale scored 17, 11 in the third quarter when Phoenix outscored the Clippers 40-23 to take a 91-74 lead.
The Clippers lost their third straight. They played without James Harden, who missed the game for personal reasons, and Kawhi Leonard, sidelined with a right ankle sprain.
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KINGS
Brad Marchand scored two goals and Sam Reinhart got the go-ahead goal on his 30th birthday in the Florida Panthers’ 5-2 victory over the Kings on Thursday night.
Anton Lundell got a short-handed goal in the third period and Sam Bennett also scored for the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Panthers, who rebounded from a 7-3 loss against the Ducks to get their first victory on their four-game West Coast road trip.
Marchand has scored a goal in three straight games since returning to the Panthers from a one-game absence to travel to Nova Scotia to support a close friend who lost his daughter to cancer last month. The veteran tied the game late in the first period after taking the puck from Anton Forsberg behind Los Angeles’ net, and he added his ninth goal of the season in the third.
DUCKS
Leo Carlsson‘s short-handed goal midway through the third period proved to be the winner as the Ducks rallied to beat the Dallas Stars 7-5 on Thursday night.
Carlsson scored on a slap shot 10:38 into the third period to give the Ducks a 6-4 lead. Troy Terry had an assist on the goal.
Chris Kreider scored twice, Cutter Gauthier, Olen Zellweger, Ian Moore added goals and Mason McTavish added an empty-netter for the Ducks, who’ve won five consecutive games and seven of their last eight. Lukas Dostal finished with 21 saves.
2028 OLYMPICS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: With no permanent structures to build for the 2028 Olympics, LA28 hopes the lasting legacy of the Summer Games will live on in the hearts of Angelenos through one of the largest volunteer programs ever.
The private organizing committee launched registration for an expanded volunteer program on Thursday, allowing potential volunteers to express interest in participating in community events now, helping with the Games in 2028 or both.
LA28 will partner with local organizations and nonprofits for community volunteering events that will begin before the end of 2025. Potential volunteers for the Olympics, which begin on July 14, 2028, and follow with the Paralympics opening on Aug. 15, can also register their interest now, but applications will not open until summer of 2026.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1943 — The Detroit Lions and New York Giants play the last scoreless tie in the NFL.
1968 — Red Berenson scores six goals, including four in the second period, to lead the St. Louis Blues to an 8-0 victory over Philadelphia.
1974 — South Africa is awarded the Davis Cup against India. India refuses to play in the final because of its opponent’s apartheid policy. It’s the first time the final is not played.
1985 — Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, the former middleweight boxer convicted twice of a triple murder in 1966 and the hero of a Bob Dylan song, is released after 19 years in prison. Carter, 48, is freed after a federal judge rules the boxer and a co-defendant were denied their civil rights by prosecutors during trials in 1967 and 1976.
1991 — Magic Johnson, who helped the Lakers to five NBA championships, announces he has tested positive for the AIDS virus and is retiring.
1998 — Awesome Again steals Skip Away’s thunder and the $5.12 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs with a three-quarter length victory over Silver Charm. Skip Away finishes sixth and misses becoming the first horse to earn $10 million.
1999 — Tiger Woods becomes the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win four straight tournaments, capturing the American Express Championship.
2003 — The defending champion U.S. baseball team fails to qualify for the 2004 Athens Olympics, losing to Mexico 2-1 in the quarterfinals of a qualifying tournament in Panama City, Panama.
2008 — Jerry Sloan is the first NBA coach to win 1,000 games with one team when his Utah Jazz beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 104-97. Sloan, 1,000-596 with the Jazz, has an overall coaching record of 1,094-717 with the Jazz and Chicago Bulls.
2009 — Zenyatta comes from last after a poor start and fights off Gio Ponti in the stretch to win the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. The 5-year-old mare, ridden by Mike Smith, beats a loaded field of 11 males and becomes the first female to win the race in its 26-year history.
2010 — Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning starts his 200th consecutive game, a 26-24 loss at Philadelphia. Manning joins Brett Favre as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to start 200 consecutive games.
2016 — Stephen Curry sets an NBA record with 13 three-pointers — one game after missing all his long-range attempts for the first time in two years — and the Golden State Warriors beat the winless New Orleans Pelicans 116-106. Curry finishes with 46 points, three days after his league-record streak of 157 games with at least one three was snapped.
2018 — For the second straight year, France wins the Six Nations Rugby Championship on points difference from Ireland.
2021 — Kyle Larson holds off Martin Trues Jr. in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway to earn his 10th win of the season and claim his first Cup Series championship.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.