From Ryan Kartje: A dozen years before he charted a bold, new path for the USC football program, Chad Bowden was living on the pull-out couch of a cramped studio apartment in Hollywood with no clue where his life was headed.
Bowden couldn’t have dreamed up the role he’d one day occupy a few miles down the street at USC, where as the Trojans football general manager, Bowden has infused the program with new energy while putting together the top recruiting class in America.
So how did Bowden rise from that couch to being held up as one of the most consequential arrivals at USC since Pete Carroll himself?
Bowden thought that he might play college football. A few small schools had offered him opportunities to play linebacker coming out of high school in Cincinnati. But Bowden’s father, former baseball general manager Jim Bowden, didn’t think it was the right move. He worried about how his son would handle the rest of the college experience.
“He felt like it was best for me, from a maturity standpoint, to go right into working,” Bowden says.
Which is what led him to the tiny apartment off Highland Avenue. He split the place with Jac Collinsworth, his close high school friend, the two of them packed like sardines into a single room that doubled as the kitchen and dining space. Neither seemed to mind the close quarters. Everything became a competition, with each of them pushing the other.
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From Ben Bolch: Nico Iamaleava is the rare commuter enjoying his time on the 405 these days.
Every pump of the brakes, every maddening mile in traffic that can be more stop than go, puts him closer to hearing his dad’s voice and seeing his mom’s smile.
These are the visits that can fill a young man’s heart, not to mention his belly. During a recent trip home, the UCLA quarterback savored the family recipe of pisupo, a Samoan dish consisting of corned beef with rice.
“I’ve been getting a lot of home-cooked meals from mom and just having them. You know, an hour away has been fun, man,” Iamaleva told The Times after practice Wednesday. “You know, I’ll go to Long Beach as much as I can. But, you know, during this week, I’ve been locked in with the game plan and stuff like that.”
As he spoke, Iamaleava’s hair was tied back with a pink elastic band reading “Team Leinna.” Two years ago, Nico established a foundation to support breast cancer research and awareness after his mom, Leinna, recovered from Stage IV breast cancer.
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: Thursday might be an off-day for the Dodgers.
But for their most intriguing recent draft pick, it’s also the opening day of a different kind of season.
In the 17th round of last month’s MLB draft, the Dodgers took a flier on University of Missouri pitcher Sam Horn, a 6-foot-4 right-hander with a big fastball, a promising slider and an athletic, projectable build.
Like most late-round prospects hoping to become a diamond in the rough, Horn came with questions. He pitched just 15 innings in his college career after undergoing Tommy John surgery as a sophomore. His limited body of work led to a wide range of scouting opinions.
In Horn’s case, however, the biggest unknowns had nothing to do with his potential as a pitcher.
Because, starting Thursday night, he will also be under center as quarterback for Missouri’s football team.
Shaikin: How Shohei Ohtani turned the Dodgers into a global entertainment gateway
RAMS
Rams linebacker Jared Verse shows off the team’s new uniforms.
(Los Angeles Rams)
From Gary Klein: Nothing, it seems, commands the attention of Rams fans more than the team’s uniforms.
And on Thursday, the Rams revealed a new “Midnight Mode” uniform part of the NFL’s Rivalries program.
The “near black” ensemble and helmet was designed by Nike and the Rams based on the ethos that “We work hard all night to earn the spotlight,” said Kathryn Kai-ling Frederick, the Rams’ chief marketing officer.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1885 — John L. Sullivan wins the first world heavyweight title under the Marquess of Queensbury rules when he beats Dominic McCaffrey in six rounds. The fight features 3-ounce gloves and 3-minute rounds.
1952 — Dr. Reginald Weir becomes the first Black man to compete in the U.S. Tennis Championships. Weir appears two years after Althea Gibson breaks the color barrier in the tournament and loses in four sets to William Stucki.
1962 — A.C.’s Viking, driven by Sanders Russell, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in straight heats.
1968 — Open tennis begins at the U.S. Tennis Championships. Billie Jean King wins the first stadium match at the U.S. Open and amateurs Ray Moore and Jim Osborne have upset wins over professionals. Moore beats No. 10 Andres Gimeno and Osborne defeats Barry MacKay, each in four sets.
1974 — Nineteen-year-old high school basketball star Moses Malone, signs a contract with the Utah Stars of the ABA to become the first player to go directly from high school into major pro basketball.
1978 — The USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. opens. Bjorn Borg beats Bob Hewitt in the first match 6-0, 6-2 in the best-of-three sets.
1987 — Charlie Whittingham becomes the first trainer to surpass 500 stakes wins when he sent Ferdinand to victory in the Cabrillo Handicap at Del Mar Racetrack.
1993 — Laffit Pincay Jr. wins the 8,000th race of his career aboard El Toreo in the seventh race at Del Mar racetrack to become the second thoroughbred jockey to ride 8,000 winners.
1993 — Brandie Burton’s 20-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff edges Betsy King for the du Maurier Classic title, the LPGA tour’s final major of the season.
2005 — Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova becomes the first U.S. Open defending women’s champion to fall in the first round, losing 6-3, 6-2 to fellow Russian Ekaterina Bychkova on the first day of the U.S. Open.
2011 — Petra Kvitova becomes the first defending Wimbledon champion to lose in the first round at the U.S. Open, 7-6, 6-3 to Alexandra Dulgheru.
2013 — The NFL agrees to pay $765 million to settle lawsuits from thousands of former players who developed dementia or other concussion-related health problems they say were caused by the on-field violence. The settlement, unprecedented in sports, applies to all past NFL players and spouses of those who are deceased.
2015 — Usain Bolt anchors Jamaica to a fourth successive men’s 4×100-meter title and adds to his record-breaking personal haul of IAAF World Championships gold medals to 11.
2018 — Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers signs NFL record contract extension with the Green Bay Packers; 4 years worth $134m rising to a possible $180m with a record $103m in guarantees.
2018 — Wanheng Menayothin surpasses Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s 50-0 record, beating Pedro Taduran in a unanimous decision to improve to 51-0. The 32-year-old Menayothin (51-0, 18 KOs) won his 10th successful title defense of his WBC minimumweight belt that he won in November 2014.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1918 — The Chicago Cubs, behind the pitching of Lefty Tyler, clinched the National League pennant with a 1-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
1934 — The Philadelphia A’s ended Schoolboy Rowe’s 16-game winning streak with a 13-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
1948 — Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers hit for the cycle in a 12-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Robinson drove in two runs, scored three runs and stole a base.
1965 — San Francisco’s Willie Mays broke Ralph Kiner’s National League record with his 17th home run of the month in an 8-3 triumph over the New York Mets. Kiner had 16 homers in September of 1949. Mays hit a tape measure shot off Jack Fisher.
1967 — Bert Campaneris of the Kansas City A’s hit three triples in a 9-8, 10-inning loss to the Cleveland Indians. Campaneris was the first to have three triples in a game since Ben Chapman in 1939.
1971 — Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves knocked in his 100th run of the season, giving him the National League record of 11 seasons with 100 or more RBIs.
1977 — Lou Brock of St. Louis stole base No. 893, breaking Ty Cobb’s modern record for career stolen bases. The Cardinals lost to the San Diego Padres 4-3.
1977— Cleveland’s Duane Kuiper hit a one-out solo home run in the first inning off Chicago’s Steve Stone at Municipal Stadium. It was Kuiper’s only homer in 3,379 career at-bats — the fewest homers in most at-bats for any player in MLB history.
1985 — Don Baylor of the New York Yankees set an American League record when he was hit by a pitch for the 190th time in his career. Baylor was struck by Angels pitcher Kirk McCaskill in the first inning, breaking the old mark of 189 set by Minnie Minoso.
1991 — Carlton Fisk of the Chicago White Sox hit two homers to become the oldest player in the 20th century to accomplish the mark. He’ll top this by hitting two homers on October 3. Jack McDowell went the distance to beat Cleveland 7-2.
1993 — George Brett recorded his 200th stolen base in Kansas City’s 5-4, 12-inning victory over Boston to join Willie Mays and Hank Aaron as the only players with 3,000 hits, 300 homers and 200 steals.
1998 — Toms River, N.J., wins its first Little League World Series with a 12-9 victory over Kashima, Japan. Chris Cardone hits home runs in consecutive at-bats — including the game-deciding two-run shot.
2000 — Darin Erstad went 3-for-5 to reach 200 hits faster than any player (132 games) in 65 years as the Angels defeated Toronto 9-4. Ducky Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals did it in 131 games in 1935.
2002 — Mark Bellhorn became the first player in NL history to hit a home run in the same inning from both sides of the plate, in the fourth of the Chicago Cubs’ 13-10 win over Milwaukee.
2004 — Albert Pujols hit his 40th home run and reached 100 RBIs for the fourth straight season to help St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 4-0. He’s the fourth player to start his major league career with four straight seasons with at least 100 RBIs, joining Hall of Famers Al Simmons, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams.
2010 — Brian McCann hit a game-winning homer with help from video replay, giving the Atlanta Braves a stunning 7-6 victory over the Florida Marlins. It was the first time a game ended using a video review.
2018 — Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich went 6 for 6 and hit for the cycle and Jesus Aguilar homered in the 10th inning, powering the Brewers to a 13-12 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The Brewers had a season-high 22 hits and rallied to take the lead four different times.
2021 — Taylor, Michigan wins the Little League World Series with a win over Hamilton, Ohio.
2022 — Aaron Judge of the Yankees hit home run #50 of the season, to stay just ahead of the pace set by Roger Maris when he hit 61 homers to set the team and American League record in 1961.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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