USC dismisses Chad Baker-Mazara<\/p>\n
From Ryan Kartje<\/a>: On the doorstep of a pivotal, final week and with its season in serious danger of unraveling, USC<\/a> basketball\u2019s leading scorer has been dismissed from the program.<\/p>\n The school announced Sunday that sixth-year senior guard Chad Baker-Mazara<\/a> was no longer a member of the team. USC didn\u2019t immediately offer a reason for his departure, but a person familiar with the situation not authorized to speak publicly told The Times that it was not one incident but an accumulation of issues that led to his exit.<\/p>\n Baker-Mazara left Saturday\u2019s loss to Nebraska<\/a> a few minutes into the second half after he chased down a lay-in and fell hard on the court. USC coach Eric Musselman<\/a> said after the game that Baker-Mazara told coaches he was unable to return. He spent the rest of the game in a folding chair on the baseline.<\/p>\n Less than a day later, Baker-Mazara was on his way out, leaving the Trojans without one of their most dynamic scorers as they enter a do-or-die stretch of their schedule.<\/p>\n Losers of their last five games, USC has just more games left in the regular season to improve its tournament resume. And the Trojans still need plenty of help to find a place in the NCAA tournament.<\/p>\n Continue reading here<\/a> <\/p>\n UCLA women rout USC<\/p>\n From Steve Galluzzo: Sunday was \u201cSenior Night\u201d for the USC<\/a> women\u2019s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team\u2019s seniors who stole the show.<\/p>\n Gabriela Jaquez<\/a> scored 14 points, Kiki Rice<\/a> had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts<\/a> had 15 rebounds and five assists as UCLA<\/a> wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.<\/p>\n Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are two elite programs, we knew it would be different tonight, we knew they\u2019d come with fire,\u201d said UCLA coach Cori Close, who improved to 9-4 against the Trojans since counterpart Lindsay Gottlieb started at USC in 2021. \u201cWe knew we\u2019d have to do it with our defense, our rebounding and by taking care of the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n Continue reading here<\/a> <\/p>\n Keep fighting on: USC shows Lindsay Gottlieb something \u2018special\u2019 in loss to UCLA<\/a> <\/p>\n UCLA-USC box score<\/a> <\/p>\n Big Ten standings<\/a> <\/p>\n Lakers defeat Sacramento<\/p>\n From Broderick Turner<\/a>: The search for sustained consistency remained a focus for the Lakers<\/a> on Sunday against a Sacramento Kings team with the NBA\u2019s worst record.<\/p>\n And it helped that the Lakers were completely healthy against the Kings, something that has eluded them nearly all season.<\/p>\n Behind strong efforts from Luka Doncic<\/a> and LeBron James<\/a>, the Lakers defeated the struggling Kings 128-104<\/a> at Crypto.com Arena in their second straight blowout win.<\/p>\n Doncic, one of five Lakers to score in double figures, scored 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting. He made four three-pointers and had nine assists and five rebounds.<\/p>\n James, who played after initially being listed as questionable because of arthritis in his left foot, scored 24 points in 27 minutes on eight-for-15 shooting. He made a trio of threes and had five assists.<\/p>\n Continue reading here<\/a> <\/p>\n Lakers box score<\/a> <\/p>\n NBA standings<\/a> <\/p>\n Clippers defeat Pelicans<\/p>\n Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points and the Clippers<\/a> beat the New Orleans Pelicans 137-117 on Sunday<\/a> night to end a three-game losing streak.<\/p>\n Ninth in the Western Conference, the Clippers improved to 28-31<\/a>. The Pelicans are 13th in the West at 19-43.<\/p>\n New Orleans star Zion Williamson sat out after injuring his right ankle at Utah on Saturday night. He had played a career-high 35 straight games.<\/p>\n The Clippers never trailed. They led 43-32 after the first quarter and had a 76-70 advantage at the half. It was 107-94 after three, and the Clippers stretched the margin to 26 in the fourth.<\/p>\n Continue reading here<\/a> <\/p>\n Clippers box score<\/a> <\/p>\n NBA standings<\/a> <\/p>\n Kings fire their coach<\/p>\n From Kevin Baxter<\/a>: The Kings<\/a> fired coach Jim Hiller<\/a> on Sunday amid ongoing struggles that have put the team\u2019s playoff hopes in a perilous spot.<\/p>\n The Kings named<\/a> associate coach D.J. Smith the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Smith was the Ottawa Senators\u2019 head coach for four and a half seasons from 2019 to 2023. He went 131-154-32 in Ottawa before being fired in December 2023.<\/p>\n Kings player development coach Matt Greene will serve as an assistant coach under Smith, the team said.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to thank Jim Hiller for his dedication, professionalism, and the commitment he showed to our players and our team every day. He is a respected coach and person, and we appreciate the work he\u2019s done behind our bench,\u201d Kings general manager Ken Holland said in a statement. \u201cAt this point in the season, we believe a change in leadership is necessary to give our group the best opportunity to reach its potential and compete at the level we expect. These decisions are never made lightly, but our responsibility is to position this team for success now and moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Continue reading here<\/a> <\/p>\n Ducks win in shootout<\/p>\n Cutter Gauthier<\/a> scored twice in regulation, Leo Carlsson<\/a> and Mason McTavish<\/a> both converted in the shootout, and the Ducks<\/a> beat the Calgary Flames 3-2<\/a> on Sunday.<\/p>\n Lukas Dostal made 32 saves and denied Matvei Gridin on the final shot of the tiebreaker to seal Anaheim\u2019s eighth straight win at home. The Ducks improved to 14-3 in games that have gone beyond regulation.<\/p>\n McTavish slid the puck through Devin Cooley\u2019s legs for the shootout winner. Joel Farabee and Yegor Sharangovich scored for the Flames in regulation, and Cooley stopped 34 shots.<\/p>\n Continue reading here<\/a> <\/p>\n Ducks summary<\/a> <\/p>\n NHL standings<\/a> <\/p>\n Jackson Ferris is very happy to be a Dodger<\/p>\n From Jack Vita<\/a>: The way the Dodgers<\/a> have spent money in recent years, one area that often gets overlooked is their ability to draft, trade for and develop prospects.<\/p>\n The Dodgers boast five prospects in MLB Pipeline\u2019s Top 100<\/a> rankings, tied for third-most among teams. The group includes four outfielders \u2014 Josue De Paula (No. 15), Zyhir Hope (No. 27), Eduardo Quintero (No. 30) and Mike Sirota (No. 60) \u2014 in the top 60. Two of those prospects, De Paula and Quintero, were international signings, and the other two, Hope and Sirota, were acquired via trade.<\/p>\n Sirota came over in last year\u2019s trade that sent Gavin Lux to the Cincinnati Reds<\/a>. A year earlier, the club acquired Hope and promising young pitcher Jackson Ferris from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for infielder Michael Busch and right-hander Yency Almonte, who recently returned to the Dodgers on a minor league contract.<\/p>\n Ferris, who pitched 1-2\/3 scoreless innings in his second Cactus League start Saturday in the Dodgers\u2019 7-6 split-squad loss to the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium, noticed the contrast going from the Cubs to the Dodgers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was different,\u201d Ferris said last month at his locker at Camelback Ranch. \u201cIt was honestly a breath of fresh air. Getting to know these coaches, they just understand exactly what they wanted for me and how they were going to go about it.<\/p>\n Continue reading here<\/a> <\/p>\n Shaikin: In L.A. and in Cooperstown, Freddie Freeman will forever be a Dodger, not a Brave<\/a> <\/p>\n Rams have a lot of cap space<\/p>\n From Gary Klein<\/a>: NFL success is not predictably linear.<\/p>\n Just because the Rams<\/a>\u2019 last three seasons ended \u2014 in order \u2014 in the NFC wild-card round, the divisional round and conference championship game does not mean coach Sean McVay<\/a> and his 2026 team are guaranteed to advance to Super Bowl LXI<\/a>, which will be played at SoFi Stadium.<\/p>\n But with veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford<\/a> back and several recent draft classes producing emerging stars, the Rams will be among the favorites to make their third Super Bowl appearance under McVay.<\/p>\n Especially if they score big again in the free agency and the draft.<\/p>\n The NFL set the salary cap<\/a> Friday at $301.2 million, an increase of $22 million from 2025. The Rams have $41.6 million in cap space, according to Overthecap.com<\/a>, eighth-most among 32 teams.<\/p>\n Teams cannot sign unrestricted free agents until 1 p.m. PDT on March 11, but agents and players can negotiate with teams beginning March 9 at 9 a.m. PDT.<\/p>\n Here are five questions facing the Rams as they prepare for free agency and the draft:<\/p>\n Continue reading here<\/a> <\/p>\n Iran might not play in World Cup<\/p>\n The president of Iran\u2019s soccer federation says he does not know if the national team can play World Cup matches in the United States following the surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment of his country.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,\u201d Mehdi Taj told sports portal Varzesh3 as Iran traded strikes with Israel as part of a widening war prompted by the bombardment.<\/p>\n The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran continued for a second day on Sunday after the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threw the future of the Islamic Republic into uncertainty and raised the risk of regional instability.<\/p>\n Continue reading here<\/a> <\/p>\n This day in sports history<\/p>\n 1918 \u2014 Joe Malone is held scoreless in the Montreal Canadiens\u2019 5-3 season-ending loss to the Toronto Arenas, but finishes the first NHL season with a League-high 44 goals in 22 games. The 44 goals remains an NHL record that stands until 1944-45, when Maurice Richard scores 50 goals in 50 games.<\/p>\n 1921 \u2014 Kentucky beats Georgia 20-19 in the Southern Intercollegiate men\u2019s basketball championship game in Atlanta. The 14-team conference does not keep formal regular season standings. It\u2019s college basketball\u2019s first tournament.<\/p>\n 1929 \u2014 The Chicago Blackhawks score a goal to snap their NHL record eight-game scoreless streak. Chicago scores twice to beat the Montreal Maroons 2-1.<\/p>\n 1940 \u2014 Seabiscuit, ridden by Red Pollard, wins the Santa Anita Handicap in his final race. Beaten by a nose in both the 1937 and 1938 Santa Anita Handicaps, Seabiscuit beats Kayak II by 1 1-2 lengths to retire as the leading money-winning horse in the world.<\/p>\n 1951 \u2014 In the first NBA All-Star Game, Ed Macauley of the Celtics scores 20 points to lead the East to a 111-94 victory at Boston Garden.<\/p>\n 1951 \u2014 St. John\u2019s Bob Zawoluk scores 65 points to lead the Redmen to a 105-61 rout of St. Peters. It\u2019s the first time in its 43-year history that St. John\u2019s scores over 100 points in a game.<\/p>\n 1962 \u2014 Wilt Chamberlain scores an NBA-record 100 points to lead the Philadelphia Warriors to a 169-147 triumph over the New York Knicks. Chamberlain scores 59 second-half points and 28 points from the free-throw line for records.<\/p>\n 1966 \u2014 Chicago\u2019s Bobby Hull becomes the first NHL player to have two 50-goal seasons when he scores a third-period goal in the Blackhawks\u2019 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.<\/p>\n 1969 \u2014 Boston\u2019s Phil Esposito becomes the first NHL player to score 100 points in a season, scoring a goal in the Bruins\u2019 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.<\/p>\n 1991 \u2014 Chris Corchiani of North Carolina State becomes first player in NCAA history to hand out 1,000 assists in a career. Corchiani, who has 12 assists in the game, gets the milestone with 1:16 left in the first half on a pass to Rodney Monroe. Wake Forest spoils the day with an 89-84 win.<\/p>\n 1991 \u2014 Del Ballard Jr. throws the most famous gutter ball in PBA Tour history in the finals of the Fair Lanes Open. Ballard, needing seven pins on his last roll to beat Pete Weber, gets none as his ball falls into the gutter. Weber wins 213-207, claiming the $30,000 first prize, while Ballard takes $15,500.<\/p>\n 2011 \u2014 Pittsburgh overcomes a slow start to clinch at least a share of the Big East regular-season championship with a 66-50 win over South Florida. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon sets an NCAA Division I record for most victories in the first eight seasons of a career with 214 \u2014 one more than Everett Case had at North Carolina State and Roy Williams had at Kansas in their first eight years.<\/p>\n 2012 \u2014 Major League Baseball expands its playoff format to 10 teams, adding a second wild-card in each league. The decision establishes a one-game, wild-card round in each league between the teams with the best records who are not division winners.<\/p>\n 2018 \u2014 Kristina Vogel of Germany wins a record-tying 11th women\u2019s world cycling title when she takes the individual sprint at the track world championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. Vogel ties Anna Meares\u2019 record for most women\u2019s world titles.<\/p>\n 2019 \u2014 37-year-old Swiss 20-time Grand Slam tennis champion Roger Federer beats Greece\u2019s Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 to win his 100th ATP Tour title at the Dubai Championships.<\/p>\n 2024 \u2014 LeBron James becomes the first player in NBA history to score 40,000 regular-season points as his Lakers slip to a 124-114 defeat to the Denver Nuggets in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Compiled by the Associated Press<\/p>\n Until next time…<\/p>\n That concludes today\u2019s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you\u2019d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com<\/a>. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"USC dismisses Chad Baker-Mazara From Ryan Kartje: On the doorstep of a pivotal, final week and with its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":200515,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[5167,426,15186,6706,48,52,51,1415,47,50,49,63,100,15185,15188,427,14826,1791,68,15184,15187],"class_list":{"0":"post-200514","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-associated-press","9":"tag-dodgers","10":"tag-jason-preston","11":"tag-kings","12":"tag-la","13":"tag-la-headlines","14":"tag-la-news","15":"tag-lakers","16":"tag-los-angeles","17":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","18":"tag-los-angeles-news","19":"tag-los-angeles-times","20":"tag-news","21":"tag-sandy-alcantara","22":"tag-taylor-fritz","23":"tag-team","24":"tag-teams","25":"tag-times","26":"tag-tuesday","27":"tag-ucla-olympic-sports","28":"tag-wimbledon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}