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LOS ANGELES — Something about this specific game, this specific opponent, just gets Dennis Bouanga going. Maybe it’s genuine hate. Maybe it’s a friendly rivalry. Maybe the MLS All-Star is just a star in any game he plays. But the yellow card he received after the final whistle — furious with officials following LAFC’s 97th-minute collapse to the Galaxy —suggested a visceral kind of investment. Likely hate. Whatever it is, in “El Tráfico”, against his rival of most abhorrence, LAFC’s star striker always shows. Saturday was no different as he bagged a two-goal brace in LAFC’s 3-3 draw against LA…
NEW ORLEANS — Max Holloway said he wanted to play spoiler and he did it Saturday night in the main event. Holloway defeated Dustin Poirier in a unanimous decision to retain the UFC BMF Championship in UFC 318 at the Smoothie King Center. The win for Holloway is the first in three fights against Poirier, who beat him in 2012 and 2019. Holloway (28-8) retained his BMF title after landing 98 more strikes (201-109) and landing 53% of his significant strikes. Fighting against a partisan Louisiana crowd for the native son Poirier in his retirement match, Holloway was the quicker…
LOS ANGELES — So much for solidarity. On a night when the city convened its 26th El Tráfico – a rivalry built on the intense nature between L.A. Galaxy and Los Angeles Football Club supporters – pre-match festivities revolved more about what brings Angelenos together than tears them apart. Then they played the game. Following another classic on the long list of frantic affairs between the Major League Soccer powers, a stoppage-time goal by the visiting captain, center back Maya Yoshida, culminated in a 3-3 draw that won’t soon be forgotten. The Galaxy rallied from 2-0 and 3-1 down, splitting…
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers aren’t the hottest team in baseball these days. But they can take some credit for the team that is. The Dodgers’ offense lurched back to life Saturday afternoon but it wasn’t enough against their new overlords. The Milwaukee Brewers handed them an 8-7 defeat. The Brewers have won nine games in a row, surging into the rear-view mirror of the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs. And the Dodgers have been co-conspirators. Five of the Brewers’ nine wins have come against the Dodgers. A lack of offense has been the biggest issue dragging the Dodgers down this…
EL SEGUNDO — How low can they go? Last season, the Chargers gave up a puny average of 17.7 points per game, best in the NFL. They won 11 games during Jesse Minter’s first season as their defensive coordinator after joining forces with Coach Jim Harbaugh in his return to the NFL, thanks in large part to their stingy defense. Many of the pillars of their successful 2024 season returned to the practice field when training camp began Thursday, including outside linebackers Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu, inside linebacker Daiyan Henley and defensive backs Derwin James Jr., Alohi Gilman and…
LOS ANGELES — For the first time since 2015, Mookie Betts wasn’t chosen for this week’s All-Star Game. That four-day break spent with family in Nashville wasn’t enough to turn around the worst offensive season of his career in the estimation of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. After watching Betts go 0 for 4 with two strikeouts, two weak groundouts and multiple swings at pitches out of the strike zone, Roberts decided Betts needed more downtime. He benched Betts, leaving him out of the lineup Saturday. Roberts said Betts will probably be back in the lineup Sunday but he wouldn’t guarantee…
PHILADELPHIA — Angels relievers Sam Bachman and José Fermin are still trying to find the control to match their stuff. Their inability to find the strike zone was mostly responsible for the combined meltdown that led to a five-run sixth inning in the Angels’ 9-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night. The Angels had a two-run lead after Yusei Kikuchi was pulled, following a 91-pitch outing that included 33 pitches just to get through the fifth. Bachman, a 25-year-old who had pitched 24 previous big league games, retired just one of the four hitters he faced in the…
By JAIMIE DING and HALLIE GOLDEN A woman who almost served as a surrogate for an Arcadia couple now under investigation by authorities said she backed out after the couple asked her if any of her friends would like to carry a child for them too. The request as well as conflicting information she was getting left the woman, Esperanza, unnerved and she decided not to sign a surrogacy contract with Silvia Zhang, who offered her $60,000. Esperanza spoke to The Associated Press on the condition that her last name not be used because she has not shared her surrogacy experience…
The Rams agreed to terms on a contract with rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson on Saturday, the team announced, ending the possibility of training camp opening without the team reaching a deal with its top draft pick this spring. The standard four-year deal, worth $9,713,466, includes $8,046,753 in guaranteed money, according to ESPN. Taken in the second round in April’s NFL draft, Ferguson was the 46th overall pick out of Oregon. He was the last member of the Rams’ draft class who had not signed his rookie contract, raising concerns about a potential holdout during training camp despite Ferguson’s participation…
PHILADELPHIA — Logan O’Hoppe believes one of the keys to doing more at the plate is trying not to do so much. It’s a common notion among athletes in many sports, and one that O’Hoppe is trying to embrace as he looks to get his season turned back in the right direction. “Looking at video when I’m going good and realizing that I don’t have to swing hard to hit the ball far,” O’Hoppe said Saturday. “I think the harder I swing, the more flat my path gets. To be honest with you, the slower my bat is too, because…