The Los Angeles Dodgers are back in LA to face the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series. The wier of the best-of-seven series will move on to the World Series. • Related: Dodgers going against their history and the Cubs’ in NLCS If you want an insiders view of games three, four and five, follow us on Snapchat. The games won’t start until 5:08 each night but we’ll be snapping from batting practice to the post-game locker room interviews. Add us by opening the Snapchat app and searching for ladailynews or by pointing your camera over our ghost in the above image. If you’re reading this article on your phone, click this link to add us. If you’re new to Snapchat, here’s a handy tutorial with everything you need to know about using the app. Advertisement

LOS ANGELES >> Fourteen years ago, when Joe Maddon was the Angels bench coach, his team handed the ball for Game 7 of the World Series to an untested rookie named John Lackey. On Wednesday, as manager of the Chicago Cubs, Maddon will hand the ball for Game 4 of the National League Championship Series to a wily old veteran named … John Lackey. And, to hear Maddon tell it, there is little difference. “He hasn’t changed at all,” Maddon said. “He’s in better shape. That’s my answer. He’s actually in physically better shape than he was. Check out the pictures from 2002 compared to how he looks now.” Aside from having a little more youthful fat back then, Lackey has the same repertoire then as now, despite 14 years and one Tommy John surgery in between. Lackey has a slider and a changeup, which has improved, but Maddon said he’s still essentially a guy who lives with a 92-94 mph fastball. “He’s a cowboy when he pitches,” Maddon said. “He goes right after th

SAN DIEGO >> More than 40 family and friends will greet Luke Walton in his native city. They will see the same man that helped University High of San Diego win a state title his senior year patrol the Lakers’ sideline. They will see whether Walton can guide the Lakers (2-4) to an upset victory against his former employer in the Golden State Warriors (4-1) tonight at Valley View Casino Center. And they will see a statue unveiling of Walton’s Hall-of-Fame father (Bill). Though Walton admitted “it’s always special to go home,” he described his retu as “more of a business trip” for reasons beyond already visiting there as a former NBA player and Golden State assistant. Arena officials stressed to the Lakers not to worry about a slippery floor, which ended last year’s exhibition between the Lakers and Warriors during the third quarter. But Walton still sounded aoyed by the ordeal. “It’s a week before the regular season and we’ve got our All-Stars sliding on

Michigan moved up to No. 3 in The Associated Press college football poll, right behind No. 2 Ohio State, to give the Big Ten rivals their best combined ranking since the 2006 season, when they played the only 1-vs.-2 game in the series. Alabama remained No. 1 on Sunday with a season-high 60 first-place votes. The Buckeyes stayed No. 2 after an overtime victory against Wisconsin, which fell two spots to 10th. The Wolverines moved up in an off week with Clemson slipping to fourth. The Tigers had their own overtime escape at home against North Carolina State. Michigan has its best ranking since it was No. 3 after losing to Ohio State in ‘06. No. 5 Washington, No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 7 Louisville held their spots. Ohio State and Michigan are marching toward a regular-season finale on Nov. 26 that could rank among the biggest games in the history of the storied rivalry. Nine times the Buckeyes and Wolverines have played The Game with both ranked in the top five. The 2006 game was the

Galaxy clinch home playoff game with shutout of Houston By The Associated Press HOUSTON >> Alan Gordon scored in the 72nd minute and the Galaxy beat the Houston Dynamo 1-0 on Sunday to clinch a home game in the knockout round of the MLS Cup playoffs. The Galaxy (12-6-15) are locked into the No. 3 seed in the Weste Conference a week ahead of the regular-season finale. Houston (7-14-12) remained in last place in the West. In the buildup to Gordon’s goal, Dynamo goalkeeper Joe Willis made a diving save of Mike Magee’s shot attempt but failed to secure it. David Horst awkwardly attempted to poke the loose ball safely away but Gordon swooped in and blocked it back into the net. Advertisement Click here to subscribe to Digital & Home Delivery - 50% off Please enable JavaScript to view the Idea powered by Disqus.

PLAYA VISTA >> Seeing Chris Paul in ruing shoes and sweatpants before a Clippers practice certainly isn’t good news. And, seeing Paul, the Clippers’ star point guard, standing in ruing shows and sweats with hand wrapped, well that means the news is certainly worse. Luckily for the Clippers, appearances can sometime be deceiving. While Paul didn’t practice Sunday because of his hand injury, he’s not expected to miss any real time. Paul’s officially being called “day-to-day” with a sprained left thumb, an injury he likely would be able to play with if the Clippers were in the regular season. “He’ll play in definitely one of the two (remaining preseason games), and that tells you it’s not that serious,” Doc Rivers said. Paul suffered the injury Saturday, but he was still able to finish practice. He broke a bone in his shooting hand, his right, last postseason, an injury that required surgery and cost him the remainder of his season. The Clippers play in Ut

PULLMAN, WASH. — When quarterback Mike Fafaul went 3 for 11 for 44 yards and two interceptions against Arizona State last, head coach Jim Mora said the quarterback struggled in part because he didn’t get enough help from his teammates and coaches. As the redshirt senior made his first career start on Saturday against Washington State, his teammates on offense didn’t do him many favors at the begiing of the game either. With starting quarterback Josh Rosen (shoulder and hip) sidelined, ruing back Nate Starks was dropped for a 4-yard loss on the first play from scrimmage. Fafaul’s first completed pass was on third-and-12 and picked up a first down, but was called back for a chop block. When he finally got a pass that counted on the stat sheet, receiver Keeth Walker III made a move around a defender and fumbled it. WSU linebacker Peyton Pelluer recovered at the Cougars’ 47-yard line. Freshman punter Austin Kent had a punt that went minus-1 yard as he kicked it almost verti

PULLMAN, WASH. >> Last year, Washington State knocked off UCLA in dramatic fashion in the Rose Bowl, scoring the game-wiing touchdown with three seconds left. Safety Adarius Pickett said he thought the Bruins “owed them one.” When they had to a chance for revenge, the Bruins fell short. Playing without starting quarterback Josh Rosen (shoulder and hip), UCLA couldn’t keep pace with Washington State’s high-powered offense, falling 27-21 in front of a rain-soaked crowd of 29,301 at Martin Stadium. UCLA (3-4, 1-3 Pac-12) is off to its worst conference start in the five-year Jim Mora era. “Kind of the same old story unfortunately,” Mora said. “We couldn’t run the ball, we couldn’t protect the passer.” Backup quarterback Mike Fafaul made his first career start and oversaw an offense that was plagued by the same old issues: a poor ruing game and a suspect offensive line. He led a comeback attempt in the final five minutes, finding Darren Andrews for a 5-yard to

Live blog and chat with USC football writer Scott Wolf during the USC football at Arizona game, Saturday, Oct. 15. Trouble viewing on mobile device? See full stream. USC vs. Arizona When: 12:30 p.m. Saturday Where: Arizona Stadium TV/Radio: FS1; 710 AM Records: USC (3-3) ; Arizona (2-4) Advertisement

Live blog and chat from NLCS Game 1: Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cub, 5:05 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 15. (FS1)

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