LOS ANGELES >> Pete Carroll accomplished many things at USC and one of them was owning November with a 28-1 record. If USC coach Clay Helton wants to tu this season into something more than quarterback Sam Daold’s fantastic freshman season, he needs a November similar to Carroll. It’s not unthinkable with three teams on USC’s remaining schedule (Oregon, UCLA, Notre Dame) currently sporting mediocre 3-5 records. The only tough game appears to be at No. 4-ranked Washington, which is 8-0. This week, USC (5-3, 4-2) is trying hard to ignore the Huskies with Oregon coming to the Coliseum on Saturday. “I haven’t even thought about (playing at Washington),” wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said Tuesday. “I took a visit there and it was pretty cool.” USC’s schedule is upside down. In the past, Oregon would be the huge game and Washington an after thought. But Saturday’s game will be only the second time since 1998 USC has played an Oregon team not ranked in the A

CLEVELAND >> One more game. For everything. Either a 108-year World Series championship drought will come to an end, or another that’s lasted 68 years. Hysteria for one fan base, more heartbreak for the other. Cubs vs. Indians in a wier-take-all Game 7. As it should be. “It’s just correct and apt that we’d go seven games,” Chicago manager Joe Maddon said. Addison Russell hit a grand slam and tied a Series record with six RBIs, and Chicago took advantage of a huge early misplay in Cleveland’s outfield as the Cubs, their offense finally revving, throttled the Indians 9-3 on Tuesday night in Game 6 to push this tense tug-of-war between baseball’s two longest title drought holders to the limit. The biggest, most nerve-wracking day lies ahead. “This is kind of fitting for these two franchises. This is storybook,” Cubs catcher David Ross said. “They’ll make movies about this one day.” Indians ace Corey Kluber, dominant while wiing Games 1 and 4, starts agai

LOS ANGELES >> There were only a handful of seconds remaining in a scoreless first period when Ducks center Ryan Kesler drifted into the left circle to battle Kings counterpart Nic Down for a faceoff in the attacking zone Tuesday at Staples Center. Ducks coach Randy Carlyle substituted Rickard Rakell for Andrew Cogliano just before the puck was dropped, stationing him just to Kesler’s left. Kesler, a wily veteran, tied up Dowd, a first-year player, at the drop of the puck and kicked it behind him to a hard-charging Rakell. With a flick of his wrists, Rakell snapped the puck through the legs of first Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin and then goaltender Peter Budaj for a goal in his season debut after signing a six-season, $22.8-million contract Oct. 14. Soon enough, Rakell and the Ducks were rocketing to a 4-0 victory. “The plan was to shoot it if I got it,” Rakell said of his goal, which came with only 31 seconds left in the first period and set the tone for what was to come d

ARCADIA — Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer’s assistant, Dan Ward, echoed jockey Mike Smith’s sentiments about Songbird drawing the rail for Friday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita. Songbird, the 6-5 moing-line favorite, brings an 11-0 record into the 1 1/8-mile race. She’s 7-0 this year and has won four Grade I stakes in three states. “It’s really not a conce,” Ward said. “She’s drawn the rail three times in the past and you know the result. This is going to be a very tough race, so I look at it as us having the shortest distance home.” Songbird’s three races when starting from the rail? All three resulted in gate-to-wire victories. She won by 6 1/2 lengths in her career debut in July 2015 at Del Mar, won the Grade I Santa Anita Oaks by 3 3/4 lengths over a sloppy track April 9, and scooted home first by 5 1/4 lengths in the Grade I Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga on July 24. Songbird, a 3-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, has won

LOS ANGELES — USC has signed a permission-to-contact letter for quarterback Max Browne, a school spokesman confirmed Tuesday. It was first reported by Scout.com. The paperwork allows for other schools to contact Browne to discuss transferring. Browne, a redshirt junior, remains with the team. He began this season as the Trojans’ starter, before he was replaced by redshirt freshman Sam Daold after the first three games. Though the team started 1-2 for the first time since 2001, Browne proved capable under center and put up modest statistics. He completed 64 percent of his passes for 507 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. But in two losses to Alabama and Stanford, USC’s offense scored only one touchdown. Browne has one season of eligibility remaining. Since Browne graduated last fall with a degree in communication and later enrolled in USC’s MBA program, he is eligible to transfer to another Football Bowl Subdivision school without the usual penalty of sitting out a

ANAHEIM >> Out of the coer of his eye, Phoenix Suns coach Earl Watson saw second-year guard Devin Booker strolling in the hallway. Nothing seemed unusual, other than Booker was walking the wrong way as he tried to find the court. But even if that marked yet another teaching moment for a young star, Watson hardly complained how that captured the milleial generation’s literal lack of direction. Watson, who starred at UCLA from 1997 to 2001, views things differently. “This generation is very intelligent, socially aware and very deep,” Watson said before the Lakers hosted the Suns on Friday at Honda Center. “They don’t get a lot of credit for that. You have to be authentic. You have to know your stuff when you teach it.” The 37-year-old Watson and Lakers coach Luke Walton (36) might think differently for obvious reasons. They are only a few years removed from the NBA. But Watson believes that misses the point. Both coaches had extensive NBA careers and leaed from e

UCLA takes on Utah today. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Live blog from UCLA football vs. Utah When: 1 p.m. Saturday Where: Rose Bowl TV/Radio: ABC, AM 1150 Records: UCLA 3-4; Utah 6-1 Trouble viewing live blog on mobile device? See full stream. Advertisement