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Notes and observations as USC and Texas prepare for a game that can’t possibly match their 2006 encounter ... LOS ANGELES >> You might be surprised to hear which USC coach was in tears in the locker room immediately after the Trojans lost to Texas, 41-38, in the BCS title game. Was it Pete Carroll? Steve Sarkisian? Ed Orgeron? No, someone who has a less-emotional image: Lane Kiffin. Perhaps ...

ANAHEIM>> Although the Angels are finally getting the kind of starting pitching they need, they are nonetheless slipping in the wild card race. Despite a fourth consecutive game in which the Angels starter gave up two runs or fewer in at least five innings, the Angels were losing, 5-2, to the Houston Astros in the ninth inning at press time on Thursday night. The Angels were in jeopardy of f...

LAGUNA HILLS >> Mayfair kept it close for as long as it could against Santa Margarita on Thursday night at Laguna Hills High. Eventually, the Eagles took over in the trenches and ran away for a 49-3 nonleague victory. Santa Margarita (4-0) rushed for 328 yards and six touchdowns as a team. The Eagles are ranked No. 9 in CIF Southe Section Division 1, and No. 13 in Califoia according to M...

VIDEO: Is something wrong with St. John Bosco football offense? We discuss why the St. John Bosco football offense isn’t putting up the big numbers that helped the Braves win the CIF-SS and CIF State titles last season. Advertisement Click here to subscribe to Digital & Home Delivery - 50% off About the Author JJ Fiddler is a sportswriter and videographer who has been coveri...

At the conclusion of an NFL debut week defined by stifling defense and overmatched offenses, Philip Rivers cocked his right arm and fired a deep pass into the Denver night sky. Seven minutes remained in the AFC West’s Monday night tete-a-tete, and the Chargers, fresh off forcing their second tuover of the fourth quarter, still trailed by two scores as Rivers’ throw soared toward a streaking Trav...

The Inteational Olympic Committee has made it official. Los Angeles will host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The IOC voted unanimously Wednesday in Lima Peru to award the 2024 Games to Paris and a third Los Angeles Olympics four years later. The vote caps an unlikely quest to retu the Games to Southe Califoia after Los Angeles was initially rejected by the U.S. Olympic Committee an...

THOUSAND OAKS >> No dramatic moment, no speech, no loud applause. The Rams simply conducted their defensive meetings Monday with Aaron Donald in attendance, and that normalcy had to feel superb. Donald, the Rams’ star lineman who ended his six-week contract holdout Saturday, got back to work at team headquarters. The plan, according to Coach Sean McVay, is for Donald to be on the field when ...

SAN FRANCISCO >> After losing 10 games in a row and 15 of their past 16, the Dodgers arrived at AT&T Park on Monday afteoon willing to go to extremes if that’s what it took to tu things around. They would have to. The dark clouds that have followed them the past two weeks dropped rain on AT&T Park, two separate delays – one before the game even started and another after just one ...

Mike McCoy was the Broncos’ offensive coordinator. Then he became the Chargers’ head coach. And now? The Broncos’ offensive coordinator. Again. Not much of a move, geographically, but the changes have taken their toll. “Well, I’m gray,” he told Denver reporters on Friday with a laugh. “I’ve aged a little bit.” Thirty-eight losses in four seasons can do that to a man. When the Chargers hired McCoy ...

By Ryan Kartje [email protected] @Ryan_Kartje on Twitter THOUSAND OAKS >> Wade Phillips has been in this position before. Four of the past six times he has switched teams, to be exact. And so, when you ask about his conce transitioning from last year’s 4-3 defense to his vaunted 3-4, a topic that seems to whip fans of his new defenses into a state of nervous hysteria, Phillips calmly brushe...

OAKLAND >> This time, Garrett Richards walked off the mound alone, perhaps only disappointed at the hanging slider he’d just thrown. It was better than the last time he’d walked off the mound at the Oakland Coliseum, that time accompanied by trainer Eric Munson. Although no one knew it at the time, it would be the start of a five-month hiatus for the Angels’ ace because of biceps nerve irrit...

OAKLAND — Just as Albert Pujols’ bat is heating up, his legs are giving him trouble again. Pujols retued to Southe Califoia on Wednesday to be evaluated, according to General Manager Billy Eppler, who said a plan would be determined after the examination. Manager Mike Scioscia said he’s expecting Pujols to be able to play when the team retus to action Friday in Seattle. “He’s been playing ...

GREEN BAY, Wisc. >> Sean McVay’s focus on Sept. 10 almost has been almost obsessive. The Rams’ coach has seemed like an eager child counting down to the days to his birthday. It’s almost here. Much to McVay’s excitement, the preseason ended Thursday night with a 24-10 loss to Green Bay at Lambeau Field, a game filled with backup players, many of whom were fighting for roster spots. McVay’s w...

THOUSAND OAKS >> Last November, as the Rams season descended into a downward spiral, Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson found himself locked in a feud with the Rams head coach and its front office. How quickly things change. On Tuesday – the same day he was signed to a symbolic one-day contract, allowing him to officially retire as a Los Angeles Ram – Dickerson was given an official ti...

PHOENIX >> You might be feeling things you haven’t felt in a long time. This is natural. But do not panic. Left-hander Rich Hill followed up his near-perfect game with a thoroughly imperfect effort, allowing five runs in the first inningxa0Tuesdayxa0night. The Dodgers never fully recovered and lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-6. The loss was the Dodgers’ third in a row, the first time they ha...

ANAHEIM >> C.J. Cron came to the plate in the eighth inning with one goal: Phoenix Suns tickets. With the Angels comfortably on their way to an 8-2 victory over the Oakland A’sxa0on Tuesdayxa0night, and Cron having one homer in the books, he could focus on making good on a challenge from teammate Mike Trout before the game. Trout, riding Cron a bit because he hadn’t hit a homer in 10 games, made...

ANAHEIM >> Mike Trout’s stiff neck provided the Angels an opportunity to give their slumping star his first day off since the All-Star break. Manager Mike Scioscia said Trout was not in the Angels lineup on Monday night because of a stiff neck, the result of hitting the wall trying to make a game-saving catch on Sunday afteoon. “We’ll hold him out as a precaution,” Scioscia said. “Hopefull...

LOS ANGELES >> The Santa Ana Valley High School football team was about to play its second game of the season. It could have been any Saturday in September – Curtis Granderson wasn’t sure the year – but this game happened to be on Sept. 10, 2011. Granderson was in town because his New York Yankees were playing the Angels. Santa Ana Valley held a freshman pep rally that Friday, Sept. 9. The Y...

A’S at ANGELS When: Monday 7 p.m. TV: Fox Sports West Where: Angel Stadium THE PITCHERS ANGELS LHP ANDREW HEANEY (0-0, 8.10) vs. A’s: 1-1, 4.85 At Angel Stadium: 3-3, 4.29 Hates to face: None Loves to face: None A’S RHP DANIEL GOSSETT (3-6, 5.49) vs. Angels: First game At Angel Stadium: First game Hates to face: None Loves to face: None UPCOMING matchups Tuesday: Angels (RHP Troy Scribner, 2-1, 4....

Jeremy Clements battled Matt Tifft down the stretch at Road America before pulling away to the finish line after the two leaders spun out near the end of the second-to-last lap for his first career Xfinity Series victory at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Working with fresh tires down the stretch, Clements chased down Tifft after pitting with nine laps left to surrender the lead. Clements finally caught ...