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LOS ANGELES — Right tackle Andre James cut down two would-be Hawai’i rushers and right guard Michael Alves cleared out another as ruing back Nate Starks saw a rushing lane larger than almost anything the UCLA offense had produced in more than a year. The senior ruing back galloped through, untouched for 25 yards. With quarterback Josh Rosen and the receivers surging, UCLA’s ruing game is hop...

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 ...

LOS ANGELES >> Before Stephen Carr dashed for 52 yards along the north sideline of the Coliseum in USC’s win over Stanford, he ran through a vast hole. Carr, the Trojans’ freshman ruing back, was untouched past the line of scrimmage. The hole, on the left side of USC’s offensive line, might have been close to 10 yards, based on TV replays. Why was it so gaping? Start with left guard Chris ...

LOS ANGELES >> A big question going into the season was how defenses wanted to try and stop a USC offense capable of passing or ruing with equal success? Stanford faced the dilemma at halftime Saturday night, as the Cardinal watched USC quarterback Sam Daold pass for 225 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. “Stanford decided to play softer and take away the throw in the second h...

ANAHEIM >> A pair of headphones engulfed Justin Verlander’s ears Tuesday afteoon. A giant computer monitor, maybe a foot in front his face, commanded his attention. Glance up a couple inches and Verlander could watch the Detroit Tigers play the Cleveland Indians on a television inside the Astros’ clubhouse, but with his first pitch a few hours away, his gaze stayed true. His uniform may ha...

The best reason to watch the Galaxy game in Carson this weekend (7:30 p.m. Spectrum SportsNet) is not to see L.A., plumbing new MLS depths, but to take in all-conquering, MLS-leading Toronto FC, already being talked about as the best team ever in MLS. Toronto (17-3-8) became the first MLS team to qualify for the playoffs last weekend, with U.S. inteational Jozy Altidore scoring twice in a 4-0 ro...

Tom Herman arrived at Texas with much fanfare. Herman, the former Houston coach and Ohio State offensive coordinator, replaced Charlie Strong last November following three consecutive seasons in which the Longhos finished below .500. The early retus? Texas, which visits USC at the Coliseum on Saturday, split its first two home games but has shown little trouble on offense. “I think Tom is one ...

By the time Lonzo Ball begins his first training camp with the Lakers on Sept. 24 he will have already released several versions of his signature shoe, starred in a reality show chronicling the daily lives of his family and dropped a rap single. It has been, by any measure, a busy summer for the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft and the NBA Summer League MVP. “I look at it pretty simply,” Ball said Mond...

Christian McCaffrey torpedoed USC’s defense the last two seasons. As Stanford upended the Trojans three times in 2016 and 2015, McCaffrey tallied 970 all-purpose yards. How tough was it to bring down the elusive ruing back? Reporters covering the Pac-12 championship game in 2015 overheard then-USC defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox and other coaches swearing in an adjacent press box booth at Le...

TORRANCE >> In a showdown of nationally-ranked programs, St. John Bosco wore down Chaminade in the second half for a 31-17 victory over the Eagles. “They’re a good football team, that was a quarterfinalist last year,” said Bosco coach Jason Negro. “I didn’t think we’d play so poorly offensively; we should’ve been up by more at halftime.” The first half was all about the defenses, though, as ...

LOS ANGELES >> Of the 159 rushing yards Ronald Jones amassed in USC’s season-opening victory over Weste Michigan, 122 came after contact. Deland McCullough, the Trojans’ ruing backs coach, took notice. “It ain’t always the flash and long runs,” McCullough said. “It’s the dirty work of lowering your shoulder, ruing through trash, breaking arm tackles and sending a physical message to yo...

LOS ANGELES >> For months they lived together, trained together and prayed together. So it only made sense that when the Dodgers’ two teams in the Dominican Summer League played each other for the championship Sunday, they celebrated the win together. When “DSL Dodgers 2” beat “DSL Dodgers 1” in the title game, 6-4, it marked the second time in the history of the 33-year-old league that two ...

HOUSTON >> The Houston Astros have acquired Justin Verlander in a trade with the Detroit Tigers. The right-hander joins the American League West leaders and a rotation that includes Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers. Astros owner Jim Crane says: “He adds a boost to our rotation. He’s been pitching well. We think he’ll give us some leadership. He’s been in the playoffs before and adds a dime...

SANTA CLARA >> Austin Ekeler entered Levi’s Stadium with just seven professional carries to his name. If this was his last appearance in a Chargers uniform, he made it count. After seeing little action in his first three preseason games, the undrafted rookie made his case for a spot on the regular-season roster on Thursday. In their 23-13 finale loss to the 49ers, the Chargers fed Ekeler the...

ANAHEIM >> Mike Trout and Huston Street, like everyone else, have been watching the nightmarish scenes on television from Houston, and they wanted to do something about it. Trout aounced via Twitter on Tuesday that he was donating $27,000 – an amount to correspond to his jersey No. 27 – to aid the relief effort of Tropical Storm Harvey. Street, a Texas native, said via his Twitter account ...

The boy relished the old tales, drawn to the legends. When John Gustin was a teenager, he pored over the Storm Testament series, a collection of historical novels filled with accounts of the Mormon pioneers. The fourth book stirred his imagination. It told of Porter Rockwell, a long-haired, bearded mountain man and bodyguard for Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day...

LOS ANGELES >> USC will trot out veteran pass catchers for quarterback Sam Daold when it opens its season on Saturday against Weste Michigan. As part of the depth chart it revealed Sunday, its three starting receivers include fourth-year juniors Deontay Buett and Jalen Greene, along with fifth-year senior Steven Mitchell. “If you’ve been out there before, you kind of know how to handle...

NEW YORK >> The question was rather simple after Angelique Kerber became only the second defending U.S. Open champion in the professional era to lose in the first round. The surprisingly lopsided 6-3, 6-1 loss to 45th-ranked Naomi Osaka of Japan under the closed roof in Arthur Ashe Stadium at a rainy Flushing Meadows on Tuesday was former No. 1 Kerber’s latest in a long list of disappointing...

Ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southe Section’s Division 4 poll, the Downey High football team expected a better start to the season than what it got against Santa Margarita. The Vikings were totally overmatched against a Trinity League opponent in a 56-0 loss last Friday night. Particularly uncharacteristic for the Vikings was an offensive line that struggled to slow down the Eagles’ pass rushers. “Th...

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants have waived third-year defensive end Owa Odighizuwa a day after the NFL suspended him for the first four games of the regular season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. The Giants aounced the move Tuesday. “It is unfortunate that things have gone in this direction,” general manager Jerry Reese said, “but we wish nothi...