ANAHEIM >> As Jesse Chavez silently plugged away on his ritual crossword puzzle, Tyler Skaggs was all smiles sitting at his locker nearby, a changing of the guard disguised as a typical Wednesday afte oon in the Angels’ clubhouse. Skaggs will rejoin the starting rotation when he is activated

PHILLIES AT ANGELS When: 7 p.m. Where: Angel Stadium TV: Fox Sports West THE PITCHERS ANGELS RHP PARKER BRIDWELL (5-1, 2.83) vs. Phillies: He has never faced them before At Angel Stadium: 2-1, 3.72 Hates to face: None Loves to face: None PHILLIES RHP JERAD EICKHOFF (2-7, 4.56) vs. Angels: He has nev...

When Sigi Schmid departed from Seattle on July 27 last year, exactly one year less a day before rejoining the Galaxy, the Sounders were 6-12-2 and second-to-last in the Weste Conference with a measly 20 points just before the MLS All-Star Game. His assistant, Brian Schmetzer, took over. Seattle an

BIG MOMENT Freshman Austin Burton is buried on the depth chart when it comes to the backup quarterback competition, but the rookie showed flashes of brilliance. In one team period, Burton dropped the snap, but regained his composure and unloaded a 25-yard throw while getting hit in the backfield. Re

IRVINE — There are all sorts of paths to the NFL, Travis Wilson trying to find one right now as a tight end ru ing the most slanted of routes. Or maybe you think it’s completely normal to go from selling flip-flops to the public to huddling with the Rams. “Not your typical story going into the NFL,

Todd Gilliland, the 17-year-old stock car driver who used to live in Chino Hills, is on the verge of making NASCAR history Friday at Watkins Glen Inte ational for a K&N Pro Series East race. The son of former NASCAR Cup driver David Gilliland and grandson of one-time NASCAR Winston West champio

USC is ranked fourth in the preseason coaches poll, its highest ranking in the national poll in five years. Alabama, last season’s national ru er-up, is ranked first, followed by Ohio State and Florida State. Defending College Football Playoff champion Clemson was fifth. The poll was released Thurs

CARSON — In the first five minutes it was obvious the Galaxy were under a spell of new energy. Each pass was more crisp, and the fans seemed to jump off their seats in anticipation a little quicker as the ball came around the 18-yard box. The buzz for new head coach Sigi Schmid was apparent, but it

NEW YORK >> Mikey Garcia unanimously outpointed Adrien Broner on Saturday night to remain undefeated. Garcia controlled his first fight at 140 pounds, particularly with body shots he was able to sneak in below Broner’s defense, and won 117-111 on one card and 116-112 on the other two. A former

The day should have been all about new head coach Sean McVay officially putting his imprint on the Rams and the progress of second-year quarterback Jared Goff and all those shiny new pieces added through the draft and free agency. But when the Rams opened training camp Saturday at UC Irvine, the foc

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. >> Tim Raines played in the major leagues for more than two decades, and yet one at-bat still sticks in his mind. Nervous about making the Montreal Expos’ roster after two brief call-ups that didn’t work out so well (one hit in 20 at-bats), his performance on opening day 1981

ANAHEIM >> Jon Jones is back to claim what he never lost. Jones, in his first appearance since April 23, 2016, won back his UFC light heavyweight title with a third-round TKO stoppage of Daniel Cormier at Honda Center. After a back and forth opening two rounds, Jones started his path to victor

Cris Cyborg finally completed a remarkable career metamorphosis. Tyron Woodley continued to hold on to his title amid the displeasure of some. Yet UFC 214 was all about Jon Jones on Saturday night at Honda Center. Here are our next-day thoughts after an epic night led by the greatest fighter in UFC

DEL MAR >> Mike Smith has been around the sport of horse racing long enough to know anything can happen in a race. Horses can be freakish animals and cause problems at any tu . One of those instances occurred Saturday at Del Mar, with defending Breeders’ Cup Sprint champion Drefong throwing t

TORONTO — Troy Scribner saw his major-league debut tu from a loss to a win while he sat in the dugout. The Angels scored three runs in the top of the ninth against All-Star closer Roberto Osuna, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Saturday afte oon. “Amazing,” Scribner said, summarizing his firs

TORONTO >> Ironically, it was on a day that Kaleb Cowart wasn’t even in the lineup that he took a step closer to being the Angels’ everyday second baseman. The Angels designated Nick Franklin for assignment Saturday mo ing, eliminating one of the players who could have fought Cowart for playi

ANGELS at BLUE JAYS When: Sunday, 10 a.m. Where: Rogers Centre TV: Fox Sports West THE PITCHERS ANGELS RHP JESSE CHAVEZ (5-10, 5.35) vs. Blue Jays: 1-4, 6.27 At Rogers Centre: 1-2, 5.82 Hates to face: None Loves to face: Kendrys Morales, 2 for 13 (.154) BLUE JAYS RHP CESAR VALDEZ (1-0, 4.97) vs. Ang...

ANAHEIM >> Only one undefeated fighter remains in the top 10 of the UFC’s featherweight division, and Brian Ortega made sure it wasn’t Renato Moicano. After two competitive rounds spent almost entirely on their feet, No. 8 Ortega tu ed a takedown attempt from No. 9 Moicano into a guillotine c

LOS ANGELES >> During last summer’s presidential pageant, we as Americans were promised so much wi ing “you’re going to be sick and tired of wi ing. You’re going to go, ‘Please, please – we can’t win anymore.’” So – are you tired of wi ing yet? “Not yet,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said a

LOS ANGELES >> Adrian Gonzalez is ready to find out. “It feels good,” the Dodgers first baseman said of the back injury that sent him to the DL. “I’m not playing in pain. But I haven’t been playing baseball games.” Gonzalez hasn’t played a baseball game since June 11. Since then, he has two ex