VITTEL, France >> Mark Cavendish has been forced out of the Tour de France after suffering a fractured shoulder blade in a serious crash caused by world champion Peter Sagan, who was disqualified from cycling’s showcase event. Hours after Tuesday’s crash in a chaotic sprint finish to Stage 4,

LOS ANGELES >> Kenley Jansen frequently finds himself in precarious positions. “My job is risky,” he said. “Either I’m going to blow it or I’m going to get the save.” The knowing smile that accompanied Jansen’s statement made it clear the Dodgers closer didn’t think he had blown it by calling

LOS ANGELES >> Austin Ba es, bench-bound as a freshman, heard the clock ticking. As a sophomore he wanted to make Arizona State’s travel squad so desperately that he would have tuned up the bus.. Instead he did something more dangerous and frustrating and potentially as degrading. He became a

LOS ANGELES >> The New York Mets might owe the rest of baseball an apology for more than Mr. Met’s behavior. Two weeks ago, the Mets hit four home runs off Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, roughing him up for six runs in a game the Dodgers won anyway. But it was the first time in Kershaw’s career

What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here … •It’s easy to see why Mike Trout sought to make the All-Star Game his first post-thumb-injury game. Nobody has more fun playing baseball than Trout, and the All-Star Game is the most-fun event in the sport. But all along the targeted first ga

CARSON >> Through the first half of the season, home hasn’t been to comforting for the Galaxy. Once considered unbeatable at StubHub Center, the Galaxy are nearly unrecognizable now and Saturday things went from bad to worse in a hurry. The Galaxy, at the end of a grueling seven-game in 21-day

Next up for the Clippers in the wildest week of the Doc Rivers era? How about adding a former Most Valuable Player? The Clippers are scheduled to meet with Derrick Rose on Wednesday as they continue their efforts salvage a summer that will long be defined more by who left, Chris Paul, than who came

LONDON >> Novak Djokovic’s first-round match at Wimbledon lasted all of 40 minutes Tuesday. Roger Federer’s, which was next in the All England Club’s main stadium, went 43. When two of te is’ biggest stars crossed paths after both advanced when opponents stopped playing because of pre-existin

How could there be much of anything worth watching about a season in which the Rams went 4-12 and got progressively worse? Give it a try. A camera crew from NFL Films followed the Rams throughout 2016, from their relocation from St. Louis to their dreadful season-ending loss to Arizona, and the prod

The Galaxy have one final hurdle to clear before getting a chance to regroup and refocus. Tuesday night against Real Salt Lake, the Galaxy (6-7-4, 22 points) will play their seventh game in less than 22 days, all while being severely shorthanded. The bright side is everyone on the roster has receive

After spending the first three days of free agency without striking any deals, the Lakers zeroed in on a candidate who could satisfy the team’s primary objectives for the offseason. The Lakers met with veteran guard George Hill in Los Angeles on Monday, according to league sources familiar with the

Jamie Horowitz, whose run as Fox Sports president for national networks over the past two years has generated as much publicity as perplexity, will be leaving the company “effectively immediately,” according to a memo sent out Monday mo ing by Eric Shanks, the Fox Sports chief operating officer who

LOS ANGELES >> Starting pitching sure ain’t what it used to be. Once dinosaurs such as Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson and Nolan Ryan roamed the earth, snarling at anyone who dared to approach the pitcher’s mound before the ninth i ing. “Five and fly” was an insult, dripping with disdain, aimed at s

MINNEAPOLIS >> The best-case scenario in which Mike Trout could have rehabbed quickly enough to play in the All-Star Game is now off the table. The Angels made it official on Monday, releasing a statement that Trout would be unable to play in next Tuesday’s All-Star Game because he’ll still be

MINNEAPOLIS >> After watching Alex Meyer struggle once again, Mike Scioscia chose to look at the big picture rather than the uglier small one. Meyer struggled through five i ings in the Angels’ 9-5 loss to the Mi esota Twins on Monday night, having issues with his command, control and even c

When Chris Paul bolted for Houston, the general sentiment around the NBA was he slammed the franchise’s championship window on his way out. But then the Clippers coaxed Blake Griffin to stay on a maximum contract, and on Monday night, the Clippers were close to another free agency win, finalizing a

SAN DIEGO >> Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen is known for his cutter. But he went with a high, hard one Sunday afte oon. “I’m sorry Dodgers’ fans,” he said. “I’ll say it loud and clear. It’s the Dodgers fans’ fault. We should have voted for those two guys. They should be starters.” Jansen was re

Brief as it may have been, the Patrick Marleau sweepstakes is over and it was the Toronto Maple Leafs and not the Ducks who had the wi ing numbers for that lottery. Marleau made his decision Sunday and the 500-goal scorer chose the Maple Leafs’ three-year bid worth $18.75 million over offers made b

SAN DIEGO >> The bullpen gate swings both ways. Kenta Maeda pitched his way out in June. And then he pitched his way right back in. The least offensive team in the majors, the San Diego Padres scored four times in the first two i ings against Maeda and the Dodgers never quite caught up in a 5

While some of the Clippers’ top targets came off the board early in free agency, the franchise has remained committed to pursuing Denver forward Danilo Gallinari, although such a deal could require finding a third team to facilitate a sign-and-trade. Clippers executives spoke to the 28-year-old Gal