Howdy, I’m your host, Iliana Limón Romero, filling in for Houston Mitchell, who is probably enjoying the Dodgers special at Panda Express today. Let’s get right to the news.
From Jack Harris: Dustin May closed his eyes, took a breath and held his head suspended toward the heavens.
For a brief moment, shortly before he began warming up for the first inning on Tuesday night, the Dodgers’ pitcher let himself absorb the significance of his milestone moment — reflecting one last time on the 685-day journey that brought him there.
“There was definitely a lot of emotions that got let out,” May said. “It was just super, super great to be back out there.”
Not since May 17, 2023, had May last stood atop the Dodger Stadium mound. That day, he suffered an elbow injury that led to a flexor tendon surgery and Tommy John revision, the second major arm procedure of his young MLB career.
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During the 22 months that followed, the hard-throwing right-hander endured a rehab process of uniquely difficult circumstances, getting close to a return midway through last season before a freak accident at dinner last July forced him into emergency, and season-ending, surgery to repair a frightening esophagus tear.
As May finally worked his way back to full strength this spring, the experience gave the 27-year-old renewed perspective. He was no longer a promising young prospect. He was unable to contribute to the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series championship.
But after so much time away, and such a scary medical saga last summer, he was simply grateful to once again be back on the rubber — making his season debut, and first MLB start since in almost two years, in the Dodgers’ 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves.
“Even if it would have went bad, I still would have been having a good time,” May said afterward. “It literally meant the world to me just to be back out on the mound.”
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Dodgers-Braves box score
MLB scores
MLB standings
MORE DODGERS:
The Dodgers didn’t just help Tyler Glasnow get healthy, they helped him get better
Shower ‘mishap’ sidelines Freddie Freeman; Dodgers ‘interested’ in torpedo bats
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USC BASKETBALL
USC guard Kennedy Smith holds the ball away from UConn guard Paige Bueckers during an Elite Eight NCAA tournament game Monday in Spokane, Wash.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
From Ryan Kartje: The tenacious freshman stared ahead blankly, her eyes welling with tears, the losing USC locker room silent around her.
Kennedy Smith gave everything she had in the wake of JuJu Watkins’ injury. She helped guide USC past Kansas State in the Sweet 16, pacing the team in scoring. And in the Elite Eight, the Trojans had entrusted her, their best on-ball defender, with chasing Paige Bueckers, the Connecticut star and likely No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft.
But it wasn’t enough. Not without Watkins. And in the last gasps of a season that once seemed destined for something special, that was a particularly difficult pill for Smith and her teammates to swallow. Soon enough, they knew, their team would look totally different. Kiki Iriafen, after an All-American season at USC, is off to the WNBA. Rayah Marshall, after four memorable years, is following Iriafen, while Talia von Oelhoffen, their starting point guard, and Clarice Akunwafo, their defensive stalwart off the bench, exhausted their eligibility.
Many questions about the path forward for USC are still to be answered. Not the least of which is whether Watkins sits out all of next season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. But hidden beneath the heartbreak of a tournament run cut short is hope for a future with Smith and her fellow freshmen holding down the fort until Watkins is healthy enough to return.
“The freshmen, their performance … was unbelievable,” von Oelhoffen said Monday night. “A preview of what’s to come in the next few years.”
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MORE USC BASKETBALL:
Rashaun Agee helps USC men’s basketball beat Tulane in Crown tournament
UC IRVINE BASKETBALL
North Texas’ Moulaye Sissoko grabs UC Irvine’s Devin Tillis as he dribbles up the floor during the Anteaters’ win in the semifinals of the NIT Tuesday in Indianapolis, Ind.
(Joe Robbins/NCAA Photos / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
From The Times Staff: UC Irvine trailed North Texas by 15 points midway through the first half, but the senior forward Devin Tillis and fellow veterans rallied to power the Anteaters to a 69-67 win over the Mean Green on Tuesday in the NIT semifinals.
It was UC Irvine’s record 32nd win and marks the first time in school history the Anteaters will play in the NIT championship game. UC Irvine (32-6) will face off with Chattanooga (28-9) on Thursday at 6 p.m. PDT in Indianapolis, Ind. The game will air on ESPN.
Tillis finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, helping fuel the Anteaters’ rally. Bent Leuchten made two free throws with six seconds left to give UC Irvine a 69-64 lead before North Texas hit a three-pointer at the buzzer.
“We’ve done it before all year,” Tillis told the NCAA’s Andy Katz during a postgame interview. “We have a bunch of different guys who can make plays happen. … Somebody’s going to make some shots, somebody’s going to make some plays.”
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UC Irvine-North Texas box score
Joey Aguilar passed for 6,760 yards with 56 touchdowns and 24 interceptions in two seasons at Appalachian State. After landing at UCLA via the transfer portal, he’s the front-runner to be the starting quarterback as spring practice opens.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
From Ben Bolch: In case you hadn’t heard, DeShaun Foster is excited.
The UCLA football coach’s favorite catchphrase also applied to his players Tuesday morning — so much so that Foster had to intervene.
Before the Bruins took the field for their first spring practice outside the Wasserman Center, they were so animated while singing in the team meeting room that Foster told them to chill.
“I kind of had to calm them down to get them ready for the special team meeting,” Foster said, “but I love the way the team is approaching this and just hopefully can carry this on to the rest of spring.”
Maybe they were just happy to have completed what Foster called “the most demanding winter that I’ve been part of here at UCLA,” which resulted in a legion of transformed physiques. Foster said freshman running back Karson Cox had packed on eight pounds in roughly 10 weeks. Right tackle Garrett DiGiorgio, now a relatively svelte 320 pounds, reported losing 11 pounds of fat and gaining seven pounds of muscle.
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RAMS
Rams coach Sean McVay congratulates wide receivers Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell (5) after a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in September 2023.
(Ric Tapia / For The Times)
From Gary Klein: — Sean McVay will get his first look at the Rams’ revamped receiver corps when players report for voluntary offseason workouts this month.
For the first time in McVay’s nine-year tenure, Cooper Kupp is not on the roster. The Rams last month released the 2021 NFL offensive player of the year, who recently signed with the Seattle Seahawks.
“The one thing that I do know he knows,” McVay said Tuesday at the NFL’s annual meeting, “is how much I appreciate him, how much I love him and how grateful I am for the time that we had even if … he’s probably not my biggest fan right now.”
Rising star Puka Nacua, three-time All-Pro Davante Adams and newly-minted $10-million-man Tutu Atwell are now quarterback Matthew Stafford’s main targets.
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KINGS
Kings players celebrate a goal by left wing Andrei Kuzmenko during a win over the Winnipeg Jets Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
From the Associated Press: Andrei Kuzmenko, Adrian Kempe and captain Anze Kopitar each had a goal and an assist in the Los Angeles Kings’ 4-1 victory over the NHL-leading Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.
Trevor Moore also scored for the Kings, who moved two points ahead of Edmonton for second place in the Pacific Division.
Darcy Kuemper made 18 saves as Los Angeles earned its 11th victory in 14 games while dominating this meeting of the NHL’s top two defensive teams.
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Kings-Jets box score
NHL scores
NHL standings
DUCKS
Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal celebrates with center Mason McTavish after defeating the San Jose Sharks in a shootout Tuesday night at the Honda Center.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
From the Associated Press: Mason McTavish scored the only goal in the shootout, and the Ducks beat the San José Sharks 4-3 on Tuesday night at Honda Center.
McTavish scored in the third round and Tyler Toffoli’s attempt went wide right on the Sharks’ last try to give the Ducks the win.
Trevor Zegras and Sam Colangelo each had a goal and an assist, Jackson LaCombe also scored for the Ducks, and McTavish had three assists. Lukas Dostal stopped 28 shots as the Ducks won for the fourth time in six games despite being held to four shots on goal in the second period — the fewest allowed by the Sharks in any period all season.
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Ducks-Sharks box score
ANGELS
The Angels’ Kyren Paris screams as he rounds the bases after hitting an RBI single during the 11th inning against the Cardinals Tuesday.
(Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: Kyren Paris hit a tiebreaking single in the 11th inning, Yoán Moncada followed with a two-run double, and the Angels beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-7 on Tuesday night.
The game was tied at 3 after nine innings before each team scored three runs in the 10th — and the Angels added three in the 11th. Victor Scott II had an RBI single in the bottom half, but Ryan Zeferjahn got two outs for his first career save.
Zeferjahn struck out Willson Contreras with a runner aboard to end it as the Angels outlasted St. Louis in extra innings for the second consecutive night.
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Angels-Cardinals box score
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1939 — Ralph Guldahl beats Sam Snead by one stroke to capture the Masters golf tournament.
1969 — Toronto center Forbes Kennedy sets a Stanley Cup playoff record for most penalties in one game with 8.
1978 — Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova wins her first WTA Tour Championship.
1980 — Wayne Gretzky becomes the youngest player to reach 50 goals at 19 years and 2 months of age.
1983 — New York Islander Mike Bossy becomes the first player to score 60 or more goals in three consecutive seasons.
1984 — Georgetown, led by junior center Patrick Ewing and freshman forward Reggie Williams, beats Houston 84-75 to win the NCAA championship in Seattle. Houston becomes the second team to lose in two consecutive finals.
1985 — Edmonton C Wayne Gretzky sets an NHL record with his 34th career hat trick.
1986 — The 3-point field goal, at 19 feet, 9 inches, is adopted by the NCAA.
1989 — 8th NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Tennessee beats Auburn, 76-60.
1990 — UNLV pounds Duke 103-73 to win its first NCAA championship and extend the Blue Devils’ streak to eight Final Four appearances without a title. The Runnin’ Rebels become the first team to score more than 100 points in a championship game and the 30-point margin is the largest ever.
1995 — Connecticut caps an unbeaten season by defeating Tennessee 70-64 for the NCAA women’s championship. The Huskies, 35-0, become the winningest basketball team for one season in Division I.
2000 — Connecticut wins its second women’s national championship with a 71-52 victory over Tennessee. The top-ranked Huskies beat No. 2 Tennessee for the second time in three meetings this season.
2001 — New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens becomes American League all-time strikeout leader.
2001 — Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki has 2 hits and becomes first Japanese position player to play in a regular season MLB game.
2001 — 63rd NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Duke beats Arizona, 82-72.
2003 — At 27 years, 249 days Texas Rangers infielder Alex Rodriguez becomes the youngest MLB player to hit 300 home runs.
2005 — Bubba Stewart becomes first African-American to win a major motor sports event when he takes out the Monster Energy AMA Supercross C’ship event in Irving, Texas.
2007 — The Florida Gators keep their stranglehold on the college basketball world with an 84-75 victory over Ohio State for their second straight national championship. The Gators are the first team to repeat since Duke in 1991-92.
2010 — Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant signs a three-year contract extension with the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers worth $87 million.
2011 — The Detroit Red Wings clinch their 20th straight playoff berth with a 4-3 victory over Nashville. The Red Wings extend the longest active playoff streak among North America’s four major professional sports and extend their NHL record with 11 straight seasons with 100 points.
2012 — Doron Lamb scores 22 points as Kentucky wins its eighth men’s national championship, holding off Kansas for a 67-59 victory.
2013 — Shoni Schimmel scores 24 points and giant-slaying Louisville claims another big upset, beating second-seeded Tennessee 86-78 and earning the school’s second trip to the Women’s Final Four.
2014 — The Sacramento Kings beat the Los Angeles Lakers 107-102 to give the Lakers their 50th loss of the season. The last time the Lakers had 50 or more losses was 1974-75 (30-52).
2016 — Villanova advances to the national championship game with the biggest margin of victory in Final Four history, overwhelming Oklahoma in a resounding 95-51 victory. The margin topped 34-point Final Four wins by Cincinnati over Oregon State in 1962 and Michigan State over Penn in 1979.
2017 — 36th NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: South Carolina defeats Mississippi State, 67-55.
2018 — Pernilla Lindberg makes a 30-foot birdie putt on the eighth extra hole to win the ANA Inspiration for her first professional victory. Lindberg finishes off Inbee Park on the par-4 10th, the fourth playoff hole at Mission Hills.
2018 — Villanova wins its second men’s national championship in three years after a 79-62 victory over Michigan. Donte DiVincenzo comes off the bench to score 31 points for the Wildcats. Villanova wins all six games by double digits over this tournament run, joining Michigan State (2000), Duke (2001) and North Carolina (2009) in that company.
2019 — OKC guard Russell Westbrook becomes 2nd player in NBA history to have 20+ points, rebounds and assists in a game; records 20-20-21 in 119-103 win over LA Lakers.
2023 — Caitlin Clark scores 41 points in the Final Four for Iowa against South Carolina.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
