Good morning! Today’s the day. The United States meets Australia at noon with first place in Group D on the line — both sides arrived in Seattle a perfect 1-0. Overnight, Canada made a statement, Mexico punched its ticket to the knockout round, and Switzerland rolled at SoFi. Let’s get into it.

🚨 HEADLINES

⚽ Today’s the day. The U.S. meets Australia with the top of Group D at stake, and a never-back-down identity carrying the run — as Pochettino has drilled all month.

🏒 Vegas turns the page. John Tortorella won’t be back behind the Golden Knights’ bench — and Steve Carp argues it’s the right call for a standard-setting franchise.

🏀 Thirty and counting. A’ja Wilson was named Western Conference Player of the Week for the 30th time.

⚾ Big words. A young Dodger calling a teammate the best ever is worth unpacking — Fredo Cervantes explains why.

🏈 Unc’s day. Chargers safety Tony Jefferson was honored by his hometown of Chula Vista in a feel-good ceremony.

See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.

📋 SCOREBOARD — THURSDAY

⚽ World Cup: Switzerland 4, Bosnia 1 · Canada 6, Qatar 0 · Mexico 1, South Korea 0 · Czechia 1, South Africa 1

⚾ MLB: Athletics 5, Angels 0

⚽ TODAY: USA vs. AUSTRALIA, WITH GROUP D ON THE LINE

It doesn’t get bigger than this for the group stage: the United States and Australia kick off at noon PT in Seattle, both unbeaten, with control of Group D on the table. The Americans opened with a 4-1 dismantling of Paraguay behind Folarin Balogun’s two goals; the Socceroos answered with a 2-0 win over Türkiye. Christian Pulisic, slowed by a calf injury since the opener, is reported “much better” but remains in doubt. Win, and the U.S. seizes the driver’s seat — and a favorable knockout path — with a week to spare.

GO DEEPER

› Pochettino drills American mindset ahead of the Australia clash (The Sporting Tribune)

› Jordan’s defensive posture backfires against Austria (The Sporting Tribune)

TOGETHER WITH BETONLINE

Today’s TST Best Bets are brought to you by BetOnline.ag. Join here — new players get a 50% welcome bonus and up to $250 in free bets.

🏒 RYAN CRAIG INTRODUCED AS GOLDEN KNIGHTS HEAD COACH

The Ryan Craig era of the Vegas Golden Knights is officially underway. On Thursday, a day after Craig was announced as the fifth head coach in Golden Knights history, he was introduced to the media by general manager Kelly McCrimmon.

› Derek Hegna: Craig introduced as Golden Knights head coach (The Sporting Tribune)

› Steve Carp: Knights wise to move on from Torts (The Sporting Tribune)

› John Tortorella not returning behind Vegas bench next season (The Sporting Tribune)

⚾ A DODGERS PROSPECT TURNING HEADS

While the big club chases a three-peat, the future is making noise down on the farm. Kellon Lindsey’s strong start at Single-A Ontario is turning heads inside the Dodgers’ system — the kind of early development that keeps a champion’s pipeline humming. Anthony Arroyo has the report from ONT Field.

› Kellon Lindsey’s strong start turning heads in the Dodgers organization (The Sporting Tribune)

📺 WATCHLIST — FRIDAY, JUNE 19

⚽ World Cup: USA vs. Australia — Fox — 12 p.m. PT · Seattle

⚽ World Cup: Scotland vs. Morocco — Fox — 3 p.m. PT

⚾ MLB: Padres at Rangers — 5:05 p.m. PT

⚽ World Cup: Brazil vs. Haiti — Fox — 6 p.m. PT

⚾ MLB: Angels at Athletics — FanDuel SN West — 6:40 p.m. PT

⚾ MLB: Dodgers vs. Orioles — SportsNet LA — 7:10 p.m. PT

⚽ World Cup: Türkiye vs. Paraguay — FS1 — 9 p.m. PT

🎟️ GOING TO A GAME TODAY?

Get-in prices across Southern California and Las Vegas — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.

⚽ World Cup: USA vs. Australia — Lumen Field — $1,438

🌴 TWO-MARKET TRIVIA

The USMNT opened the 2026 World Cup with a 4-1 win over Paraguay at SoFi Stadium. Which American scored twice in that match?

Answer at the bottom.

🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY

Today’s episode sets the stage for USA-Australia and what’s at stake in Group D, reacts to Canada’s statement win and Mexico clinching a knockout spot, and looks ahead to a weekend homestand for the Dodgers. Hear it on the radio across Southern California and Las Vegas via Westwood One Sports.

› Listen to the latest episode

Trivia answer: Folarin Balogun scored twice in the United States’ 4-1 win over Paraguay at SoFi Stadium.

Thanks for reading! Follow us on X and Instagram, or drop us a line at tips@thesportingtribune.com.

Good morning! The World Cup lands in our backyard today — SoFi Stadium hosts a Group B match at noon — with the USMNT’s showdown against Australia now just a day away. Ronaldo’s Portugal got a scare, the Dodgers finished off a sweep, and the Sparks ran into a buzzsaw. Let’s get into it.

🚨 HEADLINES

⚽ Tomorrow’s the day. Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT meets Australia on Friday with first place in the group on the line — and a never-back-down mentality fueling the run.

⚾ Prospect watch. Kellon Lindsey’s hot start is turning heads inside the Dodgers’ system, as our man at ONT Field reports.

⚾ Big words. A young Dodger calling a teammate the best ever is worth unpacking — Fredo Cervantes explains why.

🏀 Tough night. The Sparks returned home to face Olivia Miles and the Lynx in a marquee matchup.

🏈 Unc’s day. Chargers safety Tony Jefferson was honored by his hometown of Chula Vista in a feel-good ceremony.

See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.

📋 SCOREBOARD — WEDNESDAY

⚽ World Cup: Portugal 1, DR Congo 1 · England 4, Croatia 2 · Ghana 1, Panama 0 · Colombia 3, Uzbekistan 1

⚾ MLB: Dodgers 5, Rays 4 (sweep) · Padres 6, Cardinals 1 · Diamondbacks 8, Angels 1

🏀 WNBA: Lynx 99, Sparks 83

⚽ THE WORLD CUP COMES TO INGLEWOOD — TODAY

The tournament returns to Southern California today: SoFi Stadium — branded “Los Angeles Stadium” for the World Cup — hosts Switzerland vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina at noon PT, a Group B match with both sides chasing their first win after opening draws. The buildup, of course, points to Friday, when the U.S. meets Australia in Seattle with the top of the group at stake. After Ronaldo’s Portugal was held to a 1-1 draw and England survived Croatia 4-2 on a Harry Kane brace, the margins are tightening across every group.

GO DEEPER

› Pochettino drills American mindset ahead of the Australia clash (The Sporting Tribune)

› Jordan’s defensive posture backfires against Austria (The Sporting Tribune)

TOGETHER WITH BETONLINE

Today’s TST Best Bets are brought to you by BetOnline.ag. Join here — new players get a 50% welcome bonus and up to $250 in free bets.

⚾ A DODGER’S BOLD CLAIM

Words carry weight in a clubhouse chasing a three-peat — and when a young Dodger labels a teammate “the best player of all time,” it’s worth pausing on. Columnist Fredo Cervantes breaks down why the praise lands, what it says about the room, and how a defending champion keeps raising its own bar deep into June.

› “He’s the best player of all time”: Why Wrobleski’s words carry weight (The Sporting Tribune)

🏀 SPARKS RUN INTO THE LYNX

The Sparks came home to a measuring-stick matchup against Olivia Miles and the Lynx — and ran into one of the league’s standards. Minnesota pulled away for a 99-83 win at Crypto.com Arena, a reminder of the climb still ahead for an improving L.A. side that doesn’t play again until Sunday against the New York Liberty.

› Sparks return home to play Olivia Miles, Lynx (The Sporting Tribune)

📺 WATCHLIST — THURSDAY, JUNE 18

⚽ World Cup: Czechia vs. South Africa — Fox — 9 a.m. PT

⚽ World Cup: Switzerland vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina — Fox — 12 p.m. PT

⚽ World Cup: Canada vs. Qatar — FS1 — 3 p.m. PT

⚽ World Cup: Mexico vs. South Korea — Fox — 6 p.m. PT

⚾ MLB: Angels at Athletics — FanDuel SN West — 6:40 p.m. PT

🎟️ GOING TO A GAME TODAY?

Get-in prices across Southern California and Las Vegas — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.

⚽ World Cup: Switzerland vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina — SoFi Stadium — $645

🌴 TWO-MARKET TRIVIA

SoFi Stadium hosts 2026 World Cup matches under the name “Los Angeles Stadium.” Which two NFL franchises call SoFi home?

Answer at the bottom.

🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY

Today’s episode previews the World Cup’s stop at SoFi Stadium and the USMNT’s looming clash with Australia, digs into a Dodgers club still finding new gears, and sizes up where the Sparks stand after a measuring-stick loss to the Lynx. Hear it on the radio across Southern California and Las Vegas via Westwood One Sports.

› Listen to the latest episode

Trivia answer: The Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers both play their home games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

Thanks for reading! Follow us on X and Instagram, or drop us a line at tips@thesportingtribune.com.

Good morning! The World Cup is reshaping the U.S. team’s identity ahead of Friday’s showdown with Australia, the WNBA is supersizing its season, and the Golden Knights are changing course behind the bench. Let’s get into it.

🚨 HEADLINES

⚽ Mentality matters. Mauricio Pochettino has drilled a never-back-down identity into the USMNT ahead of Friday’s group clash with Australia — and his players are buying in.

🏀 Bigger league. The WNBA will expand to a 50-game regular season in 2027, the league announced.

🏒 Coaching change. John Tortorella will not return behind the Golden Knights’ bench next season, Vegas confirmed.

🏀 Thirty and counting. A’ja Wilson was named Western Conference Player of the Week for the 30th time.

⚾ Bats stay quiet. The Padres were shut down again by a St. Louis starter in a one-run loss.

See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.

⚽ THE MINDSET BEHIND THE USMNT’S WORLD CUP RUN

At the team’s Irvine base camp, the United States’ World Cup identity traces back to two fiery meetings with its first two group opponents. Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter credited Pochettino with installing an aggressive, never-back-down mentality — the same edge that fueled a 4-1 demolition of Paraguay in the opener. Now the Americans turn to a surprising top-of-the-group showdown with Australia on Friday in Seattle (noon PT). Christian Pulisic (calf) is day-to-day but trending toward available.

GO DEEPER

› Pochettino drills American mindset ahead of Australia clash (The Sporting Tribune)

› USMNT steamrolls Paraguay 4-1 in its World Cup opener (The Sporting Tribune)

› Jordan’s defensive posture backfires against Austria (The Sporting Tribune)

TOGETHER WITH BETONLINE

Today’s TST Best Bets are brought to you by BetOnline.ag. Join here — new players get a 50% welcome bonus and up to $250 in free bets.

🏀 THE WNBA SUPERSIZES ITS SCHEDULE

The WNBA will grow to a 50-game regular season starting in 2027 under its new collective bargaining agreement, with room to reach 52 games from 2029 onward. It continues a steady climb from 44 this season and reflects a league riding unprecedented demand as it prepares to add several expansion franchises. For the Sparks and Aces, more games mean more inventory, more travel and more revenue.

› WNBA will increase regular season to 50 games, starting in 2027 (The Sporting Tribune)

🏒 VEGAS MOVES ON FROM TORTORELLA

John Tortorella will not return behind the Golden Knights’ bench next season, ending a short-lived run in the desert. Columnist Steve Carp argues it’s the right call for a franchise that has set the standard for stability and contention since its 2017 arrival. The search for a new voice begins now.

› John Tortorella not returning behind Vegas bench next season (The Sporting Tribune)

› Steve Carp: Knights wise to move on from Torts (The Sporting Tribune)

📺 WATCHLIST — WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17

⚾ MLB: Padres at Cardinals — MLB — 11:15 a.m. PT

⚽ World Cup: Portugal vs. DR Congo — Fox — 10 a.m. PT

⚾ MLB: Dodgers vs. Rays — SportsNet LA — 12:10 p.m. PT

⚾ MLB: Angels at Diamondbacks — ABTV — 12:40 p.m. PT

⚽ World Cup: England vs. Croatia — Fox — 1 p.m. PT

⚽ World Cup: Ghana vs. Panama — FS1 — 4 p.m. PT

⚽ World Cup: Uzbekistan vs. Colombia — FS1 — 7 p.m. PT

🎟️ GOING TO A GAME TODAY?

Get-in prices across Southern California and Las Vegas — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.

⚾ MLB: Rays at Dodgers — Dodger Stadium — $49

🌴 TWO-MARKET TRIVIA

The Rose Bowl hosted the 1994 World Cup final. Which Southern California stadium is serving as a host venue for the 2026 World Cup?

Answer at the bottom.

🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY

Today’s episode breaks down the mentality powering the USMNT’s World Cup run ahead of Friday’s clash with Australia, the WNBA’s jump to a 50-game season, and the Golden Knights’ decision to move on behind the bench. Hear it on the radio across Southern California and Las Vegas via Westwood One Sports.

› Listen to the latest episode

Trivia answer: SoFi Stadium in Inglewood — branded “Los Angeles Stadium” for the tournament — is Southern California’s 2026 World Cup host venue.

Thanks for reading! Follow us on X and Instagram, or drop us a line at tips@thesportingtribune.com.

Good morning! Three markets, one inbox. The World Cup turned SoFi into theater again, the Dodgers found a pinch-hit hero, and it was a tough night for both the Aces and the Sparks. Let’s get into it.

🚨 HEADLINES

⚽ Drama at SoFi. Iran and New Zealand played to a 2-2 draw to cap a historic day of four straight World Cup draws.

⚾ Rojas off the bench. Miguel Rojas’ pinch-hit homer lifted the Dodgers past the Rays at Chavez Ravine.

🏀 Aces stumble. A flat night against Dallas dropped Vegas to second in the Commissioner’s Cup.

🏀 Sparks dig too deep. A slow start doomed L.A. against the Valkyries in San Francisco.

⚾ A’s pass the test. The Athletics’ Las Vegas trial run was a win on and off the field.

See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.

⚽ THE WORLD CUP TURNS SOFI INTO THEATER

The World Cup keeps delivering in Inglewood. Iran and New Zealand traded blows in a 2-2 draw at SoFi Stadium — Los Angeles Stadium for the tournament — punctuating a historic day in which all four matches finished level. For The Sporting Tribune’s Arash Markazi, watching Team Melli was personal, a reminder of home even from the SoFi stands. And the night carried a subplot: Iran’s players went public with complaints about their FIFA travel arrangements.

GO DEEPER

› Arash Markazi: Team Melli still feels like home during the World Cup (The Sporting Tribune)

› Iran, New Zealand cap a historic day of World Cup draws (The Sporting Tribune)

› Iran players blast FIFA travel arrangements after the draw (The Sporting Tribune)

TOGETHER WITH BETONLINE

Today’s TST Best Bets are brought to you by BetOnline.ag. Join here — new players get a 50% welcome bonus and up to $250 in free bets.

⚾ ROJAS PLAYS HERO AS DODGERS EDGE THE RAYS

The Dodgers needed a spark, and Miguel Rojas delivered it off the bench. His pinch-hit home run carried L.A. past Tampa Bay at Dodger Stadium, a tidy bounce-back after a rough weekend in Chicago and another reminder that the defending champs have contributors up and down the roster as the three-peat chase heats up.

› Miguel Rojas’ pinch-hit homer lifts Dodgers past Rays (The Sporting Tribune)

⚾ THE A’S PASS THEIR VEGAS AUDITION

The Athletics’ homestand at Las Vegas Ballpark doubled as an audition for the franchise’s desert future — and by most measures it delivered, drawing well and selling the city on big-league baseball. It’s an encouraging marker for a club building toward a permanent Las Vegas home.

› Athletics win on and off the field in a successful Vegas trial run (The Sporting Tribune)

🌺 HAWAIʻI CORNER

Our standing slot for the islands — every edition

Still flying the year’s biggest banner. As the islands’ sports calendar turns toward summer, Hawaiʻi can still point to the season’s crowning achievement: the Rainbow Warriors’ men’s volleyball team capped a 30-5 campaign ranked No. 1 in the nation as NCAA champions under longtime coach Charlie Wade. It remains the marquee title of 2026 for a program that routinely fills the Stan Sheriff Center.

› Rainbow Warrior volleyball at UH Athletics

📺 WATCHLIST — TUESDAY, JUNE 16

⚽ World Cup: France vs. Senegal — Fox — 12 p.m. PT

⚽ World Cup: Iraq vs. Norway — Fox — 3 p.m. PT

⚾ MLB: Padres at Cardinals - MLB - 4:45 p.m. PT

⚽ World Cup: Argentina vs. Algeria — Fox — 6 p.m. PT

⚾ MLB: Angels at Diamondbacks - ABTV - 6:30 p.m. PT

⚾ MLB: Rays at Dodgers - SportsNet - 7 p.m. PT

🎟️ GOING TO A GAME TODAY?

Get-in prices across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.

⚾ MLB: Rays at Dodgers — Dodger Stadium — $50

🌴 THREE-MARKET TRIVIA

With the World Cup back in Los Angeles, a bit of history: the 1994 World Cup final was played at a famous Southern California venue. Name it.

Answer at the bottom.

🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY

Today’s episode takes you inside a blockbuster trade in the NBA, what the Clippers will do with their top five pick in the NBA draft, plus a Dodgers club finding heroes up and down the roster. Hear it on the radio across Southern California, Las Vegas & Hawaiʻi via Westwood One Sports.

› Listen to the latest episode

Trivia answer: The Rose Bowl in Pasadena — it hosted the 1994 World Cup final, where Brazil beat Italy on penalties.

Thanks for reading! Follow us on X and Instagram, or drop us a line at tips@thesportingtribune.com.

Good morning! Three markets, one inbox. The Golden Knights’ Cup dream ended on home ice, the U.S. is rolling at its home World Cup, and it was a rough weekend for L.A. baseball. Let’s get into it.

🚨 HEADLINES

🏒 Knights fall in the Final. Carolina closed it out in Game 6 at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas’s season is over and changes are coming.

🥊 Gaethje’s miracle. Justin Gaethje delivered the signature moment of UFC Freedom 250.

⚾ Padres take the series. Walker Buehler and a wave of newcomers beat the Orioles in Baltimore.

⚾ Rough weekend in L.A. The Dodgers fell to the White Sox, and a five-run eighth sank the Angels against the Rays.

🏀 Aces topple the Lynx. Vegas edged league-best Minnesota 100-97 at home.

See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.

🏒 THE KNIGHTS’ RUN ENDS — AND CHANGE IS COMING

The Cup dream is over in Vegas. The Golden Knights ran out of gas in Game 6, watching Carolina celebrate on T-Mobile Arena ice after a Final that swung wildly from night to night. Now the harder questions begin. Steve Carp writes that a loss this painful won’t sit quietly with management — expect changes to the roster, and possibly to the bench, with head coach John Tortorella’s future part of the conversation.

GO DEEPER

› Steve Carp: Coming up short won’t sit well with Knights’ management (The Sporting Tribune)

› Golden Knights run out of gas, bend knee to Carolina in Game 6 (The Sporting Tribune)

TOGETHER WITH BETONLINE

Today’s TST Best Bets are brought to you by BetOnline.ag. Join here — new players get a 50% welcome bonus and up to $250 in free bets.

⚽ A STATEMENT START, AND THE WORLD CUP ROLLS ON

The U.S. could not have scripted a better opener. Behind two Folarin Balogun goals and a dominant Christian Pulisic, the USMNT routed Paraguay 4-1 at SoFi Stadium — Los Angeles Stadium for the tournament — to launch its home World Cup in front of a roaring Inglewood crowd. The group stage hasn’t slowed since: Germany flexed, Japan stunned, and the Netherlands needed a late escape, while L.A.’s Coliseum fan fest roared one last time before the action moved on. Next up for the U.S.: Australia on June 19 in Seattle.

GO DEEPER

› American by chance and choice, Balogun repays birth nation’s support in World Cup debut (The Sporting Tribune)

› Germany dominates, Japan stuns and the Coliseum roars one last time (The Sporting Tribune)

› Kamada’s late touch earns Japan a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands (The Sporting Tribune)

⚾ PADRES GRAB THE SERIES IN BALTIMORE

San Diego is doing damage on the road. Walker Buehler turned in a steady outing and a cast of newcomers came through as the Padres beat the Orioles to take the series at Camden Yards — a timely lift midway through a nine-game road swing.

› Buehler, newcomers propel Padres over Orioles for series win (The Sporting Tribune)

🌺 HAWAIʻI CORNER

Our standing slot for the islands — every edition

The countdown to football is on. Hawaiʻi’s 2026 season — its first as a full Mountain West member — is taking shape, with the Rainbow Warriors opening on the road at Stanford on August 29 and six home dates set for the Ching Complex. ESPN has even floated UH as a Group of Six playoff contender, giving island fans something to dream on through the summer.

› Rainbow Warriors football at UH Athletics

📺 WATCHLIST — MONDAY, JUNE 15

⚾ MLB: Padres at Cardinals - MLB - 4:45 p.m.

⚽ World Cup: Iran vs. New Zealand at SoFi Stadium - FS1 - 6:00 p.m.

⚾ MLB: Angels at Diamondbacks - ABTV - 6:30 p.m.

⚾ MLB: Rays at Dodgers - ESPN - 7:00 p.m.

🏀 WNBA: Sparks at Valkries - Peacock - 7:00 p.m.

🎟️ GOING TO A GAME TODAY?

Get-in prices across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.

⚽ World Cup: Iran vs. New Zealand at SoFi Stadium - FS1 - $465

⚾ MLB: Rays at Dodgers at Dodger Stadum - $65

🌴 THREE-MARKET TRIVIA

Three of these arenas host a Las Vegas or Los Angeles pro team: Crypto.com Arena, T-Mobile Arena, Michelob ULTRA Arena, Stan Sheriff Center. Which one is the odd one out — and what makes it different?

Answer at the bottom.

🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY

Today’s episode unpacks the end of the Golden Knights’ Cup run and a U.S. team off to a flying start at its home World Cup. Hear it on the radio across Southern California, Las Vegas & Hawaiʻi via Westwood One Sports.

› Listen to the latest episode

Trivia answer: Stan Sheriff Center — it’s in Honolulu, home of the UH Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine, while Crypto.com Arena (L.A.), T-Mobile Arena and Michelob ULTRA Arena (Las Vegas) all host pro teams on the mainland.

Thanks for reading! Follow us on X and Instagram, or drop us a line at tips@thesportingtribune.com.

Good morning! Three markets, one inbox. The U.S. opens its home World Cup tonight in Los Angeles, the Golden Knights are one loss from the end of their season, and the Aces simply will not lose. Let’s get into it.

🚨 HEADLINES

⚽ The U.S. is up. The USMNT opens its home World Cup tonight against Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium — the tournament name for SoFi Stadium— in Inglewood (6 p.m. PT, Fox & Telemundo).

🏒 Knights on the brink. Penalty trouble sank Vegas in Game 5. They trail Carolina 3-2 and face elimination in Game 6 Saturday at home.

⚾ Ohtani scare. The Dodgers held off the Pirates, but Shohei Ohtani exited with knee inflammation — all eyes now on his status.

🏀 Aces won’t lose. The big three powered a fifth straight win on the road.

⚾ Tatis stays hot. Fresh off a walk-off homer, Tatis and the Padres open a nine-game road trip in Baltimore.

See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.

⚽ THE U.S. OPENS A HOME WORLD CUP IN L.A.

The wait is over for the home team. More than thirty years after the 1994 World Cup, the United States opens a tournament on home soil tonight in Inglewood, facing Paraguay at SoFi Stadium — rebranded Los Angeles Stadium for the World Cup. Mauricio Pochettino’s group set up its base camp in Irvine this week, and after an up-and-down run of form, a roaring L.A. crowd is the perfect reset. A favorable Group D draw means a strong start could open the door to a long summer.

GO DEEPER

› USMNT preps for a home-soil opportunity at its SoCal base camp (The Sporting Tribune)

› Steve Carp: Can this U.S. team make a deep run? (The Sporting Tribune)

› L.A.’s FIFA Fan Festival roars as the World Cup opens (The Sporting Tribune)

TOGETHER WITH BETONLINE

Tonight’s TST Best Bets are brought to you by BetOnline.ag. Join here — new players get a 50% welcome bonus and up to $250 in free bets.

🏒 KNIGHTS ON THE BRINK

One penalty-filled night has Vegas staring down the offseason. The Golden Knights couldn’t stay out of the box in Game 5 and now trail Carolina 3-2 in a Final that has refused to follow any script. The series shifts back to Las Vegas for Game 6 on Saturday, where the Knights must win to force a decisive Game 7 — or watch the Hurricanes celebrate on their ice.

GO DEEPER

› Penalty trouble pushes the Knights to the brink (The Sporting Tribune)

› The Knights can only embrace the insanity (The Sporting Tribune)

⚾ OHTANI EXITS AS DODGERS HOLD ON

The Dodgers got the win in Pittsburgh, but it came with a scare: Shohei Ohtani left the game with knee inflammation. L.A. did enough to hold off the Pirates, yet the night now belongs to one question — how serious is it for the two-way star as the three-peat chase rolls on?

› Dodgers hold off Pirates as Ohtani exits with knee inflammation (The Sporting Tribune)

🌺 HAWAIʻI CORNER

Our standing slot for the islands — every edition

A foundation for the future. Hawaiʻi Athletics received a major boost as five of the state’s leading businesses and philanthropists pledged $5 million over the next five years to support student-athlete NIL opportunities. The commitment gives UH a critical starting point in an era where recruiting and retaining local talent increasingly comes with a price tag — and sends a clear message that the community is willing to invest in keeping the Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine competitive on the national stage.

› UH Athletics NIL initiative and support efforts (The Sporting Tribune)

📺 WATCHLIST — FRIDAY, JUNE 12

⚽ World Cup, U.S.A. home opener: USA v. Paraguay (6 p.m. PT, Fox & Telemundo) at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) in Inglewood.

🏒 Stanley Cup Final: Off night — Game 6 is Sunday in Las Vegas, with the Golden Knights facing elimination.

⚾ MLB: Padres at Orioles — series opener in Baltimore (4:05 p.m. PT, MLB)
⚾ MLB: Dodgers at White Sox — series opener in Chicago (4:30 p.m. PT, Spectrum)
⚾ MLB: Rays at Angels — series opener in Anaheim (6:30 p.m. PT, ABTV)

🎟️ GOING TO A GAME TODAY?

Get-in prices across LA, Vegas & Honolulu — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.

6:00 p.m. — USA v. Paraguay — Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi) — $1,330

6:30 p.m. — Rays at Angels — Angels Stadium — $6

🌴 THREE-MARKET TRIVIA

Four MLB teams play in The Sporting Tribune’s coverage area this week: the Dodgers, Angels, Padres and Athletics. Which one plays farthest from Hawai’i?

Answer at the bottom.

🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY

Today’s episode breaks down the NBA Finals and what the Clippers will do in the NBA Draft. Hear it on the radio across Southern California, Las Vegas & Hawaiʻi via Westwood One Sports.

› Listen to the latest episode

Trivia answer: The Athletics — Las Vegas (where the A’s are playing their home games this week) sits farthest inland, well away from the Pacific that the Dodgers, Angels and Padres all call home.

Thanks for reading! Follow us on X and Instagram, or drop us a line at tips@thesportingtribune.com.

Good morning! Three markets, one inbox. The Stanley Cup Final is down to a best-of-three with Game 5 tonight in Raleigh and Game 6 in Las Vegas, the World Cup kicks off in Los Angeles on Friday, and Hawaii is saying goodbye to Aloha Stadium. Let’s get into it.

🚨 HEADLINES

🏒 All square in the Final. Vegas and Carolina are tied 2-2 with Game 5 tonight in Raleigh (5 p.m. PT, ABC). The Golden Knights are two wins from a second Cup.

⚽ The World Cup is here. The biggest tournament on earth opens today — and L.A. will host eight matches at SoFi. Our complete L.A. guide is your map.

🏀 Dodgers-fying the Lakers. With Mark Walter in control and Andrew Friedman’s fingerprints everywhere, the Lakers are borrowing the Dodgers’ front-office playbook this offseason.

🌺 Aloha means goodbye. One of Hawaii's most recognizable landmarks took its final bow this week as construction crews completed the last controlled collapse of Aloha Stadium on Tuesday

⚾ Vegas baseball, Vegas hoops. The A’s outslugged Milwaukee 7-5 at Las Vegas Ballpark, while A’ja Wilson and the Aces keep stacking up wins and records.

See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.

🏒 THE KNIGHTS CHASE ANOTHER STANLEY CUP

This Stanley Cup Final refuses to follow a script. The two teams have combined for 33 goals in four games — the most in a Final since 1981 — and every night has swung on a turn no one saw coming. Vegas keeps rallying; Carolina keeps answering. Mitch Marner already has a natural hat trick on this stage, and Brett Howden’s 14 playoff goals are a franchise record. Now it’s a best-of-three, and Game 5 is on the road.

GO DEEPER

› Steve Carp: the series that won’t follow any logic (The Sporting Tribune)

› The new problem Vegas has to solve (The Sporting Tribune)

› Game 5 lines, goalies & how to watch (Yahoo Sports)

TOGETHER WITH BETONLINE

Click here are tonight’s TST Best Bets brought to you by BetOnline.ag. Click here to join. All new players get a 50% welcome bonus and up to $250 in free bets.

⚽ THE WORLD CUP LANDS IN LOS ANGELES

After years of buildup, the wait is over. This is the biggest World Cup ever — 48 teams, 104 matches, three host countries — and Southern California sits near the center of it. SoFi Stadium will stage eight matches, and the fan zones, traffic, and tourism wave that come with them will reshape the city for a month.

The local read: Our complete travel guide to SoFi, the fan zones & getting around

Follow it live: Opening-day scores & updates

🏀 LAKERS BORROW DODGERS’ BLUEPRINT

The most consequential storyline of the L.A. offseason isn’t a player — it’s a front office. With Mark Walter’s ownership group now steering the Lakers and Dodgers-built executives shaping the basketball operation, the franchise is importing the same patient, resource-heavy model that turned the Dodgers into back-to-back champions. The same ownership world is even eyeing an NFL team.

› What the Lakers look like with Dodgers brains in the building (Yahoo Sports)

🌺 HAWAI’I CORNER

Our standing slot for the islands — every edition

Aloha Stadium has left the building. The final controlled collapse of Hawaii's iconic stadium marked the end of a 50-year run that included Rainbow Warriors football, Pro Bowls, concerts and countless island memories. The demolition clears the way for a new 31,000-seat stadium and entertainment district in Hālawa, with the replacement venue expected to open in 2029. For Hawaii sports fans, it's the end of an era — and the beginning of the state's next big chapter.

› Saying ‘Aloha’ to Aloha Stadium (The Sporting Tribune)

📺 WATCHLIST — THURSDAY, JUNE11

⚽ World Cup, Day 1: Mexico v. South Africa (12 p.m. PT, Fox) · South Korea v. Czechia (7 p.m. PT, FOX)

🏒 Stanley Cup Final, Game 5: Knights at Hurricanes (5 p.m. PT, ABC)

⚾ MLB: Dodgers at Pirates (3:30 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet)

🎟️ GOING TO A GAME TODAY?

Get-in prices across LA, Vegas & Honolulu — brought to you by TickPick.

3:30 p.m. - Dodgers at Pirates - $34

🌴 THREE-MARKET TRIVIA

Three of these venues are home to a Las Vegas team: T-Mobile Arena, Michelob Ultra Arena, Allegiant Stadium, Les Murakami Stadium. Which one is not in Las Vegas?

Answer at the bottom.

🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY

Today’s episode breaks down the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final. Hear it on the radio across Southern California, Las Vegas & Hawaiʻi via Westwood One Sports.

› Listen to the latest episode

Trivia answer: Les Murakami Stadium — home of UH Rainbow Warrior baseball in Honolulu.

Thanks for reading! Follow us on X and Instagram, or drop us a line at tips@thesportingtribune.com.

Welcome to The Morning Column at The Sporting Tribune. It’s the first part of our ampm series, where you can read Arash Markazi’s daily column in the a.m. and then listen to The Sporting Tribune Today in the p.m. The column, which can also be read on Yahoo Sports, and the radio show, which is hosted by Arash Markazi and Grant Mona, will hit on the top stories of the day in Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii. The radio show airs every weeknight on KIRN 670 AM (95.5 FM HD3) in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and The Hawaii Sports Radio Network, 95.1 FM and 760 AM, in Hawaii. The show is also available as a podcast through Westwood One Sports and iHeartRadio.

LOS ANGELES – Six thoughts for Wednesday:

1. The banner stared back at me as I looked up at the rafters of Crypto.com Arena Wednesday night during the Lakers’ season opener against the Golden State Warriors. Right in the middle of the Lakers’ championship banners and retired jerseys that cover the north wall of the arena is the one for their 2000-01 championship.

I thought about that team as the Dodgers began to pick up steam towards the end of the regular season after winning the title the previous season, which was their first in a full season since 1988.

After winning the title in 2000 for the first time since 1988, the Lakers looked out of sorts for much of the following season while dealing with injuries. Derek Fisher missed 62 games while Kobe Bryant missed 14 games. But once they were healthy and had their starting unit of Bryant, Fisher, Shaquille O’Neal, Rick Fox and Horace Grant, they were unstoppable.

They won 15 of their last 20 games in the regular season, including their last eight straight going into the playoffs. Once they got to the postseason, they steamrolled all the way to a championship, compiling a 15-1 record with just one loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

What have the Dodgers done this year after dealing with injuries that placed Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow on the injured list for 330 combined days?

They won 15 of their last 20 games in the regular season, including their last five straight going into the playoffs. Once they got to the postseason, they steamrolled all the way to the World Series, compiling a 9-1 record with just one loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

It’s an eerily similar run and why I’m predicting the Dodgers will finish the postseason with a 13-1 record after sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays to win the World Series again. That’s not only my prediction now but what I told CBS’s Jim Hill during the NLCS.

Our Jim Hill caught up with @ArashMarkazi from @SportingTrib to get his thoughts on the Dodgers’ #Postseason run. Arash explains why he compares this team to the 2001 Lakers and shares a bold prediction for the rest of the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/0x1s04oW38

— Sports Central LA (@SportsCentralLA) October 17, 2025

2. The Dodgers didn’t just deal with injuries this season, they lead the major leagues for the second straight season in days on the injured list, which is a testament to their depth as they are on the cusp of becoming the first team in 25 years to win back-to-back World Series titles.

The Dodgers used the injured list 37 times for 2,585 days this season, according to Major League Baseball. A few of the Dodgers that are helping the Dodgers this postseason that were on the injured list this season include Sasaki (137 days), Blake Snell (121 days), Blake Treinen (102 days), Emmet Sheehan (92 days), Tyler Glasnow (72 days) and Clayton Kershaw (60 days).

In total, eight of the 11 pitchers on the Dodgers’ playoff roster have had stints on the IL and that doesn’t include Shohei Ohtani not pitching for the Dodgers late June after undergoing major surgery that kept him off the mound for nearly 22 months.

It’s why the regular season really doesn’t matter when trying to figure out the Dodgers’ place in history if they win the World Series. This team we are currently watching must be in the conversation for the best team ever.

3. If the Dodgers do end up winning the World Series in Los Angeles in Game 4 or 5, it would be the first time the Dodgers have won the World Series at Dodger Stadium since 1963 (the stadium opened in 1962) and only the second time the franchise has ever won the world title on their home field.

The Dodgers won the 1959 World Series in Comiskey Park in Chicago, they won the 1965 World Series at Metropolitan Stadium in Minnesota, the won the 1981 World Series at Yankee Stadium in New York, they won the 1988 World Series at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, they won the 2020 World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington and they won the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium in New York.

The only time the Dodgers won the World Series on their home field was in 1963 when they swept the Yankees.

4. I’m not going to lie. I was pulling for a Dodgers-Mariners World Series. Why wouldn’t I? The West Coast World Series would have given the Dodgers home field advantage; it would have given the Mariners their first-ever trip to the World Series (they are still the only MLB team never to make it to a World series) and would have allowed more Dodgers fans to make the trip to see at least the first two games of the World Series. The cheapest roundtrip flight from Los Angeles to Toronto for the first two games of the World Series is $1,500 with most decent hotels going for at least $500 per night. And that’s not even factoring the cost of a ticket to the game.

The average get-in price for Games 1 and 2 of the World Series in Toronto is $875 while the average get-in price for Game 3, 4 and 5 in Los Angeles is $900. That’s the cheapest ticket to get in the door.

5. Say what you want about LeBron James and how the Lakers are ready to turn the page and move on from the soon-to-be 41-year-old superstar in his record 23rd season but this Lakers roster as currently constructed is not built to do much of anything without James.

I’m not saying they are a championship team when he returns next month but they aren’t a playoff team without him and that much was evident in the way the Lakers looked and played on opening night in their 119-109 loss to the Warriors where they outscored 19-4 to start the second half. Luka Doncic looked like one of the favorites to win the MVP (he’s currently in the top three at most sports books along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jocic) as he had 43 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists but he didn’t get much help elsewhere outside of Austin Reaves, who had 26 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds. You never want to make too much out of the fiorst game of the season but it’s safe to say the Lakers aren’t going to do much this season without James returning and playing life his old self. Even then, the Lakers have to start thinking about building a contender around Doncic when James retires or leaves the Lakers, which could come as early as this this season.

6. The Super Bowl will likely be returning to Las Vegas in 2029 as the NFL is expected to announce that Super Bowl 63 will be played at Allegiant Stadium later this month. It would be Sin City’s second Super Bowl in a five-year span after hosting Super Bowl 58 in 2024 and confirm our earlier report that the league wanted to host the Super Bowl in Las Vegas regularly and include it in their rotation that also including sites in California, Florida and New Orleans.

During the Super Bowl in Las Vegas one league official went so far as to tell me, “Las Vegas is the perfect home for the Super Bowl.” What the league loves about Las Vegas is what many fans love about it as well. The footprint makes it one of the easiest Super Bowl cities to navigate. Most of the events surrounding the Super Bowl took place along the four-mile Las Vegas Strip. That means once you landed at Harry Reid International Airport and took a shuttle or rideshare to your hotel you could basically walk or take the monorail or tram to most of the events around town. Sure, you can also take a cab and get stuck in traffic, but you have options. Look for the Super Bowl to be in Las Vegas once every five or so years moving forward.

Good morning and welcome to The Morning Column at The Sporting Tribune. It’s the first part of our ampm series, where you can read The Morning Column, Arash Markazi’s daily column, in the a.m., and then watch and listen to The Sporting Tribune Today in the p.m. on X. The show, which is hosted by Arash Markazi and Grant Mona, will hit on the top stories of the day and will also air on KIRN 670 AM in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and The Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii.

Subscribe now

LOS ANGELES – Six thoughts for Tuesday:

1. I’m all for change when it comes to college sports. I love that athletes are getting paid now and some are already multi-millionaires before starting a single game. I’m all for the 12-team college football playoff and would be fine expanding it. I was even on board with the death of the old Pac-12, a conference that was a sinking ship and had lost its way after the glory days of the old Pac-10. Where I draw the line is trashing 100-year-old traditions like USC playing Notre Dame every year.

There have been multiple reports this week about this season’s USC-Notre Dame being the last in their current contract and how USC wants to move on from the annual rivalry game while Notre Dame wants a long terms extension. I talked to multiple USC officials this week and got some clarification on what’s happening:

- USC has offered a one-year extension for the Trojans and Irish to play at the Coliseum in 2026 while the two sides continue to work on a long-term deal. They are confident that game will be played as USC and Notre Dame celebrate the 100th anniversary of their first matchup in 1926, which also took place at the Coliseum.

- USC wants to continue to play Notre Dame beyond 2026 but would like to move the game to the start of the season where most teams play their big nonconference games. One USC official pointed to USC’s road game against Notre Dame this year on Oct. 17 being sandwiched between conference games against Michigan and Nebraska. The proposed game next season, much like in past years, would be played on the last Saturday in November after their conference schedule has already wrapped up and would be one week before the conference championship game.

My guess is the only way the annual USC-Notre Dame game survives beyond 2026 is if Notre Dame concedes to playing the game in early September as opposed to late October or November. The feeling I got from USC officials was that was going to be a non-starter for a program that has scheduled Missouri State and Georgia Southern to start this season and doesn’t plan on scheduling nonconference games after September moving forward.

2. Whenever people talk about Paul George being traded from the Thunder to the Clippers, the only name that is usually brought up is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It makes sense. He just won his first MVP at 26 and is a three-time All-NBA First Team player. But after the Thunder’s win over the Wolves on Monday, it was hard not to think of Jalen Williams, who the Thunder selected with one of the Clippers’ draft picks in the deal. Williams is already a All-Star and third-team All-NBA selection and scored a payoff-career-high 34 points to get the Thunder on the brink of the NBA Finals.

3. It was surreal to Shohei Ohtani back on the mound in New York, this time in a Dodgers uniform, as he faced hitters for the first time in nearly two years in a live batting practice at Citi Field. Ohtani isn’t expected to pitch for the Dodgers until the second half of the season but to see him throw 22 pitches over five plate appearances to three batters for the first time since his second elbow reconstruction surgery was a big moment for the Dodgers as they hope to have him back in the starting rotation in time for the postseason in October.

4. There’s a video of LeBron James dancing at his son’s high school graduation on TikTok and the reaction from his haters is both sad and hilarious. James suffered a MCL sprain during the Lakers’ last game of the playoffs on April 30. At the time, the feeling was he would likely be out 3-4 weeks if the Lakers had won, sidelining him for the rest of the first and second round. Here we are, 3-4 weeks later and haters are up in arms because he’s dancing at his son’s graduation party? So ridiculous.

5. Chris Taylor didn’t have to travel too far from home after the long-time Dodgers utility man was released on May 18. He signed with the Angels on Monday and started against the New York Yankees on his first day with team. Taylor, 34, went 0-for-3 but did make a sprinting catch in the ninth inning, showing both why the Dodgers released him and why he still has value for a team, looking for a regular centerfielder. While the Angels are the Dodgers’ Freeway Series rivals, there is no doubt a soft spot in the hearts of Dodgers fans for the Halos now after acquiring Taylor and Kenley Jansen.

6. While the Sparks are the best value for tickets in Los Angeles ($10 lower bowl tickets, $15 suite tickets for most home games), the Angels are the best value in Orange County and are in the running for best in all of sports. For Tuesday and Wednesday’s games against the New York Yankees, for example, you can get in the door at Angel Stadium for $8. Sure, you’re not home plate but the cheapest ticket to see the Yankees at Dodger Stadium this weekend is over $100 and you’d be hard-pressed to find anything for $8 with Dodger Dogs selling for $7.99 before taxes.

Good morning and welcome to The Morning Column at The Sporting Tribune. It’s the first part of our ampm series, where you can read The Morning Column, Arash Markazi’s daily column, in the a.m., and then watch and listen to The Sporting Tribune Today in the p.m. on X. The show, which is hosted by Arash Markazi and Grant Mona, will hit on the top stories of the day and will also air on KIRN 670 AM in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and The Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii.

Subscribe now

LOS ANGELES – Six thoughts for Monday:

1. I was never on “Around the Horn” but knew many of the panelists who were on the show and the one thing they all said was how nice Tony Reali was. Not in the low bar we sometimes have for people in the public eye where not being an asshole makes you nice in comparison but I’d hear stories of him being there for people dealing with things. I always thought about that while watching the show and then a few years ago while I going through a tough time Tony reached out to me.

"I hope you’re hanging in there, and with those who matter most to you. Something I think about often: you have no control over what others may think or do - you only have control over how you respond. So, I say to myself go where there’s kindness. It’s a “self-full” aim. I say self-full because we all can spend too much time beating ourselves up or chasing a fictional, hurtful version of ourselves other people have created; that is wasted energy. Go where the kindness is and be self-full."

It was a beautiful message from someone I had never met before and had a huge impact on me. It made me realize how much kindness and a simple message of support can mean to someone going through a difficult time. I never thought I would get such a profound life lesson from a sports talk show host famous for hot takes and a mute button but Tony isn’t your average host. He's one of the good ones and as he transitions from ESPN, I look forward to him going where the kindness is and being self-full.

2. The end of “Around the Horn” also got me thinking about Max Kellerman, the first host of the show. He was part of ESPN’s layoffs two years ago and hasn’t done anything in the public eye since – no social media posts, no interviews, no stories, nothing. I can’t think of the last time someone who was on TV and/or radio every day for as long as he was just disappearing like that. There have been multiple reports over the past two years saying he will be back soon but nothing yet.

I always liked working with Max when we were together at ESPN. He wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea and rubbed some the wrong way but he didn’t deserve to be kicked on the way out the door by Stephen A. Smith the way he was. I talked about it with Jim Lampley, who told me. “I have genuinely lost sleep about what happened to Max and I can honestly say I don’t understand any of it. I never lost sleep over what happened to me but I have lost sleep about what has happened to Max. It’s not right.”

3. The WWE is smartly piggybacking off the MLB All-Star Game being in Atlanta this year. The WWE announced they will hold Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 12 and WWE Evolution on July 13 from State Farm Arena (as well as the Great American Bash) before the MLB Home Run Derby on July 14 and the MLB All-Star Game on July 15 at Truist Park. Atlanta will be the hottest city in the country during the slowest time on the sports calendar this year.

4. After the Oklahoma City Thunder got blown out by the Minnesota Timberwolves, 143-101, I heard a stat that surprised me. No NBA team has ever lost a playoff game by 40 or more points and gone on to win the title. First, that record will be broken next month. Second, I’ll never forget being at Staples Center for a watch party for Game 5 of the 2000 NBA Finals and watching the Pacers blow out the Lakers, 120-87. It was a bad loss but it was just one game and the Lakers won the title in Game 6.

5. When Luka Doncic was traded to the Lakers, his weight and physical conditioning were cited as two big reasons. It seemed absurd considering Doncic was 25 years old, a five-time All-NBA First Team player, and coming off his first NBA Finals appearance. Lakers coach JJ Redick even mentioned the need for the Lakers to get in “championship shape” after losing in the first round. It seems Luka didn’t waste any time as he looked like a new man last weekend while at a Real Madrid game. The NBA has yet to see this Luka.

6. The Sparks are battling injuries and are 2-3 this season but they are attracting some of the biggest names in sports to their games. Kevin Durant has been courtside for the last two home games and Aaron Donald was courtside for Sunday’s win over the Chicago Sky. It’s a perfect time reiterate that the Sparks are the best bargain in sports in Los Angeles and maybe the country. For Tuesday’s game against Atlanta, for example, you can sit in the lower bowl at Crypto for $10 or be in a suite for $15.

Good morning and welcome to The Morning Column at The Sporting Tribune. It’s the first of our weekday 6@6 series, where you can catch The Morning Column, Arash Markazi’s daily notebook, at 6 a.m., and then watch and listen to The Sporting Tribune Today at 6 p.m. on X. The show, which is hosted by Arash Markazi and Grant Mona, will hit on the top stories of the day and will also air on KIRN 670 AM in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and The Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii.

Subscribe now

LOS ANGELES – Six thoughts for Monday:

1. As great as the opening week was for the Los Angeles Dodgers after they raised their World Series flag, handing out their World Series rings and started the season 5-0, the team sadly announced the passing of long-time organist Nancy Bea Hefley, who was 89 years and played the organ at Dodger Stadium from 1988 to 2015.

Hefley famously played “Master of the House” from “Les Miserables” whenever Orel Hershiser took the mound and “Food, Glorious Food” from “Oliver!” when the scoreboard advertised food specials. There was a special bond between Hefley and Dodgers fans that was forged over a quarter century.

Growing up as Dodgers fan, who fell in love with the team during their magical World Series run in 1988, Hefley was as much a part of the fabric of the Dodgers as Vin Scully and Tommy Lasorda. I got to know Hefley and her husband, Bill, over the years when I started covering the team for Sports Illustrated and ESPN.

By the time Hefley retired in 2015, the Dodgers had all but phased her out. We often joked that you could count the number of times she played the organ in-game on one hand during her final season.

One of my favorite memories of Hefley didn’t take place at Dodger Stadium but at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. When Manny Ramirez joined the Chicago White Sox late in the 2010 season after being waived by the Dodges, Hefley and her husband drove to Anaheim to catch up with Ramirez and another former Dodger who was in Chicago, Juan Pierre, before leaving for their home in Silver Springs, Nevada prior to the opening pitch. She made that 450-mile commute to every Dodgers homestand but I’ll never forget her making that commute just to give a former player a pregame hug.

"When Manny arrived, the team wasn't doing anything and he just brought a spark," she told me after giving Ramirez and Pierre a big hug each in the visitor's dugout. "He brought a spark to the team in the dugout and on the field and made it very exciting."

Hefley made every Dodgers game she performed at exciting and she will be missed.

2. After Roki Sasaki’s nightmarish home debut at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, cameras caught an emotional Sasaki in the Dodgers dugout.

Really tough seeing Rōki Sasaki emotional after his outing.

He’s 23 years old. Stuff is nasty. He’ll be great in MLB.

pic.twitter.com/5Z0tmhXRSx

— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) March 31, 2025

Sasaki's Dodger Stadium debut ended in the second inning after he issued four walks and got only five outs while throwing 61 pitches to 12 batters. The video of him nearly in tears in the dugout after getting puled by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went viral online. It was from the Japanese broadcast not from the Spectrum SportsNet LA telecast so it was the first time most fans had seen Sasaki visually rattled. Having just spent a week in Japan covering four Dodgers games, the telecasts in Japan focus on every movement of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinbu Yamamoto and Sasaki in between pitches. Instead of watching the batter in the batter’s box or the pitcher on the mound, we get closeups of Ohtani, Yamamoto or Sasaki eating sunflower seeds or drinking water.

Not only did I not have an issue with Sasaki’s reaction to getting pulled early, I thought it showed how badly he wants to be great and how much he wants to be a part of this team’s success early. The truth is, he’s just 23 years old, he’s going to get better and the Dodgers are 5-0 this season with the deepest pitching staff in baseball and they don’t need him to be a Cy Young candidate early in his rookie season. I was actually more concerned about Yamamoto after his first start last season when he allowed five runs on four hits and a walk in only one inning of work with two strikeouts against the San Diego Padres. The five runs allowed were the most ever by a Dodgers starter in their major league debut pitching an inning or less. It was a far worse debut and we know how last season ended for Yamamoto and the Dodgers.

3. The UCLA women’s basketball team is headed to the program’s first-ever Final Four after beating LSU on Sunday. As much as basketball fans in Los Angeles would love to see a fourth match-up between USC and UCLA on Friday night in the Final Four in Tampa, USC enters Monday’s Elite Eight game against UConn as a heavy underdog. Without JuJu Watkins, USC enters Monday’s game as a 15-point underdog. It’s the biggest underdog a No. 1 seed has been in the tournament (men’s or women’s) in 25 years. Even without Watkins, USC has covered the spread over Mississippi State and Kansas State and it’s not hard to imagine them keeping the game against UConn, a team they beat earlier this season, within a dozen points.

4. The mantra for the Lakers entering the stretch run this season is “playoffs, not play-in.” It makes sense. Since winning the championship in 2020 (the first season the play-in tournament was introduced), the only times the Lakers have been in the playoffs have been after winning their way in through the play-in tournament as a team seeded between seven through 10. The Lakers don’t want to do that this season. After being as a high as the No. 2 seed they would like to remain in the top six and simply qualify for the playoffs without being in the play-in tournament.

To take that one step further, they would also like to be a top four seed and have home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The road to that goal begins tonight at home against the Houston Rockets. The Lakers only have eight games left in the season and will likely need to go 6-2 over that stretch if they want to be a top four team and start the postseason at home.

5. Major League Baseball released a list of the 20 most purchased jerseys since the 2024 World Series and it’s no surprise that the Dodgers dominate the list with six players in the top 16. Ohtani is No. 1 on the list followed by Freddie Freeman at No. 2, Mookie Betts at No. 4, Yoshinobu Yamamoto at No. 10, Clayton Kershaw at No. 11 and Kike Hernandez at No. 16.

6. The Kings will honor longtime play-by-play announcer Nick Nickson during a pre-game ceremony on Tuesday celebrating his hall of fame career before his retirement at the end of this season. Nickson is in his 44th season as the “Voice of the Kings” across radio and television. He has called over 3,800 Kings games.

It will be the end of an era in Los Angeles sports broadcasting after Bob Miller’s retirement in 2017, Ralph Lawler’s retirement in 2019 and, of course, the passing of Chick Hearn and Vin Scully. We were blessed with some of the most iconic voices in sports history.

“It has been an absolute privilege to bring the game to the listeners and viewers from one season to the next,” Nickson said in October after announcing his retirement. “Through it all, I have enjoyed calling every shot, every save, every goal, and two Stanley Cups. To my family and the Kings organization, thank you for your unwavering support and loyalty. To the great fans of Kings Hockey, thank you for your encouragement and kind words over the years. It has always meant the world to me.

Good morning and welcome to The Morning Column at The Sporting Tribune. It’s the first of our weekday 6@6 series, where you can catch The Morning Column, Arash Markazi’s daily notebook, at 6 a.m. PT, and then watch and listen to The Sporting Tribune Today at 6 p.m. PT on X. The show, which is hosted by Arash Markazi and Grant Mona, will hit on the top stories of the day and will also air on KIRN 670 AM in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and The Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii.

Subscribe now

LOS ANGELES – Six thoughts for Friday:

1. I don’t think the Dodgers could have had a better home opener than the one that played out on Thursday at Dodger Stadium. Every moment hit the right note. From the Dodgers’ players walking onto the field from a blue carpet in the outfield and Ice Cube driving the World Series trophy onto the field in a blue 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air to the 2024 World Series plaque being unveiled in the right-field corner by captains of the Los Angeles and Pasadena fire departments to 1988 World Series Game 1 hero Kirk Gibson throwing out the first pitch to 2024 World Series Game 1 hero Freddie Freeman, it was perfect. Just perfect.

The only part of the day the Dodgers couldn’t script was the game and that went off as planned as well with the team’s new $182 million pitcher Blake Snell getting the win powered by home runs from 2024 NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, 2024 Home Run Derby Champion Teoscar Hernandez and 2024 NLCS MVP Tommy Edman. It was a perfect celebration of last year as the team finally turns the page on a magical 2024 season and focuses on this season. Well, except for one small thing.

2. The one thing missing from the Dodgers’ home opening celebration was a ring ceremony. That’s because the team wanted to spread the celebration across two days and give two sold out crowds at Dodger Stadium the chance to celebrate the team’s 2024 World Series. So, while the team raised the World Series flag and unveiled the banner on Thursday, the team will finally get their World Series rings on Friday.

“I like it,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told me when I asked him the thought process behind spreading the celebration across two days. “I think it gives the fans an opportunity to have something unique and special for two days in a row. Where it’s usually all encompassing on one day, Opening Day, which is special, now the fans that aren’t here today can come tomorrow and get something unique as well. It’s great what the Dodgers did to allow for the fans to get a couple of unique experiences.”

When Roberts and the players get their World Series rings on Friday, it will be the first time they see what it looks like. “I have not seen them,” Roberts said. “They’ve been under wraps.”

3. The Dodgers are doing their best to carry over anything that may have become a tradition last year during the team’s World Series-winning season and Ohtani’s record-breaking season. The first was playing Opening Day overseas, the second was Josh Groban singing the National Anthem before the homer opener as he did on Thursday, and the third was offering a $6 Panda Plate from Panda Express after every Dodgers home win.

The deal had become a fan favorite last season and the team and the fast-food chain, which was founded in Glendale, Calif. in 1983, announced they would be bringing it back this season. I talked to a Panda Express representative and the deal is not only available in Los Angeles County this season but at other select Panda Express locations in Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii, which is not only the coverage area of The Sporting Tribune but the broadcast area of Spectrum SportsNet LA, the broadcast home of the Dodgers. To take advantage of the offer and see if it is available near you, just download the Panda Express app, select the "Plate Meal (2 Entree + 1 Side)" for $6 when you login to your Panda Rewards Account (it's free to join) and apply coupon code "DODGERSWIN" in your cart and select the store pickup where available.

4. There are new combo deals at Dodger Stadium this season although some fans might take exception to the word “deals.” I tweeted about one that included four Dodger Dogs, a garlic fry helmet and two souvenir sodas going for $59.99.

For $60 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium you can get:
10 hotdogs ($20)
10 orders of fries ($30)
5 refillable drinks ($10)

— Mercedes-Benz Stadium (@MBStadium) March 27, 2025

One of the accounts that responded to the price tag was the official verified account of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is the Atlanta Falcons. The stadium known for affordable concessions wrote, “For $60 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium you can get: 10 hot dogs ($20), 10 orders of fries (30), 5 refillable dinks ($10).” The only thing you can’t get with that order, however, is a winning team. The Falcons have not had a winning record since 2017 and have gone 47-69 over that stretch. I think the bigger question is do fans mind paying more for hot dogs, fries and drinks if it equates to more wins and championships?

5. If you were not able to make it out to the first two Dodgers home games this season, don’t worry, there are plenty more opportunities to see the “Boys in Blue” this season and not surprisingly it gets progressively cheaper on the secondary market. The cheapest ticket to the Thursday’s home opener was $130, for Friday’s ring ceremony it’s $85, for Saturday’s game against the Tigers it’s $69, for Monday’s game against the Braves it’s $59 and for Tuesday’s game against the Braves it’s $39.

The most interesting ticket pricing tidbit is that the most expensive ticket for the Dodgers’ home schedule through April isn’t the home opener or even Ohtani’s MVP bobblehead on Wednesday ($75). It’s the Freddi Freeman’ bobblehead when the Dodgers play the Chicago Cubs on Friday, April 11. The cheapest ticket for that game is $175.

6. OK, that’s it for this week. Enjoy the weekend because “It's Friday again! Then Saturday, Sunday!”

Good morning and welcome to The Morning Column at The Sporting Tribune. It’s the first of our weekday 6@6 series, where you can catch The Morning Column, Arash Markazi’s daily notebook, at 6 a.m. PT, and then watch and listen to The Sporting Tribune Today at 6 p.m. PT on X. The show, which is hosted by Arash Markazi and Grant Mona, will hit on the top stories of the day and will also air on KIRN 670 AM in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and The Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii.

Subscribe now

LOS ANGELES – Six thoughts for Thursday:

1. ESPN announced Wednesday that is moving production of its Los Angeles-based late night SportsCenter as well as soccer programming to its headquarters in Bristol, Conn. The last Los Angeles SportsCenter will air on May 16.

The only shows that will continue to use ESPN’s LA Live studios, which opened on April 6, 2009, is ESPN's NBA shows. The studios were also used for Los Angeles-based reporters on “Around The Horn,” which will air its final episode on May 23.

It’s the end of an era for ESPN, which planted a huge flag across the street from Staples Center just before the Lakers won back-to-back NBA championships, the Kings won two Stanley Cups in three years and the Sparks won a WNBA title.

I joined ESPN in 2009 as they were building their campus at L.A. Live. It was an exciting time as they opened a first-class studio for ESPNLA 710, launched ESPNLA.com to cover the city as newspapers were downsizing, introduced Bill Simmons’ Grantland.com, welcomed the nightly SportsCenter Los Angeles, invested in X Games, which took place annually in Los Angeles, and also held events at ESPN Zone at Disneyland.

Since then, ESPN sold ESPNLA 710 to Good Karma Brands, pulled the plug on ESPNLA.com and Grantland.com, announced the cancellation of SportsCenter Los Angeles, sold the X Games to MS Sports Capital and closed all of its ESPN Zone locations.

ESPN is still the “Worldwide Leader” but they have seemingly punted on having a homebase in Los Angeles and they might not be done yet when it comes to relocating. A source inside ESPN told me their commitment to having NBA shows emanate from L.A. Live extends only through this postseason but no decision has been made yet about next season when "Inside the NBA" with Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal, will begin airing on ESPN and ABC.

TNT Sports will continue to independently produce "Inside the NBA" from its Atlanta-based studios. Multiple prominent ESPN personalities that cover the NBA also have contracts coming up before next season and part of those contract negotiations, according to the source, will revolve around ESPN not having a Los Angeles-based NBA show. Nothing has been decided yet but there is a chance ESPN completely leaves its LA Live studios and offices at the end of the year.

2. The Los Angeles Sparks announced they will retire Candace Parker’s No. 3 jersey at Crypto.com Arena at halftime of the team’s game against the Chicago Sky on June 29. Parker will become the third Spark to have her jersey retired, joining Lisa Leslie (No. 9), and Penny Toler (No. 11). The ceremony, according to the team, will “feature a halftime on-court tribute with appearances from former teammates, coaches, and special guests, along with a video montage highlighting her greatest moments in a Sparks uniform.”

It will be a special night but also reminds me that we’re still long overdue for the first Sparks statue in Star Plaza outside of Crypto.com Arena. Before the pandemic, there was talk of Lisa Leslie getting a statue but nothing has happened since then. Crypto.com Arena is the home of the Lakers, Kings and Sparks. It’s not hard to see it’s the home of the Lakers and Kings as you walk around Star Plaza and see statues for Lakers greats Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Chick Hearn as well as Kings greats Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, Dustin Brown and Bob Miller. But it’s long overdue for the Sparks to have some kind of representation with a statue in front of the arena as well.

3. Everyone knows the Dodgers are the heavy favorites to repeat as World Series champions but they are actually historically big favorites, according to several sportsbooks in Las Vegas. The Dodgers are hovering around +275 to win the World Series at many sportsbooks before their home opener against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. That makes them the biggest Opening Day favorite since the 2002 New York Yankees, according to ESPN Research. The Dodgers had a preseason win total of 103, which is about 10 wins higher than any other team this year. It’s the highest total entering any season since the 1999 Yankees. For those wondering, the 2002 Yankees did win 103 games but lost to the Angels in the ALDS while the 1999 Yankees won the World Series as the Yankees won three World Series in four years from 1996 to 2000.

4. I know traffic is a nightmare around Dodger Stadium for the first homestand of the season but if you have a ticket to Opening Day in L.A. on Thursday or the ring ceremony on Friday, do yourself a favor and get their early. Josh Groban, who sang the national anthem before last year’s home opener will be back to sing the anthem and will be accompanied by two F-15C aircrafts from the 144th Fight Wing in Fresno, California and two F-35A Lightning II fighter jets from the 63rd Fighter Squadron of Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. And on Friday, my favorite anthem singer Keith Williams Jr. will take centerstage before Steve Garvey, Orel Hershiser and Manny Mota throw out the ceremonial first pitch and Jaime Jarrin returns to announce, “It’s Time for Dodger Baseball!”

5. The City of Pasadena announced Wednesday that it signed a historic agreement with the organizers of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games for the Rose Bowl Stadium to host Olympic soccer, including the semifinal and final matches for both men and women. This will mark the third time that Pasadena will play a role in the Olympic Games at the Rose Bowl Stadium. While this announcement had been expected for some time, it’s great to officially see the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl Stadium officially become the only two venues to host events at three different Olympic Games (1932, 1984, 2028).

6. I might be one of the last print subscribers to notice this but it was also the end of the era at the Los Angeles Times as they got rid of the rid of the “hedcut” or hand-drawn portraits of their columnists and instead place “Voices” above columns written by their columnists. Frustrated readers upset by a column in the paper can no longer draw on the portraits of the writer, depriving those of us that still enjoy the tactile pleasure of holding the morning paper one more benefit of keeping our subscription.

Good morning and welcome to The Morning Column at The Sporting Tribune. It’s the first of our weekday 6@6 series, where you can catch The Morning Column, Arash Markazi’s daily notebook, at 6 a.m. PT, and then watch and listen to The Sporting Tribune Today at 6 p.m. PT on X. The show, which is hosted by Arash Markazi and Grant Mona, will hit on the top stories of the day and will also air on KIRN 670 AM in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and The Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii.

Subscribe now

LOS ANGELES – Six thoughts for Wednesday:

1. The Dodgers announced Tuesday they had accepted an invitation from the President of the United States to visit the White House to celebrate winning the World Series last season.

The team will visit the White House on April 7 and will also visit Capitol Hill on April 8 during their trip to Washington, D.C. to play the Washington Nationals.

Normally such a trip – a decades-long tradition for professional and college teams – wouldn’t be newsworthy but when the invitation comes from President Donald Trump, well, it’s a little different. Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts had previously said he wouldn’t visit the White House while Trump was in office and Mookie Betts didn’t go when the Boston Red Sox visited Trump in the White House after winning the World Series in 2018.

Roberts said he would be going to the White House next month while Betts was undecided and said he would discuss the invitation with his family this week.

“It’s certainly a huge honor to get the invitation to the White House,” Roberts told the media on Tuesday. “It allows us to celebrate our 2024 championship. To my understanding, every World Series champion gets that honor. I respect the position. It’s the highest office in our country certainly, in the world. So, I’m looking forward to it.”

The viewpoint from Dodgers fans were as divided as the voter turnout in California judging from the comments following the Dodgers’ post on X announcing the decision to go to the White House.

In keeping with long-standing baseball tradition, President Trump has invited the 2024 World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House when they play in Washington D.C. on April 7. The Dodgers look forward to visiting the White House and celebrating our title.

In…

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 25, 2025

I understand both sides of the argument but the Dodgers’ players, coaches and staff who won the World Series in October over the New York Yankees earned this invitation and with it earned the right to accept it or deny it. There will likely be some players that chose not to attend, which is their right, and there will likely be many more that choose to attend, which, again, is their right.

I assure you, whether or not Betts or Freddie Freeman or Shohei Ohtani or anyone decides to go or not to the White House is not going to change how the Trump admiration does their job. For many players, coaches and staff, this invitation and moment is a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit the White House. Even if you don’t support Trump, you can still take advantage of this time in your life and share the experience with your family for years to come. There's no guarantee they will ever get this chance again, regardless of who's in office.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the White House when Barack Obama was in office and was able to walk around the Vermeil Room, check out the books in the Library, sit in the China Room, grab a drink in the Blue Room, relax in the Red Room and take photos in the Green Room, before eating lunch in the State Dining Room. Whenever I show people pictures of my unforgettable day at the White House, who was the sitting president at the time isn’t a big part of the story. It’s an experience I cherish and didn’t take for granted. It’s also one the Dodgers deserve to enjoy if they choose to accept the president’s invitation.

2. It was great to see Mookie Betts smiling and back in the Dodgers' lineup on Tuesday. It didn’t matter that he went 0-for-3 in the Dodgers’ final exhibition game against the Angels. That was meaningless in every sense of the word. The fact that he was healthy again is the best news the Dodgers have gotten since they returned from Japan.

There was serious concern about his health to start the season after he had been battling a mysterious stomach virus that caused him to lose nearly 20 pounds in two weeks. But Betts turned a corner on Monday, responding well to medication from doctors, felt well enough to play on Tuesday and has been cleared to play in the Dodges’ home opener on Thursday against the Detroit Tigers. “I feel great,” Betts told reporters. “Awesome. Normal.”

3. The best team in Los Angeles this month has been the Los Angeles Kings. They have won nine of their last 10 games and currently have the longest single season home point streak at 15 games in franchise history, going 12-0-3 during that stretch. They’ve also outscored their opponents 34-15 during this run thanks in large part to back-to-back 7-2 wins at home over the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins. It’s the first time the Kings have scored at least seven goals in back-to-back games in 30 years.

They’re certainly looking like a dark horse Stanley Cup team no one wants to face come playoff time. They’re in sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division and just five points behind first place Vegas with a game in hand. They’re also currently fifth in the West but just five points behind the second seed. If you’re a fan of the Lakers and Kings, your teams are in very similar positions with very similar goals heading into the stretch run of the season.

4. Bronny James will never get a fair shake at being an NBA player because of who is father is. The fact is most people think the only reason Bronny is in the NBA is because his father is LeBron James. That might have been the common belief when the Lakers drafted him at the end of the second-round last year with one of the last picks in the draft but anyone who has watched him play recently knows that is simply not the case. He deserves to be in the NBA.

A few days after posting 17 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 block on 70-percent shooting against the Milwaukee Bucks, Bronny scored a career-high 39 points in the South Bay Lakers' G League win over the Santa Cruz Warriors. He hit 14-of-21 shots from the field, including 4-for-8 on 3-pointers, and added seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block.

At just 20 years old, Bronny is the youngest player in the G League to average at least 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game. No one is saying he is the second coming of his father but he’s much better than most late second round picks and looks like he could be a solid NBA player if he continues to develop the way he has during the course of his rookie season.

5. WrestleMania Week will look a lot like Super Bowl Week in Las Vegas.

Medium Rare, the group that puts on some of the biggest Super Bowl parties each year such as Shaq’s Fun House, Gronk Beach. SI The Party and Guy’s Flavortown Tailgate, announced they are partnering with WWE to roll out a similar lineup of parties around WrestleMania next month.

The parties will take place each night from Thursday, April 17 through Sunday, April 20 at LIV and LIV Beach at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, which is the official host hotel of WrestleMania. "WrestleMania After Dark" will feature musical performances, appearances by top WWE Superstars, and interactive activations.

6. I wrote in yesterday’s column how distraught and heartbroken I was about JuJu Watkins tearing her ACL on Monday and being sidelined for the year. The worry with an injury like that isn’t just for the short-term but also the long-term. Will she be the same player she was before when she comes back? The answer from a friend and doctor was short and sweet and gave me some hope.

“She will be even better.”

My friend mentioned the advancements that have been made with ACL surgery, the best-in-class care and treatment she is getting and sent me this video of UConn star Paige Bueckers, who tore her ACL in 2022 and returned better than before and will be the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft

Good morning and welcome to The Morning Column at The Sporting Tribune. It’s the first of our weekday 6@6 series, where you can catch The Morning Column, Arash Markazi’s daily notebook, at 6 a.m. PT, and then watch and listen to The Sporting Tribune Today at 6 p.m. PT on X. The show, which is hosted by Arash Markazi and Grant Mona, will hit on the top stories of the day and will also air on KIRN 670 AM in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and The Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii.

Subscribe now

LOS ANGELES – Six (or seven) thoughts for Tuesday:

1. My brother and I don’t own many of the same pieces of clothing. Out styles are as different as you would expect from two siblings 12 years apart. But we did make one purchase together last year. We both bought JuJu Watkins SLAM cover shirts before this season and started a group chat between us and our wives called the “JuJu Watkins Fan Club.” While our significant others aren’t as obsessed with sports as their husbands tare he four of us have bonded over the USC Trojans women’s basketball team this season.

After USC beat UCLA at Pauley Pavilion to win the Big Ten regular season championship earlier this month, we made plans to go to Tampa for the Women’s Final Four. There was no guarantee that USC would advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1986, of course, but this was a team of destiny we figured lead by Watkins, the consensus National Player of the Yea, the program’s first since Lisa Leslie in 1994.

This is all to say I’ve never felt more of a personal connection to a team than this USC women’s basketball team led by Watkins. When Watkins went down in the first quarter of Monday’s NCAA Tournament game against Mississippi State, my heart dropped. I’m no doctor but I’ve covered enough sports over the past 25 years to know what a torn ACL looks like and the MRI taken late Monday night at Keck Hospital of USC confirmed everyone’s worst fears that Watkins was done for the season.

It's heartbreaking end to the season for a player that was destined for a rematch against Paige Bueckers and UConn in the Elite Eight, Lauren Betts and UCLA in the Final Four and Hannah Hidalgo and Notre Dame (or South Carolina) in the national championship game. It was not only a blow to USC but to women’s college basketball fans everywhere. This wasn’t supposed to be the way her season came to an end. Everything Watkins and USC had done up until this point was for what was coming up over the next two weekends.

It’s nearly impossible to find a silver lining on a night when the game’s best player is lost to season-ending surgery but the rest of the country did get to see why Kiki Iriafen was in the conversation to be the No. 1 overall pick in this year's WNBA Draft when the senior forward transferred to USC from Stanford. She did her best to play a supporting role to Watkins this season but in Watkins' absence, Iriafin played like a No. 1 overall pick prospect in posting 36 points and 9 rebounds in USC’s 96-59 blowout win over Mississippi State to lead the Trojans to the Sweet 16.

If Iriafin plays that in Spokane, maybe, just maybe, we’ll get to see USC in the Final Four after all.

2. I went to the doctor on Monday. I didn’t want to go but my wife told me I had to go after complaining about my ears, nose and throat upon my return to Los Angeles from Tokyo. Covering the Tokyo Series was a dream but the 12-hour flight in the back of a sold-out plane was beyond a nightmare. My tests thankfully came back negative and I feel better today than I did yesterday but the doctor told me to take it easy for while and get some rest.

It's the same advice I’d love to see the Dodgers give Mookie Betts as he continues to battle a mysterious illness that came to light during the team's trip to Japan for the Tokyo Series. The "virus," as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called it, has prevented Betts from keeping down solid food for two weeks and caused him to lose nearly 20 pounds.

Roberts said Betts did turn a corner on Monday and was able to keep sold food down for the first time and made it through a full workout and felt fine. He said he expects him to play in Tuesday’s exhibition game against the Angels in preparation for Thursday’s home opener against the Detroit Tigers. On one hand that’s great news and on the other hand I can’t help but wonder why? What’s the rush?

Betts’ body has been through so much over the past two weeks and one day after keeping down solid food for the first time in weeks you want to run him out to play in an exhibition game? I want to see Betts back on the field as much as anyone but maybe let him string a few meals and workouts together and get back up to his playing weight before putting him back onto the field. It’s a long season and the Dodgers have the deepest roster in baseball. There’s no reason in rushing Betts back before he’s physically ready to play and risking injury.

3. It was easy to dismiss the Lakers’ four-game losing streak earlier this month when they were playing without LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Rui Hachimura, Jaxon Hayes and Dorian-Finney Smith. In their 131-126 loss at Denver, they rolled out starting lineup of Dalton Knecht, Jordan Goodwin, Alex Len, Jared Vanderbilt and Austin Reaves.

The thinking at the time was that as soon as the Lakers were back at full strength they would go on another eight-game winning streak and reclaim the No. 2 seed in the West going into the postseason.

Um, not exactly.

The Lakers have not only lost three straight games after Monday's loss at the Orlando Magic but they have lost by an average of 24 points. They’re currently the No. 4 seed, which is 2.5 games back of the No. 2 seed but also just 3 games up on being in the play-in tournament. As good as the Lakers looked earlier this month when they held the No. 2 seed before James’ injury in Boston, how they finish this month with road games at Indiana, Chicago and Memphis and a home game against Houston could make or break their season with just seven games to play in April. The last thing this team wants to do is start the postseason by playing in the play-in tournament again.

4. While the Lakers are struggling, the Clippers look like they are finally hitting their stride, winning five straight and eight of nine before a heartbreaking 103-101 loss to the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder. The Clippers’ core of Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac are finally all healthy and they’re getting contributions from Kris Dunn, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Ben Simmons, Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum and Amir Coffey. The Clippers are just three games back of the No. 4 seed and just one game back of the No. 6 seed and avoiding the play-in tournament.

One of the most consistent players on the Clippers this season has been Zubac, who has started 69 of the Clippers 71 games so far this season and is averaging a career-high 16.4 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. This is the same player the Lakers drafted in the second round in 2016 and looked destined for a long career in purple and gold before he was traded for Mike Muskala, who bounced around between five teams after the failed deal before retiring from basketball last July.

While most would call that the worst Lakers trade in recent memory, I still have to give the nod to the Lakers taking a sledge hammer to their 2020 championship team less than one year hosting the Larry O'Brien Trophy by trading Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and a first-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Russell Westbrook. A few days later, they let Alex Carusso sign a four-year, $37 million deal with the Chicago Bulls when he told the Lakers he would re-sign to stay in Los Angeles for less.

5. Speaking of that 2020 championship Lakers team, it was great to see Dwight Howard get inducted into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame before the Lakers played the Magic on Monday. It was only fitting given that Howard led the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals against the Lakers, was traded to the Lakers by the Magic and eventually won his only championship with the Lakers in Orlando.

6.I liked the Sparks’ trade for Kelsey Plum when it was made mainly because I felt they needed a proven star after missing out on the No. 1 overall pick for the second year in a row. I also didn’t feel there was a No. 2 player on the board this year as good as Cameron Brink was last year. So, make the trade for Plum and get a sold player with the ninth pick in the first round and get lucky with someone who could make an impact with the 21st overall pick. We’ll see what happens but I have the Sparks taking UConn guard Azzi Fudd with the ninth pick and Brink’s 3x3 Team USA teammate and TCU standout guard Hayley Van Lith with the 21st pick.

7. Bonus Note of the Day: Thanks to KCBS 2 and KCAL 9 for having me on to talk about Match Madness this week.

The Sporting Tribune’s @ArashMarkazi will be on KCAL and KCBS talking about March Madness this week. pic.twitter.com/phGcbpPVFh

— The Sporting Tribune (@SportingTrib) March 25, 2025

Good morning and welcome to The Morning Column at The Sporting Tribune. It’s the first of our weekday 6@6 series, where you can catch The Morning Column, Arash Markazi’s daily notebook, at 6 a.m. PT, and then watch and listen to The Sporting Tribune Today at 6 p.m. PT on X. The show, which is hosted by Arash Markazi and Grant Mona, will hit on the top stories of the day and will also air on KIRN 670 AM in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and The Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii.

TOKYO – Six (or seven) thoughts for my trip to Japan:

1. I have never been to Tokyo before, but I quickly felt a connection to the many curious onlookers who heard me struggle to ask a question in Japanese.

“Where are you from?” they would ask me in English.

“Los Angeles,” I would say as a big smile came over their face.

“Oh, Los Angeles!” they would say. “Shohei Ohtani!”

It was like I knew their cousin as they would ask me about Ohtani’s historical season last year before transitioning into Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s postseason and Roki Sasaki joining the Dodgers this offseason.

Los Angeles and Japan are separated by 5,500 miles but Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki have seemingly shortened the distance between Dodger Stadium and the island nation in East Asia. It was impossible to walk around Tokyo over the past week without seeing a billboard for Ohtani, Yamamoto or Sasaki or someone wearing one of their jerseys with a Dodgers hat.

2. “There’s more Dodgers fans here than we’d have for this game at Dodger Stadium.”

That was a text I got from a friend who attended Opening Day between the Dodgers and Cubs at the Tokyo Dome. He was referring to the number of Cubs fans who always come out to Dodger Stadium for a Los Angeles-Chicago series, but also to the incredible number of Dodgers fans at Tokyo Dome for the Tokyo Series between the Dodgers and Cubs. While the Cubs have their own pair of Japanese fan favorites in Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki, it was hard to compete with the Dodgers’ trio led by Ohtani.

“It’s more skewed because of Shohei,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Nothing against the other four Japanese players but Shohei is just such a beast in this whole equation. There’s a lot of 17 Dodgers jerseys here.”

3. The Tokyo Series represented the first two games of a 162-game regular season but it felt like the World Series in Tokyo, if not bigger. The best example of this was the ticket prices for Opening Day. The cheapest ticket, if you could find it, was $3,500. The problem is that less than 1% of the tickets were sold on the resale market so it was hard to even find upper-level tickets at that price.

“I’ve never seen ticket prices that high and inventory that low for a baseball game, World Series, All-Star Game, anything,” one ticket broker told me. “The cheapest ticket for Opening Day was more expensive than the cheapest ticket at the Super Bowl. That’s unheard of.”

4. It only made sense for Kike Hernandez to come up big in a series that felt like the playoffs. Not only did Hernandez start the first two games of the season with Mookie Betts (illness) and Freddie Freeman (ribs) sidelined but he picked up where left off in October, hitting a home run with a game-high 3 RBIs in the Dodgers' 6-3 win over the Cubs last Wednesday.

“Kiki is just a unique person and a unique baseball player,” Roberts told me when I asked about Hernandez. “There are just not many people who have the ability to be a jokester and have a lot of fun but in the biggest of moments be able to calm himself and perform and he’s a big part of our last two World Championships.”

Hernandez relished the opportunity to play in front of the rabid fan base that exploded every time a hitter connected with the ball.

“I love it,” Hernandez said. “I think it’s great that it’s silent when the pitcher is pitching and a party when they’re hitting. That’s my kind of party.”

5. As great as the Dodgers’ two trips abroad were in Seoul last season and Tokyo, it would be hard to imagine Major League Baseball scheduling a third in 2026. You’d have to imagine as long as they have the biggest global star in the sport in Ohtani, they will be a part of a rotation but you could tell the toll the trip had on the Dodgers as they left the Tokyo Dome last Wednesday night to head back to Los Angeles.

“This has been a great trip,” Roberts said, “But I think I speak for the players that we’re ready to get back to our regular lives and our regular routine.”

6. I’ll never forget when I first heard Anthony Bourdain talk about the egg salad sandwich at Lawson in Japan on his “Parts Unknown” series on CNN. It was perhaps the best intro to a food item he had ever given, which is saying something.

“So, I’ve given up many vices in my life, many shameful, filthy, guilty pleasures that I used to like that I just don’t do anymore,” he said. “Cocaine, heroin, prostitutes, the musical styling of Steven Tyler. I’ve cut aside these childish things as they were in favor of a newer, more mature me. One thing I just can’t give up. One thing I keep coming back to every time I come back to Japan. One thing that has an unholy grip on me for no reason that I can gather… Behold the wonder that is Lawson.”

Lawson is one of three popular convenience store chains in Japan along with 7-Eleven and Family Mart. What makes them different than any convenience store back in the United States is the quality of the food, particularly the sandwiches. While the egg salad sandwich at Lawson is arguably the best, the others ranging from strawberries and whipped cream (yes, that’s a sandwich) to ham and cucumber are worth trying as well. But it begins and ends with Lawson's egg salad sandwich, which I've had almost every day of my stay in Tokyo as there is a Lawson inside of the Tokyo Dome Hotel.

It’s hard to explain how great the Lawson’s egg salad sandwich is. One of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had and it came prepackaged from a convenience store. https://t.co/228uPXiUaL pic.twitter.com/BCdoV8L2Cf

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) March 19, 2025

The one thing I did get knocked for trying was the Taco Bell at the Tokyo Dome. I know I should be trying the local fare but I couldn’t resist getting a couple of soft tacos before the opening pitch on Wednesday night and wrestling legend Samoa Joe, who has had some iconic matches at the Tokyo Dome, did not approve.

Knowing there is a Lawson and or 7/11 nearby and you pull this? Diabolical sir.

— Samoa Joe (@SamoaJoe) March 19, 2025

7. Bonus Note of the Day: Thanks to Fox 11, KCBS 2 and KCAL 9 for having me on during Tokyo Series in Japan.

.@SportingTrib's @ArashMarkazi joins @FOXLA from Tokyo...where he's reporting on the @Dodgers historic trip.

"It is amazing...a once in a lifetime trip!"

"The cheapest ticket...$3,500...more than the Super Bowl!"

"You walk around Tokyo...95% Dodgers fans!" pic.twitter.com/dz5cmUevKj

— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) March 19, 2025

Media from all over the world have descended on Tokyo - including our own @DarrenMHaynes of course, who got some of his own peers' thoughts on Shohei Ohtani & his electric exhibition home run!@billplunkettocr @kirsten_watson @ArashMarkazi @FabianArdaya @kcalnews pic.twitter.com/NC7MrTZgf8

— Sports Central LA (@SportsCentralLA) March 17, 2025

The Morning Column today comes from The Sporting Tribune’s Arash Markazi:

ATLANTA – Reggie Bush can’t believe it has been 20 years since his last season in college football. The 2005 Heisman Trophy winner still looks like he could take the field and race for a highlight-reel touchdown but he has hard time accepting that it has been two decades since USC was last playing for the national championship.

As he watches 39-year-old Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman lead the Irish back to the title game, the 39-year-old Bush says he has been having his own dreams of one day leading USC back to the success he achieved as a player.

“I would love to come back and be the head coach of USC at some point and help lead USC to a national championship,” Bush said. “Lately, man, I've just been really having this urge inside of me to get out and coach because it's in me. And it's been something I've been thinking about a lot and actually talking to people about.”

It isn’t just talk. Bush said he talked to Sacramento State about their head coaching position. Sacramento State also talked to Michael Vick, who ended up being named the head coach at Norfolk State. Vick, like Bush, had no prior coaching experience but that hasn’t stopped other former NFL players like Deion Sanders (Colorado) and Eddie George (Tennessee State) from becoming the head coach of a college football program.

“I actually spoke to some people over at Sacramento State for the head coaching job when that came up,” Bush said. “I spoke to some people over there about coaching and it's definitely something that I want to do. The same way Kirby Smart, a former player from Georgia, came back to coach his team to a title, I would love to do that as well at USC. I think that'd be a tremendous story, a tremendous comeback story. I think I have what it takes. I got the passion. And a lot of these kids grew up watching our era and watching our teams.”

Bush spoke before the College Football Playoff National Championship where he teamed up with Modelo to host a group of fans – officially dubbed "Team Modelo" – at the game in Atlanta.

Being a pitchman is nothing new for Bush but he will be taking his acting chops to the next level this year when he co-stars in Happy Gilmore 2 alongside Adam Sandler and Christopher McDonald, who plays Shooter McGavin.

“I'm very excited for when the movie drops and I've been patiently waiting, not really talking about it, I just I want to surprise people,” Bush said. “I just want to pop up on people and but yeah, man, it was an amazing opportunity. Adam Sandler is just an amazing person. Getting a chance to work alongside him was a true experience that I'll never forget. My man was directing, producing, coaching and acting as well. He does it al. I love being able to work around people like that because it motivates me and I want to work around the best.”

While Bush didn’t want to say too much about his role in the movie, he did say it’s not a small cameo part and he acted alongside not only Sandler and McDonald, but also Ben Stiller and Bad Bunny.

“I auditioned for the role,” Bush said. “This wasn't a role that was given to me. I actually auditioned for it and worked for it. (Sandler) loved my audition tape. It was definitely something that I'm just so proud of myself for even attempting and taking seriously and putting in the work, and getting the role, which is something that not a lot of people get to experience. I got a chance to talk trash to Shooter McGavin in the movie. Just to even stand next to Shooter McGavin, was awesome. Without giving away too much, man, I think you're going to love it. You're going to laugh your ass off.”

Bush’s first major movie role and interviewing for a college football head coaching job highlight what has been a great nine months for him, which began on April 24, 2024 when Bush got his 2005 Heisman Trophy back. Bush is hopeful that at some point this year USC will gain back the 2005 BCS National Championship trophy they won 20 years ago and the 14 victories the Trojans were forced to vacate during the NCAA’s sanctions against USC for what they deemed at the time as “improper benefits” Bush received while in school.

“I'm extremely optimistic,” Bush said of getting the crystal ball trophy and wins back. “I'm the one that's out here still fighting the fight in trying to make sure that everything is restored, not only to me, but to USC as well. With the return of the Heisman Trophy, the return of our national championship should have been part of that as well. But, for whatever reason, this is something that I'm still having to fight over but I'm not going to give up until we get everything back.

“I made that promise to my teammates when they came to support me at the College Football Hall of Fame induction, a bunch of my teammates showed up and it was like a family reunion all over again. Those are my brothers and I still want to honor them through going and getting our national championship back, which should have never been taken away from us to begin with. We deserve our place in history and to be recognized as one of the greatest teams ever to come through college football.”

While Bush is focused on getting USC back the national championship trophy they won 20 years ago, he’s also focused on getting into coaching later this year with an eye towards helping USC get a new national championship in the future. He believes he can instantly help USC not only recruit but keep the best players in Southern California, which hasn’t always been the case with local prep stars such as Jayden Daniel, C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young leaving the region to star elsewhere.

“There's a lot of guys I’ve talked to from Jayden Daniels to C.J. Stroud who grew up watching us at USC,” Bush said. “All these guys are from L.A., from our area and they grew up watching USC. I would love to just be able to coach, recruit, and just give my experience and knowledge to all these guys. We got to own L.A., man. We got to get back to owning L.A.”

1. SoFi so good before World Cup spotlight

The Sporting Tribune's Arash Markazi looks at how SoFi Stadium made its field World Cup-ready this offseason and why you won’t see any changes during the NFL season.

SoFi Stadium underwent offseason renovations to increase the size of its field in preparation for the 2026 World Cup but it was hard for soccer fans who watched the recent Arsenal-Manchester United match at the $5 billion home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers to see the changes.

In fact, the changes won’t really be noticeable to anyone until the United States takes the field at SoFi Stadium on June 12, 2026 for its first World Cup at home in 32 years.

That’s because the modifications that were made largely involved replacing concrete in the lower bowl with seating sections that can be rolled back or temporarily removed and stacked like a Lego set, according to Otto Benedict, the Senior Vice President, Facility and Campus Operations at Sofi Stadium and Hollywood Park. The changes will not change the seating capacity or layout of the stadium.  

Benedict gave The Sporting Tribune a look at how the field will be expanded for the 2026 World Cup during the Arsenal-Manchester United match, which was the last soccer game at SoFi Stadium before the stadium hosts back-to-back preseason games for the Rams and Chargers this weekend heading into the stadium's fifth season as the home of both NFL teams. 

Continue reading here.

2. Los Angeles looks on as Paris transportation gets makeover prior to Olympics

As Los Angeles gets ready to host the Summer Olympics in four years, The Sporting Tribune’s Francisco Molina is in Paris taking a look at how they prepared to host the Games this year.

To host the Olympic Games, a city must address several factors, among them security, venues, housing for athletes and visitors and transportation.

Paris won the 2024 Olympic Games in part because of its existing infrastructure, including event venues and an efficient transportation system. And now two weeks into the Games, visitors are largely satisfied with their ability to get around the city.

“As far as the subways have gone, we have had a good experience,” said Wendy Mayer, who is visiting from Lafayette, Indiana. “There's been multiple people at every single subway stop directing you.

“There's signage at every venue stop that tells you what venue is at that spot. There's been a ton of people with little foam fingers directing you where to go.”

Île-de-France Mobilités, the French transportation authority, devised a plan that it described as  “tailor-made” for the Olympics Games and launched a mobile-phone app, “Transport Public Paris 2024” designed to enhance travel for the anticipated 500,000 spectators per day.

The entire plan is designed to address three major factors: safety, accessibility and cleanliness.

Continue reading here.

3. Lakers unveil second statue honoring Kobe & Gigi Bryant

A statue of Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant was unveiled outside of Cypto.com Arena and The Sporting Tribune’s Fredo Cervantes was there when the public was allowed to view it for the first time. It is the second of three planned Bryant statue outside of the arena.

The Lakers have unveiled the second Kobe Bryant statue outside Crypto.com Arena, honoring the five-time NBA champion and his daughter, Gianna Maria-Onor’e Bryant. The statue recognizes Bryant's pride in being a 'Girl Dad' and the Bryant family’s support for women and girls in sports.

On Friday, Vanessa Bryant had a special ceremony outside the Crypto.com Arena. The event was held at the 11th Street entrance, which has been officially renamed the "Kobe Bryant Entrance" in honor of the late basketball legend. This entrance is also where the media enters the arena.

Earlier this year, the Lakers unveiled the first Kobe Bryant statue at Star Plaza outside the arena. Bryant is the seventh Laker to be honored with a statue. The Lakers and Vanessa agreed to reveal this statue on a special date, which holds special significance as 8/2/24.

This date honors both the numbers Kobe wore during his career: 8 from the 1996-97 season until the 2005-06 season, and 24 from the 2006-07 season until he retired in 2016. His daughter Gigi wore the number 2 while playing basketball.

The statue was designed by Karon Davis and created by the artists of Rotblatt Amrany Studio. It shows Kobe with his arm around Gianna and angel wings behind them. They are surrounded by hedges, symmetrical benches, and purple and gold flowers reflecting the Lakers' colors Kobe wore for 20 years. Engraved butterflies made of purple onyx and golden vein onyx border the flowers, symbolizing transformation and hope.

Continue reading here.

4. Dylan Laube's rise from overlooked draft pick to training camp standout

Las Vegas Raiders sixth-round pick Dylan Laube has become the team’s (not so) secret weapon heading into preseason, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Anthony Bautista.

Back in April, Laube was selected in the 6th-round from the University of New Hampshire, a pick that didn’t turn many heads.

Fast forward to August and now he’s making plays at Raiders training camp, turning heads and garnering praise from his coaches and teammates alike.

Despite the buzz since getting drafted, Laube remains focused on making the 53-man roster, though his parents can’t help but share the excitement when they see his name in the headlines.

“My parents definitely send me a couple things,” Laube said. “But at the same time man, it’s practice. The main goal at practice is to get better every day so at the same time, it’s not a big deal.” 

Continue reading here.

5. Chargers vs. Rams joint practice: Bolts defense shines, offense worrisome

The Sporting Tribune's Fernando Ramirez writes while the defense showed out on Sunday the offense without Justin Herbert looked pedestrian.

The two NFL teams in Los Angeles met at "The Bolt" on Sunday morning for a joint practice.

It was a good test for both teams. Sean McVay's Rams are considered a Super Bowl contender, and Jim Harbaugh's Chargers are considered a potential playoff-caliber squad.

The Chargers have three fields in their facility. The one closest to the building was used for the Chargers' offense versus the Rams' defense, the middle field was used for special teams, and the far field was used for the Chargers' defense versus the Rams' offense.

The high point was the Chargers' defense, but this will start with the offense.

Continue reading here.

6. Quarterback competition takes center stage at UNLV fall camp

The Sporting Tribune’s Will Despart takes a look at the quarterback battle taking place at UNLV going into this upcoming college football season.

UNLV football’s preseason camp is officially in full swing. The main story is the three-way starting quarterback battle between highly touted transfers Matthew Sluka (Holy Cross) and Hajj-Malik Williams (Campbell) as well as returning Rebels’ backup Cameron Friel. 

UNLV was among the most sought after portal destinations in all of the Group of 5, as evidenced by their ability to land two of the top FCS QBs available. Still, Friel is being given what appears to be an equal opportunity to win the job himself after being with the program the last three seasons.

While Sluka’s credentials from his decorated career at Holy Cross likely give him the edge to start the competition, the reality is that each quarterback has major strengths that could result in playing time this year. 

It wouldn't be a surprise to see this competition continue weeks into the season after each player responds in a game environment. That’s an especially pressing question for Sluka and Williams, who played in two lower-tier FCS conferences against talent that can only be described as mediocre. 

Continue reading here.

7. Video of the Day

Make sure to subscribe to The Sporting Tribune YouTube page for all of our latest videos:

8. Ticket Time

Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today:

7:10 p.m. - Phillies at Dodgers - $24

9. On the Air

Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today:

7:10 p.m. – Phillies at Dodgers – SportsNet LA

10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune

Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on KIRN 670 AM and 95.5 FM in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher. You can also watch every Friday on BLEAV on FuboTV.

Thank you for reading. Please click below to subscribe to The Morning Column presented by The Sporting Tribune. It’s free and will be delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.

Subscribe now

That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!

1. Welcome to The Sporting Tribune 2.0

The Sporting Tribune ushers in a new era before its second anniversary with a new-look website and plans to launch a mobile app, podcast network and photo wire service.

When The Sporting Tribune was born on September 12, 2022, I was so happy and relieved when the website finally went live. An idea that was two years in the making was finally a real thing. 

As I soaked in the way the homepage looked and the way the top stories read, I prepared to head out for our launch party when a longtime friend called me. “Congratulations,” he said. “Now the real work starts. What are you leading the site with tomorrow morning?”

I had no idea. I was so focused on simply getting the website off the ground, I hadn’t spent much time worrying about the fact that all the hard work it took to launch it was now a never-ending daily grind.

My friend laughed as he could hear my voice crack and my mood change. “Don’t worry,” he said. “You’ll figure it out. You got it off the ground. Now you have to build the plane as you fly it.”

I haven’t exactly figured it out but I do love the process of building this plane while it’s in the air.

Continue reading here.

2. The Sporting Tribune launches new-look site with a mobile app to follow

The Sporting Tribune issued the following press release about its new-look site and plans to launch a mobile app, podcast network and photo wire service next month.

The Sporting Tribune launched a brand-new website today and announced plans to launch a mobile app, photo wire service and a podcast network in September.  

The platform launched in September 2022 with a focus on professional and collegiate sports in Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii. The area is the regional territory for many teams, including the Lakers, Clippers, Dodgers and Angels, and the broadcast area for the regional networks carrying their games. 

Veteran journalist Arash Markazi, who has covered the area for over 20 years at Sports Illustrated, ESPN and the Los Angeles Times, founded the company along with data scientist Chris Mattmann, who was recently named the Chief Data & Artificial Intelligence Officer at UCLA after a storied 24-year career at NASA JPL where he was the Chief Technology and Innovation Officer. 

Markazi will serve as the Chief Content Officer while Mattmann will serve as the Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at The Sporting Tribune as the company seeks to reach and serve sports fans in new and innovative ways. Mattmann’s background in journalism includes the invention of the Apache Tika software, a widely used framework for content detection and analysis, which allowed journalists to break the story on the Panama Papers, ultimately winning the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in journalism. 

Joining Markazi and Mattmann in leading The Sporting Tribune into a new era will be a trio of experienced newsroom leaders in Bill Bradley, Jon Scher and Josh Cooper, who will serve as senior editors.  

Continue reading here.

3. Tony Jefferson returns to NFL, ready to earn spot with Chargers

The comeback of Tony Jefferson shows a safety who wants to earn a spot on the roster., writes The Sporting Tribune’s Fernando Ramirez.

A year ago, Tony Jefferson returned to the Baltimore Ravens for his third stint with the team, but it was in a different way. He turned in his helmet and pads for a computer.

He became a scouting intern for them, which meant more work hours and watching a lot of film. It wasn't film of the defense or the offense he was facing that week. It was film of different players around the country.

"I really respect scouts way more now," he said. "Because like as a player, you don't really see all that. 

"You don't see the back of the backhand work that they do, but they do so much for the organizations and finding players and bringing them in and spending all the hours staring at a screen."

Continue reading here.

4. Rams go big, beef up offensive to keep Stafford upright

With a strong focus on protecting their quarterback, Matthew Stafford, the Rams' front five has emerged as one of the most promising groups for this season, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Eric Lambkins II.

Christopher Wallace eloquently asked, "What's beef?" The Rams have nearly a ton of it. 

In an era where NFL quarterbacks are making seemingly a quarter of the salary cap, keeping him upright is increasingly paramount. The Rams utilized the entire offseason to answer the Notorious B.I.G.

With a strong focus on protecting their quarterback, Matthew Stafford, the Rams' front five has emerged as one of the most promising groups for this season. The addition of Jonah Jackson, the retention of Kevin Dotson, and the transition of second-year standout Steve Avila to center have formed a formidable trio on the interior.

With these acquisitions, the Rams can implement the gap-style run scheme that coach Sean McVay initiated last season. This shift in strategy is about bolstering the team's strength and it's a chance for the Rams to redefine their identity.

"What ended up happening is the evolution (of our development)," McVay said. "These guys have the ability to be physical, but they're also athletic enough to be able to do some different things where you can stretch people horizontally, you can get vertical removal.

"There is a big emphasis on keeping the integrity of the interior parts of the pocket, and so I think you'll get some of the success that we had with Steve with Kevin Dotson."

Continue reading here.

5. Steve Ballmer on Clippers’ Intuit Dome: ‘Make it bigger’

The Sporting Tribune's Mark Medina provides an in-depth look at the Clippers' new $2 billion home in Inglewood before it opens this season as perhaps the best basketball arena in the world.

The presentation seemed as captivating as watching a Hollywood blockbuster filled with special effects in an IMAX theatre.

About three months before the LA Clippers will play their first game at Intuit Dome, the franchise unveiled their “Halo Board” that provided both entertaining and practical functions through 38,375 square feet. 

The “Halo Board” showcased a live feed of the actual game directly over the actual court. It provided instant replays of various highlight reels from various angles.

It presented a “Coaches’ Corner” feature filled with various game and player statistics, shot charts and analytic data. And it highlighted a “Player 360” profile during timeouts, which shared a players’ season-long and game statistics along with detail about their career and charity projects.  

Continue reading here.

6. Changes, new faces highlight San Diego State athletics in 2024-25

In an era where changes to the structure and rules surrounding NCAA athletics have come increasingly rapidly, the Scarlet and Black have been doing their part to keep up to pace, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Eric Evelhoch.

When the San Diego State football team hosted a launch party for the new EA Sports College Football 25 game July 19, it was a celebration of the newest edition of an old favorite.

It will feel much the same on the gridiron in a matter of weeks, as SDSU football embarks on the new AztecFAST era under first-year coach Sean Lewis and a completely remade program.

Later in the fall that same quick turnaround will be found on the hardwood of Viejas Arena, where coach Brian Dutcher and the men’s basketball team will be incorporating seven new players.

In an era where changes to the structure and rules surrounding NCAA athletics have come increasingly rapidly, the Scarlet and Black have been doing their part to keep up to pace.

Continue reading here.

7. Video of the Day

Make sure to subscribe to The Sporting Tribune YouTube page for all of our latest videos:

8. Ticket Time

Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today:

6:38 p.m. – Rockies at Angels – $3

7:00 p.m. – Angel City vs. San Diego Wave (Fullerton) – $25

9. On the Air

Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today:

6:38 p.m. – Rockies at Angels – Bally Sports West

7:00 p.m. – Angel City vs. San Diego Wave (Fullerton) – CBSSN

10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune

Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher. You can also watch every Friday on BLEAV on FuboTV.

Thank you for reading. Please click below to subscribe to The Morning Column presented by The Sporting Tribune. It’s free and will be delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.

Subscribe now

That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!

1. Golden Knights steal spotlight at the NHL Draft

The Golden Knights set off some fireworks at the NHL Draft with two trades, including sending Logan Thompson to Washington, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Steve Carp.

Leave it to the host team to hog all the attention at the NHL Draft.

The Golden Knights made a lot of noise and turned heads in Friday’s first round when they took Trevor Connelly with the 19th overall pick despite some off-the-ice baggage. Saturday, they made two significant trades to address their goaltending.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon accommodated Logan Thompson’s request for a trade, sending him to the Washington Capitals for two third-round picks. Not long after, McCrimmon moved one of the picks to New Jersey along with forward Paul Cotter for Devils goaltender Akira Schmid and forward Alexander Holtz.

And with free agency beginning on Monday, expect more moves from the Knights.

“I think we put some skill into our lineup,” McCrimmon said after the Knights drafted a goaltender in the third round (19-year-old, 6-foot-5 Pavel Moysevich, who played in the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia for SKA St. Petersburg), a forward in the sixth round in Trent Swick of Kitchener in the Ontario Hockey League and a center in round seven, Lucas Van Vliet of the U.S. National Development Team.

Continue reading here.

2. Analysis: SoFi still so-so for soccer heading into World Cup

The Sporting Tribune's Jeff Kennedy gives his review of SoFi Stadium as a soccer venue heading into the 2026 World Cup midway through the Copa America games.

The first thing I noticed was an electronic sign: ‘No Tailgating Allowed’. Among the throngs of supporters streaming from Century Boulevard toward SoFi Stadium, it was a relatively inconspicuous omen. But an omen nonetheless.

Considering this section of sprawling asphalt is normally the designated tailgating area for Rams and Chargers games, I couldn’t help but wonder why?

Sure, tailgating isn’t a pastime normally associated with soccer, but this wasn’t your normal soccer game. This was Sofi’s first truly prestigious soccer event. This was a Copa America group stage match. This was Costa Rica vs Brazil.

This was widely regarded as a warm up for the eight (yes, eight) matches Los Angeles will host during the 2026 World Cup — including two USMNT group stage games. And the first impression Los Angeles was making with fans — many of whom were traveling from another hemisphere — wasn’t a parade of supporters, or a fan zone or even an especially festive atmosphere.

It was “no tailgating.”

Continue reading here.

3. Noah Lyles on LeBron James-led Olympic Dream Team: ‘They gotta win’

Noah Lyles spoke out on the expectations for the U.S. Olympics men's basketball team months after sparking a global debate, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Jackson Thompson.

Noah Lyles has revealed his standard for the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team in Paris.

With an Olympics roster led by LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis, many have labeled this year’ U.S. team the second coming of “The Dream Team.” 

But after Lyles sparked a worldwide debate over the validity of the NBA champions declaring themselves “world champions” last August, the American sprinter isn’t so quick to give the team that label yet. 

“They gotta win, so we’ll see,” Lyles told The Sporting Tribune earlier this month at the USATF NYC Grand Prix .

Lyles’s original comments sparked the World-Champion debate in a press conference last August after sweeping the gold medals in the 100, 200 and 4×100-meter dash races at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Antwerp Belgium. 

“You know what hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head,” he said then. “World champion of what? The United States?

“Don’t get me wrong. I love the U.S. — at times — but that ain’t the world. That is not the world. We are the world. We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show that they are represented. There ain’t no flags in the NBA. We gotta do more. We gotta be presented to the world.”

Continue reading here.

4. Why the Aces suddenly found their groove

Since Chelsea Gray’s return June 19, the two-time defending champion Aces are 4-0 with two of those wins coming against title contenders, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Will Despart.

It’s been about two weeks since WNBA Twitter was mourning the death of the Aces, but it feels like an eternity. 

Since Chelsea Gray’s return June 19, the two-time defending champions are 4-0 with two of those wins coming against teams considered potential title contenders in the Storm and the Sun.

Granted, Saturday’s win over the Washington Mystics wasn’t a masterclass as the Aces let the league’s worst team hang around a little bit too much. 

The Aces also are unbeaten since A’ja Wilson gave an emotional answer in the post-game press conference after their June 15 loss. Wilson’s impassioned response to a question about accountability from The Sporting Tribune’s Willie G. Ramirez led to a viral moment, one that has served as a major wake-up call to her Aces teammates. 

Since then, teammates have talked about how that moment brought them closer as a team and helped them to realize the common goal, which is something that goes deeper than winning a third straight championship. When your leader is both the best player on the planet and arguably the most impassioned leader in the league, a turnaround wasn’t just expected. It was demanded. 

Continue reading here.

5. Road to Breeders’ Cup: Stephen Foster sets early stage for Classic

Racing will take a break at Churchill Downs as the circuit moves to Ellis Park and Kentucky Downs, in the western and southern parts of the state, respectively.

The last weekend of the Spring Meet — which many of us know colloquially as the Derby Meet — is upon us here in Louisville.  Racing will take a break at Churchill Downs as the circuit moves to Ellis Park and Kentucky Downs, in the western and southern parts of the state, respectively.

Saturday features six stakes, three of them high level: the aforementioned Grade 1 Stephen Foster, a win-and-in for the $7M Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar; the Grade 2 Wise Dan, a two-turn turf race for older horses; and the Grade 2 Fleur De Lis, one of the best two turn dirt races for older female horses.

They’re all part of an all-stakes pick 6 to close the card Saturday, one which I’ll be covering in person.  You can listen to our hour-long pre-race coverage at 8 a.m. Saturday here.  It’ll include a Triple Crown recap from me, an interview with Trainer Cherie DeVaux — who sends Grade 3 Pimlico Special winner Pyrenees to the starting gate in the Foster — and Kaitlin Free, an on-track analyst at Churchill Downs. 

Continue reading here.

6. Masvidal looking forward to his rematch with Diaz

The summer blockbuster is scheduled for July 6 in Anaheim, CA, featuring a Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal rematch in a boxing ring, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Fredo Cervantes.

The highly anticipated fight between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, has been moved to the Honda Center in Anaheim. The 10-round light heavyweight showdown will take place on July 6 and will be available on Fanmio PPV.

Masvidal spoke with The Sporting Tribune before the big event. He talked about growing up in Miami, reflecting on their first encounter at Madison Square Garden and sharing his thoughts ahead of the main event against Diaz at the Honda Center.

In 2019, Diaz and Masvidal clashed for the inaugural BMF championship at UFC 244 in the UFC’s Octagon. The high-stakes battle concluded with an unsatisfactory doctor’s stoppage due to a cut over Diaz’s eye, granting Masvidal the victory.

Continue reading here.

7. Video of the Day

Make sure to subscribe to The Sporting Tribune YouTube page for all of our latest videos:

8. Ticket Time

Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today:

7:00 p.m. – Mystics at Sparks – ESPN – $7

6:30 p.m. – Fever at Aces – ESPN – $100

7:10 p.m. – Diamondbacks at Dodgers –$33

9. On the Air

Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today:

7:00 p.m. – Mystics at Sparks – ESPN

6:30 p.m. – Fever at Aces – ESPN

6:40 p.m. – Angels at Athletics – Bally Sports West

7:10 p.m. – Diamondbacks at Dodgers – SportsNet LA  

10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune

Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher. You can also watch every Friday on BLEAV on FuboTV.

Thank you for reading. Please click below to subscribe to The Morning Column presented by The Sporting Tribune. It’s free and will be delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.

Subscribe now

That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!