Good morning. June Jones, the winningest coach in Hawaii football history, died Thursday morning in Oregon. He was 73. Jones took over a program that went 0-12 and had it in the Sugar Bowl by his ninth season. In Los Angeles, the Kings won a wild one, 6-5 in overtime over Ottawa, and the Ducks lost a wild one, 7-6 to Buffalo. Tonight: the Golden Knights host New Jersey at 3, the Clippers are in Minnesota at 5, and the Lakers are at Golden State at 7. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
🌺 June Jones dies at 73. The run-and-shoot coach won 76 games and took Hawaii to the Sugar Bowl — The Sporting Tribune.
🏒 “A method to the madness.” Byfield scored in overtime and the Kings beat Ottawa 6-5 — Alex Hutton at Crypto.com Arena.
🏒 13 goals. Tage Thompson had a hat trick and Buffalo beat the Ducks 7-6 — Zach Cavanagh at Honda Center.
🏆 Leinart honored. The former USC quarterback will receive the Roy Firestone Award on Tuesday — Arash Markazi.
🏈 The Crosby price. Any team that wants Maxx Crosby before the Nov. 10 deadline will have to pay — Derek Hegna.
🥊 “I’m the challenger now.” Canelo Alvarez faces unbeaten champion Christian Mbilli on Saturday — Michael Huezo.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — THURSDAY
🏒 NHL: Kings 6, Senators 5 (OT) · Sabres 7, Ducks 6
🌺 ALOHA, COACH JONES
When June Jones got to Hawaii in 1999, the Rainbow Warriors were coming off an 0-12 season. That fall they went 9-4, shared the WAC title and won the Oahu Bowl.
Jones died Thursday morning in Oregon, the university announced. He was 73. No cause of death was given.
He coached Hawaii from 1999 to 2007 and went 76-41, the most wins in program history, with six bowl games, two conference titles and three 10-win seasons. His run-and-shoot offense produced Timmy Chang, who became the NCAA’s career passing leader, and Colt Brennan. In 2007, Hawaii went 12-0 in the regular season, won the WAC and played in its first BCS bowl, losing to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2008. Jones, Brennan and that team are all in Hawaii’s Circle of Honor.
Jones had played quarterback at Hawaii after transferring from Oregon in 1973, and he learned the run-and-shoot from Mouse Davis at Portland State. He also coached the Atlanta Falcons from 1994 to 1996, was the Chargers’ interim coach in 1998 and coached SMU from 2008 into 2014.
“He was a father figure, a mentor, and a visionary who revolutionized the game,” Chang said in a statement. Gov. Josh Green called him “an exceptional human being.” Memorial service details will be announced in the coming days.
GO DEEPER
› Legendary Hawaii coach June Jones dies at 73 (The Sporting Tribune)
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🏒 ELEVEN GOALS, THIRTEEN GOALS
The Kings finally have an overtime plan. Last season they lost an NHL-record 20 games in overtime or a shootout. Alex Hutton writes that Peter Laviolette had the team work on three-on-three in training camp, and on Thursday it paid off: Quinton Byfield came off the bench and scored the winner in a 6-5 game against Ottawa. “It’s the first year in my whole career that we’ve ever actually worked on three-on-three,” Drew Doughty said. “There’s definitely a method to the madness,” Laviolette said. The Kings (4-6-2) got their first home win and host Buffalo on Saturday afternoon.
The Ducks scored six and lost. Tage Thompson scored three times and Buffalo beat Anaheim 7-6 at Honda Center. Cutter Gauthier scored twice on the power play, and Mikael Granlund, Roger McQueen, Tristan Luneau and Beckett Sennecke also scored. Ville Husso made 23 saves. Zach Cavanagh writes the Ducks have lost seven of eight and are 1-4-1 at home. Ottawa is in Sunday before a three-game trip to Western Canada.
GO DEEPER
› Alex Hutton: Kings’ overtime coaching overhaul leads to dramatic win over Senators (The Sporting Tribune)
› Zach Cavanagh: Ducks vs. Sabres recap, Oct. 29 (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: Senators at Kings (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: Sabres at Ducks (The Sporting Tribune)
🍔 THE DEALS BOARD
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The board is dark this morning. The Ducks lost at home, so no McGriddles, and the Kings didn’t score in the final minute of the second period, so no McFlurry. The Lakers didn’t play Thursday.
Tonight’s trigger: a Lakers win at Golden State brings back two free tacos at Jack in the Box on Saturday with code LETSGOLAKERS.
🏟️ THREE GAMES, ONE FRIDAY
Devils at Golden Knights at 3 on ESPN+, on Nevada Day. Vegas ended a three-game losing streak Tuesday when Adin Hill made 24 saves against Ottawa. It’s the last home game before a four-game trip that starts Monday in Boston.
Clippers at Timberwolves at 5 on ClipperVision, the start of NBA Cup group play. The Clippers have lost three straight and lead the league with 23.2 turnovers a game.
Lakers at Warriors at 7 on Prime Video. The Lakers (4-1) beat the Clippers on Wednesday without Luka Dončić, who sat with back tightness.
Saturday: Ohio State at USC, Nevada at UCLA, Washington State at San Diego State, Austin at Galaxy, Sabres at Kings, and Canelo Alvarez vs. Christian Mbilli. Sunday: Rams vs. Chargers, Senators at Ducks, Wave at Bay FC.
📌 AROUND THE MARKETS
Leinart gets the Firestone Award. Arash Markazi reports that Matt Leinart, the 2004 Heisman winner who went 37-2 as USC’s starter, will receive the Roy Firestone Award from Westcoast Sports Associates on Tuesday at the Sandbourne Santa Monica. The nonprofit pays youth sports costs for kids in underserved Southern California communities and has raised more than $4 million over 31 years.
What Maxx Crosby would cost. Derek Hegna writes that with the Raiders on a four-game losing streak and the trade deadline on Nov. 10, interest in Crosby is back, and any team will likely have to match the two first-round picks Baltimore agreed to give up before the deal fell through on a failed physical. “We’re talking every day about those things,” Klint Kubiak said.
Canelo as the challenger. Michael Huezo previews Canelo Alvarez (63-3-2) against unbeaten WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli (29-0-1) on Saturday in Riyadh on DAZN pay-per-view. “I’m the challenger now,” Alvarez said.
GO DEEPER
› Arash Markazi: Matt Leinart to receive Roy Firestone Award (The Sporting Tribune)
› Derek Hegna: Teams better be ready to pay up if the Maxx Crosby sweepstakes kick off (The Sporting Tribune)
› Michael Huezo: Canelo vs. Mbilli preview (The Sporting Tribune)
› NFL Week 8 fantasy start-sit: tight ends (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30
🏒 NHL: Devils at Golden Knights — T-Mobile Arena — 3:00 p.m. — ESPN+
🏀 NBA Cup: Clippers at Timberwolves — Target Center — 5:00 p.m. — ClipperVision
🏀 NBA Cup: Lakers at Warriors — Chase Center — 7:00 p.m. — Prime Video
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME?
Get-in prices across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.
🏒 Devils at Golden Knights — T-Mobile Arena — $74
🏈 Ohio State at USC — Coliseum (Saturday) — $39
🏒 Sabres at Kings — Crypto.com Arena (Saturday) — $30
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Colt Brennan ran June Jones’ offense at Hawaii. Where did Brennan finish in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2007?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
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Trivia answer: Third, behind Tim Tebow and Darren McFadden.
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