Good morning. The Raiders are 2-0. the Chargers are 0-2 and the Rams might have a must-win game tonight. Elsewhere over the weekend: A’ja Wilson did something no one in the history of the WNBA has done, the Sparks put up 105, Angel City won a third straight, the Ducks opened preseason with six goals and the Knights beat the Kings in Ontario. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
🏈 2-0. Crosby forced the safety that finished it, and may finally have a team around him — Arash Markazi at SoFi Stadium.
🏈 0-2. The first real crisis of the Harbaugh era — Fredo Cervantes at SoFi Stadium.
🏀 Never been done. A’ja Wilson became the first player in WNBA history with back-to-back 1,000-point seasons — Derek Hegna at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
🏀 105. The Sparks completed a season sweep of Portland — Rey Moralde at Crypto.com Arena.
⚽ Three straight. Angel City won 3-0 at Utah — Michelle Chavez at America First Field.
🏒 Six goals. The Ducks rolled San Jose in the preseason opener — Zach Cavanagh at Honda Center.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
🏈 NFL: Raiders 26, Chargers 14
⚾ MLB: Dodgers 3, Giants 1 · Twins 8, Angels 0 · Padres 7, Marlins 3
🏀 WNBA: Aces def. Storm · Sparks 105, Fire 84
⚽ MLS: Galaxy 3, Minnesota 2 · San Diego FC 2, Inter Miami 2
⚽ NWSL: Angel City 3, Utah Royals 0
🏒 NHL preseason: Ducks 6, Sharks 2 · Golden Knights 4, Kings 2 (at Toyota Arena, Ontario)
🏈 THE WINNING ROOM
Markazi found Maxx Crosby at his locker wearing a shirt with Al Davis’s face on it.
“He means everything,” Crosby said, looking down at the image. “He’s the shield, he’s what Raider Nation is and what it’s all about.”
Crosby never played for Davis, who died in 2011. He is one of three players left from the Raiders’ final season in Oakland, with Kolton Miller and A.J. Cole, and he has learned the franchise’s history from Mark Davis and from equipment and training staff who were there.
The Raiders are 2-0 for the first time since 2021 — the only season in Crosby’s career that ended in a playoff appearance. He forced the fourth-quarter safety that put this one away. Six head coaches, two cities, one postseason game.
What made Sunday different, Markazi writes, is how many other people had a hand in it. Cody White caught two touchdowns. Rookie corner Hezekiah Masses made an impact in his first start. Nakobe Dean forced a fumble right after a 12-men-on-the-field penalty had handed the Chargers a second chance.
“A big shout out to N’Kobe responding, making a huge play, and just the guys not panicking,” Crosby said. “I think we have a lot of confidence.”
And the crowd. Kubiak, who came up the tunnel at SoFi into a road stadium that did not sound like one: “I’ve never been to a road game like that. When we came out of the tunnel they were screaming and it sends chills down your spine knowing you have that support.”
Kirk Cousins supplied the caution. “The difference between 2-0 and 0-2 could be two plays, one in each game. We got to find those inches.”
Brock Bowers, Kubiak said, is “very close.”
GO DEEPER
› Arash Markazi: Maxx Crosby has always carried the Raiders’ pride and may now have a team that can carry it with him (The Sporting Tribune)
🏈 THE LOSING ROOM
Cervantes’s column is the hardest thing anyone has written about this franchise in a while, and the numbers are why.
Fourteen points in Week 1. Fourteen points in Week 2. Twenty-eight total, in an offense rebuilt this offseason around Mike McDaniel to unlock Justin Herbert.
Six fumbles Sunday — the most the Chargers have committed in a game since 1987.
And this: it is the first 0-2 start of Jim Harbaugh’s coaching career. Not at Stanford. Not at Michigan. Not with the 49ers. Never.
The context Cervantes assembles is the part that stings. Anthony Lynn hired and fired. Tom Telesco fired. Brandon Staley hired and fired. Then Harbaugh on a five-year deal in January 2024 to stabilize all of it. Greg Roman hired and fired. Then McDaniel, the must-have coordinator.
Then two weeks of 14 points.
He also notes that barely a week ago, in a sit-down with Michael Irvin, Harbaugh said Herbert will be the greatest quarterback of all time when it’s over. That is a large thing to say. It is a larger thing to say before scoring 28 points in two games.
The game turned on an Omarion Hampton fumble with under five minutes left, on a drive that had been extended by a Raiders penalty. Harbaugh’s phrase for all of it: “We’re losing in the margins.”
Herbert didn’t hide. “I think it was because it was a big play for us and we didn’t execute. And that’s something I have to do a better job at.” Asked whether the locker room was angry: “There’s a group full of grown men that can handle their job.”
The schedule now. At Buffalo, at Seattle, home for Denver, at Kansas City, bye, then at the Rams. There is no soft landing in there.
GO DEEPER
› Fredo Cervantes: The Harbaugh era has reached its first real crisis (The Sporting Tribune)
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🍔 THE DEALS BOARD
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🍔 Jack in the Box — free Jumbo Jack with a large drink. Fourteen strikeouts against the Giants for the second time in three days. Code GODODGERS26.
⛽ ampm — free Dodger Dog and a 16-oz Coca-Cola. Max Muncy stole a base in the eighth. This one has been dark since Sept. 7. ampm app, scan at the register, Greater LA only.
🧋 Sunright Tea Studio — BOGO Blue Heaven Frostie. Home win. Code ILOVELA.
🌮 El Portal, Pasadena — $12 combination plates and $7 house margaritas. Order online for pickup.
☕ Con Azúcar Café, Sylmar — free size upgrade and Dodgers latte art. Say “Dodgers win!” at the register.
🥤 Mountain Dew — free 20-oz Baja Blast. Seven balls cleared 420 feet Sunday. Wallet pass at OTC Network stores.
🚒 Firehouse Subs — buy one medium sub, get one free. Back for the week, and two of the four qualifying extra-inning games were ours: Miami at San Diego went 10 on Saturday and Minnesota at the Angels went 11. Code EXTRA, digital orders, through Wednesday.
Dark today: the McDonald’s nuggets deal needed six runs and the Dodgers scored three. The Habit Burger Double Char needed a double play and the Dodgers did not record one. And the McDonald’s Angels fries needed a win — Anaheim was shut out 8-0.
🏀 SOMETHING NOBODY HAS DONE
At some point the sports world will run out of superlatives for A’ja Wilson.
In the second quarter Sunday, Wilson became the first player in WNBA history to reach 1,000 points in back-to-back seasons. She finished with 30 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block as the Aces completed a season sweep of Seattle.
“When you’re able to be in the record books for the WNBA, it’s a pretty big deal considering how many players have played this game,” Wilson said. “I’m blessed.”
She was also busy campaigning. Jackie Young, three days after a career-high 35 against the same team, had 23 points and a game-high eight assists. Wilson’s endorsement: “All-WNBA, 100 percent. I ain’t got a vote but, if I did, I’d give it to Jackie.”
Chelsea Gray added 15. The Aces forced 20 turnovers, converted them into 25 points and won the fast-break count 27-8. Six straight wins, with home-court advantage in the first round coming into view.
And in Los Angeles, Rey Moralde was at Crypto.com Arena as the Sparks beat Portland 105-84 to sweep the season series — a much better night than Thursday in Dallas.
The two meet Tuesday in Las Vegas, where the Aces close their home schedule. One of ours against another of ours, again.
GO DEEPER
› Derek Hegna: A’ja Wilson’s historic night caps off Aces completing season sweep of Storm (The Sporting Tribune)
› Rey Moralde: Sparks sweep season series against Fire (The Sporting Tribune)
📌 AROUND THE MARKETS
Hockey came back loud. Zach Cavanagh was at Honda Center as the Ducks beat San Jose 6-2 in the preseason opener, with the stars rolling and rookies taking their chances — four days after Anaheim beat a CBA deadline to sign Cutter Gauthier.
And in Ontario, Derek Hegna watched the Golden Knights beat the Kings 4-2 at Toyota Arena, with players making their case in the first look at both rosters.
A third straight for Angel City. Michelle Chavez has the 3-0 win at Utah, which keeps the playoff push going.
Baseball. The Dodgers finished the Giants off 3-1 on Sunday with 14 more strikeouts. The Angels were shut out 8-0 by Minnesota, their second shutout in three days. The Dodgers host San Diego starting Tuesday at Dodger Stadium — a division champion and a wild-card leader, four games left apiece.
GO DEEPER
› Zach Cavanagh: Ducks’ stars roll Sharks, rookies seize chances in preseason opener (The Sporting Tribune)
› Derek Hegna: Players make their case as Golden Knights defeat Kings in preseason opener (The Sporting Tribune)
› Michelle Chavez: Angel City adds third consecutive win, beats Utah Royals 3-0 on the road (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
🏈 NFL: Giants at Rams — SoFi Stadium — 5:15 p.m. — ABC
Coming up: The Padres visit Dodger Stadium beginning Tuesday. The Aces host the Sparks on Tuesday in their home finale. UNLV plays at Akron and Hawai’i at Wyoming on Saturday. Shohei Ohtani is eligible off the injured list Wednesday.
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME?
Get-in prices across Southern California and Las Vegas — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.
🏈 Giants at Rams — SoFi Stadium — $100
⚾ Padres at Dodgers — Dodger Stadium (Tuesday) — $ 64
🏀 Sparks at Aces — Michelob ULTRA Arena (Tuesday) — $13
🌴 TST TRIVIA
The Chargers fumbled six times against the Raiders on Sunday. That is the most they have put on the ground in a single game since which year?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
The Sporting Tribune Today airs weekdays at 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET on SportsGrid, hosted by Grant Mona and John Browner and built on reporting from our staff across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawai’i. Our stories, photos and columns also run on SportsGrid’s website and app.
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Trivia answer: 1987.
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