The Sports Report: UCLA’s winning streak ends against Illinois

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Ben Bolch: Skyy Clark’s three-pointer was well off the mark with about eight minutes left in the game, giving fans another chance to unleash more vitriol.

“Skyy you suck!” chanted the Illinois students who felt jilted by the UCLA guard’s departure from their beloved team nearly two years ago.

The Illini were no less forgiving on the court.

Scoring with ease and disrupting every UCLA player besides Tyler Bilodeau, Illinois ended the Bruins’ nearly monthlong winning streak Tuesday night after withstanding an epic comeback in which UCLA missed only one more shot the rest of the game.

Trailing by 16 points with less than five minutes to play, UCLA closed to within two after it made 10 consecutive shots, including a Clark three-pointer with 28 seconds left that momentarily silenced his critics.

But after extending their lead to three with a free throw, the Illini snagged a critical offensive rebound when 7-footer Tomislav Ivisic tipped the ball to a teammate with six seconds left. The Bruins were forced to foul again and two more Illini free throws sealed their fate during an 83-78 loss inside the State Farm Center.

Continue reading here

UCLA box score

Big Ten standings

AP top 25 rankings

USC BASKETBALL

From Ryan Kartje: Wesley Yates III wiped the sweat already pouring from his forehead and steeled himself for the 40 brutal minutes to come. It had already been a miserable week, as an illness wreaked havoc on USC’s rotation, right after the Trojans returned from a two-loss trip. Yates and fellow starter Chibuzo Agbo had been among the hardest hit. Both were on IV drips as of Tuesday afternoon, leaving their status very much in question a few hours later for a game that USC desperately needed.

But by tip Tuesday against Penn State, they took their places as usual, with little more than flop sweat to suggest something was amiss. So, too, did Desmond Claude, the point guard whose bruised knee held him out of the previous two games.

None of USC’s three top scorers would be anywhere near 100%. Claude would fight through a minor limp all night, tending to his knee at each stoppage, while Agbo and Yates would look a bit sluggish in stretches, still fighting through symptoms. But with the Trojans’ tournament hopes hinging on turning around their season in a hurry, the trio delivered in a 92-67 victory over Penn State.

Continue reading here

USC box score

Big Ten standings

AP top 25 rankings

DODGERS

From Jack Harris: His name isn’t officially on the Dodgers’ roster yet.

But future Hall of Fame pitcher Clayton Kershaw was in attendance for the team’s first workout of spring training on Tuesday at Camelback Ranch in Arizona.

As had been expected all offseason, Kershaw is finally in the process of completing a new contract with the Dodgers. The 36-year-old still has to complete a physical, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. His deal could be finalized as soon as Wednesday.

Kershaw is returning to the Dodgers for the 18th season of his illustrious career — having decided before the end of last year he wouldn’t retire, or test free agency with any other club.

Continue reading here

Hernández: Absurdly talented Dodgers make once-impossible 120 MLB wins seem inevitable

‘Hungrier than ever.’ Dodgers open spring training focused on avoiding World Series hangover

ANGELS

From Mike DiGiovanna: Kenley Jansen is returning to Southern California, the veteran closer agreeing to terms on Tuesday to a one-year, $10-million contract with the Angels pending a physical, according to a person familiar with the deal but not authorized to speak publicly about it.

Jansen, a 37-year-old right-hander, is baseball’s active leader in saves (447) and appearances (871), the majority of those coming during his 12-year stint with the Dodgers, when he went 37-26 with a 2.37 ERA and 350 saves in 701 games from 2010 to 2021.

After the Dodgers let the 6-foot-5, 265-pound Jansen go, Jansen signed a one-year, $16-million deal with the Atlanta Braves, going 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA and a National League-leading 41 saves in 2022.

Continue reading here

LAKERS

From Dan Woike: The Lakers are signing free-agent 7-foot center Alex Len for the remainder of the season, the team announced Tuesday afternoon.

The team is waiving veteran big man Christian Wood, who has not played since last February while dealing with a left knee injury.

Len, 31, played 36 games this season for Sacramento before being sent to Washington at the trade deadline. He was waived following the three-team trade and intended to sign with the Pacers, but when the Lakers’ trade for Mark Williams got rescinded, Len saw an opportunity for playing time with a contender behind new starter Jaxson Hayes.

Continue reading here

Mavs fans protesting Luka Doncic trade ejected for mouthing off, holding signs and wearing shirts with ‘Fire Nico’

CLIPPERS

From Anthony De Leon: Ben Simmons has yet to take the court for the Clippers, but after his first full practice with the team, he looks fresh and rejuvenated. Both sides are counting on a change of scenery to help him rediscover his All-Star form.

Simmons is coming off a turbulent 2½ seasons with the Brooklyn Nets marked by injuries, unfulfilled expectations and criticisms. Now, he’s looking to move past those struggles and contribute to a Clippers team that holds the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference just days before the All-Star break.

“I just want to compete, regardless of all the .... said online,” Simmons said. “I’m here to do that, and playing alongside some of these great players … Everyone’s just going to push each other to be better and expect greatness.”

Continue reading here

SOCCER

From Kevin Baxter: Sisters Alyssa and Gisele Thompson were called up Tuesday to the U.S. women’s soccer team for this month’s SheBelieves Cup, marking just the third time siblings have been named to the same senior national team. But there were big names missing from the 23-woman roster, among them defender Naomi Girma, who last month moved to Chelsea on a $1-million transfer, the most expensive in women’s soccer history.

Girma, who last year was named to the FIFA global Best XI after helping the U.S. to a gold medal in the Paris Olympics, was one of 10 Olympians left off the team. Others missing include midfielder Rose Lavelle and forwards Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman. Meanwhile four of the women coach Emma Hayes called up never have appeared in a senior national team and seven others have eight or fewer caps.

Continue reading here

Galaxy captain Maya Yoshida gets a pay cut because of antiquated MLS rules

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1937 — Cleveland is granted an NFL franchise. The Rams play in Cleveland for nine years before moving to Los Angeles.

1947 — Boston’s Bill Cowley becomes the NHL all-time scoring leader when he scores a goal and an assist for the Bruins in a 10-1 win over the New York Rangers. Cowley’s 529 points is one more than Syd Howe, who retired one year earlier.

1958 — Boston’s Bill Russell scores 18 points and grabs 41 rebounds to lead the Celtics to a 119-101 victory over the Syracuse Nationals.

1968 — Jean-Claude Killy of France wins the men’s giant slalom in the Winter Olympics at Grenoble, his second gold medal en route to the Alpine triple crown.

1972 — The Soviet Union ice hockey team wins the gold medal with a 5-2 victory over Czechoslovakia at the Winter Olympics. The United States is awarded the silver because it had beaten and tied Czechoslovakia.

1982 — Wayne Gretzky scores 153rd point of season, breaking NHL record.

1993 — The San Jose Sharks tie an NHL record by losing 17 straight games, the latest a 6-0 defeat by the Edmonton Oilers.

1994 — Loy Allen Jr. becomes the first Winston Cup rookie to win a pole in the Daytona 500. Allen is .031 seconds quicker than six-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt.

1997 — Morocco’s Hicham el Guerrouj breaks indoor track’s oldest record, winning the mile in 3 minutes, 48.45 at the Flanders meet held in Ghent, Belgium. Ireland’s Eamonn Coghlan ran 3:49.78 in 1983 in New York.

2005 — Allen Iverson scores 60 points, a career high, to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 112-99 victory over the Orlando Magic.

2007 — Duke, saddled by its first four-game losing skid in 11 years, falls out of The Associated Press men’s poll for the first time since the end of the 1995-96 season. The Blue Devils had been in the media poll for 200 straight weeks — the second longest streak behind UCLA’s record 221 weeks.

2014 — Tina Maze of Slovenia and Dominique Gisin of Switzerland tie for gold in the Olympic women’s downhill. Both speed down the Rosa Khutor course in 1:41.57 seconds for the first gold-medal tie in Olympic alpine skiing history.

2018 — Virginia is ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press men’s basketball poll for first time since 1982, when Terry Holland was the coach and Ralph Sampson was the Cavaliers’ star player.

2018 — Dutch speed skater Ireen Wüst becomes first Winter Olympian to win an individual gold medal in four straight Games with victory in the 1,500m at Pyeongchang; first speed skater to win 10 Olympic medals.

2023 — Super Bowl LVII, State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona: Kansas City Chiefs beat Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35; MVP: Patrick Mahomes, KC, QB.

Compiled by the Associated Press