Sports
Dylan Andrews' hot shooting lifts UCLA to a Pac-12 tournament win over Oregon State
For half a season, he was disparaged as not being a true point guard.
Find somebody else to run UCLA’s offense, the criticism went. Get busy in the transfer portal.
Dylan Andrews offered his rebuttal with feathery jumpers and precise passes, even if it wasn’t enough to satisfy some observers. Left off the Pac-12’s first and second teams, Andrews continued to make his case for being perhaps the conference’s most overlooked player Wednesday afternoon.
The sophomore was a sight to behold every time the fifth-seeded Bruins needed him during a 67-57 victory over 12th-seeded Oregon State at T-Mobile Arena.
Burying one big shot after another, Andrews finished with a career-high 31 points while adding to his late-season haul of highlights. He made 11 of 15 shots, including seven of nine three-pointers, every one of them needed on a day that fellow starters Lazar Stefanovic and Sebastian Mack combined for only six points.
“It was good to have the offense come,” Andrews said, ‘but our main focus was stopping Jordan Pope and [Tyler] Bilodeau.”
The Bruins prevailed in that category as well. Pope scored 16 points but made only six of 16 shots, and Bilodeau scored most of his 13 points as part of a futile comeback after being a nonfactor in the first half with foul trouble.
UCLA (16-16) advanced to face fourth-seeded Oregon in a quarterfinal on Thursday afternoon. The teams split their two meetings in the regular season, each winning on its home court.
The Bruins would be headed home were it not for Andrews.
With UCLA teetering midway through the second half, a onetime 15-point lead down to seven, Oregon State had the ball and a chance to make things even tighter. That’s when Andrews came up with a steal that he followed with a three-pointer that restored the Bruins’ advantage to double figures.
Later, after the Beavers had pulled to within 46-42 on back-to-back three-pointers, Andrews countered with one of his own.
Center Adem Bona added 17 points and six rebounds for the Bruins while also freeing Andrews for open jumpers as the focus of an Oregon State defense that fouled him 10 times.
Defense was the big issue in the final Pac-12 game for Oregon State (13-19), which is bound for the West Coast Conference alongside Washington State next season. The Beavers allowed the Bruins to make 52.2% of their shots, including nine of 15 three-pointers (60%).
UCLA coach Mick Cronin credited Andrews for persevering during his first season as the team’s full-time point guard after playing sparingly behind Tyger Campbell as a freshman. Cronin also lamented his inability to surround Andrews with a veteran transfer who could have lessened the need for him to log a heavy workload as he did against the Beavers, when Andrews played 39 minutes.
“He and I have been on a journey all year to replace Tyger and figure out how he can be him instead of Tyger — and just getting used to playing a lot of minutes,” Cronin said. “And he’s gotten really comfortable in the last month, outside of the USC game [when Andrews was held scoreless].”
Said Andrews of the challenges he’s faced: “It’s different being the point guard at UCLA. You’re going to go through adversity. But Coach trusts me, my teammates trust me, and I trust them.”
UCLA is trying to fashion a different ending on the court where not much has gone right. About the only highlight here was a victory over Ohio State during the Lonzo Ball season, the rest of the memories not bound for any scrapbook. The Bruins have not won a Pac-12 tournament title here while also logging losses to North Carolina, Illinois and Baylor.
There was also a dreary blowout against Gonzaga in November 2021 before the heartbreaker against the Bulldogs during the Sweet 16 last year.
The first half was a study in contrasts for Bona, who committed five turnovers while struggling against the Beavers’ 2-3 zone. Bona was so frustrated after dribbling off his body for his fifth turnover that he placed both hands on his head before doubling over in anguish. Stefanovic came over to console him with a pat on the back going into a timeout.
But Bona also flashed dual dominance by driving past Oregon State counterpart Michael Rataj for a dunk and forcing a five-second violation with relentless defense on Dexter Akanno.
Andrews also continued to be a two-way force, making five of seven shots on the way to 13 points by halftime while also holding Pope to five points on two-for-seven shooting.
His best was yet to come for a team that needed every bit of it.
Sports
Taylor Swift shows up to support Travis Kelce for possible final home game
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Taylor Swift showed up to Arrowhead Stadium Thursday night to watch fiancé Travis Kelce in what could be his final home game with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Swift, wearing a red leather jacket, was shown on the Amazon Prime Video broadcast hugging a friend.
The pop star has mostly been out of the NFL spotlight after the Chiefs lost the Super Bowl to the Philadelphia Eagles in February and the two announced their engagement.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift kiss after the AFC championship game against the Buffalo Bills in Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)
But it was a special night for Kelce as he mulls his NFL future.
Amazon Prime Video aired an interview between him and Chiefs legend Tony Gonzalez before the game began.
“I think I’m still searching for those answers. I think, obviously, the way this one ended with a sour taste in my mouth, I feel motivated, but I got to make the right decision for me,” he told Gonzalez. “I’ve got to hope that, you know, if I do want to come back, the Chiefs are willing to bring me back.
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Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is introduced before a game against the Denver Broncos Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
“So it’s a two-way street on that, but, at the same time, man, I am, at this point in this year, I’m just trying to finish out and give Chiefs Kingdom everything I got and go out there and do it with some of that flair that you said I play with.”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked what it meant that it could be Kelce’s last game at home.
“I don’t know if it is or not. I haven’t talked to him,” Reid said. “I think his numbers and personality and the person, I think, speak for themselves. Phenomenal person (and) great for the community. He’s everything you want from a player representing an organization.”
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The Chiefs were taking on the Denver Broncos in the Week 17 matchup. Kansas City has already been eliminated from playoff contention.
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Sports
Lakers’ Austin Reaves will not return vs. Rockets because of calf soreness
Lakers guard Austin Reaves will not play in the second half against the Houston Rockets because of left calf soreness, the team announced Thursday.
Reaves missed three games with a left calf strain before coming back to play at Phoenix on Tuesday night. He scored 17 points off the bench in the Lakers’ loss to the Suns.
Against the Rockets at Crypto.com Arena, Reaves started and played 15 minutes in the first half, scoring 12 points on five-for-eight shooting.
With Reaves out, the Lakers struggled in the third quarter, giving up 29 points to trail 92-74 heading into the fourth. The Lakers are trying to avoid losing three consecutive games for the first time this season.
Reaves entered Thursday averaging 27.3 points per game, ranking him 11th in league scoring.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said earlier this week that Reaves wasn’t on a minutes restriction, but the team would monitor his workload “in real time.”
Sports
NFL’s Christmas games lose major star power as key quarterbacks sidelined with injuries
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On paper, Netflix had great divisional matchups on Christmas Day for Week 17 when the season began.
Of course, the NFL season never goes as planned, and the three matchups scheduled for the holiday are not what anyone had planned.
The reason? Star quarterbacks won’t be playing in each game.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott walks off the field after the team’s NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
Christmas Day’s first kickoff will be an NFC East battle between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders, with both teams already eliminated from playoff contention.
And while Dak Prescott and company are looking to finish the season strong, the Commanders shut down Jayden Daniels, their second-year quarterback who led them to the NFC Championship Game in his rookie season just a year ago, after reaggravating his elbow injury.
In fact, the Commanders won’t even see Marcus Mariota, Daniels’ backup who has had to start eight games this season, as he’s dealing with an injury as well. It will be veteran Josh Johnson making the start in Landover, Maryland, on Christmas Day for a 4-11 Commanders squad that hoped to at least make the playoffs after a fantastic finish in 2024.
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“When you do circle those matchups, that’s exactly what you’re thinking: This is going to be cool. How it’s all laid out — division games right here at the end between two games of Philadelphia with a Dallas game in between,” Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said.
“Playing these division games, they still mean a lot.”
Unfortunately for both squads, it will only be for bragging rights.
Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders looks on from the sidelines after leaving the game during the second half against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Dec. 7, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images)
In the 4:30 p.m. ET slate, the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, a storied NFC North rivalry, the home team in Minneapolis will be without its own second-year signal caller — J.J. McCarthy.
McCarthy suffered an injury in the win over the New York Giants last week, and it will be Max Brosmer having to start again for Kevin O’Connell’s group.
The Minnesota product’s first career start didn’t work out too well in Seattle, as the Seahawks had their way on defense against Brosmer. Perhaps a home crowd will do him and the Vikings’ offense better, but the Lions at least still have something to play for.
Detroit heads into this game following a tough loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, where a game-winning touchdown was called back after Amon-Ra St. Brown was penalized for offensive pass interference, negating Jared Goff flying into the end zone after a pitch-back from the star receiver.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes chews his mouth guard during warmups before an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024 in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann, File)
The Lions need to win their remaining two games, while also needing the Green Bay Packers to lose their last two games to secure the final NFC wild card spot.
Finally, and perhaps the biggest disappointment for Netflix, is the Kansas City Chiefs not having Patrick Mahomes on the field this holiday season.
Mahomes suffered a torn ACL, which he quickly had surgery to repair, following a loss that knocked them out of playoff contention two weeks ago. The Chiefs were hoping that his backup, Gardner Minshew, could finish out the season, but he tore his ACL last week in a loss to the Tennessee Titans.
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That leaves USF alum Chris Oladokun, who filled in for Minshew last week, starting against Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos — a 12-3 squad who already clinched their playoff berth. Denver will still be playing hard, as they’re competing for the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC, which would ensure home games throughout the playoffs.
These games were supposed to be potential division/playoff clinching matchups, but the NFL and its fanbase will be hoping these games are not as lopsided as some believe they could turn out to be.
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