Sports
LAFC is surging as the hottest team in MLS. Will it carry the team to another title?
Eleven games into this MLS season, LAFC had lost as many games as it had won and had scored as many goals as it had given up. The numbers were as mediocre as the team’s play — and mediocre wasn’t going to cut it for a franchise seeking a third straight trip to the MLS Cup final.
But those numbers didn’t add up for coach Steve Cherundolo, who thought the record didn’t reflect his team’s performance.
“I can create a statistic that puts me in a fantastic light. Any player can,” he said. “I can find one that puts them in a horrible light. So I try not to draw conclusions from that.
“What is fair to say is the team is playing better.”
With five straight wins — all shutouts — LAFC is playing better than any team in MLS as it returns from a two-week break Saturday in Orlando, Fla., the first game of a five-day road trip that also will take it to Austin next week.
Defender Aaron Long said the team took its early struggles in stride, knowing they wouldn’t last.
“We were confident in our abilities,” he said. “Every team, throughout the season, goes through ups and downs right? We were in a little bit of a down moment, we had things that weren’t falling our way.
“Then we kind of got ourselves out of that and got over the hump. Now we feel like we’re on a roll.”
Well, they were on a roll, anyway. Because of the vagaries of the MLS schedule, LAFC’s most recent game was June 1. Long said most of the players used the break to heal and rest — he went to San Diego with his family for three days. But now they’re eager to get back to business.
“We feel like there’s a reset button,” he said. “We want to start the next stretch of the season as good as we can. It was good to go on the break on a high like that.
“The mood is good and we’re champing at the bit to get back out there.”
LAFC midfielder Ilie Sánchez, left, heads the ball in front of FC Dallas forward Jesús Ferreira during an LAFC win on June 1.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Cherundolo said LAFC’s uneven start was magnified by the team’s success in winning two Western Conference championships, a Supporters’ Shield and an MLS Cup in the last two seasons.
“It’s L.A. and it’s OK,” he said. “We understand our role and our reputation and we feel perfectly comfortable with high expectations.”
Part of the reason they weren’t meeting those expectations was a defense that started May by giving up three goals in a 3-1 loss to last-place San José, the team with the worst goal differential in MLS. That performance left goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who started the last two World Cup finals for France, ranked as the worst player at his position in MLS.
But Lloris and the team haven’t given up a goal since, the five consecutive shutouts and 480 scoreless minutes both setting club records. Add in 125 consecutive scoreless minutes in two U.S. Open Cups wins and LAFC hasn’t conceded a goal in 575 minutes in all competition and hasn’t trailed in its last seven games.
“For defenders, it’s kind of what we want to do,” center back Jesús Murillo, speaking in Spanish, said of the scoreless streak. “The beginning of the season was difficult and we had to make some adjustments, we had to get better. Now we’ve done that.”
That surge has carried the team to second in the conference and fourth in the Supporters’ Shield standings with half a season to play.
“There’s definitely a better sense of team defending,” Long said of LAFC, which added two defenders in addition to Lloris since last season, resulting in a period of adjustment at the start of the schedule. “I don’t think it’s the back four or the back six in particular, but the group as a whole. There’s been a lot of stability, a lot of clarity in what we’re trying to do.”
That’s important because for all the attention the team has gotten for its offense — an LAFC player has won the MLS Golden Boot three times since 2019 — the team has won with defense, ranking in the top five in fewest goals given up in each of its three best seasons.
LAFC midfielder Mateusz Bogusz celebrates after scoring against Minnesota on May 29.
(Ryan Sun / Associated Press)
But here’s the scary thing for opponents: LAFC (9-4-3) is almost certain to get better this summer with the addition of Olivier Giroud, the French national team’s all-time leading scorer. Giroud, who tied for third in Italy’s Serie A with 15 goals for AC Milan this season, signed a designated-player contract with LAFC last month and will join the team after his duties with France in the European Championships are over.
He’ll likely make his LAFC debut in the Leagues Cup in August, joining an attack led by Denis Bouanga, the reigning MLS scoring champion who has scored four times in his last five games.
Good fortune, it would seem, is starting to snowball for LAFC. Cherundolo, nonetheless, still says what matters most is the next game, not the last one.
“It’s a perspective thing,” he said. “You can think in terms of streaks or you can think game to game or even half to half. So the streak is just one game.
“This is the space we’re in mentally right now and not thinking in streaks.”
The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
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