Sports
Landon Donovan on San Diego Wave gig: 'I don't worry about the next job'
From the San Diego Wave hotel in Panama City, Landon Donovan addressed reporters for the first time since being named the team’s interim head coach. The former U.S. men’s national team forward said he has a “steep” learning curve as he coaches women’s professional soccer for the first time, but it’s a challenge he can’t wait to start.
“Every day, I wake up after not sleeping because I’m so excited. My wife’s like, ‘Why are you out of bed again at 3 a.m.?’ I’m excited to do this every day, and the project’s phenomenal. There’s amazing resources,” Donovan said. He said Wave ownership has promised to help him achieve whatever he wants for the team, something any head coach — interim or not — would like to hear.
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Landon Donovan named San Diego Wave interim coach
The Wave traveled early to Panama ahead of their first CONCACAF W Champions Cup match against Santa Fe FC on Tuesday night, in part to get Donovan some extra time with the team, as it’s only had a handful of training sessions since he took over. Donovan wants to balance stabilizing the team with implementing his ideas, while also being aware that Wave president Jill Ellis and general manager Cami Ashton value the CONCACAF tournament as much as they do the NWSL playoffs.
Monday, Donovan said he had spoken directly with the Wave’s leadership group — and planned to speak to defender Naomi Girma once she returns from her break following the Olympics — and planned to meet with over a dozen players later in the day.
The Wave won the 2023 NWSL Shield, earning them a spot in the Champions Cup. (Elsa / Getty Images)
“It’s important for me to get to know them as individuals quickly,” he said. “I want to get to know them as human beings. We spend a lot of time on that, and we build real human connections with our players, and that’s important for me.”
Donovan said multiple times that he’s been impressed by the speed at which the players are picking up new ideas, but he stressed there’s more to it than tactics as he hits the ground running with the 10th-place Wave.
How Donovan got the Wave job
Donovan’s connections with the Wave go beyond his time as head coach of the former USL Championship men’s team, the San Diego Loyal, and the crossover the teams had early in the Wave’s existence.
“I’ve known Jill (Ellis) since 2015. I was at the World Cup final in Vancouver, and we spent a lot of time together after the match and got to know each other,” Donovan said of his connection to the former USWNT head coach. “She’s an incredible human being. She’s an incredible leader. We’ve kept in touch over time.”
Donovan said he had texted Ellis when the team was going through “a hard time.”
The Wave are currently in 10th place but only 3 points out from the final playoff spot, thanks to the league’s expanded playoff format. In June, the team parted ways with head coach Casey Stoney, who had led it to win the NWSL Shield in 2023, earning the team a spot in the CONCACAF W Champions Cup.
Last month, Ellis was accused of workplace abuse, which she denied. The NWSL confirmed that Ellis and the Wave were the subject of reports of misconduct, which the league investigated via an independent third party. No league policy violations were found. At the end of July, Ellis filed a lawsuit against a former Wave employee who alleged workplace misconduct on social media.
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Ellis texted Donovan back, asking if he had any interesting coaching candidates for her to consider.
“I didn’t (immediately) respond to the message,” Donovan said Monday. “I thought about it for a little bit that evening. I talked to my wife. I said: ‘I love San Diego. We’ve loved watching and supporting the Wave. I miss coaching. Maybe I should think about it.’”
He replied to Ellis, saying that if she was interested in having the conversation, he’d be ready to talk.
“That’s how it started, and now we’re here,” he said. Those conversations, according to Donovan, were “really open and honest.” They were about building something identifiable, something the club as a whole could be proud of. Donovan said that with Ashton stabilizing the soccer side of the staff, they needed someone to help stabilize things with players, particularly “confidence and culture.”
How Donovan’s experience can help the Wave
“My No. 1 core value is compassion,” Donovan said Monday, citing his experience with mental health. He said he was fully aware of what the players have been through, not just this year but throughout their careers.
“I don’t view this as purely a soccer job,” he said. “My job is to have a positive impact on their life every day. That doesn’t have to be on the field.”
He brought up a recent conversation he had with San Diego and U.S. forward Alex Morgan after she was left off the Olympic roster.
“I went through the same thing that she went through this summer. I got left off a team, and I have the ability to empathize because I went through that,” Donovan said. “We had a long talk — ‘How do you make the last stretch of your career still positive?’ I was able to come back and win a championship that season with my team, and that was the lasting impression of that season, not getting cut.”
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Landon Donovan spoke to Alex Morgan after she was left off the U.S. Olympic roster. (Ira L. Black – Corbis / Getty Images)
Donovan was also asked about his approach to developing younger talent, like 16-year-olds Melanie Barcenas and Kimmi Ascanio. He leaned again on his experience.
“I’ve been in (Barcenas’) shoes. I was a 16-year-old who had a lot of talent that people were talking about, and I know exactly what she’s going through. So that will be one of my personal projects, for sure,” he said. He has yet to see Ascanio play in person due to some injuries, but he’s watched the film, and he mentioned other young players such as Jaedyn Shaw.
But Donovan remained consistent about his objective.
“Because of all the experiences I’ve been through, I think I can connect with them on a really personal level,” he said. “If I make them better soccer players, that’s great, and I think I will, but I want to make them better human beings too.”
Does Donovan view this job as a stepping stone?
Though Donovan holds a U.S. soccer A-level coaching license, he has no experience in the NWSL or professional women’s soccer, and some questioned whether he viewed the Wave job as a potential stepping stone.
US soccer legend Landon Donavon is set to become the San Diego Wave interim coach 🌊🇺🇸@susannahcollins, @Nicocantor1, @CharlieDavies9 and @TMeola1 weigh in on the new appointment 👇 pic.twitter.com/sMwCYiCYgk
— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) August 16, 2024
“Let me share something that I’ve never shared publicly before because that’s an interesting take from people,” Donovan said Monday. “I’ve been offered four MLS jobs in my life since I started coaching, and I turned down all of them.”
Donovan said there were a few reasons for declining those offers, including his love of San Diego and his desire to work with “good people.” For Donovan, the Wave gig checks both boxes.
“There is no better place in the world for me to be working right now than where I’m working with the Wave. I am so content and so at peace, and so I understand why people question that, or question my motivation or whatever,” he continued. “People questioned my motivation when I didn’t play in Europe my whole career. I was happy to play in LA and help grow MLS around good people and have passion for a project that I believed in and be close to my family.
“I don’t worry about the next job or the next gig or what this means or a stepping stone. I am present and happy to be here, and I want to help this team succeed.”
He did say the door is open to a permanent position, but his contract only goes through the end of the 2024 season.
“If one side doesn’t want it or the other, no problem. There’s no hard feelings, and we’ll move on,” Donovan said. “But let’s put our whole heart into it and go for it, and then we’ll figure out where we go from there.”
(Top photo: John Wilkinson / ISI Photos / Getty Images)
Sports
‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42
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LAS VEGAS – Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.
As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.
The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.
Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.
JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.
The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.
Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.
As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.
Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.
Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.
Sports
Ryan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies
DENVER — What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.
With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.
Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.
Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.
Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.
“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.
Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.
“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”
And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?
It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.
Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.
“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”
He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.
The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.
Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.
The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.
The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.
The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.
Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.
“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”
If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.
“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’
“I used it as fire to keep working.”
That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.
In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).
Sports
ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd
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LAS VEGAS – Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.
While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.
The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”
Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.
WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”
Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.
“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”
Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.
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