Sports
How a surprising corps of receivers helped UCLA's Ethan Garbers thrive
This doesn’t match the job description.
UCLA’s running backs have done most of their running after making catches.
T.J. Harden and Keegan Jones have both logged more receiving yards than rushing yards. Their touchdown total through the air has equaled theirs on the ground. Their longest receiving play of the season has gone for more than twice the yardage of their longest rushing play.
That’s just life for a Bruins running back in 2024, though they don’t seem to mind, almost considering it a perk of their responsibilities.
“It’s fun catching the ball out of the backfield,” said running back Jalen Berger, whose biggest play last weekend during the Bruins’ 35-32 victory over Rutgers came on a nine-yard touchdown catch, on Tuesday. “I feel like all three of us are versatile running backs and we just want to help out any way we can.”
They’ve done plenty just by blocking and serving as checkdown options for quarterback Ethan Garbers. Harden made a block that helped free Garbers for his 49-yard touchdown run — by far the team’s longest carry of the day — and the running backs combined to make three of the team’s four touchdown catches after the Scarlet Knights curiously refused to cover them out of the backfield.
UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers outruns a defender for a 49-yard touchdown against Rutgers.
(Ed Mulholland / Getty Images)
“We got the iPads on the sideline so [Garbers] could see that,” Berger said. “So every time we ran out the backfield, they never covered us so we were just wide open for touchdowns.”
Garbers was the biggest beneficiary, compiling career highs in completion percentage (84%), passing yards (383) and touchdown passes (four) on the way to being named the Big Ten offensive player of the week.
Relying on the running backs for checkdowns was a winning formula for the quarterback who entered the game with more than twice as many interceptions as touchdown passes this season, largely as a result of trying to force too many passes into coverage.
“You finally saw it where Ethan wasn’t pressing, he was kind of letting the game come to him,” UCLA coach DeShaun Foster said. “You know, I felt like there was a few games he wanted to get out there and make plays, just being the captain that he is and being a senior, you want to come out there and play hard and make plays, so I think he finally let the game come to him and you see what he did.”
Garbers could thank an offensive line that largely held up and a corps of running backs who continue to be some of his best options. Harden is the team’s second-leading receiver with 26 catches for 238 yards and Jones ranks fifth with 12 catches for 179 yards. Berger has six catches for 35 yards.
Berger’s 127 rushing yards make him the only member of the trio to compile more yards on the ground than through the air. Harden has run for 180 yards at 2.9 yards per carry, and Jones has run for 105 yards and at 5.3 yards per carry. Those numbers are reflected in a UCLA run game that’s averaged just 64.6 yards per game, ranking last in the country.
“They’re not exactly getting the yardage they would like running the ball,” Foster said of his running backs, “but they’re still able to affect the game.”
Bad finish
Rutgers received a major assist in its comeback efforts from UCLA’s secondary.
On three consecutive plays late in the game, Bruins defensive backs committed penalties. It started with safety Ramon Henderson tackling a player out of bounds before cornerback Jaylin Davies committed pass interference on back-to-back plays that Foster described as “a little too handsy.”
“They’re probably going to call plays like that in the red zone,” Foster said of the pass interference penalties, “so probably try to keep your hands off them.”
Rutgers went on to score a touchdown with 1 minute 23 seconds left and would have had a chance to win the game had it recovered an onside kick snagged by UCLA’s Grant Gray.
Foster said closing out games and coming out of halftime with a flourish were among the things his team would work on during the bye week. The Bruins have been outscored, 50-23, in third quarters this season.
Bravery time
Foster said he went for it on fourth and one at UCLA’s 18-yard line in the second quarter against the Scarlet Knights because “I just felt we can get a yard.”
So why didn’t he go for it on fourth and one at the Bruins’ 12-yard line a week earlier against Minnesota when getting a yard could have sealed a victory?
“Where I was at and how we were playing,” Foster said, referring to his offense’s struggles against the Golden Gophers, “so I didn’t think that we had the … [momentum] to get the yardage at the time. You know, early in the game and being aggressive, that was just something that I wanted to do, especially being on the road.”
Etc.
Foster said he hoped the bye week could help his team get back several players who have been sidelined by injuries. But the Bruins were without defensive tackle Siale Taupaki for at least the start of practice Tuesday after he left the Rutgers game with an unspecified injury. Wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. and left tackle Reuben Unije also did not participate in the portion of practice open to reporters. … The Bruins’ game against Nebraska on Nov. 2 in Lincoln will start at 12:30 p.m. PDT and air on the Big Ten Network.
Sports
Conor McGregor’s long-awaited Octagon return cut short by apparent knee injury seconds into UFC 329
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Nearly five years after his last walk to the Octagon, Conor McGregor made his long-awaited UFC return Saturday night against fellow MMA star Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329 in Las Vegas.
McGregor opened aggressively, attempting a running kick before throwing a head kick moments later. He appeared to slip on both tries. Holloway quickly capitalized after the second, taking top position and landing a right hand before McGregor was able to work his way back to his feet.
Moments later, McGregor hit the canvas again after trying to throw a kick with his right leg, which appeared to buckle underneath him.
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Conor McGregor of Ireland participates in the walkout before facing Max Holloway of the United States in their welterweight bout during UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)
The official inside the Octagon waved off the fight moments later, giving Holloway a TKO victory.
During the broadcast, UFC CEO Dana White pointed to a first-round replay that appeared to show the moment McGregor suffered the injury. The apparent injury was not to the same leg McGregor broke during his 2021 fight against Dustin Poirier, which led to a lengthy absence from the Octagon.
The loss extended McGregor’s long winless drought, with his last UFC victory coming by first-round TKO against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in January 2020.
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McGregor earned a unanimous decision over Holloway in a featherweight clash in 2013, when neither was an MMA megastar. In the blink of an eye, McGregor’s star rose.
Conor McGregor and Max Holloway face off during the UFC 329 ceremonial weigh-in at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 10, 2026. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
On Wednesday, he admitted he got caught up in his own stardom after winning UFC belts in two weight classes and becoming one of the biggest names in combat sports.
“I launched an Irish whiskey,” McGregor said. “I didn’t drink heavily, if at all, at that time of my life. I was an athlete at the top of my game. Next thing you know, thousands upon thousands of bottles (are) in my garage.
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“‘Sell this, Conor.’ OK, I’d leave my property with two bottles under my arm, and that was it. I was caught. And I wasn’t used to it. And that’s it. God gave me these lessons. That’s it. I was trapped and caught, and it is what it is.”
Conor McGregor jumps into the air for a kick as he fights Max Holloway in a welterweight bout at UFC 329 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (John Locher/AP)
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Easier said than done, perhaps, as the controversial former champion has been embroiled in multiple controversies and legal issues over the past several years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
LAS VEGAS — The door opened for Arthur Kaluma to show his worth for the Lakers in the NBA Summer League on Saturday night.
He did so in a big way.
Kaluma had 34 points and five rebounds during the Lakers’ 91-70 win over the Dallas Mavericks at the Thomas & Mack Center.
He was 11 for 16 from the field and six for 10 from three-point range.
With Lakers rookie guard Cameron Carr unable to play because of a right thumb contusion, Kaluma took over the scoring role. Carr, the 24th pick in the NBA draft, is averaging 17 points per game.
“Cam doesn’t play tonight, so he gets a little bit more minutes, gets a couple more touches,” said Lakers Summer League coach Ty Abbott about Kaluma. “But he’s done a really good job of making the most of it when he doesn’t have actions run for him. So the way that he’s been able to stay ready, find windows for himself has kept him in a rhythm. So, on a night like tonight, when we can run some actions for him, he knocks them down and just plays out of his mind. It was great.”
Kaluma said he was “a little nervous” but his three-point shooting said otherwise.
“When [teammate] Jon Elmore came down and he pitched it back to me for a three … I just knew when it came off my hand it was cash,” Kaluma said. “So I said, ‘Yeah, I’m hot.’ It went on from there.”
Late in the fourth quarter, Kaluma lined up a three-pointer, setting his feet and scoring from 29 feet out. He flashed three fingers and smiled. His teammates on the bench stood and cheered, as did the fans.
“We have such a great group of guys this year at Summer League and going through this it’s hard to get that camaraderie with a group,” Kaluma said. “But I feel like everybody wants to see everybody succeed and I felt that tonight. I’m not going to lie to you. They tell me to shoot the ball. I passed up a couple of shots and they were mad at me the other day.”
Kaluma played for the South Bay Lakers in the G League last season. He averaged 14.6 points per game, 4.9 rebounds and shot 55% from the field, 37% from three-point range.
“The G can get grimey, you know what I’m saying? It’s a time where everybody is trying to fight for a position and there is a certain hunger that you have to have in order to be successful in the G,” Kaluma said. “And I feel like that drive that I had my first year in it pushed me into this summer to really get better and work on my game and come here and have the opportunity to perform.”
Kaluma wasn’t alone in helping the Lakers improve to 2-0 in Summer League play.
Adou Thiero ran the court, took a lob pass from Chris Mañon and threw down a two-handed dunk. He had another solid outing with 15 points and four rebounds. He shot just four for 12 from the field, but was a plus-15.
But the night belonged to Kaluma.
“I pride myself on the defensive end,” he said. “I know I got hot offensively, but the shot was just falling today, you know what I’m saying? My game is three-and-D. I lock-up on defense and I know I can hit open shots. I just got hot today and I’m not going to try to let it get to my head.”
Sports
Golf star records lowest round in LPGA major history with astounding performance at Evian Championship
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There are good days on the golf course, and then there is what Haeran Ryu just did on Saturday.
Ryu, 25, recorded the lowest round in LPGA major history on Saturday with an 11-under 60 at the Evian Championship. With the South Korean golfer’s historic round, she holds a three-stroke lead.
Ryu’s round comes just two weeks after winning her first major at the Women’s PGA Championship. On the 18th hole, Ryu left a 30-foot eagle putt a few inches short, and instead settled for a birdie.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea reacts on the 18th green after the third round of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on July 11, 2026. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
She said after the round that she had no idea what she had done until she counted up her scorecard.
“But after the putt and I counted my score with my caddie,” she said. “Oh my God, it’s 11-under par today. It was so amazing. My caddie says, ‘Yep.’ I’m so happy right now.”
If Ryu had made the eagle putt on the 18th hole, she would have been just the second player to shoot a 59 in LPGA history.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea celebrates a birdie on the 15th green during the third round of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 11, 2026, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Her 60 broke the record for the lowest round in an LPGA major by one shot. Leona Maguire and Jeungeun Lee6 in 2021, and Hyo Joo Kim in 2014, each shot 61 at the Evian Championship, which was designated as an LPGA major in 2013.
The lowest round in a men’s major is 62, which is shared by four players — Branden Grace at Royal Birkdale in the 2017 British Open, Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler in the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, and Schauffele and Shane Lowry in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea and Lottie Woad of England interact after their round on the 18th green during the third round of the Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on July 11, 2026. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Ryu hopes her historic third round can help propel her to a second major win in three weeks.
“That is amazing, amazing dream,” Ryu said. “So I just want that one to come true, but we have one more day.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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