Sports
Kings glad to be back on home ice, beating Sharks after seven-game trip
The NHL season turned three weeks old Friday, just hours after the Kings played on home ice for the first time.
“It’s definitely odd,” captain Anze Kopitar said Thursday, before the Kings played at Crypto.com Arena for the first time in 175 days to beat the San José Sharks 3-2 before a sold-out crowd of 18,146. “End of October. So a little different.”
The Kings were forced out of their building for the first seven games of the season by the third phase of a multimillion-dollar renovation of Crypto.com Arena, which turned 25 this month. If you count a preseason spent partly in Utah and Quebec, the trip lasted more than a month, making the Kings the last team in the league to play at home.
Six others already have played five games on their home ice. And there’s no doubt that put the Kings at a disadvantage. Not only were the players away from their families, but also the home team puts its sticks down last on face-offs, improving its chances of winning the drop, and gets the last change on substitutions after a whistle, allowing it to exploit matchup advantages.
“That’s huge,” said Kings TV analyst Jim Fox, who played nine seasons in the NHL.
That’s not the only advantage of coming home.
“The fans,” Kings president Luc Robitaille said, “make the home-ice advantage.”
“You can slice it a bunch of different ways,” second-year coach Jim Hiller added. “There’s a familiarity with your routine. When you eat, what time you get in your car, what the rink looks like. And I think for us, in this time in particular, it’s just coming home, getting some fresh air, chance for people to see families again.
“Everybody’s in a pretty good mood.”
Probably because they played so well on the road, taking eight of a possible 14 points in the seven games. But then long road trips are nothing new to the Kings, who had to vacate their arena 20 times in the last 24 seasons to make way for the Grammy Awards. Those multiweek trips generally come in the dead of winter; starting the season on the road, Hiller said, is much better.
“Once you get deeper in, it’s basically as if you’ve got a battery. Your battery starts to dwindle so those trips at the end really zap you,” he said. “At the beginning everybody’s fresh, hungry, excited.”
“Because it’s a little bit unprecedented, we have to be careful,” he added. “There’s a big picture that goes on.”
For a team welcoming more than a half-dozen new players, a long road trip also can be a bonding exercise, especially this early in the season.
“You get new guys, you want to spend as much time as you can,” Kopitar said. “From that point of view, the trip was really good.”
San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin gets in a fight with Kings left wing Andre Lee during the first period Thursday.
(William Liang / Associated Press)
One of those new players, Warren Foegele, who left Edmonton to sign with the Kings (4-2-2) in July, introduced himself to the new fans by scoring twice in the first 12 minutes Thursday in a sloppy game in which the Kings went to the penalty box eight times and gave up two power-play goals to San José (0-6-2).
“First time being in this dressing room,” said Foegele, who said he needed help finding the locker room. “This is probably the rink I played in the second most. It was nice to be on the side.”
After seeing the last three seasons end in first-round playoff losses to Foegele’s Oilers, Robitaille said it was obvious the team had to do something different — besides changing the schedule — if it wanted different results. So in addition to adding Foegele, the Kings traded underperforming forward Pierre-Luc Dubois and the $59.5 million left on his contract to the Washington Capitals for goalie Darcy Kuemper, signed defenseman Joel Edmundson to a three-year contract and traded for winger Tanner Jeannot and defenseman Kyle Burroughs. The team also ditched its plodding 1-3-1 neutral zone trap in favor of more offensive-minded 1-2-2, a formation Kopitar said has made the team dynamic.
More productive too, with the Kings averaging more than 31 shots a game, fourth best in the 16-team Western Conference.
“We’ve changed our roster,” said Robitaille, whose team also will have to find a way to overcome the loss of stellar defenseman Drew Doughty, who will miss at least half the season after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured ankle. “The biggest thing this year was to change a little bit the identity. More than a third of our team has changed. So it’s going to take time for our guys to play exactly the way we want them to play.”
Kings goaltender David Rittich makes a save during the first period against the San Jose Sharks.
(William Liang / Associated Press)
Starting the season with seven straight road games will help forge that identity. But Robitaille sees an even bigger advantage: The Kings already have played 17% of their road schedule.
“You’ve got to play 41 games on the road whether you play them in the first week or the last week,” he said. “We could complain about it and other teams complain about it, but every team has some schedule issues. It’s just part of it.
“You just move on and make the best of it and you come out of it. If you’re ahead, you’re better for it.”
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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