Sports
After Cameron Dicker's historic boot, Chargers get to meet 'Quad Father' of free kick
Cameron Dicker pointed to a picture of a football card to the camera. The color drawing showed a man in a royal blue San Diego Chargers jersey with thick brown hair and a thick mustache.
“From me to Ray,” the Chargers kicker said while tapping his chest, “let’s go.”
Ray Wersching’s mustache has gone gray, as has the hair on his head, but 48 years after he made a 45-yard fair-catch free kick, the former Charger and San Francisco 49ers kicker is happy to pass the torch to Dicker.
After Dicker made the first successful fair-catch kick in the NFL since 1976 last Thursday, Wersching was a surprise guest in the Chargers practice facility Monday, invited by the Spanos family to fly from his home in the Bay Area to meet with the team. Before practice, he chatted with reporters and special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken and addressed the players.
For Dicker, he had a special message: “Thank you.”
The San Diego Chargers’ Ray Wersching was the last NFL player to be successful on a fair-catch free kick before the Chargers’ Cameron Dicker did it in Week 16 this season.
(James Flores / NFL)
“It brought that rule into now where everybody knows it,” Wersching said with a proud smile.
The obscure rule allows a team to kick immediately after a fair catch and if it goes through the uprights and over the crossbar, it counts as a three-point field goal for the kicking team.
In 2019, Joey Slye, then with the Carolina Panthers, was the last NFL player to attempt one. The Chargers watch the film of the attempt every week during special teams meetings.
Players sometimes roll their eyes when Ficken cues up the footage. They were celebrating the moment the ball shot off Dicker’s foot, however, giving the Chargers a jolt of energy going into halftime against the Denver Broncos.
“It’s always something that you never know if it’s going to occur or when it’s going to occur,” Ficken said, “but you’ve got to be prepared and ready.”
Chargers coaches realized the opportunity early enough to give Dicker enough time to practice one rep on the sideline with punter JK Scott. It was a stark contrast to Wersching’s kick. He told Dicker on Monday he didn’t get any warm-up kicks before his 45-yard kick nearly 50 years ago.
“They showed me a picture of him kicking and, I mean, the dude’s quads were massive,” Dicker said. “I called him the ‘Quad Father.’”
Wersching won two Super Bowls with the 49ers and kicked four field goals in the 49ers’ 26-21 victory in Super Bowl XVI. Wersching deserved the most valuable player award for that, Dicker said.
Dicker made his own MVP-worthy play Thursday as his unorthodox kick catapulted the Chargers to a comeback win over their AFC West rivals, clinching a season sweep and boosting their playoff opportunities. The Chargers (9-6) can clinch a postseason berth Saturday with a road win against the New England Patriots.
Watching games from the Bay Area, where he still lives after 11 years with the 49ers, Wersching used to breathe a sigh of relief every time he saw a team call a fair catch deep in its territory. His claim to fame could be safe for another play.
Wersching perked up, however, when he saw Derius Davis get interfered with while attempting to make a fair catch. The 15-yard penalty put Dicker on Denver’s 47-yard line.
Wersching knew the 24-year-old would make it. Dicker is one of the many young NFL talents who have impressed Wersching with their precision from long distances.
“I’m impressed with everyone because a 60-yard field goal now it’s like, ‘yeah, we can make this,’” said Wersching, whose career long was 53 yards. “Fifty-yard field goals now, you’re expected to make them. It’s amazing.”
NFL kickers are 173-for-245 (70.1%) on field-goal attempts of 50 yards or longer this season going into Monday night’s game. Dicker’s 57-yard kick was the longest fair-catch kick in NFL history and ranks as the third-longest field goal in Chargers history. He already tied a franchise record this season with a 59-yard kick against the Arizona Cardinals
Dicker has attempted 10 kicks from 50 yards this season and made nine. After signing a four-year contract extension worth reportedly $22 million, the former Texas Longhorns star is 31 of 33 on field-goal attempts and 27 of 30 on extra points.
Dicker was also the team’s nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year, which honors a player’s achievements on the field and in the community. Two nights before making his historic kick, Dicker hosted a charity shopping spree for 20 kids from Big Brothers Big Sisters at Dick’s Sporting Goods in El Segundo. While teammates were leaving the facility after a long day of meetings, Dicker scurried out of the Chargers locker room dressed as Buddy from Will Ferrell’s “Elf.”
“Really whatever he touches,” coach Jim Harbaugh said, “he’s going to be a force for good.”
Etc.
Running back J.K. Dobbins (knee) returned to practice off injured reserve Monday, beginning his 21-day window. … Safety Alohi Gilman (hamstring) is eligible to return off IR this week, but the team did not open his window Monday. … Safeties Elijah Molden (knee) and Marcus Maye (ankle) and linebacker Denzel Perryman (groin) did not participate in practice while cornerback Cam Hart (concussion) and tight end Will Dissly (shoulder) were on the field.
Sports
CM Punk to defend Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam
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CM Punk appeared on “Friday Night SmackDown” ready to take on any challenger that was ready to step to him after winning the Undisputed WWE Championship against Sami Zayn.
Punk entered the ring in Oklahoma City and called back to the “Monday Night Raw” after WrestleMania 42 when he told Cody Rhodes he’d be ready to deliver if a championship opportunity fell “out of the sky.”
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Cody Rhodes and CM Punk face off during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images)
“When championship opportunities fall out of the sky, CM Punk catches them,” he said.
Punk named potential SmackDown superstars he’d think might come for the title, including Gunther, Finn Balor, Royce Keys, Damian Priest and Trick Williams. He even said that Zayn could come back around and get his rematch if he wanted. He didn’t mention Rhodes’ name, but the “American Nightmare” came out uncalled and marched his way down to the ring.
“I don’t think you and I can run away from each other anymore,” Punk told Rhodes.
Cody Rhodes looks on during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on July 10, 2026. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images)
Rhodes agreed and mentioned that Punk would want a match with him, just “say when.” It was a quick retort from Punk, who said, “when.” SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis, who was in the ring for the segment, booked the match for SummerSlam.
Punk will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam, which takes place Aug. 1 and 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
First, however, Punk and Rhodes will be involved in a tag team match at Saturday Night’s Main Event in New York City next week. Aldis made the match after Gunther demanded that Aldis put him in a match against Punk. Gunther was hoping it would be for the championship. Instead, Gunther will tag with Zayn.
Gunther didn’t take too kindly to that and attacked Aldis. Rhodes came back out to break up the calamity. He wanted to take on Gunther after the show went off air but Gunther walked away.
Gunther makes his entrance during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on July 10, 2026. (Rich Wade/WWE via Getty Images)
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Punk definitely has his hands full as he moves to SmackDown to become a fighting champion.
Sports
World Cup fans flock to In-N-Out, Erewhon and Trader Joe’s for a taste of California
World Cup tourists are coming to L.A. for the soccer, but they’re staying for the $21 smoothies and Double-Doubles.
As the last Los Angeles FIFA World Cup event ended Friday, soccer fans were eating like locals and famous chains from the region were cashing in.
In the weeks that L.A. has hosted the World Cup, international soccer enthusiasts have flocked to big brands from the area, often in large groups wearing their countries’ jerseys.
It is a phenomenon seen at many of the host cities. In Dallas, giant gas station Buc-ee’s is the main attraction. For people visiting New Jersey, deli shops have been a hot ticket. In L.A., the place to be between matches was Erewhon.
Thirsty international sports fans gathered for pictures outside different Erewhons, wandered their aisles smiling, and, of course, picked up pricey smoothies.
While Erewhon would not comment on its business, mobility data company Arity, which uses phone data to track consumers, said Erewhon visits at the outlets around SoFi Stadium were quadruple what they were a week earlier on June 12, the day of the U.S. national soccer team’s opening match there.
Arity looked at what stores people visited within a 10-mile radius of SoFi that day and also found surges in visitors to nearby El Pollo Loco and Trader Joe’s.
Locals have spotted groups of people in Korea jerseys huddled together, trying to decide what to order at In-N-Out.
Some complained on social media that international tourists at Trader Joe’s were buying up all the mini canvas tote bags.
Soon after the Belgium vs. Spain quarterfinal ended Friday, the In-N-Out near SoFi had a long line of soccer fans stretching out the door in bright red and yellow and black jerseys and matching striped hats and scarves.
One of the workers said he had to explain “spread” and “animal style” to foreign football fans.
“I didn’t know this place existed,” a fan from Romania said while waiting in line.
Los Angeles and other cities and states that have hosted the event need the soccer fans to spend money to make the event worth all the time, effort and money it requires.
A rosy 2024 report projected the World Cup could bring more than $800 million to the L.A. region as 180,000 people converge on the area to sleep, eat and spend.
There were early concerns people weren’t turning up for the event because of the high ticket prices and the difficulty of obtaining visas for citizens of some countries.
However, at least for some L.A. hotels, there was a surge of last-minute visitors which pushed up occupancy and room rates.
While sports fans are not in the region to shop, they do make time for it.
World Cup customer spending is also apparent in beer sales. Andrew Heritage, the chief economist at the Beer Institute said beer purchases at entertainment and attractions in L.A. – outside of World Cup spaces – were up around 10% from normal.
“That tells me that fans in the L.A. area have decided to extend their stay and take in all the other things that the area has to offer, rather than just the match itself,” he said.
On social media, the purpose of these shoppers is clear: grab a quick souvenir or local specialty and take a selfie.
The data from Arity suggests that fans are very efficient when they spend at local spots, diving in, getting what they want and getting out as soon as possible, said Jeff Schlitt, a director at the company.
“Normally you’re there for an hour. They’re going to be there for 15, 18 minutes,” he said. “Why is that? Because they were purpose-driven shoppers.”
For some travelers, the more popular American chains aren’t unfamiliar. But some of the native L.A. fare still comes as a surprise.
As one Belgium-Spain matchgoer from the Netherlands stood taking a picture of the In-N-Out sign after the game, he said he’d never had a burger like the one he’d just tried.
“We only have McDonald’s and Burger King,” he said. “It’s way better.”
Sports
Shohei Ohtani ruled out of MLB All-Star Game as Dodgers plan to manage nagging injury
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The face of baseball will not be at Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
Shohei Ohtani was scratched from his start on Friday as the Los Angeles Dodgers said he will also miss the Midsummer Classic with what the team called left knee irritation.
Ohtani, for obvious reasons, has become an All-Star Game fixture. He has earned the honor in each of the past five seasons and made his first start in 2021.
Starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers warms up before the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on June 03, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The two-way phenom is on his way to winning his fifth MVP award in his last six seasons as he is hitting .290 with a .939 OPS and pitching to a minuscule 1.79 ERA, the second-lowest in the sport among pitchers with 80-plus innings. His OPS is also the seventh-best mark in the league.
The Dodgers said Ohtani will be the team’s designated hitter up until the break, but he will “have some interventions on his knee to put him in the best position for the second half of the season.”
Ohtani dealt with knee issues earlier in the season.
It is certainly a big hit for the game as the other face of the sport, Aaron Judge, will miss the game due to a fractured rib that has kept him out since late May.
Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers gets ready in the on deck circle against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on June 01, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) (Norm Hall/Getty Images)
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Ohtani hit 99 home runs combined in 2024 and 2025, leading the National League with a 1.025 OPS in that span. Ohtani did not pitch in 2024 after elbow surgery but returned to the bump last year and owned a 2.87 ERA and 11.9 K/9, a figure he also put up in 2022 that led the American League.
The “Japanese Babe Ruth” is the only player in MLB history to have 300-plus plate appearances and 40-plus innings in six separate seasons (Ruth only did it twice and never stole 50 bases), and he has more than excelled at both.
Shohei Ohtani pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)
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Ohtani is not hitting like he has in the past, but certainly the best pitching performance of his career will make up for it. He “only” has 20 homers and 56 RBI this season.
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