Sports
Lauren Betts returns and Cori Close earns win No. 300 as UCLA blows out Nebraska
Lauren Betts took the pass in the post midway through the third quarter, firmly grabbing the ball with both hands. She swung her arms one way, then another, until she found the positioning she wanted.
It was then that UCLA’s center rose for another layup against an overmatched defender.
An unbeaten team got better Sunday afternoon with its top interior presence back in the lineup.
In her return from a knee injury that had sidelined her for two games, Betts and teammate Kiki Rice powered top-ranked UCLA to a 91-54 victory over Nebraska at Pauley Pavilion in the Bruins’ Big Ten Conference home opener.
Flashing her usual dominant form, Betts finished with a game-high 21 points on eight-for-15 shooting to go with eight rebounds. Rice was practically flawless on the way to 18 points — including the 1,000th of her career — while making all eight shots and logging six rebounds, four steals and two assists, her only blemish coming on three turnovers.
UCLA’s Kiki Rice, left, dribbles past Nebraska’s Allison Weidner during the Bruins’ win Sunday.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
“I felt really good,” Betts said. “Obviously, coming in I was a little bit nervous obviously with my knee, but I think my teammates and my coaches just really built me up going into it today and helped relieve some of those nerves.”
There was more to celebrate than another runaway victory given that it gave Cori Close, already the winningest coach in UCLA women’s basketball history, win No. 300 with the team.
Close said she wasn’t aware that she was on the brink of the milestone, her players surprising her with a confetti shower in the locker room.
“I literally didn’t know why they were doing that,” Close said. “ … I am just focused. My word for the year — and we’ve all picked one — is ‘present’ and it was being prioritized. Truly, that’s all I want to focus on, is being present. I’m thankful [for having] 300 wins and I still get to be the head coach here and I get to work with amazing people and have this be our alumni weekend.”
Forward Timea Gardiner added 15 points off the bench for the Bruins, who shot 55.9% and made 21 of 28 free throws, offsetting their struggles from long range. UCLA held leads as large as 38 points despite committing 26 turnovers and making only four of 17 three-pointers (23.5%).
The Bruins (13-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) pulled away by shutting down a high-scoring Nebraska offense that entered the game averaging 79.1 points. Against an active UCLA defense that routinely poked away passes for steals and proved bothersome with its superior size, the Cornhuskers (10-3, 1-1) shot only 33.3% and committed 19 turnovers.
No one was more flustered than Nebraska center Alexis Markowski, whose three points were far below the team-leading 15 points she averaged entering the game. Plagued by foul trouble, Markowski made one of eight shots and committed two turnovers.
After rolling over its first dozen opponents by an average of 32.1 points, UCLA found itself in an unusual spot midway through the second quarter.
Guard Britt Prince’s three-pointer capped a 7-0 run for Nebraska, pushing the Cornhuskers into a 24-23 lead after the Bruins had missed eight straight shots.
Nebraska’s advantage was all the more surprising given that Markowski spent most of the first half in foul trouble and did not score until making a layup with 4:59 left in the second quarter. But on the Cornhuskers’ next possession, Markowski committed an offensive foul and had to come out for the rest of the first half because it was her third foul.
Sparked by a flurry of steals and some strong moves in the post from Betts, UCLA rolled off the next 12 points on the way to taking a 37-30 halftime advantage.
With their star center back in the fold, the Bruins felt more like themselves.
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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