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After loss to Rockets, LeBron James says Lakers must 'get uncomfortable' to be great

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After loss to Rockets, LeBron James says Lakers must 'get uncomfortable' to be great

The curse of the NBA regular season is that it’s a monthslong slog from city to city, from hotel rooms and hostile arenas, with opposing scouting reports bleeding into one another in what can create an unrecognizable blur.

The gift of that 82-game schedule are the tests, the moments of competition when a team can take an honest look at what it is and what it isn’t against worthy opposition.

Sunday, the Lakers were given a gift.

Playing a Houston team that split the series and showed size, speed and athleticism in doing so last season, the Lakers got a chance to fight a team just above them in the standings. And it was a fight that they nearly won.

Despite being badly beaten for almost the whole first half, the Lakers played one of their best second halves of the season only to come up just short 119-115.

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“I want [us] to be a great team but it takes some things that maybe get uncomfortable out there,” LeBron James said. “We got to do a little bit more, be a little bit more gritty, make more plays, not have so many breakdowns.”

The Lakers trailed by as many as 22 late in the first half and by as many as 20 early in the third before Anthony Davis and James led a wild comeback that ended with the Lakers having a chance to tie the score with 7.2 seconds left.

James, who was called for an offensive foul earlier in the final minute, scored on a quick layup and grabbed Alperen Sengun’s missed free throw to give the Lakers a chance to tie it for the first time since the score was 10-10.

Lakers guard Austin Reaves, left, drives past Houston Rockets guard Aaron Holiday during the first half Sunday.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

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But Max Christie couldn’t get the ball inbounded, with James signaling for a timeout the Lakers didn’t receive. Christie‘s pass was intercepted by Fred VanVleet, who sealed the game by making one of two free throws. The Lakers nearly cut it to one on the next possession, but a James three-pointer was wiped out by a Davis offensive foul that he and coach JJ Redick said was a flop.

Christie said after the game he should’ve called timeout. James said he believed he should’ve been granted one.

Davis led the Lakers with 30 points and 13 rebounds, James and Austin Reaves each had 21 and Christie scored 14. James also had 13 rebounds and Reaves 10 assists.

Jalen Green, who torched the Lakers early, closed them out in the fourth quarter, scoring a game-high 33 points.

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“The fight was there, which was good, but we got to stop digging ourselves in holes like that,” Christie said. “We got to play that way, like we did the second half, for 48 minutes instead of just one half. So for us as a team, that’s the next step for us.”

The standards have been set, both by the Lakers’ recent run of play and by the demands that Redick has publicly and privately put on them. They didn’t meet those standards Sunday on the glass, where Houston scored 28 second-chance points.

“We gave up too many second-chance points. Offensive rebounds killed us. We know they’re a big team,” James said. “We know they crash everybody.”

One of those crashes late — a two-handed putback dunk of an airball from Green by Amen Thompson — was a jaw-dropping display of athleticism.

“It was huge. It was huge. It was huge. It was huge,” James repeated. “But I mean… that’s what happens sometimes. We had bodies on bodies. We maybe could have gotten a body on him. But it was a broken play and me and Doe Doe [Dorian Finney-Smith] got a great trap on Jalen Green across from our bench and he threw one up and it literally looked like a lob. And the kid went up there and used his athleticism to put it home.”

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Good is maybe what the Lakers are here in the first week of January; great is where they want to be. And if things aren’t being done correctly, well, Redick has insisted that he’ll find someone who will.

Less than a minute into the third quarter, Redick pulled starter Rui Hachimura for recently acquired Finney-Smith. And after just 93 seconds of playing time in the fourth, he yanked Jaxson Hayes for Finney-Smith.

The mistakes in those stretches, such as the ones late in the game, were the difference between a great win and hard-fought loss, with little room for moral victories with the Lakers’ goals being bigger.

They play again Tuesday in Dallas against the Mavericks.

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CM Punk to defend Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam

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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)

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“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)

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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.

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World Cup fans flock to In-N-Out, Erewhon and Trader Joe’s for a taste of California

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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Shohei Ohtani ruled out of MLB All-Star Game as Dodgers plan to manage nagging injury

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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.

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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.

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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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