Sports
Commentary: Can't even say her name? Angel City handled Alyssa Thompson transfer in odd way
It was a moment that should have been celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic. What could prove to be the most expensive transfer in women’s soccer history — and already is the largest outgoing transfer in NWSL history — had sent Alyssa Thompson from Angel City and the NWSL to Chelsea of England’s Women’s Super League.
It was a monumental deal, one that could come to define Thompson’s career and help repair Angel City’s brand as a rich club that has mostly bumbled its way through its first four seasons.
It was a massive win for the player and both clubs.
Yet before the ink on the agreement had dried Angel City was already tarnishing what it should have been cheering. Coach Alexander Straus refused to even say Thompson’s name, opening a conference call with reporters Thursday by insisting he would not answer questions about “a certain player” or “a certain transfer.”
It was the second time in four days Straus refused to acknowledge his team’s best player.
Thompson, of course, has never been “a certain player” or “a certain transfer.” She’s a player Angel City moved heaven and earth to draft and sign in 2023, giving her a contract worth an estimated $1 million, then one of the richest in the NWSL. She’s a player who went on to become the club’s all-time leader in goals and rank sixth in appearances.
The least the coach could do is say her name.
Then three hours after that conference call, and about an hour after Thompson’s transfer became official, the club muddled things even further by reaching out to anyone who would listen to say it had done everything it could to keep Thompson, who had professed her desire to stay with Angel City when she signed a long-term contract extension just nine months earlier.
Thompson has the right to change her mind when a better opportunity comes along, of course, and Chelsea offered exactly that. Just 20, Thompson has already proven to be one of the most dynamic players in the world but she hasn’t come close to realizing her full potential and it’s unlikely she would have stayed in the NWSL.
The transfer was necessary for Thompson to find out how good she can be. And just as important is the fact that Thompson, who lived with her parents for the first year of her professional career, will now be on her own for the first time. How she adapts will no doubt have a major influence on her career as well.
But the club’s admission it did everything it could to keep her — a message aimed at fans angry at seeing the team’s best player go — simply confirmed what many in Thompson’s camp had thought since Chelsea first approached Angel City with a transfer offer last month: the club was more interested in blocking the deal than facilitating it.
“She wants to go to Chelsea and made it very clear,” a Thompson confidant said late in the process. “ACFC has to respect her.”
Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson competes against the San Diego Wave on March 16.
(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)
For the club to suggest it had tried to hold up the transfer was the exact wrong message to send and one that — along with Straus’ lack of respect — won’t soon be forgotten by ambitious young players Angel City may approach in the future.
Thompson was one of eight players on the Angel City roster aged 20 or younger. Many, if not all, of those young women must be confident the club won’t stand in their way if they have a chance to move on and develop their talent on a bigger stage.
That’s the way soccer works. It’s why clubs allow players to leave in the middle of a season to play for their national teams despite the risk of injury. It’s unfortunate the transfer happened now, hampering Angel City’s final push for a playoff berth. But as long as the NWSL plays on a different calendar from the rest of the world, the transfer windows will always be awkward.
Yes, Angel City should — and it did — fight hard for every last penny in the transfer talks. The team recruited Thompson, signed her, paid her good money and gave her an opportunity and a platform to play both professionally and in a World Cup.
By all accounts, the team was masterful in its negotiations with Chelsea and it was rewarded with a record-breaking transfer fee. They deserve a huge pat on the back for that.
Just which records the deal broke depends on how you look at it. Multiple sources involved in the talks confirmed the transfer’s value at $1.65 million, which would make it the most expensive transfer in women’s soccer history.
Yet that’s not what Angel City deposited in the bank last week. Whether Chelsea will pay the full amount will be determined by non-disclosed escalators, mainly based on Thompson’s performance, that were included in the deal. For the time being, however, Angel City will have to get by with about half a million less, putting the initial value of the transfer somewhere between the nearly $1.1 million Chelsea paid the San Diego Wave last January for defender Naomi Girma and the $1.5 million the Orlando Pride paid Mexico’s Tigres for Lizbeth Ovalle last month.
Either way it’s the largest fee for an outgoing player in NWSL history and probably enough for Angel City to keep the lights on. So on Friday morning the club sent out a tepid three-paragraph statement announcing a transfer everyone else knew was done.
“We thank Alyssa for her contributions to Angel City and are grateful for the mark she has left on our team and the city of Los Angeles,” it read.
At least they said her name.
⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.
It’s time to reveal memories, laughs and crazy times from Randy Rosenbloom’s 55 years as a TV/radio broadcaster in Los Angeles. He’s hopping in a car next Sunday with his wife, saying goodbye to a North Hollywood house that’s been in his family since 1952 and driving 3,300 miles to his new home in Greenville, S.C.
“When I walk out, I’ll probably break down,” he said.
He graduated from North Hollywood High in 1969. He got his first paid job in 1971 calling Hart basketball games for NBC Cable Newhall for $10 a game. It began an adventure of a lifetime.
“I never knew if I overachieved or underachieved. I just did what I loved,” he said.
Randy Rosenbloom (left) used to work with former UCLA coach John Wooden for TV games.
(Randy Rosenbloom)
John Wooden, Jerry Tarkanian and Jim Harrick were among his expert commentators when he did play by play for college basketball games. He called volleyball at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games for NBC and rowing in 2004. He’s worked more than 100 championship high school events. He did play by play for the first and only Reebok Bowl at Angel Stadium in 1994 won by Bishop Amat over Sylmar, 35-14.
“There were about 5,000, 6,000 people there and I remember thinking nobody watched the game. We ended up with a 5.7 TV rating on Channel 13 in Los Angeles, which is higher than most Lakers games.”
He conducted interviews with NFL Hall of Famers Gale Sayers and Johnny Unitas and boxing greats Robert Duran, Thomas Hearn and Sugar Ray Leonard. He’s worked with baseball greats Steve Garvey and Doug DeCinces. He called games with former USC coach Rod Dedeaux. He was in the radio booth for Bret Saberhagen’s 1982 no-hitter in the City Section championship game at Dodger Stadium. He was a nightly sportscaster for KADY in Ventura.
Randy Rosenbloom, left, with his volleyball broadcast partners, Kirk Kilgour and Bill Walton.
(Randy Rosenbloom)
He was the voice of Fresno State football and basketball. He also did Nevada Las Vegas football and basketball games. He called bowl games and Little League games. He was a public address announcer for basketball at the 1984 Olympic Games with Michael Jordan the star and did the P.A. for Toluca Little League.
Nothing was too small or too big for him.
“I loved everything,” he said.
He called at least 10 East L.A. Classic football games between Garfield and Roosevelt. He was there when Narbonne and San Pedro tied 21-21 in the 2008 City championship game at the Coliseum on a San Pedro touchdown with one second left.
Probably his most notable tale came when he was doing radio play-by-play at a 1998 college bowl game in Montgomery, Ala.
“I look down and a giant tarantula is crawling up my pants,” he said. “My color man took all the press notes, wadded them up and hit the tarantula like swinging a bat.”
Did Rosenbloom tell the audience what was happening?
“I stayed calm,” he said.
Then there was the time he was in the press box at Sam Boyd Stadium and a bat flew in and attached itself to the wooden press box right next to him before flying away after he said, “UNLV wins.”
Recently, he’s been putting together high school TV packages for LA36 and calling travel ball basketball games. He’ll still keep doing a radio gambling show from his new home, but he’s cutting ties to Los Angeles to move closer to grandchildren.
“I’m retiring from Los Angeles. I’m leaving the market,” he said.
Hopefully he’ll continue via Zoom to do a weekly podcast with me for The Times.
He’s a true professional who’s versatility and work ethic made him a reliable hire from the age of 18 through his current age of 74.
He’s a member of the City Section Hall of Fame and the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He once threw the shot put 51 feet, 7 1/2 inches, which is his claim to fame at North Hollywood High.
One time an ESPN graphic before a show spelled his name “Rosenbloom” then changed it to “Rosenblum” for postgame. It was worth a good laugh.
He always adjusts, improvises and ad-libs. He expects to enjoy his time in South Carolina, but he better watch out for tarantulas. They seem to like him.
Sports
Becky Lynch enters exclusive WWE club with Women’s Intercontinental Championship win at WrestleMania 42
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LAS VEGAS – Becky Lynch entered an atmosphere no other WWE women’s superstar has ever reached as she won the Women’s Intercontinental Championship over AJ Lee on Saturday night at WrestleMania 42.
Lynch became the first person to hold the Women’s Intercontinental Championship three times after she pinned Lee. She first won the title against Lyra Valkyria in June 2025 and then again against Maxxine Dupri in November.
Becky Lynch celebrates with the belt after defeating AJ Lee during their women’s Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
She dropped the belt to Lee at the Elimination Chamber, sparking a monthslong feud with her.
Lee gave Lynch the chance at the title in the weeks prior to WrestleMania 42. But it appeared Lee played right into Lynch’s plans. Despite arguing with referee Jessica Carr for most of the match, Lynch was able to tactfully tear down a rope buckle and use it to her advantage.
Lynch hit Lee with a Manhandle Slam and pinned her for the win.
WWE STARS REVEAL WHAT MAKES WRESTLEMANIA SO SPECIAL: ‘IT’S THE SUPER BOWL OF PRO WRESTLING’
AJ Lee reacts after losing to Becky Lynch in their Women’s Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
It’s the second straight year Lynch will leave Las Vegas as champion. She returned to WWE at WrestleMania 41, teaming with Valkyria, to win the women’s tag titles. She will now leave Allegiant Stadium as the women’s intercontinental champion.
Lynch is now a seven-time women’s champion, three-time women’s intercontinental champion and two-time tag team champion.
Becky Lynch withstands AJ Lee during their Women’s Intercontinental Championship match on night one of WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Lee’s reign as champion ended really before it could really begin. WrestleMania 42 was her first appearance at the event in 11 years. It’s unclear where Lee will go from here.
The Clippers’ season has come to an end but better than anyone expected. No consolation but a great job by head coach Tyronn Lue for guiding the Clippers from a disastrous 6-21 start and finishing with more than 40 wins.
Coach Lue led the team, overcoming major obstacles throughout the season with a player investigation, injuries, internal strife and major roster changes at the trade deadline. As usual for Clipper fans, wait till next year.
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The Clippers are the NBA’s version of Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle With You.” Yes, they have had 15 straight seasons of playing .500 or better, and owner Steve Ballmer has brought them respectability, but for their entire 56-year existence — which has contained many clowns and jokers — they still have never [attained] their goal of winning (or even reaching) the NBA Finals.
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