Sports
Dodgers decide to delay Walker Buehler's start to season
As eager as Walker Buehler is to return from his second Tommy John surgery, the erstwhile Dodgers ace will have to wait at least an extra month to make his first regular-season start since June 10, 2022.
The Dodgers — with Buehler’s blessing — have decided to delay the veteran right-hander’s start to the season in order to limit his workload and increase the chances of him being fresh in October.
General manager Brandon Gomes wouldn’t go into specific numbers, but Buehler is expected to be limited to 150-175 innings and 24-27 starts. In his last full regular season, he threw 207 ⅔ innings over 33 starts in 2021.
“I think there’s a little bit of art to it, a little bit of science to it, in terms of how fast I can build up,” Buehler said at Saturday’s fanfest event. “I’m sure I’ll make some rehab starts and hopefully get into the rotation in the early part of the year, and then we’ll kind of go from there.
“We have a lot of depth, a lot of talent. Since I’ve been here, it’s never been a one-man show, and it’s not going to be this year, either, so I don’t feel this crazy burden to throw 220 innings or anything like that. But I want to be really good when I play, and I want to play a good amount.”
The Dodgers have more than enough depth to weather Buehler’s late start and ease the workloads of new starters Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who pitched once a week in Japan, Tyler Glasnow, who has never thrown more than 120 innings in his eight big league seasons, and James Paxton, who has made only 20 starts in the last three seasons.
Young right-handers Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone, Michael Grove, Kyle Hurt and Landon Knack and left-hander Ryan Yarbrough will be available to fill out an early-season rotation that will feature Yamamoto, Glasnow, Bobby Miller and Paxton.
“I don’t think anyone has a timeline, but it’s fair to say it’s going to be a late start for the season for Walker,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But the rehab work looks great, and I expect Walker to have a heck of a year.”
Buehler, 29, has clearly been working hard in the weight room. He’s added about 20 pounds of muscle that he hopes will help him better withstand the rigors of the season.
“I put on some good weight,” said Buehler, who had his first major elbow surgery after he was drafted in the first round out of Vanderbilt in 2015. “My elbow keeps snapping, man, so I had to put a little weight around it and try to protect it a little bit.”
Ohtani rehab report
While Shohei Ohtani said he is “very confident” he will be ready to serve as the team’s designated hitter for the March 20-21 season-opening series against San Diego in Seoul, the two-way star has not begun the throwing part of his rehabilitation from a second Tommy John surgery last Sept. 19.
“We haven’t sat down and mapped that out just yet,” Gomes said of the pitching phase of Ohtani’s rehab. “Right now, we’re focused on the hitting portion of it. Obviously, throwing will be a main part of it at some point, but we haven’t spent a ton of time on it yet.”
Shohei Ohtani, right, speaks to the media during the Dodgers’ fanfest event Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
When Ohtani suffered his first major elbow injury with the Angels in 2018, he had surgery in early October and missed the first month of the 2019 season. But once he returned on May 7, his pitching rehab didn’t interfere much with his hitting.
After a slow start in which he hit .250 with a .692 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, three homers and 13 RBIs in 20 May games, Ohtani hit .340 with a 1.091 OPS, nine homers and 22 RBIs in 27 June games. He finished the season with a .286 average, .848 OPS, 18 homers and 62 RBIs in 106 games.
“I’m going to start my throwing program when I get to Arizona and go from there,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “We haven’t scheduled anything like live [batting practices sessions]. We’re going to play it by ear through camp. The main focus will be on hitting, and we’re going to try to ease into the pitching program throughout the year.”
Sour taste remains
A $1.2-billion winter spending spree that netted Ohtani, Yamamoto, Glasnow and others and has positioned the Dodgers as World Series favorites didn’t erase the playoff disappointment of last October, when the heavily favored 100-win Dodgers were swept by the 84-win Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game National League division series.
“I mean, it’s still there,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “There’s no way around it. We sucked. We really kind of blew it. I’m not trying to take anything away from the Diamondbacks — they played very well, and hats off to them — but we blew it. When something like that happens, it sticks with you for a while.”
The Dodgers were outscored 19-6 in the series and their three starting pitchers — Clayton Kershaw, Miller and Lance Lynn — were rocked for 13 earned runs and 16 hits, including five homers, in 4 ⅔ innings. A Dodgers offense that ranked second in baseball with 906 runs and a .795 OPS hit .177 (17 for 96) with four extra-base hits.
“I feel like you can have a dartboard and throw a dart and it would land on something that went wrong,” Muncy said. “We didn’t hit. We didn’t score. We didn’t pitch. Everything went wrong.”
Short hops
Top pitching prospect Nick Frasso, who went 4-6 with a 3.77 ERA in 25 starts for double-A Tulsa and triple-A Oklahoma City last season, underwent minor labrum surgery in November, and the 25-year-old right-hander will miss most, if not all, of the 2024 season. “His rehab has gone well,” Gomes said, “but he’s so young and talented, we’re not gonna take any risks in pushing him if he’s not ready.” … The Dodgers signed reliever Dinelson Lamet, who is 17-24 with a 4.66 ERA in parts of six seasons with San Diego, Colorado and Boston, to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.
Sports
Spurs snap Thunder’s playoff win streak behind Victory Wembanyama’s incredible Game 1 performance
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The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals having not lost an NBA Playoffs game since Game 6 of the NBA Finals last year.
But they hadn’t faced Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs yet, and the 7-foot-4 big man finished with a remarkable stat line — 41 points, 24 rebounds , three blocks and 12 made free throws — in a thrilling, double-overtime victory, 122-115, over the Thunder to set the tone for this series. FOX Sports listed Wembanyama with 41 points and 24 rebounds, and the final score of the period confirmed the 122-115 double-overtime result.
Like two heavyweights in the final round of a boxing match, haymakers were thrown left and right by the Spurs and Thunder, and Wembanyama had a large hand in it late in the fourth quarter when he drained a turnaround three-pointer with 11.5 seconds left on the clock to give San Antonio a 101-99 lead.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs reacts during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player before the start of the series, came through in the clutch on the opposite end. With 3.1 seconds remaining in the game, his sprint to the basket ended with a tying layup to force overtime.
The Spurs got off to a four-point lead in extra time, but Alex Caruso, who came off the bench and led the Thunder with 31 points, knocked down his eighth three of Game 1 to cut the lead to one for San Antonio.
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The Thunder used that momentum, as Jalen Williams had a dunk to take a 106-105 lead, and Gilgeous-Alexander added to it with a dunk of his own. “Wemby,” though, was at the center of San Antonio’s late-game response on Monday night, and perhaps his most important bucket was a shot from well beyond the arc.
Wembanyama took the ball from Stephon Castle and added to the guard’s assist total with a 27-foot three near the Oklahoma City logo to tie the game at 108 apiece with 27 seconds left. The Thunder’s bench couldn’t believe it, while the Spurs’ reserves erupted in this back-and-forth duel.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs dunks against Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
Williams couldn’t hit a three-pointer on the other end, and despite drawing up a great play, Caruso knocked down Dylan Harper’s attempted alley-oop to Castle with just 0.7 seconds remaining in overtime to keep the score where it was.
Needing one more extra period, Wembanyama took the game into his hands. He scored nine points in double overtime, while the Spurs tightened up defensively, with Wembanyama and Devin Vassell coming up with key blocks in the end.
Castle finished with 11 assists to lead the Spurs in that category, while rookie guard Dylan Harper made vital contributions with 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a game-high seven steals in the win. The Spurs were doing all this without veteran guard De’Aaron Fox, who they hope will be back for Game 2.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs during the first quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
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Williams had 26 points for Oklahoma City, while Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 7-of-23 shooting with 12 assists and five steals.
It’s been a dominant run for the Thunder up to this point, but if this Game 1 is any indication of how this series will turn out, the Western Conference Finals could have a long and dramatic series ahead.
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HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS
MONDAY’S RESULTS
First Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter 16, #17 Middle College 6
#20 Cleveland 20, #13 Dorsey 2
#10 North Hollywood 12, #14 USC-MAE 0
#18 Taft 13, #15 Central City Value 0
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys 19, #17 Alliance Bloomfield 2
#20 East Valley 14, #13 Community Charter 3
#14 VAAS 18, #19 Angelou 0
#15 Reseda 24, #18 Stella 0
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn 44, #17 West Adams 33
#20 Hawkins 28, #13 LAAAE 7
#14 Franklin 19, #19 Mendez 7
#18 Diego Rivera 24, #15 Discovery 8
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
First Round
DIVISION I
#16 Sherman Oaks CES at #1 Venice
#9 San Fernando at #8 Bravo
#12 Lincoln at #5 Chavez
#13 Animo Venice at #4 Chatsworth
#14 LA University at #3 Port of LA
#11 Harbor Teacher at #6 Eagle Rock
#10 Verdugo Hills at #7 Garfield
#15 LA Hamilton at #2 Marquez
Second Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter at #1 LA Marshall
#9 Northridge Academy at #8 Rancho Dominguez
#12 Fremont at #5 Symar
#20 Cleveland at #4 Narbonne
#19 North Hollywood at #3 Roosevelt
#11 Orthopaedic at #5 Arleta
#10 Sun Valley Poly at #7 South Gate
#18 Taft at #2 LA Wilson
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys at #1 Bell
#9 Palisades at #8 Hollywood
#12 Lakeview Charter at #5 South East
#20 East Valley at #4 Maywood Academy
#14 VAAS at #3 Maywood CES
#11 Westchester at #6 Torres
#10 Animo Robinson at #7 LACES
#15 Reseda at #2 Sun Valley Magnet
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn at #1 Jefferson
#9 Smidt Tech at #8 Alliance Levine
#12 Downtown Magnets at #5 University Prep Value
#20 Hawkins at #4 Huntington Park
#14 Franklin at #3 Santee
#11 Bernstein at #6 Camino Nuevo
#10 Rise Kohyang at #7 CALS Early College
#18 Diego Rivera at #2 LA Jordan
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Quarterfinals
OPEN DIVISION
#8 Granada Hills Kennedy at #1 Granada Hills
#5 El Camino Real at #4 San Pedro
#6 Wilmington Banning at #3 Birmingham
#7 Legacy at #2 Carson
Note: Division I-IV quarterfinals May 22 at higher seeds; Semifinals all divisions May 27 at higher seeds; Finals all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.
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Russell Wilson has had his share of ups and downs in his NFL career.
He helped the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship in 2013 and was named to the Pro Bowl four times. But the last few years of his career arguably did some damage to his legacy as he’s spent the last three seasons with three different teams.
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New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 9, 2025. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Wilson is still on the free-agent market as he looks to latch on to a new team for 2026. However, former NFL star Aqib Talib implored Wilson to hang up the cleats.
“Do your TV thing, Russ. It’s over with, man. Once you’ve got to decide, do I even want to play?” Talib said on “The Arena: Gridiron.” “I think you don’t really want to play. I hate when guys get to the later part of their career and then they start doing the bounce-around thing and they’re not going to win. There was no chip in New York. That’s just going to be another stop on your resume.”
Wilson reportedly garnered some interest from NFL teams.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson stands on the field before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Oct. 26, 2025. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
He told the New York Post that the New York Jets were one of them.
Wilson also was reportedly a candidate to take Matt Ryan’s spot on CBS’ “The NFL Today” after Ryan left to take a front office job with the Atlanta Falcons.
Wilson has 46,966 passing yards and 353 passing touchdowns in 205 career games, but the 2025 season with the New York Giants was one to forget.
Wilson started three games and made some bizarre decisions in a loss against the Chiefs. Jaxson Dart was named the starting quarterback. As he came in to take a few snaps while Dart was being checked for a concussion, Wilson was booed.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 19, 2025. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
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Should he end up signing with another team, Wilson will be entering his age-38 season.
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