Sports
Elliott: Jim Harbaugh expects to win 'multiple championships' with Chargers
Without warning, the lights went down inside YouTube Theater. The main feature was about to begin, the promise of a happier future about to be delivered.
In a brief video that touched on the stars and high points of their history, from the days of Air Coryell and Dan Fouts and LaDainian Tomlinson to the present-day aspirational brilliance of quarterback Justin Herbert, the Chargers introduced Jim Harbaugh as the coach who will lead them to unprecedented heights.
At the end, accompanying an image of Harbaugh during his late-career quarterbacking days with the then-San Diego Chargers, the screen displayed the words, “Welcome Home.”
He’s not really coming home, since home for the Chargers is now SoFi Stadium, a short jog from the scene of his news conference Thursday. But why quibble on small points?
“Watching the video, the little hairs on my arms stood up,” Harbaugh said, adding the video reminded him that after his last game as a Charger he had exchanged jerseys with linebacker Junior Seau, a souvenir that occupies a place of honor in his office.
Besides touching Harbaugh’s heart, the video made an emphatic and intriguing point.
The Spanos family, which owns and operates the Chargers, has invested their trust, their money and their credibility in Harbaugh, giving him a deal that has been reported to be for five years at $16 million per year. It’s a make-or-break move for owners who seemed content to run the team as a plaything and whose previous three coaches (Mike McCoy, Anthony Lynn, and Brandon Staley) had no NFL experience on their respective resumés.
They got serious. They got Harbaugh, who had the guts to speak Thursday about coming in humble and hungry but with the firm goal of winning “multiple, multiple championships.” That’s music to the ears of fans long frustrated by the Spanos family’s short-sighted ambitions, fans who often are drowned out in their stadium by fans supporting whoever the Chargers are playing that week.
“We talked internally about really being willing to reimagine how we do things,” said John Spanos, head of football operations and son of team owner Dean Spanos. “That doesn’t mean just doing things differently for the sake of change, but really being willing to explore all options, all possibilities, and gaining an understanding of what it’s going to take to get to the next level.”
Fresh off winning a national championship with the University of Michigan, Harbaugh’s comments and responses to questions Thursday sometimes sounded like the kind of rah-rah clichés that work better at the college level than with older, experienced pros. He repeatedly spoke of his goal being to have a productive day and dominate the day, a phrase he often used while coaching the Wolverines.
But he let some of his personality peek through: He made frequent mention of faith, family, and football as his priorities. He quoted his father, Jack, and Jack’s fondness for saying, “Who’s got it better than us?” Several times, he quoted his daughter Katie’s saying of “Work together, win together,” as his mantra.
Along the way, he mentioned Morgan Freeman’s character in “The Shawshank Redemption,” revealed he was a fan of the fictional coach Ted Lasso, and said he wanted to get an RV and park at a Southern California beach in tribute to the 1970s TV show “The Rockford Files,” which started James Garner as a quirky detective.
After his news conference, he was scheduled to visit the Chargers’ new training facility in El Segundo. He said he was ready to go to a hardware store and buy a Shop-Vac to clean up the weight room and make sure the right equipment was ordered.
Harbaugh, 60, sometimes was charmingly folksy, talking about his childhood in Ohio and the frequent moves his family made to accommodate his father’s football coaching career moves. His brother, John, coach of the Baltimore Ravens and roommate for 16 years of their shared childhood, is “as tough as a $2 steak,” Jim said, but their competitiveness made him better as a person and later, as a coach.
Many people came to mind for Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh during his introductory news conference.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
He made no secret of his big ambitions, but he knows he’s got a big rebuilding job to do. The Chargers were 5-12 under Staley and interim coach Giff Smith last season. The Spanos family held on to Staley for too long and fired him only because a 63-21 loss to Las Vegas was too great a beatdown to be ignored. Turning this around will take some time. Success in his first year will have to be graded on a curve.
“Humble and hungry. That’s where we are right now,” he said. “We’re going to respect all our opponents and we’re going to strive to earn their respect. And we’re going to earn a winning [reputation]. Tough team, resilient team, relentless team, physical team, is what we strive to be.”
He then paused, to good effect. “Don’t let the powder blues fool you,” he said of their pastel uniforms, drawing laughs from the audience.
Winning enough to win over fans — and persuading Chargers ticket holders not to sell their seats to fans of visiting teams — will be tough tasks. He sees one way to accomplish that–the old-fashioned basics of blocking, tackling, playing a physical, all-out game.
“My thought is pretty much what I said earlier. By your talent and by your effort you will be known,” he said. “We have our team and people will look at it. They’re going to see that kind of football team.”
His priority now, he said, is to assemble a coaching staff and continue to get to know his players. At some point, he will have to put his words into action. Who’s got it better than them? We’ll find out next season.
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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