Sports
Lakers suffer another key injury during loss to Pelicans
This was the time to move forward, the final game of 2023, the final game of a stretch where the Lakers played 14 of 19 games away from Los Angeles.
As this chapter on the Lakers’ season was set to close, coach Darvin Ham made a bit of a proclamation pregame in New Orleans. The Lakers were going to push forward with a new starting lineup — this time with Rui Hachimura as the team’s fifth starter.
“I think this lineup that you see tonight, we’re going to stick with for the foreseeable future,” Ham said.
It lasted eight minutes.
Another blow to the team’s quest for consistency combined with a short turnaround after an emotional loss to Minnesota on Saturday meant the Lakers’ calendar year ended with a 129-109 loss to the Pelicans.
Hachimura, who moved into the starting lineup for Cam Reddish (out because of a groin injury), had to leave Sunday’s game in New Orleans because of a calf injury, another hiccup for a team that’s back to .500 (17-17).
“It is what it is,” LeBron James said. “It is what our record is and we have to figure it out and get better, for sure.”
The record has to be particularly discouraging considering how James and Anthony Davis have played to this point, the two stars being plenty good enough while the supporting cast has varied and scuffled.
James, playing for the second straight game with an illness, scored 34 points — the 11th most by a 39-year-old in league history. Davis and Austin Reaves had 20 each, but the Pelicans shot better than 50% from the field on three-pointers.
Injuries, again, forced the reshuffling in the first place, the Lakers playing without Reddish and D’Angelo Russell (tailbone bruise). But the new plan had to be re-worked after Hachimura quickly left Sunday’s game.
He’ll undergo further evaluation in Los Angeles.
New Orleans Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr., center, tries to block a pass between Lakers forward Taurean Prince, left, and forward Anthony Davis in the first half Sunday.
(Gerald Herbert / Associated Press)
Reaves, who the team has been reluctant to put back in the starting lineup, had to play with the group to start the second half. Reaves had 13 of his 20 points in the third.
But the Lakers, ultimately, looked too heavy-legged to respond to the Pelicans, who hung 42 points on L.A. in the first quarter without ever really slowing down.
The Lakers have are just 3-8 since winning the NBA’s first in-season tournament.
“Since the in-season tournament, we’ve been struggling,” Reaves said. “Health, injuries, sickness, we’ve kinda had some bad fortune there. But at the end of the day, that happens to everybody. But we have to look in the mirror and see what we can do to be better, what I can to do be better. And just get better.”
The team arrived in New Orleans after 3 a.m. Sunday following their loss in Minnesota. And while the league affirmed its ruling on James’ shot with his toe on the three-point line late, it reported missed calls on a goaltend and a charge that weren’t called against the Timberwolves.
Then the defense never physically bothered the motivated Pelicans, who last faced the Lakers in a 44-point rout in Las Vegas.
Zion Williamson scored 26 points, Brandon Ingram had 26 and CJ McCollum 22 for New Orleans, which trailed only for a single possession in the first quarter.
The Lakers now play 11 of their next 12 games in Los Angeles to start 2024.
“We’ve been a pretty good home team thus far and now we got to take advantage of it,” Davis said. “We get to sleep in our own beds, don’t have to worry about traveling. Our own resources. Get some practice time in and let guys get healthy. So it’s gonna be big for us to make this homestand a great one. We got to take advantage of it.”
Sports
Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman critiques NIL landscape, transfer rules and Lane Kiffin’s LSU move
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For the past couple of decades, former NFL star quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman has shared his thoughts on what he’s seen during whichever game he and his longtime broadcast partner are calling.
The three-time Super Bowl winner is currently part of the “Monday Night Football” broadcast crew. Aikman has routinely given his take on a variety of football-related topics, from the state of NFL officiating to college football.
Some of Aikman’s latest thoughts about the college game centered on the growing number of players who have taken advantage of the transfer portal in today’s polarizing NIL landscape.
The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and many others have referred to the state of today’s sport at the collegiate level as the “Wild West.”
Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman stands with his Monday Night Football Broadcast announcer Joe Buck before a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants at Acrisure Stadium. (Barry Reeger/Imagn Images)
“College football has become the Wild West, as everybody knows. Forget about Lane Kiffin for a minute, but starting with NIL, there just has been no guardrails. I’m on the National Football Foundation Board, so I hear firsthand from a lot of the commissioners and athletic directors and the people involved in all of that. It’s gotta get cleaned up, first and foremost,” Aikman told The Athletic.
When asked about student-athletes’ mobility in today’s world, Aikman reflected on his personal choices during his time competing at the NCAA level.
NFL GREAT TROY AIKMAN FIRES BACK AT JERRY JONES’ TRADE PLAN AMID LOSING EFFORT: ‘HE MAY WANT TO CANCEL’
“I was a transfer. I went from Oklahoma to UCLA, and I’ve always felt that if a coach is able to pick up and leave, that a player should have the same opportunity if a coach leaves,” he continued.
UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman (8) runs the ball during a college football game against Arizona on Oct. 2, 1988, at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. (Mike Powell/Allsport/Getty Images)
“What’s happened obviously over the years since I got out of college football is that in recent years with NIL, there’s been no accountability on the players,” Aikman continued. “So the players pick up and now they’re leaving all the time whereas before it was typically the coach. The player used to have to sit out a year. Now, the players can up and go regardless of whether or not they’ve been paid. It’s every man for himself.”
Aikman then dived into another college football hot topic – Lane Kiffin’s decision to leave Ole Miss in favor of LSU. The NFL analyst gave his best guess on what fueled Kiffin to make the leap.
“Lane Kiffin’s motivation? Is it his thoughts that it’s a better opportunity for him at LSU? Possibly. Is it money? Possibly. Is it lifestyle? Possibly. I can’t answer any of those questions.”
Then-Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin throws a football before the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Oct. 25, 2025. (Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images)
“But whatever his motivation is, he feels like LSU is the right place for him. So I don’t fault him for that at all. I know there’s always hard feelings. Ole Miss did not want to lose Lane Kiffin,” he said. “Once he made the decision to leave, now he’s a pariah. Let’s get this guy just as far away from us as we can. I understand that as well. Everybody gets a little bit jaded.”
Aikman concluded that those in positions of power should ultimately take charge and focus on getting things in order. “Where I’m at is I think there’s gotta be some leadership at the very top that kind of cleans all of this up. Starting with players that accept money, there’s gotta be some accountability and responsibility on their behalf to have to stick with a program. I gave money to a kid. I won’t mention who. I’ve done it one time at UCLA. Never met the young man. He was there a year, he left after the year. I wrote a sizable check, and he went to another school. I didn’t even get so much as a thank you note.”
Aikman is scheduled to be on the call for a Week 15 matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins on Dec. 15.
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Sports
Take a swing? Two Buss brothers consider investing in baseball’s Athletics
Could two members of the Buss family add some green and gold to their purple and gold?
Joey and Jesse Buss, fired last month as Lakers executives, have explored pursuing an ownership stake in baseball’s Athletics, according to two people familiar with the discussions but not authorized to speak publicly about them.
The discussions were described as preliminary, and it is unclear whether they might result in a deal. Jesse Buss did not reply to a message seeking comment.
In September, Joey and Jesse – sons of legendary Lakers owner Jerry Buss – announced the launch of Buss Sports Capital “to pursue high-impact investment opportunities across the global sports ecosystem.” The announcement said Buss Sports Capital would aim “to partner with forward-thinking professionals to unlock new opportunities in professional sports.”
Joey and Jesse Buss retain their stakes of Lakers ownership. In October, Dodgers owner Mark Walter closed his purchase of majority ownership in the Lakers, in a deal that valued the Lakers at $10 billion. Walter tasked Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and former general manager Farhan Zaidi to assess the Lakers’ front office operations.
Last month, Joey Buss was dismissed as vice president of research and development and Jesse Buss as assistant general manager.
The A’s left Oakland after the 2024 season. They plan to move from their temporary Sacramento home to Las Vegas in 2028, and construction there is underway on an enclosed 30,000-seat stadium originally estimated to cost $1.5 billion. In July, team owner John Fisher told the Nevada Independent the cost had risen into “the $2 billion range.”
Fisher obtained $380 million in public funding. He is responsible for the balance of construction costs. In 2023, The Times first reported that Fisher hoped to generate $500 million toward stadium costs by valuing the A’s at $2 billion and selling 25% of the team to minority investors.
Fisher has since used a higher valuation in soliciting investors. CNBC last year estimated the A’s franchise value at $2 billion, Forbes at $1.8 billion, and Sportico at $1.6 billion.
The A’s have posted four consecutive losing seasons. They say they are rebuilding toward their planned 2028 arrival in Las Vegas, and they have an impressive core of position players, including first baseman Nick Kurtz — the American League rookie of the year — shortstop Jacob Wilson, catcher Shea Langeliers, designated hitter Brent Rooker, and outfielders Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom.
Times staff writer Broderick Turner contributed to this report.
Sports
Browns to start Shedeur Sanders at quarterback for remainder of 2025 season
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There will be no more quarterback moves for the Cleveland Browns for the remainder of the 2025 season, as Shedeur Sanders will stay as the team’s starter for the next four games.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters that he’s seen Sanders “constantly and consistently gotten better in each of these games,” as he’s started the last three contests after fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens.
“He’s been working very hard. I feel good about where his development is heading,” Stefanski said of Sanders. “He knows there are always gonna be plays that he could be better and those types of things, but he’s very intentional about getting better each and every game he’s out there.”
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Cleveland Browns’ Shedeur Sanders (12) and Teven Jenkins (74) celebrate a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Sanders became the first Browns quarterback to win his first-ever start in the league after helping take down the Las Vegas Raiders for Cleveland’s third win of the season.
And while Sanders completed a season-high 64% of his passes against the San Francisco 49ers in his first start at home, the Browns weren’t able to see the same victory on their record at the end of that contest.
BROWNS COACH DRAWS FURY AS SHEDEUR SANDERS SITS DURING CRUCIAL 2-POINT TRY
Sanders made his third start in a row on Sunday in sloppy conditions in Cleveland against a lowly Tennessee Titans team that beat them, 31-29, to capture just their second win of the year.
During the game, Stefanski drew the ire of Sanders fans when the quarterback was off the field for a two-point conversion try despite throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Harold Fannin Jr. Stefanski, instead, tried for a wildcat play with rookie running back Quinshon Judkins leading the way. The play ultimately didn’t work out, and fans wondered what could’ve been if Sanders was in the game.
Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns stands for the national anthem prior to a NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on Aug. 8, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Logan Bowles/Getty Images)
“Browns removing Shedeur constantly on goal 2 go situations and going wildcat needs 2 be studied,” Shannon Sharpe wrote on X. “He’s on the SL. That’s bulljive.”
Skip Bayless even called for the removal of Stefanski after seeing what transpired at the end of the game.
“SHEDEUR TO FANNIN FOR THE CLUTCH TD — THEN STEFANSKI TAKES SHEDEUR OUT FOR THE WILDCAT — DISASTER. STEFANSKI BLOWS ANOTHER GAME. HE JUST COULDN’T STAND SEEING SHEDEUR TIE THE GAME WITH A 2-POINT CONVERSION AFTER SUCH A GREAT LONG TD DRIVE. FIRE STEFANSKI!”
Sanders was impressive despite the losing result, going 23-of-42 for 364 yards passing with three touchdowns and his first career rushing score.
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The Browns will travel to the Windy City to face the Chicago Bears in Week 15, followed by games against the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and finishing the season against the Cincinnati Bengals.
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