Sports
Puka Nacua's rapid ascent an inspiration to Polynesian athletes and Hawaiian fans
WAILUKU, Hawaii — From the moment the Rams landed in Maui, Puka Nacua embraced the spotlight and provided sunshine vibes.
The star receiver, with several colorful leis draping his shoulders, turned heads upon arrival at a Monday night luau.
The next morning, flag football players excitedly buzzed “It’s Puka!” as he entered War Memorial Stadium for a Rams workout and clinic. That afternoon, autograph seekers lined up 100-deep for an exclusive afternoon Puka-centric event at a team pop-up store.
On Wednesday, several thousands of fans showed up to see the Rams’ public workout, dozens of them wearing Nacua jerseys.
Nacua, who is of Hawaiian, Samoan and Portuguese descent, welcomed the attention with open arms.
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua signs autographs for fans after minicamp practice in Wailuku, Hawaii, on Tuesday.
(Gary Klein / Los Angeles Times)
“These are people who have similar backgrounds to me,” Nacua said this week. “This is how I was raised — to call everybody Auntie and Uncle, and to be with them and give hugs and kisses, and to eat a lot of food with them.
“This feels like home.”
Nacua, 24, is clearly comfortable in his role.
He is the latest Polynesian NFL star, joining players such as Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell and Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata.
Nacua burst onto the NFL scene in 2023 with a record-setting rookie season. His boundless enthusiasm, physical style and daring athletic catches thrilled fans and showed Polynesian athletes that opportunity and success at a so-called skill position was in their grasp.
Linebacker Junior Seau, safety Troy Polamalu and center Kevin Mawae are Polynesian players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Nacua is respectful of the players who paved the way for his opportunity, citing Marcus Mariota, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Polamalu as just a few of the many that led the way.
He aims to show that opportunity exists beyond “the trenches” for aspiring Polynesian athletes.
“It makes it super exciting,” he said, “because the skill positions are coming.”
The influence of Polynesian pro players dates to the 1940s, when offensive lineman Al Lolotai played for Washington. In the 1950s, offensive lineman Charlie Ane twice made the Pro Bowl and won two NFL championships with the Detroit Lions.
Ane returned to Hawaii and tutored a young offensive lineman named Norm Chow. Chow played at Utah and coached as an assistant at Brigham Young, North Carolina State, USC, the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, UCLA and Utah before Hawaii in 2011 made him the first Asian American head coach at a major college program.
Watching Nacua’s ascent has been gratifying for the Hawaiian-born Chow.
“It’s a cool deal,” Chow said. “He’s a tough guy.”
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, left, shares a laugh with linebacker Tony Fields II during organized team activities in Woodland Hills on June 3.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Toughness was a hallmark for Polynesian players such as Jesse Sapolu, an interior lineman on four San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl-title teams. Sapolu was twice voted to the Pro Bowl during a career that spanned from 1983 to 1997.
In those days, Sapolu said a dearth of Polynesian players in the NFL led him to study the schedule each year and identify the teams that included Polynesians.
“I’d look five weeks down the line at the roster,” Sapolu said, “and put it in the back of my mind, ‘I can’t wait for that week so I can say hello to that person.’”
Sapolu is the co-founder and chairman of the Hawaii-based Polynesian Football Hall of Fame. He has known Nacua since 2019, when Nacua played in the organization’s annual high school All-Star game. As an ambassador for the 49ers, Sapolu was on the sideline at Levi’s Stadium in 2023 when Nacua broke the NFL record for catches and receiving yards by a rookie.
“This generation is looking at this picture with a broader lens,” Sapolu said. “We still have the top linemen … but now we’ve got the Puka Nacuas coming up that Polynesian kids can say ‘Hey, you know, not only can I be big and strong, I can also be skinny and fast and go out there and do things that Puka is doing.’”
Manti Te’o grew up in Hawaii. In 2009, he was one of the most highly recruited players in the U.S. before going on to star at linebacker for Notre Dame and playing eight NFL seasons.
Te’o, an NFL Network analyst, has a home in Utah. He recalls watching Nacua play at BYU, where he displayed tenacity, physicality and fearlessness that harked to Smith-Schuster, the former USC star who has played eight NFL seasons. Nacua’s humility and the way he represented his family and community also stood out, Te’o said.
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan participates in a rookie minicamp on April 25. The former Servite High School standout was selected eighth overall in the 2025 NFL draft.
(Chris Carlson / Associated Press)
Nacua’s success might have helped pave the way for former Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan, selected by the Carolina Panthers with the eighth pick in the 2025 draft.
“They’re starting to believe that they can be more than just the typical O-lineman,” Te’o said. “It’s nice to see that transition and progression.”
Mariota helped lay the groundwork. He grew up in Hawaii, starred at quarterback for Oregon, became the first Polynesian player to win the Heisman Trophy and was selected by the Tennessee Titans with the second pick in the 2015 draft.
Mariota, who will begin his second season with the Washington Commanders, pointed to Jack “The Throwin’ Samoan” Thompson, Jason Gesser, Timmy Chang and Darnell Arceneaux as Samoan and Hawaiian-born quarterbacks who paved the way for him.
“I really value some of these guys that played before me, and what they were able to do, and what they went through to allow me to even have the chance to play quarterback,” Mariota said.
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua runs a passing route at organized team activities on June 3.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns rookie Dillon Gabriel followed Mariota to play quarterback in college and the NFL.
Now, Nacua is showing other Polynesian athletes that they don’t have to be “loopholed” to play as a lineman or linebacker, Mariota said.
“Guys like Puka and guys across the league are really taking this Polynesian generation to the next level,” Mariota said. “So, it’s cool to see him, and I’m excited to see what’s next because this is just the beginning.”
This fall, Jayden Maiava is expected to start at quarterback for USC, Nico Iamaleava for UCLA.
Maiava said Mariota and Tagovailoa “set the example and set the tone” for him as a quarterback.
Nacua’s example as a Rams receiver also inspires, he said.
“Just to wake up and hit that standard he sets every single day,” Maiava said. “It’s something to look up to and gives a young kid like me something to strive for, and one day hope we can get there.”
The Rams returned to Hawaii for the first time since 2019, when they played a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys on Oahu.
In Maui, they opened a pop-up for five days in Wailea that featured merchandise designed by Aaron Kai, an Hawaiian artist who lives in Los Angeles.
Sales were brisk, but the main event was Nacua’s appearance.
Joshua Cabjuan traveled from Oahu to Maui to have Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua sign a replica of Nacua’s high school jersey.
(Gary Klein / Los Angeles Times)
Joshua Cabjuan, 21, of Oahu purchased caps, a hoodie and other items. He said he met Nacua at the Polynesian Bowl a few years ago, so he brought a replica of Nacua’s Orem (Utah) high school jersey to be signed.
“He was really excited, like, ‘Whoa, this is crazy — I haven’t seen this in so long,’” Cabjuan said.
Kristin Domingo of Maui had always been a Lakers and Dodgers fan. Becoming a Rams and Nacua fan, she said, naturally followed.
“We support anyone who comes from the islands or is of Hawaiian descent,” she said after Nacua signed a jersey.
And what does she like about Nacua?
“He’s an excellent wide receiver,” she said. “He kicks ass on the field.”
Kiara Nishimura, left, and Peyton Koerte of Kauai hold up jerseys autographed by Puka Nacua.
(Gary Klein / Los Angeles Times)
Peyton Koerte, 12, and Kiara Nishimura, 14, from Kauai each emerged with a signed Nacua jersey.
Why Nacua?
“We picked him for our draft in fantasy football,” Peyton said.
For decades the NFL’s Pro Bowl was played in Hawaii.
Te’o remembers watching players such as Rams stars Kurt Warner and Isaac Bruce in person.
“To see them play allowed me to dream big,” Te’o said.
Nacua hopes the Rams’ visit to Maui has a similar effect, and that it uplifts an island that was ravaged by the 2023 wildfire that destroyed much of Lahaina.
In remarks at the Rams welcome luau, Maui County Mayor Richard T. Bissen Jr. noted that the team donated more than $260,000 in initial relief and helped spur donations from other pro teams of $450,000 to the American Red Cross.
He also recalled attending a football camp in Maui overseen by former Rams quarterback Roman Gabriel in the 1970s.
“Thank you for what you’re going to do for our youth in the next couple of days, uplifting them and teaching them,” he said, adding that perhaps the next Puka Nacua might be among the attendees.
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua shakes hands with a youth flag football player during a clinic drill at Rams minicamp on Tuesday.
(Gary Klein / Los Angeles Times)
Nacua was thankful to help play a role in healing.
“To know the support that you want to give to those people who are going through that issue, and to see how it can change and bring the community closer together in that time, I think our team has felt that,” Nacua said.
Nacua once looked up to players such as Mariota and Smith-Schuster. Now, young players are looking up to him.
“The discipline to have the consistency to go out there and perform very well, I feel like those are things that are staples in the Polynesian community,” he said.
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua runs a drill at the team’s minicamp in Maui on Tuesday.
(Bryce Todd / Los Angeles Rams)
Nacua will return to Los Angeles and begin preparing for training camp and a season of high expectations. The Rams are regarded as potential Super Bowl contenders, with an offense that includes star quarterback Matthew Stafford and new star receiver Davante Adams.
But Nacua will not soon forget his time in Maui.
And he will have plenty of reminders.
“I’m sure I’m going to have 50 leis by the time I go home,” he said.
Sports
Cedric Alexander becomes new TNA X Division champion, crushing Leon Slater’s history-making attempt
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All eyes were on the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) X Division Championship on Thursday night as Leon Slater looked to retain the title over Cedric Alexander and solidify himself as the longest-reigning X Division champion in the company’s history.
Slater knew a legacy was on the line as he looked to break a record set by Austin Aries. But he needed to pin Alexander twice in one match to retain the title. It was a steep mountain to climb as Alexander had been just as dangerous since he entered the company.
The match started off hot with Slater and Alexander trading blows to begin the match. But a quick-thinking Slater rolled up Alexander quickly for the first fall.
Cedric Alexander in the ring during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Sept. 23, 2025. (Bradlee Rutledge/WWE)
Alexander was able to go on offense from there. He hit a nasty German suplex on the outside of the ring. He continued to work on Slater’s tweaked neck. He later hit a Lumbar Check to tie the match at 1-1.
Slater went deep into his bag. He hit an avalanche Styles Clash, which could have kept anyone else down. However, Alexander kicked out. Alexander was able to counter Slater’s high-flying abilities just for a moment and knocked him back out of the ring.
Alexander sent Slater into the steel steps, leaving him busted open. Alexander declared that he would be the “greatest” X Division champion. One brainbuster later, Alexander tried to pin Slater, but couldn’t get him down.
Alexander hit a Lumbar Check again, but Slater kicked out. Slater mustered up the last ounce of energy. A tilt-a-whirl slam set Alexander up for a swanton 450. Slater missed and Alexander hit another Lumbar Check, and then again.
Leon Slater enters the arena during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 6, 2026. (Craig Melvin/WWE)
Alexander pinned Slater for the win, completely shocking the fans in Sacramento, California. It will be the first reign for Alexander and his first title of any kind in TNA.
Alexander is a reminder, at least for TNA, that “The System always wins.”
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Fabian Aichner appears
Fabian Aichner, formerly known as Giovanni Vinci, makes his way to the ring during WWE SmackDown at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2024. (WWE/Getty Images)
Moments before TNA went off the air, the lights went out in the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. Emerging from the darkness was Fabian Aichner.
Aichner stared down Alexander and appeared to name himself the next challenger for the X Division Championship. Aichner, known as Giovanni Vinci for much of his run in WWE, hadn’t really been seen or heard from in months since his departure from WWE.
Aichner wrestled under his real name for a stint in WWE before he came back as Vinci in June 22. He was with WWE until 2025. He was a two-time NXT tag team champion and an Evolve champion before it became a WWE brand.
Eric Young earns future shot at TNA World Championship
Eric Young outlasted nine other men in an over-the-top battle royal and earned a shot at Mike Santana’s TNA World Championship to start the show.
The match came down to him and Elijah after the latter was able to toss members of The System out of the ring while also avoiding Frankie Kazarian trying to get back into the match following his own elimination.
Young and Elijah came to blows on the apron, knowing that as soon as their feet touch the ground, they would be eliminated. Young grabbed onto Elijah’s hair to try to hang onto the moment. Elijah broke away with Young’s back turned to him. Elijah, however, didn’t account for his wide stance.
The TNA original kicked Elijah in the groin and pushed him down to the ground. Young won the match and received a shot to win the TNA World Championship in the future.
He also made clear that Santana was next on his list of people to wipe out as he did to Joe Hendry, EC3 and Ricky Sosa in weeks past.
“Mike Santana, you’re gone next,” he declared.
Mike Santana learns his next opponent
Mike Santana stands in the ring during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2025. (Kevin Sabitus/WWE)
Mike Santana came out to address the crowd and praised Young for his efforts to help build TNA from the ground up.
“You better be coming with something different because while you may be someone who helped build this place, when it comes to the new era of TNA on AMC, I’m the guy. I’m the man. I’m the one who holds down the fort week after week as your TNA world champion.”
While Young might have earned a title shot, Daria Rae came out and revealed to the crowd that Steve Maclin was cleared to return to action following an injury at the hands of Santana.
Maclin will get a shot at Santana’s TNA World Championship next week on “Impact.”
Santino Marella also came out during the segment after he was “suspended.” He revealed that Indi Harwell re-signed with TNA.
Lei Ying Lee, Xia Brookside rivalry heats up
Xia Brookside attends the “Freelance” screening at Regal Waterford Lakes in Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 24, 2023. (Jose Devillegas/Getty Images)
Lei Ying Lee brought the TNA Knockouts Championship back home last week with a win over Arianna Grace. She addressed the crowd before being interrupted by her former best friend, Xia Brookside.
In all black, Brookside claimed she was already in Lei’s head.
“You’re such a fraud. I’ve destroyed you mentally, I’ve destroyed you emotionally, I’ve destroyed you physically, and that title will be around my waist.”
Both competitors tossed expletives at each other before the segment was over. But Brookside made clear that she had her eyes on the title.
AJ Francis prevails over KC Navarro
A.J. Francis told Fox News Digital before the SacTown Street Fight on “Impact” that he was going to bring the pain to Navarro.
While wearing “Show Stealer” across his back, Francis did just that. Francis took some punishment from Navarro – a few shots from a baseball bat and a drop kick with a trash can.
Francis was able to turn the tide for a few moments, using the baseball bat to his advantage. But Navarro dug deep. He aligned six chairs in the ring, hoping to splash Francis through it. Instead, Francis countered and attempted an avalanche Down Payment. Somehow, Navarro countered with a cutter as both men crashed through the sea of chairs.
It looked like it could’ve been it. Navarro went for the pin, but only got a two count.
Francis turned on the heat from there. He got ahold of Navarro and hit a Down Payment through tables lined up on the outside of the ring.
He rolled Navarro back into the ring and picked up the pinfall victory.
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“Impact” match results
- Eric Young wins the 10-man battle royal to earn a shot at the TNA World Championship.
- A.J. Francis def. KC Navarro in a SacTown Street Fight.
- Rosemary and Allie def. Veronica Crawford and Mila Moore
- Cedric Alexander def. Leon Slater to win the X Division Championship.
The carriage has turned back into a pumpkin, the ballgown is once again just tattered clothing and all the horses have gone back to being mice.
The Ducks’ Cinderella run through the NHL playoffs came to an end Thursday in a 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series. And the end came well before midnight, with goals by Mitch Marner and Brett Howden in the first 8½ minutes giving Vegas a commanding lead before many in the late-arriving weeknight crowd had made it to their seats at the Honda Center.
The Golden Knights will move on to the Western Conference finals with the Colorado Avalanche next week while the Ducks will move on to summer. But it’s the team’s latest start on the offseason since 2017, the last time the Ducks made it to the second round of the playoffs. So even if the glass slipper didn’t fit this time, the Ducks have reason to celebrate.
This team, after all, wasn’t supposed to be at the ball this long. Fourteen players on its roster had never been to the postseason before; most of them had never even played for a winning team in the NHL before. But the team’s youth and inexperience proved to be a strength, not a weakness.
Ducks center Leo Carlsson passes the puck as Vegas’ Shea Theodore defends during the second period.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
They didn’t know they weren’t supposed to win in the playoffs, so they did, dispatching the Edmonton Oilers — who made the last two Stanley Cup finals — in the first round and outplaying the veteran Golden Knights, a playoff team in eight of the franchise’s nine seasons, throughout much of the second round.
Rookie Beckett Sennecke, just 20, had four goals and an assist in the six games with Vegas. Winger Cutter Gauthier, just 22, led the team with 12 points in his first trip to the playoffs. Defenseman Olen Zellwenger, also 22, had a goal and assist in his first two playoff games and Olympic gold medalist Jackson LaCombe, 25, led the team in ice time — and was third in points with 10 — in his first postseason.
That’s the core of the team going forward and the playoff experience they got this spring will be invaluable. But the fairy godmother’s spell wore off early in Game 6, which was just 62 seconds old when Vegas went ahead to stay.
Marner opened the scoring with a spectacular breakaway goal, skating on to William Karlssson’s two-line pass as he entered the offensive zone and beating LaCombe up the center of the ice to the crease. When he got there, he pulled up, turned his back to goalie Lukas Dostal, then shoved the puck just inside the right post for his seventh goal of the playoffs.
Howden doubled the lead with a shorthanded goal 7½ minutes later, finding miles of space just to the right of the goal and banging in a pass from Marner that split LaCombe and Alex Killorn. The goal was Howden’s eighth of the playoffs, temporarily giving him the NHL postseason lead, while the assist gave Marner 18 postseason points, also best in the league.
When Shea Theodore scored off a faceoff seconds into a power play late in the period, it gave the Golden Knights a 3-0 lead at the intermission with the goals coming on a power play, the penalty kill and with the teams at even strength.
Ducks left wing Alex Killorn moves the puck ahead of Vegas right wing Keegan Kolesar in the first period.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The Ducks led the NHL with 26 comeback wins during the regular season, but against the poised and patient Golden Knights the deficit was too big. The Ducks left the ice to a chorus of boos after the period, though they came back to dominate the second period, getting the only score at 12:46 when Mikael Granlund notched his fifth goal of the playoffs on a power play, lining a snap shot into the side netting from the middle the left circle.
But the Ducks would get no closer, with Vegas icing the game on two third-period goals from Pavel Dorofeyev, who had four goals in the final two games. The first came off a turnover from the Ducks’ John Carlson deep in his defensive end 2:52 into the final period and the second on a shot from a difficult angle to the right of the goal that ricocheted in off Dostal with 6:28 left in the Ducks’ season.
The two scores gave Dorofeyev nine for the playoffs, passing Howden for the league lead.
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Drake’s long-awaited album, “Iceman,” the ninth of his illustrious career, comes out Friday, but fans were given an apparent sneak peek late Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
Overnight, an apparent song from the album was leaked on social media, which is rumored to be titled “1AM in Albany,” a series of songs by Drake storytelling during specific hours of certain cities that began with “9AM in Dallas” in 2009.
The song features some thinly veiled hits at Kendrick Lamar following their feud from 2024 into last year, but fans were taken aback at some apparent shots at LeBron James.
Drake and LeBron James talk after the NBA game between the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Lakers at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on March 18, 2022. (Cole Burston/Getty Images)
James and Drake were once very good friends, with James even taking the stage during one of Drake’s concerts years ago. However, James began to show some loyalty to Lamar during the famed rap beef that found its way to Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show performance.
“I shouldn’t even be shocked to see you in that arena, because you always made your career off of switching teams up,” Drake rapped. James went from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat, back to the Cavs to the Los Angeles Lakers and is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Singer Drake talks to LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers during an NBA game against the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Nov. 25, 2015. (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
CHARLES BARKLEY ADMONISHES SOCIETY FOR BEING HOMOPHOBIC IN VIRTUE-SIGNALING RANT ABOUT JASON COLLINS’ DEATH
In a double entendre, Drake also implored his fans to “please stop asking what’s going on with 23 and me. I’m a real n—-, and he’s not, it’s in my DNA,” a play on words from the website “23andMe.”
Drake and James have linked up numerous times, but if this song is legitimate, and the bars are aimed at James, those times may be long over.
LeBron James and Drake attend the Drake and LeBron James pool party in Toronto for Caribana on Aug. 5, 2017. (Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for Remy Martin)
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“Iceman” will be Drake’s first solo album since he released “For All The Dogs” in October 2023. His first album was “Thank Me Later” back in 2010, and he followed up with classics in “Take Care” in 2011 and “Nothing Was The Same” two years later.
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