Sports
State football previews: A look at the matchups for Southland teams
A look at the matchups involving Southland teams in CIF state championship bowl games this weekend:
FRIDAY
Division 2-AA: Oxnard Pacifica (11-4) vs. Sacramento Grant (11-3) at Saddleback College, 4 p.m. Pacifica blocked three punts last week against Narbonne. Offensively, it’s all about whether quarterback Dominic Duran can receive enough time to get the ball to receivers Alijah Royster, Savion Taylor and Isaiah Dillon. Grant relies on its offensive and defensive lines to create scoring opportunities. The pick: Grant.
Division 4-AA: Palmdale Highland (11-4) vs. Petaluma St. Vincent de Paul (13-1) at Veterans Stadium, 4 p.m. Highland quarterback Justin Wyatt, a Nevada commit, has been passing and running his way to success. Junior quarterback Gabe Casanovas has 36 touchdown passes for the Mustangs. The pick: St. Vincent de Paul.
SATURDAY
Open Division: Concord De La Salle (12-0) vs. Mater Dei (12-0) at Saddleback College, 8 p.m. Mater Dei is ranked No. 1 in California as well as the nation by several organizations. The Monarchs haven’t come close to losing all season thanks to a dominating defense and an offense that relies on running back Jordon Davison and quarterback Dash Beierly, who are committed to Oregon and Washington, respectively. De La Salle has speed on both sides of the ball but the representative from Northern California hasn’t scored in this game the last two years. CalPreps.com has Mater Dei winning by 41 points. The pick: Mater Dei.
Division 1-A: Huntington Beach Edison (11-4) vs. Fresno Central (12-2) at Saddleback College, 3 p.m. Edison has come on strong with a team approach featuring quarterback Sam Thomson, running back Julius Gillick and an aggressive defense. Brandon Smith is the player to watch for Central. He had five touchdowns last week in the regional final. The pick: Edison.
Division 2-A: Palos Verdes (10-5) vs. Lincoln Twelve Bridges (14-0) at Saddleback College, 11:30 a.m. The Sea Kings have reached their first final behind sophomore quarterback Ryan Rakowski and a defense that has produced two pick-six touchdowns the last two weeks. Twelve Bridges, in its fourth year of playing football, had a big game last week from running back Braeden Ward, who rushed for 206 yards. The pick: Twelve Bridges.
Division 3-A: Rio Hondo Prep (13-1) vs. Fairfield Vanden (12-2) at Veterans Stadium, 3 p.m. The Kares, with 16 Southern Section championships, have never won a state title. With a student body of 71 boys, the Kares will turn to junior running back Noah Penunuri, who’s closing in on 1,800 yards rushing. Vanden counters with prolific quarterback Kalani Mcleod, who has passed for 4,090 yards and 36 touchdowns. The pick: Rio Hondo Prep.
Division 4-A: St. Pius X-St. Matthias (6-9) vs. Sonora (12-2) at Veterans Stadium, 3 p.m. St. Pius made the Southern Section playoffs with a 1-9 record, didn’t lose any games in November and is trying to finish off as state champions. This is a team that had two interceptions against Brady Smigiel, the quarterback for Division 2 champion Newbury Park. Quarterback Jassi Williams is nearing 3,000 yards passing. Sonora has strong special teams and produces turnovers on defense. The pick: St. Pius X-St. Matthias.
Division 5-A: Palmdale (10-5) vs. American Canyon (12-2) at Veterans Stadium, 11 a.m. Junior quarterback Joshua Suarez passed for 293 yards and four touchdown in the regional final for Palmdale, which faces a tough task on defense going against a team with two running backs who have gained more than 1,500 yards each. The pick: American Canyon.
Division 6-AA: Portola (9-6) vs. Arcata (13-1) at Fullerton, 7 p.m. Portola won an overtime thriller last week against King/Drew and has come back from an 0-5 start to reach its first state final. The Bulldogs will try to control the clock with their rushing attack. Arcata relies on versatile quarterback Luke Lemke. The pick: Arcata.
Division 7-A: Pioneer (10-5) vs. San Francisco Balboa (8-5) at Fullerton, 11 a.m. Sophomore running back Joseph Smith leads Balboa. Adrian Lopez has rushed for more than 1,000 yards for Pioneer. The pick: Balboa.
Sports
Chiefs and Browns make first trade of 2026 draft and both eventually fill needs
The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
Sports
Defending champion UCLA women’s basketball lands top transfer, continues roster overhaul
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Sports
WWE to hold premium live event in Saudi Arabia amid Iran ceasefire
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
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