Sports
The Lakers and Clippers are ready to share their home for the final time
Ten seasons ago, the Clippers opened their preseason by visiting four of their Western Conference rivals. They went to Portland, Utah, Sacramento and finally to Phoenix before they opened the doors to their home arena.
Fans had a lot of reasons to be excited — the team hired Doc Rivers in the offseason to coach and was about to enter the season as bonafide contenders. The season, Rivers felt, was about to be theirs. And, their arena should reflect that.
So, the Clippers covered the banners at Staples Center celebrating the Lakers’ championships and the retired numbers of their all-time greats, and instead featured images of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and the rest of that Clippers’ core.
“I didn’t look at it as a banner thing,” Rivers said before the preseason home opener. “I look at it as putting our guys up. … It’s our arena when we play. I thought it would be good that we saw our guys. No disrespect to them, but when we play, it’s the Clipper arena as far as I know.”
But it was absolutely a banner thing — the Clippers finally saying “Enough” to one of the NBA’s strangest real-estate partnerships with two franchises sharing an arena.
“He took a lot of heat, but it makes sense,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Tuesday. “We understand what the Lakers mean to the city and what they’ve done, but for us to have a place that we can call home and be comfortable, I think that was the right thing to do.”
Chuck the Condor waves a banner midcourt during pregame festivities for a Clippers-Trail Blazers game at Staples Center in 2021.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Rivers and the Clippers’ decision in 2013 is just one chapter in this co-habitation story. Provided the teams don’t meet in the playoffs this spring, Wednesday will be the final chapter.
The Clippers will host the Lakers — the final time the Lakers will be the visitors inside the building where they play their home games with the Clippers set to move into the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood next season. The Lakers (31-28, ninth in the West) have won two of the three games this season. The Clippers (37-19, fourth in the West) will be without All-Star forward Paul George, who will sit out his second consecutive game because of a sore left knee.
“Yeah, it’s weird. That’s the word,” Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell said about road games at Crypto.com Arena. “…You go home and your place is redecorated. It just looks different.”
The two teams have played 97 times since the arena’s opening in 1999, the Clippers holding the series advantage, 50-47. One of those regular-season wins for the Lakers actually came in Orlando, Fla., in 2020, making the Clippers 50-46 in Staples Center/Crypto.com Arena ahead of Wednesday’s finale.
As far as anyone can tell, no NBA teams have ever had this kind of shared existence. As Clippers wing Norman Powell pointed out, teams all over the league, such as the Raptors, share their spaces with NHL teams. But the switch from hockey to basketball is different from the switch from one NBA team to another.
A partial to-do list for swapping between Lakers and Clippers games is as follows: change the wrapping on pillars inside the main concourse and outside the building; change the court; swap out the baskets; configure the different courtside seats and scorer’s table; update the merchandise stands; swap the TV trucks and stationary cameras; and redecorate the tunnel to the court for the home team.
The Clippers’ court is 10 feet longer and two feet wider than the Lakers’ court and has 34 more wood panels.
The end result has led to the arena successfully housing two teams without much friction.
“They had to make it home. It makes sense. They want to make it as ‘home’ as possible,” Lakers star LeBron James said. “And it feels like a road game. Their lighting is different, the court is different, the seats look different — all that type of stuff. It feels like a road game — but you just don’t have to travel. Feels like you’re driving to a road game.”
There are other subtle changes for players when the teams play each other. The parking lot underneath the arena is twice as full during Lakers-Clippers games.
“It takes like twice as long to get your car,” Austin Reaves joked. “I mean, his car (pointing at James) might get to stay down there. They probably move mine upstairs.”
Pregame routines change. The home team has access to the weight room, the “visitors” have to use a temporary weight room in a storage area. Court access times are different, particularly for players like James who arrive very early to prepare.
Russell noted one of the strangest quirks: When the Lakers are the visiting team at Crypto.com Arena, they don’t get to use the tunnel to the court that’s steps from the locker room. Instead, they have to use the visitor’s tunnel, which means they run on and off the court past the Clippers locker room, both hockey locker rooms and the normal visiting NBA locker room.
“Walking out through the tunnel is probably the weirdest thing” he said, “we’ve got to go all the way [around].”
It might only be a few hundred extra steps, but it’s different enough to make the night feel a little off.
“I mean it is definitely a different feel,” Powell said. “I think both organizations do a good job of putting their own touch on the arena when it’s a home game and it’s us playing against each other. When it’s a Laker game, it’s a little more dark and intimate with how they black out the stands and like the focus, you can see all the lights are on the court. And the Clippers have a more inclusive environment where everybody’s just trying to get everybody involved and into the game and to have different things going on.
“It’s definitely a different feel when you walk in and, like, the setups that the Lakers have for their team and what we do.”
The lighting is the biggest difference, which strangely enough began as a major similarity. Until the 2006-07 season, the teams used the same lighting inside Staples Center until the Lakers adopted the theater lighting they still use, where the focus is on the court and the few first rows of seats. In 2014, the Clippers began using a brighter LED lighting.
A view of the Intuit Dome, showing a basket stanchion and grandstands, while under construction in January. The Clippers will open the 2024-25 season there.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
“It feels different, for sure, when it’s a home game for them. It doesn’t feel like Staples or Crypto,” James said.
Assuming the Lakers and the Clippers don’t meet in the playoffs, all of the awkwardness soon will be obsolete, each team having their own home court.
You won’t have to trick anyone.
“It’s weird showing up and having to do that. I did it my rookie year, come back and still doing that. It is what it is,” Russell said. “You adjust. And you know what that norm is and you adapt to it.
“Obviously, there’s a change on the way and I think it’s good for Lakers and Clippers players and it’s good for the fans.”
Times staff writer Broderick Turner contributed to this report.
Sports
ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
LAS VEGAS – Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.
While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.
The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”
Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.
WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”
Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.
“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”
Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.
Sports
After 55 years as a broadcaster in L.A., Randy Rosenbloom is leaving town
It’s time to reveal memories, laughs and crazy times from Randy Rosenbloom’s 55 years as a TV/radio broadcaster in Los Angeles. He’s hopping in a car next Sunday with his wife, saying goodbye to a North Hollywood house that’s been in his family since 1952 and driving 3,300 miles to his new home in Greenville, S.C.
“When I walk out, I’ll probably break down,” he said.
He graduated from North Hollywood High in 1969. He got his first paid job in 1971 calling Hart basketball games for NBC Cable Newhall for $10 a game. It began an adventure of a lifetime.
“I never knew if I overachieved or underachieved. I just did what I loved,” he said.
Randy Rosenbloom (left) used to work with former UCLA coach John Wooden for TV games.
(Randy Rosenbloom)
John Wooden, Jerry Tarkanian and Jim Harrick were among his expert commentators when he did play by play for college basketball games. He called volleyball at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games for NBC and rowing in 2004. He’s worked more than 100 championship high school events. He did play by play for the first and only Reebok Bowl at Angel Stadium in 1994 won by Bishop Amat over Sylmar, 35-14.
“There were about 5,000, 6,000 people there and I remember thinking nobody watched the game. We ended up with a 5.7 TV rating on Channel 13 in Los Angeles, which is higher than most Lakers games.”
He conducted interviews with NFL Hall of Famers Gale Sayers and Johnny Unitas and boxing greats Robert Duran, Thomas Hearn and Sugar Ray Leonard. He’s worked with baseball greats Steve Garvey and Doug DeCinces. He called games with former USC coach Rod Dedeaux. He was in the radio booth for Bret Saberhagen’s 1982 no-hitter in the City Section championship game at Dodger Stadium. He was a nightly sportscaster for KADY in Ventura.
Randy Rosenbloom, left, with his volleyball broadcast partners, Kirk Kilgour and Bill Walton.
(Randy Rosenbloom)
He was the voice of Fresno State football and basketball. He also did Nevada Las Vegas football and basketball games. He called bowl games and Little League games. He was a public address announcer for basketball at the 1984 Olympic Games with Michael Jordan the star and did the P.A. for Toluca Little League.
Nothing was too small or too big for him.
“I loved everything,” he said.
He called at least 10 East L.A. Classic football games between Garfield and Roosevelt. He was there when Narbonne and San Pedro tied 21-21 in the 2008 City championship game at the Coliseum on a San Pedro touchdown with one second left.
Probably his most notable tale came when he was doing radio play-by-play at a 1998 college bowl game in Montgomery, Ala.
“I look down and a giant tarantula is crawling up my pants,” he said. “My color man took all the press notes, wadded them up and hit the tarantula like swinging a bat.”
Did Rosenbloom tell the audience what was happening?
“I stayed calm,” he said.
Then there was the time he was in the press box at Sam Boyd Stadium and a bat flew in and attached itself to the wooden press box right next to him before flying away after he said, “UNLV wins.”
Recently, he’s been putting together high school TV packages for LA36 and calling travel ball basketball games. He’ll still keep doing a radio gambling show from his new home, but he’s cutting ties to Los Angeles to move closer to grandchildren.
“I’m retiring from Los Angeles. I’m leaving the market,” he said.
Hopefully he’ll continue via Zoom to do a weekly podcast with me for The Times.
He’s a true professional who’s versatility and work ethic made him a reliable hire from the age of 18 through his current age of 74.
He’s a member of the City Section Hall of Fame and the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He once threw the shot put 51 feet, 7 1/2 inches, which is his claim to fame at North Hollywood High.
One time an ESPN graphic before a show spelled his name “Rosenbloom” then changed it to “Rosenblum” for postgame. It was worth a good laugh.
He always adjusts, improvises and ad-libs. He expects to enjoy his time in South Carolina, but he better watch out for tarantulas. They seem to like him.
Sports
Becky Lynch enters exclusive WWE club with Women’s Intercontinental Championship win at WrestleMania 42
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
LAS VEGAS – Becky Lynch entered an atmosphere no other WWE women’s superstar has ever reached as she won the Women’s Intercontinental Championship over AJ Lee on Saturday night at WrestleMania 42.
Lynch became the first person to hold the Women’s Intercontinental Championship three times after she pinned Lee. She first won the title against Lyra Valkyria in June 2025 and then again against Maxxine Dupri in November.
Becky Lynch celebrates with the belt after defeating AJ Lee during their women’s Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
She dropped the belt to Lee at the Elimination Chamber, sparking a monthslong feud with her.
Lee gave Lynch the chance at the title in the weeks prior to WrestleMania 42. But it appeared Lee played right into Lynch’s plans. Despite arguing with referee Jessica Carr for most of the match, Lynch was able to tactfully tear down a rope buckle and use it to her advantage.
Lynch hit Lee with a Manhandle Slam and pinned her for the win.
WWE STARS REVEAL WHAT MAKES WRESTLEMANIA SO SPECIAL: ‘IT’S THE SUPER BOWL OF PRO WRESTLING’
AJ Lee reacts after losing to Becky Lynch in their Women’s Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
It’s the second straight year Lynch will leave Las Vegas as champion. She returned to WWE at WrestleMania 41, teaming with Valkyria, to win the women’s tag titles. She will now leave Allegiant Stadium as the women’s intercontinental champion.
Lynch is now a seven-time women’s champion, three-time women’s intercontinental champion and two-time tag team champion.
Becky Lynch withstands AJ Lee during their Women’s Intercontinental Championship match on night one of WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Lee’s reign as champion ended really before it could really begin. WrestleMania 42 was her first appearance at the event in 11 years. It’s unclear where Lee will go from here.
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoGame 21: Tigers at Red Sox, Garrett Crochet battles both Detroit and the weather
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoWhy do gray whales keep dying in San Francisco’s waters?
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoDallas Mavericks Owners Might Be Making Big Mistake in Search for New GM
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoDefense dominates, Mensah flashes in Miami’s spring game – The Miami Hurricane
-
Boston, MA2 hours ago
A crowd scientist is helping the Boston Marathon manage a growing field of 30,000-plus runners
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoDenver Nuggets Altitude broadcasts now being offered in Spanish for first time ever
-
Seattle, WA2 hours agoNeed to shred? Free drive-up/ride-up shredding Wednesday at Village Green West Seattle
-
San Diego, CA3 hours agoGame 21: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels