Sports
UCLA's Pac-12 free fall continues as comeback fades in loss to California
Never one to hide his feelings, Mick Cronin was finally at a loss for words Saturday night.
The UCLA coach didn’t show up to speak with reporters after his team’s latest loss. He instead sent assistant Rod Palmer to parse the fallout.
Could it go any lower for the Bruins?
Hard to say. There’s still more than two months left in the season.
The only certainty is that the Bruins sank to new depths at Pauley Pavilion, falling to an opponent that had won only one game over the previous five weeks and had dropped its last 19 Pac-12 games going back to last season.
UCLA changed all that, giving California a speck of life while darkening its own already bleak outlook.
A new point guard rotation, different lineups, more minutes for seldom-used players … nothing worked for the Bruins during a 66-57 loss.
UCLA (6-9 overall, 1-3 Pac-12) has dropped four consecutive home games for the first time since the 2002-03 season — coach Steve Lavin’s last — while also falling to the Golden Bears inside Pauley Pavilion for the first time since February 2010.
It has been a frustrating turnabout for the Bruins, who have lost seven of eight games and are staring at the possibility of a first-to-worst reversal in the conference standings after winning the Pac-12 by four games last season.
In addition to skipping his session with reporters, Cronin also did not complete his usual postgame radio interview, nor did he make players available to speak with the media. Palmer said Cronin was still talking to the team and did not want to keep reporters waiting.
What was Cronin’s message to his players? Palmer said it had not changed.
“You have to play harder if you want a different result,” Palmer said. “You have to do things different if you want a different result and we haven’t been doing those different things. We’ve been stressing it in practice but for some reason, whatever it is — it could be youth, it could be inexperience — we’re just not getting the job done.”
When Cronin had last addressed reporters, after a loss to Stanford on Wednesday, he questioned his players’ aptitude and said that freshman guard Ilane Fibleuil’s exit from the game after only 21 seconds was for defying instructions and committing a turnover.
“That’s on him, not me,” Cronin said of Fibleuil’s quick hook. “Like I tell guys at this level, you know, I tell ‘em all it’s hard. So you can quit and go home, make an excuse and transfer like 1,900 guys, or you get better. Look in the mirror. But you gotta look in the mirror first.”
Cronin also intimated that his roster could look considerably different next season if players did not toughen up.
“You can’t call your mommy; she can’t help you,” Cronin said. “You’ve got an opportunity of a lifetime and it may not last forever depending on your performance.”
The Bruins did not exactly appear energized three days later in immediately falling into a big hole against Cal with their offense continuing to stumble. As poorly as they played, once trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half, the Bruins pulled within 61-55 with 1:44 left before Cal’s Jalen Cone hit a backbreaking three-pointer.
It was that kind of night for UCLA, which also got pushed around in being outrebounded by 10.
“Either you’re going to hit someone or you’re going to get hit,” Palmer said, “and we’ve been getting hit a lot.”
Cronin was so flabbergasted over a referee’s call — not to mention the way his team was playing late in the first half — that he flung his suit jacket over the bench, earning a technical foul.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin, right, yells at a referee during the first half of the Bruins’ loss to California on Saturday night.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Nothing has come easy after wholesale roster turnover necessitating seven freshmen and bigger roles for top returners Adem Bona and Dylan Andrews.
Seeking to change his team’s sagging fortunes, Cronin had instructed Sebastian Mack to take over primary point guard duties from Andrews, stuck in an epic funk.
It only made things worse.
The Bruins missed their first five shots and committed three turnovers while giving up the game’s first nine points.
Cronin then gave Jan Vide a few minutes at point guard and things didn’t get much better. So the coach went back to Andrews, whose four points in rapid-fire fashion pulled the Bruins to within 32-23 at halftime.
Presumably intended to take pressure off Andrews, who was shooting 24.5% from the field over his previous four games while logging nearly as many turnovers as assists, the move only led to more turnovers and sloppy offense for the Bruins.
“Coach is trying to put the ball in people’s hands to score, guys who can score, and a lot of times they just think it’s for them to score when in actuality it’s for them to score if they can, but find the open guy if they can’t,” Palmer said. “And that’s the disconnect right there. So we just have to stress using each other, sharing the ball with each other and hopefully things will get better.”
Andrews never found much of a shooting form, finishing with 10 points while making four of 12 shots. Mack led UCLA with 20 points and center Adem Bona added 14, but the Bruins made only two of 10 three-pointers in another abysmal showing from long range.
Guard Jaylon Tyson scored 22 points on nine-for-12 shooting for Cal (5-10, 1-3), whose previous victories had come over St. Thomas, Cal State Bakersfield, Santa Clara and UC San Diego.
At this point, it’s not obvious if their triumph over UCLA qualifies as the Golden Bears’ best of the season.
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The Atlanta Falcons did not have to do much thinking about their future when their season ended Sunday.
The team did not even wait for Black Monday, as it fired head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot on Sunday night.
The Falcons hired Morris ahead of the 2024 season, selecting him over candidates such as Bill Belichick, Mike Vrabel, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Macdonald and Ben Johnson.
Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris on the sideline against the New Orleans Saints in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)
But Morris’ results were not what the Falcons wanted, going 8-9 in back-to-back seasons.
“I have great personal affinity for both Raheem and Terry and appreciate their hard work and dedication to the Falcons, but I believe we need new leadership in these roles moving forward,” owner Arthur Blank said in a statement. “The decision to move away from people who represent the organization so well and have a shared commitment to the values that are important to the organization is not an easy one, but the results on the field have not met our expectations or those of our fans and leadership. I wish Raheem and Terry the absolute best in their future pursuits.”
Wildly enough, the team’s record is the same as the division champion Carolina Panthers’, so the Falcons were just one win away from making the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season. One of those losses was to the New York Jets, who would have had the first pick in 2026 instead of the second if that game’s result had been reversed.
Atlanta wound up winning their final four games, but it was not enough for them, or Morris and Fontenot.
Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris on the sideline against the Miami Dolphins in the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Oct. 26, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)
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Morris previously served as the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator, winning a Super Bowl with them. He held numerous roles with the Falcons before going to Los Angeles, including serving as their interim head coach in 2020.
Morris initially replaced Arthur Smith, who served as the team’s head coach for three seasons. Smith is now the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who would make the playoffs with a win Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens.
Perhaps the Falcons are kicking themselves for choosing Morris over several others. Vrabel won the AFC East in his first season with the New England Patriots, Johnson won the NFC North in his first year with the Chicago Bears, and Harbaugh is back in the playoffs with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, center, stands with his team while wearing an Apalachee High School T-shirt after a recent school shooting there before an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
There should be several names available to the Falcons, who are desperate to make the most of Michael Penix Jr., who will enter his third NFL season in September.
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DENVER — The game was the understudies versus the underwhelmings.
The second-string Chargers against the … wait a second, the top-seeded Denver Broncos only generated 240 yards and failed to score an offensive touchdown?
Such is the AFC this season, filled with teams who flash one week and fizzle the next.
Sunday’s regular-season finale — which the Broncos won, 19-3 — was far more competitive than it should have been, especially considering the lopsided incentives.
Whereas the Chargers were playing for pride and only modestly consequential postseason seeding, Denver’s stakes were two miles high: a free pass to the second round, and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl.
How unsettling that the Chargers could even make the game interesting, having rested 14 starters, including Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert.
The Chargers now turn their attention to a first-round game at the 14-win New England Patriots, who have averaged 34.4 points in the five games since the beginning of December, on Sunday at 5 p.m. PST.
It’s another opportunity for Herbert to notch his first playoff victory. In his six seasons, the Chargers have had two one-and-done appearances — an epic collapse at Jacksonville in the 2022 season and a four-interception loss at Houston last season.
“With the way he’s played this season, this could be a breakthrough,” receiver Keenan Allen said. “Everything we want is still right in front of us.”
Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II catches a pass against Denver Broncos safety P.J. Locke during the first half Sunday.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
That’s not exactly true. Allen reeled in two hefty items on his wish list. He needed nine more receiving yards for a $250,000 contract bonus, and six more receptions for a $750,000 payout. He finished with seven catches for 36 yards — jackpot!
“It’s nice to get that out of the way,” he said, smiling broadly.
Allen was one of the few seasoned Chargers veterans to set foot on the field. Watching from the sidelines were offensive starters Herbert, Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and the entire starting offensive line.
So backup quarterback Trey Lance, making a rare start, had a collection of blockers that was even more hodgepodge than usual — and going up against the NFL’s sack leaders, no less. The Broncos came into the game with a club-record 64 sacks.
They got to Lance four times, and although that might be impressive, the Chargers collected four sacks of their own, two by backup defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia.
“That was dope,” star edge rusher Khalil Mack said of the performance by second-stringers.
Mack sat out, as did All-Pro safety Derwin James Jr., linebacker Daiyan Henley and safety Elijah Molden. All will be back for the Patriots game.
The Chargers have beaten the Patriots in their last two meetings, including a 6-0 win two years ago in Foxborough. This is the first time the teams have played with these head coaches, Jim Harbaugh and Mike Vrabel.
“That’s the kind of game that defines your season,” Harbaugh said. “Our focus and attention is on that.”
Sunday’s game was a foregone conclusion before kickoff. Yes, the Chargers were 5-0 against AFC West opponents, but their primary aim was to stay fresh for the playoffs.
The Broncos, meanwhile, were so laser-focused on securing that No. 1 seed that coach Sean Payton instructed the videoboard operators to scrap the goofy games during breaks in the action. He wanted the crowd thinking about decibels, not distractions.
Denver running back RJ Harvey is tackled by Chargers defenders during the second half Sunday.
(C. Morgan Engel / Getty Images)
From the start, Denver looked on track. On their first possession, the Broncos drove from their 13 to the Chargers’ six, setting up the first of four field goals by Wil Lutz.
Who would have suspected that, after those 81 yards, Denver’s offense would generate only 31 more the rest of the half?
Put simply, Denver is a weird team. The Broncos have trailed in 12 of their 14 wins, and this was the second time this season they won without scoring an offensive touchdown. Naturally, there were incentives Sunday to staying as vanilla as possible on offense as not to reveal more to future opponents, although this is a team that already has put 17 games on video.
This game was either an offensive stinker or a defensive masterpiece, depending on your perspective.
Both quarterbacks led their team in rushing. Lance completed 20 of 44 passes for 136 yards with an interception. Denver’s Bo Nix was 14 of 23 for 141 yards.
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Top Milwaukee Brewers prospect Frank Cairone was hospitalized after being involved in a serious car accident near his New Jersey home on Friday, the team announced.
“Frank is currently being cared for at a hospital in New Jersey with the support of his family,” read a statement from the team, via MLB.com. “The Brewers’ thoughts and prayers are with Frank and his family during his difficult time.”
Pitcher Frank Cairone (left) with Green Valley High School (NV) infielder Caden Kirby during the MLB Draft Combine high school baseball game at Chase Field. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
The left-handed pitcher turned 18 this past September. He was drafted out of Delsea Regional High School in Franklinville, N.J. at No. 68 overall in the 2025 Draft.
News of the Brewers’ young prospect’s accident came shortly after the team announced it was not in contact with several players in Venezuela after U.S. military strikes in the country and the capture of its President Nicolás Maduro.
MLB TEAM UNAWARE OF STATUS OF PLAYERS IN VENEZUELA AFTER US MILITARY STRIKES
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio (11) is seen before the fifth inning of an MLB game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Toronto Blue Jays on August 31, 2025, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON. (Mathew Tsang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold revealed the team is unaware of the status of the players in a statement Saturday.
“We don’t have much info at the moment but are trying to follow up,” Arnold said, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We know the airports have been shut down but not much beyond that.”
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Pitcher Frank Cairone during the MLB Draft Combine high school baseball game at Chase Field. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
The team’s players in Venezuela include star outfielder Jackson Chourio, infielder Andruw Monasterio and catcher Jeferson Quero, according to the outlet.
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