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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In previous years, the Round of 16 was the first knockout stage match, but with an expanded field of 48 teams— it is now the second.
Let’s check out the odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as of July 2 for which countries are favored to make the Round of 16 and emerge from it.
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To Reach Round of 16
Argentina: -2000 (bet $10 to win $10.50 total)
Colombia: -550 (bet $10 to win $11.82 total)
Portugal: -340 (bet $10 to win $12.94 total)
Switzerland: -235 (bet $10 to win $14.26 total)
Egypt: -148 (bet $10 to win $16.76 total)
Australia: +122 (bet $10 to win $22.20 total)
Algeria: +186 (bet $10 to win $28.60 total)
Croatia: +260 (bet $10 to win $36 total)
Ghana: +380 (bet $10 to win $48 total)
Cape Verde: +1160 (bet $10 to win $126 total)
Now let’s check out the odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as of July 2 for the matchups already in place.
SATURDAY, JULY 4
Canada vs. Morocco
To Advance: MAR -300, CAN +225
Moneyline: MAR -130, Draw +240, CAN +420
Paraguay vs. France
To Advance: FRA -1800, PRY +1140
Moneyline: FRA -600, Draw +600, PRY +1800
SUNDAY, JULY 5
Brazil vs. Norway
To Advance: BRA -245, NOR +196
Moneyline: BRA -120, Draw +260, NOR +340
Mexico vs. England
To Advance: ENG -134, MEX +110
Moneyline: ENG +145, Draw +210, MEX +200
MONDAY, JULY 6
USA vs. Belgium
To Advance: USA -110, BEL -110
Moneyline: USA +165, Draw +230, BEL +170
Sports
Thousand Oaks native Claire Liu finally reaches Wimbledon’s third round, will face Coco Gauff
LONDON — Claire Liu packed her bags and checked out of her London hotel room on Wednesday morning before heading to the All England Club.
It was more pragmatism than pessimism — a reality of a qualifier navigating her Wimbledon journey one day at a time.
But as her boyfriend reminded her while organizing her luggage: “Just because you’re packing doesn’t mean you’re leaving,” Liu recalled with a laugh.
He was right.
The Thousand Oaks native went on to win her second-round match against 51st-ranked Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey 7-5, 6-3, advancing to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her professional career. She had tried 29 previous times at majors, including qualifying rounds, since 2015.
“I was just super relieved to get through that,” said Liu, noting she had blown a set and a break lead in the French Open’s second round last month.
For Liu, who turned 26 in May, returning to the manicured lawns of SW19 brings her tennis journey full circle. Nine years ago, she captured the 2017 Wimbledon girls’ singles title — the first American to do so since Chanda Rubin in 1992 — and was the No. 1 junior in the world. She still holds fond memories of that heady achievement, including chatting with her idol, Roger Federer, at the Wimbledon Champions Ball.
Yet, the transition from teenage phenom to professional mainstay has been anything but a linear ascent. When asked if she expected to be in the third round of a major this late in her career given her junior success, Liu was candid.
“Younger me would have believed it more than now,” she said.
That shift in perspective comes after weathering some brutal setbacks.
Liu climbed as high as No. 52 in early 2023 but then endured a wrist injury and took a months-long mental health hiatus in 2024 that eventually saw her ranking plummet outside the top 400 last year.
Currently sitting at No. 146, she’s been rebuilding her standing by playing a mix of WTA 125 events and ITF tournaments before returning to the main WTA Tour, with 2026 stops in far-flung places from Bahrain to Boca Raton and plenty of places in between.
“My goals haven’t changed, but I think the stress of how I got there really took a toll on me,” said Liu.
To navigate the darkness, Liu leaned heavily into both sports psychology and traditional therapy, including EMDR, a technique that helps people process traumatic experiences. She also started a Substack newsletter called “Finding Claire-ity,” where she openly chronicles her life and struggles on the tour.
The Southern California native, who has trained at the USTA facility in Carson since she was 9 years old and resides in Redondo Beach, also split with her longtime coach last season, a difficult decision, and hired Clemens Wagner.
The switch following the U.S. Open last year is clicking.
“I saw in her someone who fought a lot of battles inside herself,” says Austrian-born Wagner, who has a background in tennis analytics.
Together, they have focused on keeping an “aggressive undertone” on the grass, emphasizing coming to the net and squeezing the most out of her game.
Wagner notes that the 5-foot-7 player’s game isn’t the flashiest, but describes her as a “silent killer” who excels at “redirecting pace, standing close to the baseline, constantly putting pressure on her opponents.”
The reboot is starting to pay significant dividends.
Liu put together her best stretch in years this spring, winning a lower-tier title in Trnava, Slovakia, her first professional title since 2024, and then qualifying for the French Open.
Having again successfully navigated three rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw here, Liu has now won five consecutive matches at Wimbledon. Not surprisingly, she currently has no sponsors, just equipment support from Head Sport and Asics Corp., making her Wimbledon run particularly lucrative. By reaching the third round, Liu achieved her highest career payday: around $250,000. A victory Friday would boost that to nearly $400,000.
First, she faces her biggest test yet: a third-round contest against two-time major champion Coco Gauff on No. 1 Court, which perhaps fittingly is the same show court where Liu won the girls’ title almost a decade ago.
Gauff, 22, noted that she and Liu haven’t crossed paths much since Liu is older, but expects a serious battle. Gauff won both of their previous meetings on hard courts.
“I feel like anytime you’re playing a qualifier, it’s always tough because they have three matches already,” the seventh-seeded American said.
Liu, who didn’t even know she was playing Gauff until a reporter told her after her match, is purposefully keeping her focus narrow.
“I will just take today to be happy for winning, and then tomorrow I’ll think about it,” Liu said. “Obviously she’s one of the best players in the world right now, so that’ll be a good experience.”
Veteran Jessica Pegula, 32, the top-ranked American who also toiled away on the sport’s lower tier before becoming a top-10 mainstay, appreciates Liu’s resolve.
“It’s always nice to see girls that are figuring it out slowly but surely,” the No. 4 seed said. “I think I can relate to that.”
Liu’s accommodations? Fortunately, her mother was able to rebook the same hotel after the match, which eased some of the logistical issues for her unexpectedly extended stay in London.
“It definitely makes me stay in the moment, like, day by day,” Liu smiled of her lodging limbo.
On Wednesday morning, Liu packed her bags expecting she might leave Wimbledon. Instead, she emptied them one more time, with the biggest match of her career still waiting.
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Folarin Balogun’s teammates came to his defense after the USA World Cup star was given a red card during the team’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday night.
Balogun received the red card after he stepped on defender Tarik Muharemovic’s right ankle. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus only gave Balogun the card after a VAR review. The red card meant Balogun will not be able to play in the team’s Round of 16 match against Belgium.
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United States’ Folarin Balogun, right, stands by after being issued a red card by Referee Raphael Claus, of Brazil, as United States’ Weston McKennie (8) looks on during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A FIFA official told The Athletic a team cannot appeal against the red card or the suspension. The official pointed the outlet to a portion of the organization’s rules and regulations, which states, “A sending-off automatically incurs suspension from the subsequent match. The FIFA judicial bodies may impose additional match suspensions and other disciplinary measures.”
Balogun’s teammate, Weston McKennie, called the lack of an appeal process “bogus” and disagreed with the referee’s decision to issue the red card.
Bosnia’s Sead Kolasinac (5) talks to United States’ Folarin Balogun after Balogun was sent off, as Christian Pulisic (10) watches during the World Cup round of 32 match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (Julio Cortez / AP)
“Obviously the ref made a decision that he made, but I think it’s questionable,” McKennie said. “I think there’s been many other plays like that throughout the tournament on other players that a card wasn’t given at all. It’s disappointing.”
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said Balogun’s act “was never intentional.”
“It’s never a red card. Never. … If the intention is to damage the opponent, OK, I understand. But that never was. It was a normal action in football that you are fighting for the ball and your feet land,” he said.
Balogun is the third player to score in a World Cup knockout match and be sent off. He follows Brazil’s Ronaldinho in 2002’s quarterfinal match against England and France’s Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final against Italy.
Referee Raphael Claus of Brazil shows a red card to United States’ Folarin Balogun, right, during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
It’s the fifth red card handed to an American in the squad’s World Cup history.
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Eric Wynalda received one against Czechoslovakia in 1990, Fernando Clavijo got one against Brazil in 1994 and Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope each received one against Italy in 2006.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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