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Walker Buehler struggles, division lead narrows as Dodgers lose to Brewers

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Walker Buehler struggles, division lead narrows as Dodgers lose to Brewers

The San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks both won games before the Dodgers took the field against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night, yet another reminder that, for a team that has won 10 of the last 11 National League West titles, objects in the rearview mirror are closer than they appear.

The Dodgers failed to hold serve in an ugly 5-4 loss to the Brewers in American Family Field, and their division lead fell to 2½ games over the scorching-hot Padres, who have won 19 of 22 games, and Diamondbacks, who have won 18 of 21 games.

Veteran right-hander Walker Buehler returned from a right-hip injury and gave the Dodgers little hope that he will provide much of a rotation boost down the stretch, laboring through a 3⅓-inning, 87-pitch start in which he gave up four runs (one earned) and three hits, struck out three and walked four.

The Dodgers also committed three errors, which led to four unearned runs, and their win streak was snapped at five.

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“It wasn’t a clean game, by any means,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Those [defensive plays] are pretty uncharacteristic, and they ended up hurting us.”

Despite Buehler’s shoddy start and the shaky defense, the Dodgers tied the score 4-4 in the seventh. Trailing 4-3, Mookie Betts hit a one-out single to left-center field off left-hander Jared Koenig and took third on Freddie Freeman’s single to right.

Teoscar Hernández struck out, and Roberts sent Miguel Rojas to bat for Gavin Lux, the team’s hottest hitter for the last month. Rojas lined a single to right-center to tie the score.

But Milwaukee retook the lead in the bottom of the seventh, an inning that began with Dodgers reliever Brent Honeywell hitting No. 9 batter Joey Ortiz with a pitch.

Ortiz took second on Brice Turang’s sacrifice bunt and scored for a 5-4 lead when Jackson Chourio’s bloop single to right field nicked off the glove of Betts for an error.

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“I was coming in, I know that guy is fast,” said Betts, who returned to right field this week after playing shortstop the first 2½ months of the season. “I was trying to make a play and just missed it.”

There were plenty of misfires for Buehler, whose early May return from a second Tommy John surgery was derailed by right-hip inflammation that sidelined him for almost two months.

He spent several weeks at a private training facility in Florida in an effort to “get those feels back,” but didn’t look any better Wednesday night than he did in his start to the season, when he went 1-4 with a 5.84 ERA in eight starts in which he gave up 10 homers in 37 innings.

“A lot of near misses, a lot of bad pitches in bad spots,” Buehler said. “It’s just frustrating. I’m not getting ahead the way I’m accustomed to, and then at certain times, I’m going from 0-and-2 to 3-and-2. Stuff to clean up. Stuff to figure out.”

Buehler was staked to a 3-0 lead in the first when the Dodgers loaded the bases with no outs and scored on Teoscar Hernández’s walk, Kiké Hernández’s sacrifice fly and Kevin Kiermaier’s hustle RBI double.

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Buehler walked three batters to open the bottom of the first but escaped with the help of Kiermaier, the four-time Gold Glove Award winner who caught William Contreras’ fly ball and fired a 99-mph, one-hop throw to catcher Austin Barnes, who made the catch and tag on Turang for a double play.

“I caught it with some momentum coming in, had a bunch of adrenaline, and I just wanted to make a good throw,” said Kiermaier, who was acquired from Toronto on July 29. “Bases loaded, no outs, I was glad to help Walker out there.”

Buehler struck out Willy Adames with a 91-mph cutter to end the inning, but of his 25 pitches in the opening frame, 15 were balls.

Buehler then coughed up three runs in the second, an inning that Jake Bauers opened with a home run to right field. Garrett Mitchell struck out, and Sal Frelick reached on an error by shortstop Nick Ahmed that easily could have been scored an infield single.

Ortiz grounded out to first, but Turang drove a triple over the head of Kiermaier to make it 3-2, and Chourio’s broken-bat infield single made it 3-3. By the time Tyler Black popped out to end the inning, Buehler’s pitch count had reached 60.

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“There are too many holes in my delivery where little things can go wrong,” Buehler said. “When you’re rolling, you can make adjustments really quick. I’m not making them quick enough. There are some really big misses after misses, which is not good. In this league, you can miss once, but you miss twice in the same [area], you’re in a bad spot.”

Buehler retired the side in order on 14 pitches in the third but walked Mitchell to open the fourth. Mitchell stole second, took third on Frelick’s groundout and scored for a 4-3 lead when Ortiz’s grounder kicked off the glove of Kiké Hernández at third for an error.

Left-hander Anthony Banda replaced Buehler and gave up what appeared to be a Turang double down the left-field line, but Ortiz was deked by Ahmed into sliding into second, took a step back toward first and headed for third without re-touching the bag.

Roberts said pitcher Clayton Kershaw spotted the gaffe and alerted the manager, who came to the mound and instructed Banda to throw to second base. Ortiz was ruled out on the appeal, and Chourio grounded out to end the inning.

Of Buehler’s 87 pitches, only 46 were strikes. He used six different pitches against the Brewers but could not throw his curveball consistently for strikes.

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“There were some good things, but from the eye test, he was out of sync,” Roberts said. “His throw was inconsistent, the delivery was inconsistent, he didn’t get Strike 1 very often. He was working behind hitters, and then you’re trying to find your way back into counts. It’s hard to live like that. … You can see he’s still searching.”

Buehler said he feels “closer” to regaining his presurgery form, his elbow feels good physically, and he’s been encouraged by some bullpen sessions. But he knows these kinds of results aren’t going to cut it.

“At the end of the day, there’s a standard of performing here, and I’m very aware of where I’m at in that standard,” Buehler said. “Keep plugging away. Wish isn’t the right word, or hope, but hopefully keep doing the right things, and it’ll come together.”

Short hops

The Dodgers will push right-hander Tyler Glasnow’s next start to Saturday night in St. Louis and probably will call up a pitcher from triple-A Oklahoma City — likely left-hander Justin Wrobleski — for Friday night’s game against the Cardinals. … Reliever Ryan Brasier, out since late April because of a right-calf strain, has given up four hits, struck out 10 and walked none in 6⅔ innings of his first seven rehab appearances for Oklahoma City and is on track to be activated Saturday. … Right-hander Landon Knack, who threw four innings of one-run ball in Tuesday night’s win, was optioned to Oklahoma City to clear a roster spot for Buehler.

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Packers’ head-coaching situation thrust into spotlight after playoff loss

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Packers’ head-coaching situation thrust into spotlight after playoff loss

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The Green Bay Packers’ playoff exit on Saturday immediately put added focus on what the organization will do with head coach Matt LaFleur.

The NFL coaching cycle has been the wildest in recent memory, with veteran coaches like John Harbaugh and Pete Carroll being shown the door. Packers fans seemingly put LaFleur on the hot seat following their crushing defeat to the Chicago Bears.

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur reacts during the wild-card playoff game against the Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Sunday that the Packers will have a major decision to make.

“The Green Bay Packers and their new president, Ed Policy, have a significant decision to make here in the coming days – and that is whether to extend Matt LaFleur’s contract. He’s currently got one year remaining, or to move on from him,” Schefter said. “If they moved on from him, he would automatically go near the top of coaches available and shakeup this current head-coaching cycle yet again.”

Schefter added that Harbaugh could be one of the names that would interest the Packers’ organization.

BEARS’ BEN JOHNSON GIVES FIERY MESSAGE TO TEAM AFTER PLAYOFF WIN: ‘F— THE PACKERS!’

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur talks after the playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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“Notice how we said this belongs to the Packers’ president, Ed Policy. Well, the Packers’ former president from the back in the day was a man by the name of Bob Harlan,” Schefter explained. “Bob Harlan’s son, Brian Harlan, represents John Harbaugh. John Harbaugh is a Midwestern guy, who has a home in the Upper Peninsula, and a lot of people around the league have been wondering if the Packers decide to go in a different direction, if all of a sudden the Green Bay Packers might fall to the top of John Harbaugh’s list as the top available choice for him.

“This has been a wild, crazy coaching cycle, and we may be just scratching the surface.”

Green Bay Packers’ Matthew Golden celebrates his touchdown against the Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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Green Bay finished 9-7-1 this season. LaFleur is 76-40-1 as the Packers’ head coach with a 3-6 record in the playoffs.

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Crossroads students begin push to make pickleball a varsity sport

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Crossroads students begin push to make pickleball a varsity sport

For brothers Boone and Ford Casady, pickleball is more than just a game, it is a passion. The 16-year-old twins are among the top junior players on the planet, but more important to them than trophies and medals is a desire to spread the fastest-growing sport in America to high schools and colleges.

Their vision, combined with the persistence of fellow Crossroads sophomores Samantha Leeds and Hannah Carey, has birthed the L.A. High School Pickleball League, the first of its kind in California. The first match will be Jan. 24 at the Santa Monica Pickleball Center.

Teams from Crossroads, Brentwood, Windward, Palisades, Notre Dame and Santa Monica Pacifica Christian will participate, and possibly several more.

Matches will be biweekly with all schools competing at the same shared location. The match format is loosely based on high school tennis with three doubles lines, one singles line and “friendlies” — ensuring that beginners, alternates and developing players all get playing time. The season culminates with semifinals and a league championship.

“My brother and I grew up playing competitive tennis and baseball,” Boone said. “We’d been playing tennis since we were about 3 and in eighth grade we moved to Barcelona to train at the Emilio Sánchez Academy for tennis. We were first introduced to pickleball earlier while we were in Mexico playing with friends and we immediately fell in love with it. We entered our first tournament in Palm Springs and realized we’d found something special.

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“We noticed that so many juniors were training and competing individually but there wasn’t a school-based structure like you have in other varsity sports. We decided to change that. We wanted girls to be involved from the start — it was important to us that the league be coed and inclusive to reflect how competitive girls pickleball already is. We’re also co-founders of the Crossroads Pickleball Club along with Samantha and Hannah and we’re working to grow participation on campus and across L.A.”

The four founders of the L.A. High School Pickleball League play mixed doubles.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Unlike most youth sports initiatives, the league was not created by adults or administrators, it was built entirely by students. Over the last two years they have coordinated with the Southern Section for recognition and guidance, worked with Crossroads administrators to establish pickleball as a school-sanctioned varsity sport, organized early intramural and inter-school tournaments, built communication networks among local high schools and helped other schools begin turning their club teams into varsity programs.

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“In high school sports, students usually join a system that already exists,” Leeds said. “With pickleball, we had to build the system ourselves.”

Boone defeated Ford to earn the No. 1 seed at the 2024 Junior PPA National Championships, but they met again for the gold medal and this time Ford won. They also took the gold in doubles and finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the country in the 14s division.

At the 2025 Junior PPA National Championships, the brothers took silver and bronze in the Boys U16 singles and partnered for silver in doubles. They were also presented the Community Assist Award to acknowledge their initiative in starting the Los Angeles High School Pickleball League. They are straight-A students and play shortstop and third base on the varsity baseball team.

So far, their toughest competition in pickleball has been each other.

“Boone and I practice together all the time and we play against each other constantly,” Ford said. “Boone knows the part of my game to attack and I know what to do against him so we always have great matches. No matter who wins, we hug it out at the end.”

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The siblings played in their first pro event of the year Saturday — the Masters Tournament in Palm Springs.

Leeds and Carey were introduced to pickleball in eighth grade.

“I remember leaving PE after playing pickleball, heading to soccer practice and honestly feeling kind of bored,” Leeds recalled. “All I wanted to do was keep playing pickleball.”

“Samantha and I got randomly paired to do pickleball in PE,” said Carey, who lost her home in the Palisades fire. “Most kids would sit out, look bored, or try to skip but as the pickleball nets went up our peers were engaged, exhilarated and connecting over their love of pickleball. So Samantha and I started making petitions to create a league.”

The girls, then 13, had a meeting with Anthony Locke, head of school at Crossroads, and made a pitch deck. Using her skills as a filmmaker Leeds created a short sizzle video to help show what pickleball could look like as a real school sport.

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“We were told that forming school-based teams and leagues is a necessary first step towards eventual CIF recognition,” she said. “I created a Varsity Team Starter Kit, outlining the steps we used to establish pickleball as a school-sanctioned varsity sport. Leaders at other schools are actively using it to establish their own teams.”

Added Carey: “We connected with Boone and Ford, which was such an honor considering their talent and passion for the sport. We decided to join forces and use our resources together to further our process of creating a league.”

The inaugural season runs from January to March but beginning in the 2026-27 school year the plan is to move to the traditional winter sports window, November through January.

“Pickleball has the potential to become a true varsity sport at both the high school and college levels,” Boone said. “We’re so excited to help push it forward.”

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US figure skating power couple makes history with record breaking seventh national championship

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US figure skating power couple makes history with record breaking seventh national championship

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U.S. figure skating stars Madison Chock and Evan Bates made history on Saturday with their record-setting seventh U.S. Figure Skating title in their final competition before the Milan Cortina Olympics.

The three-time reigning world champions, performing a flamenco-style dance to a version of the Rolling Stones hit “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi Western show “Westworld,” produced a season-best free skate and finished with 228.87 points.

“The feeling that we got from the audience today was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before,” Chock said.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of United States perform during ISU World Figure Skating Championships – Boston, at TD Garden,  on March 28, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts.  (Jurij Kodrun – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)

They’ll be the heavy favorites to win gold next month in Italy.

“I felt so much love and joy,” Chock continued, “and I’m so grateful for this moment.”

U.S. Figure Skating will announce its selections on Sunday.

Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik were second with 213.65 points and Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were third with 206.95, making those two pairs the likely choices to join Chock and Bates on the American squad for the upcoming Winter Games.

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The men’s medals also were to be decided on Saturday, though two-time world champion Ilia Malinin had built such a lead after his short program that the self-styled “Quad God” would have to stumble mightily to miss out on a fourth consecutive title.

The U.S. also has qualified the maximum of three men’s spots for the Winter Games, and competition is tight between second-place Tomoko Hiwatashi, fan favorite Jason Brown, Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov to round out the nationals podium.

The last time Chock and Bates competed in the Olympics in 2022 in Beijing, they watched their gold initially go to an opponent who was later disqualified for doping violations.

Chock and Bates initially had to settle for team silver with their American teammates on the podium at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Team Russia and Kamila Valieva, who was 15 at the time, stood above them with their gold medals. 

It wasn’t until the end of January 2024, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Valieva guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, when Chock, Bates and the U.S. were declared the rightful 2022 gold medalists. 

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UN URGES COUNTRIES TO HONOR TRUCE DURING WINTER OLYMPICS, NOT DENY VISAS TO ANY NATION’S ATHLETES

Madison Chock and Evan Bates compete in championship ice dance at the U.S. figure skating championships Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio.  (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance, during an anti-doping test at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in December 2021. She was suspended for four years and stripped of all competitive results since that date.

Chock and Bates spoke about what their message to Valieva would be today during an interview at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee media summit in October. 

“It’s hard to, I think, imagine what a 15-year-old has gone through and under that kind of situation,” Bates said. “And I know how stressful it is, being an elite athlete as an adult, as a 36-year-old. And I think that grace should be given to humans across the board. And we can never really know the full situation, at least from our point of view. … I genuinely don’t know what I would say to her.”

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Chock added, “I would just wish her well like as I would. I think life is short. And, at the end of the day, we’re all human just going through our own human experience together. And regardless of what someone has or hasn’t done and how it has affected you, I think it’s important to remember we’re humans as a collective, and we’re all here for this, our one moment on earth, at the same time. And I just wish people to have healthy, happy lives, full of people that love them.”

Chock and Bates had to wait more than two years after the initial Olympics to get their rightful gold medals, and they were finally presented with them during a ceremony at the Paris Olympics last summer.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA perform in the Gala Exhibition during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Nagoya at IG Arena on December 07, 2025 in Nagoya, Japan.  (Atsushi Tomura – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)

Chock, Bates and teammates Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou were given a specialized gold medal ceremony to receive the medals in front of more than 13,000 fans. 

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Chock and Bates became the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world championships in nearly three decades in March when they defeated Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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