The Sports Report: Chargers are routed at home by Seahawks

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Jeff Miller: He hobbled out of the locker room Sunday on an ankle that had been screaming at him since a tackle late in the fourth quarter.

“Brutal,” Austin Ekeler said, and this was the Charger who had just scored two touchdowns and totaled 127 yards from scrimmage.

The rest of Ekeler’s teammates were equally beaten up or - in a couple very notable cases - even worse, the Chargers falling to Seattle 37-23 at SoFi Stadium.

With a chance stay even with Kansas City in the AFC West and remain a half game behind conference-leading Buffalo, the Chargers fell behind 17-0 in the first quarter, failed to find any consistency and ultimately faded.

Brutal, indeed, for a team that genuinely limped into its off week with its three-game winning streak in tatters and numerous body parts in need of rest - if not repair.

Along with a football game, the Chargers also lost cornerback J.C. Jackson to a knee injury that coach Brandon Staley called “significant” and wide receiver Mike Williams to an ankle injury of unknown severity pending further testing.

“We’ve had to fight really hard to be 4-3,” Staley said. “We’ve endured a lot…The reason why we’re 4-3 and not 5-2 is because we didn’t play good enough football today. We didn’t coach well enough today.

“What we need to do is get rested, take advantage of the bye and get rested, and then come back, as a team, and really focus on playing the way we’re capable of playing. Today certainly was not it.”

Quarterback Justin Herbert had an interception and a fumble that led to 10 early points for the Seahawks.

The Chargers were unable to rush the ball against the NFL’s 31st-ranked run defense, Staley saying, “We got beat upfront.”

Defensively, the Chargers allowed Seattle to convert five of nine third downs and also gave the Seahawks four more first downs via penalty.

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Column: Healthy dose of reality for injury-ravaged Chargers — They’re mediocre

LAKERS

From Dan Woike: LeBron James heard the questions, the ones about decision-making and shot selection and late-game offensive philosophy and knew what everyone was getting at.

His team had lost to the Warriors on Tuesday, the Clippers on Thursday and now the Trail Blazers on Sunday.

And if it didn’t feel like a crisis before; it kinda does now.

“I feel like this is an interview of trying to set me up to say something. I can tell that you guys are in the whole ‘Russell Westbrook category’ right now,” James said three questions into his postgame news conference. “I don’t like to lose. I hate to lose at anything. I don’t care what happens throughout the course of my season or throughout the course of my career, I hate to lose. And especially the way we had this game. But give credit to Portland.

“You guys can write about Russ and all the things you want to try to talk about Russ, but I’m not up here to do that. I won’t do it. I’ve said it over and over. …That’s not who I am.”

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Lakers ‘should be mad and frustrated’: Takeaways from loss to Trail Blazers

CLIPPERS

From Andrew Greif: Kawhi Leonard and Paul George approached midcourt before tipoff Sunday evening inside Crypto.com Arena, one stoic, the other about to speak. The Clippers’ stars had been asked to address the crowd before the team’s home opener, and George kept his remarks brief as Leonard nodded along.

“Why not us?” George said. “Let’s go get it this year.”

All Sunday proved, as the Clippers struggled to keep pace with Phoenix during a 112-95 loss, in their second game in as many nights, was that before the Clippers can dream of getting a title, they have to get a few questions answered first.

Who will start at point guard?

Though Reggie Jackson started his third consecutive game, John Wall replaced him with the starters to open the third quarter, with Wall nearly matching Jackson’s minutes.

UCLA FOOTBALL

From Ben Bolch: It may not have been the granddaddy of crushing losses for an unbeaten UCLA football team, but it certainly earned a spot on the family tree of disappointment.

Over the last quarter century, the “Hurricane Bowl” against Miami in 1998 stands alone among soul-sucking defeats. Edgerrin James busting off one long run after another and the Brad Melsby phantom fumble will always occupy the darkest of Bruins’ nightmares after the team bungled a chance to appear in the first Bowl Championship Series title game.

Other cry-till-you-laugh losses that ended hopes of unbeaten seasons followed.

UCLA won its first six games in 2001, rising to No. 4 in the national rankings, before falling to Stanford and going 7-4.

UCLA started 8-0 in 2005, earning a No. 7 ranking, before a desert disaster against Arizona preceded an eventual appearance in the Sun Bowl.

UCLA posted five consecutive victories to open 2013, rising to No. 9, before a loss to Stanford was compounded the following week by a loss to Oregon.

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College football review: Are refs needling USC, Texas and other expansion defectors?

AP Top 25: LSU re-enters at No. 18; USC back in top 10 while UCLA slips to No. 12

DUCKS

Dominik Kubalik had a goal and two assists as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Ducks 5-1 on Sunday.

Dylan Larkin, David Perron, Joe Veleno and Elmer Soderblom also scored to help Detroit improve to 3-0-2. Ville Husso had 32 saves to improve to 4-0-0 in his career against Anaheim.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1943 — The Green Bay Packers grab nine interceptions, seven off Frank Sinkwich, in a 27-6 victory over the Detroit Lions.

1948 — Chicago’s Bill Blackburn returns two interceptions for touchdowns to highlight a 35-point third quarter as the Cardinals beat the Boston Yanks 49-27.

1959 — Wilt Chamberlain plays in his first NBA game with the Philadelphia Warriors. Chamberlain plays his entire career — 1,045 consecutive games — without a disqualification.

1965 — Fran Tarkenton of the Minnesota Vikings passes for 407 yards and three touchdowns in a thrilling 42-41 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

1976 — The New York Marathon is run through the streets of the five boroughs for the first time. Bill Rodgers wins the race in 2:10:10, beating Olympic gold and silver medalist Frank Shorter. Miki Gorman wins the women’s division in 2:39:11, the 70th-fastest time over all.

1992 — The Toronto Blue Jays take baseball’s championship outside the United States for the first time, beating the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in 11 innings in Game 6 of the World Series.

1998 — Ricky Williams of Texas becomes the leading scorer in NCAA Division I history with 428 points, scoring two touchdowns in a 30-20 victory over Baylor.

2003 — Se Ri Pak becomes the first woman to make the two-round cut in a men’s golf tournament since Babe Zaharias in 1945. Pak shoots a 2-over 74 on the Korean tour for a 2-over 146 halfway through the $250,000 SBS Super Tournament. Pak finishes tied for 29th place.

2008 — Make it 9-for-9 for the unstoppable Zenyatta. The 4-year-old filly, ridden by Mike Smith, stays perfect in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic at Santa Anita, roaring from last to first around the turn to win the race.

2010 — Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall ties an NFL single-game record with four interceptions, including a 92-yard interception-return touchdown, in the Redskins’ 17-14 win at Chicago.

2012 — Pablo Sandoval becomes the fourth player to hit three home runs in a World Series game to lead the San Francisco Giants over the Detroit Tigers 8-3 in the series opener.

2013 — A majority-female officiating crew works a college football game in an apparent first. The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference bills it as the first time it’s happened in an NCAA game. Head linesman Yvonda Lewis, line judge Tangela Mitchell, field judge Sebrina Brunson and back judge Krystle Apellaniz are part of the seven-person crew for the Division II game between Miles and Lane. Miles wins 38-26.

2015 — Montreal beats the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 to extend their season-opening winning streak to nine games. The Canadiens break the NHL record for most consecutive regulation wins to begin a season, set by Buffalo in 1975-76.

2015 — Lance Austin returns a blocked field goal 78 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the game, giving Georgia Tech a stunning 22-16 upset of No. 9 Florida State.

2021 — Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady becomes the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 600 touchdowns in a 38-3 win over the Chicago Bears.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Pablo Sandoval hits three homers in one World Series game. Watch and listen here.