The Sports Report: Reggie Bush is going to sue the NCAA

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

From J. Brady McCollough: More than 13 years after the NCAA issued debilitating sanctions against USC, Reggie Bush is ready for a fight with college sports’ governing body.

Bush’s attorneys say he is holding a news conference Wednesday at the Coliseum to announce he plans to file a defamation suit against the NCAA, the organization that alleged he received improper benefits from a sports marketing agent while dazzling fans as a star running back at USC.

“The lawsuit is based on the NCAA maliciously attacking his character through a completely false and highly offensive statement that was widely reported in the media and substantially and irreparably damaged his reputation,” Bush’s attorneys Levi G. McCathern and Ty M. Sheaks said in a statement.

“Specifically, on July 28, 2021, the NCAA ... falsely issued a statement to reporters that because of Mr. Bush’s prior involvement in a ‘pay-for-play arrangement’ the NCAA would not consider restoring his collegiate records that it vacated in 2010, which subsequently resulted in Mr. Bush having to return his Heisman Trophy [the first player in history to do so]. Within less than a day, this false statement was republished by no less than 20 different media organizations and circulated to readers around the world.”

Continue reading here

————

From J. Brady McCollough: Lincoln Riley’s USC quarterback succession plan is now laid out all the way until the fall of 2026.

Julian Lewis, the No. 1 overall player in the 2026 class, according to 247Sports.com’s composite rankings, committed to USC on Tuesday morning.

Lewis is a sophomore at Carrollton (Ga.) High School with offers from every big school in the country. He was the MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year in 2022, leading Carrollton to the state championship game with a 14-1 record.

After USC starter Caleb Williams became the third quarterback Riley led to a Heisman Trophy, it is no surprise that a talent like Lewis is drawn to the Trojans.

Williams is expected to go to the NFL after this upcoming season, and the expectation is that Malachi Nelson, the five-star quarterback from Los Alamitos, will be next up to carry on the Heisman lineage. Nelson would have to beat veteran backup Miller Moss to win the starting job.

USC does not have a quarterback committed for the 2024 and 2025 classes. That will surely happen.

Continue reading here

DODGERS

From Jack Harris: The Dodgers might already have their postseason position locked up, starting this week with a 12-game lead in the National League West and a nine-game edge for a first-round bye.

But, the team still has plenty of questions to answer between now and October.

One of the bigger ones: Exactly which left-handed reliever they can trust most in their bullpen.

That predicament was highlighted, circled and underlined in painful fashion Tuesday, when top left-hander Caleb Ferguson gave up two inherited runs, then three more of his own, in a disastrous seventh inning against the Cleveland Guardians.

Once up by three runs early, the meltdown cost the Dodgers in an eventual 8-3 loss at Progressive Field.

Continue reading here

Dodgers box score

All MLB box scores

NL WEST STANDINGS

Dodgers, 76-48
Arizona, 66-61, 11.5 GB
San Francisco, 65-61, 12 GB
San Diego, 60-67, 17.5 GB
Colorado, 48-77, 28.5 GB

WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify

Philadelphia, 69-57
Chicago, 65-60
Arizona, 66-61

San Francisco, 65-61 0.5 GB
Cincinnati, 65-61, 0.5 GB
Miami, 65-62, 1 GB
San Diego, 60-67, 6 GB

For full standings, go here

ANGELS

From Sarah Valenzuela: It was the first time in a while that fans at Angel Stadium heard the opening tune of “Super Gremlin” for a Mike Trout at-bat. The three-time most valuable player, with a helmet on his head, an extra padded batting glove on his left hand and a bat in the other, approached the plate. The crowd serenaded him with cheers.

The Angels’ star center fielder, whose return had been anticipated since he had surgery to remove a fractured hamate bone last month, was activated off the injured list and returned in Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

“Long time coming, just real excited to get out there with the guys,” Trout said before the game.

His first at-bats resulted in a pop out, a double play and a strikeout before his first hit, a single, in the bottom of the eighth inning. An immediate return to smashing home runs was not really to be expected. He faced just one day of live pitching, last week, in his ramp-up to return.

Continue reading here

Angels box score

All MLB box scores

AL WEST STANDINGS

Texas, 72-53
Houston, 72-55, 1 GB
Seattle, 71-55, 1.5 GB
Angels, 61-65, 11.5 GB
Oakland, 36-90, 36.5 GB

WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify

Tampa Bay, 76-51
Houston, 72-55
Seattle, 71-55

Toronto, 70-56, 1 GB
Boston, 66-60, 5 GB
Angels, 61-65, 10 GB
New York, 60-65, 10.5 GB

For full standings, go here

SOCCER

From Kevin Baxter: The just-concluded World Cup was the best played, most exciting and most competitive women’s soccer tournament in history.

That’s not hyperbole, it’s fact. We know that because … well, it was obvious to anyone who watched even a fraction of the games. But we also know that because FIFA president Gianni Infantino told us so.

“Fantastic, fantastic World Cup. I have to say the best, the greatest, the most magic FIFA Women’s World Cup ever,” Infantino said.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t all he said. Infantino is a bumbling orator and some of the things he went on to say would have been better left unsaid.

We’ll get to that in a minute. First, the soccer.

Continue reading here

LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES

From Eric Sondheimer: El Segundo’s bats finally came alive on Tuesday at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

Facing an elimination game, El Segundo came away with a 9-3 victory over Rhode Island. El Segundo will face Tennessee in another elimination game on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

El Segundo took advantage of eight wild pitches while delivering nine hits. Lucas Keldorf had a two-run single during a three-run third inning to open a 7-0 lead. He finished with two hits and two RBIs. Brody Brooks hit a two-run home run in the fifth, his second of the World Series, and finished with two hits.

Louis Lappe started on the mound for El Segundo, striking out nine in 3 2/3 innings. He wouldn’t be available to pitch again until Saturday. Max Baker and Colby Lee combined to finish the game in relief.

Continue reading here

————

From Steve Henson: Against steep odds, the Little League team representing Utah in the Western Regionals two weeks ago again included a member of the Oliverson family — this time Brogan.

A year ago it was older brother Easton Oliverson, whose team won the regional title and advanced to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., the dream of just about every bat-and-glove-wielding 12-year-old.

But Easton instead went through what his father, Jace, called “our worst nightmare” when two days before the first game he fell from a top bunk bed in the dormitories where teams stay and fractured his skull. Easton had three head surgeries and, his father said, will suffer residual effects of the injuries for the rest of his life.

Easton Oliverson, left, and his father, Jace Oliverson, admire the Don Drysdale-signed bat that Frank Randazzo is holding in his Utah home. Oxnard resident Buddy Salinas sent the bat to Randazzo to give to Easton. (Frank and Angela Randazzo)
Easton has been comforted by an outpouring of support, including a tweet from the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and an extraordinary campaign from Buddy Salinas, an Oxnard man and former Little League standout who has devoted his life to helping people in need since overcoming life-threatening liver, kidney and bladder problems.

Salinas rounded up memorabilia for Easton including a bat signed by Dodgers Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale and a ball signed by St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado. He also attached a huge banner to a forklift in the Oxnard Power Machinery Center adjacent to the Ventura Freeway that asked for thoughts and prayers for Team Easton.

Continue reading here

SPARKS

The Sparks knew this season was a rebuilding year for a franchise looking to regain its championship pedigree. They just didn’t count on a spate of injuries and illness that has sometimes limited them to eight available on a 12-player roster.

“It’s a vicious cycle when you have adversity,” said coach Curt Miller, in his first season with the Sparks after leading the Connecticut Sun to last year’s WNBA Finals. “The teaching has been less than I would hope. You don’t have the amount of time on the practice floor and the reps.”

The Sparks are 13-18 and last week handed the WNBA-leading Las Vegas Aces only their fourth loss of the season. Riding a four-game winning streak, the Sparks lead the Chicago Sky by 1 1/2 games for the eighth and final spot in the playoffs, which begin Sept. 13.

Continue reading here

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1898 — Malcolm Whitman wins the men’s singles title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championship.

1926 — Molla Bjurstedt Mallory beats Elizabeth Ryan to capture her seventh singles title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships.

1969 — Audrey McElmory becomes the first American to win the world road cycling championship which is held in Brno, Czechoslovakia. McElmury overcomes rain and a fall during the fourth lap of the 62-kilometer race to beat Britain’s Bernadette Swinnerton by one minute and 10 seconds.

2004 — The U.S. softball team wins its third straight gold medal with a nearly unblemished romp through the Olympics, capped by a 5-1 victory over Australia. Lisa Fernandez pitches a four-hitter and Crystl Bustos homers twice in the Americans’ best all-around game of the tournament.

2008 — The star-studded American women’s basketball team led by the likes of Lisa Leslie, Sue Bird & Diana Taurasi win the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics with a convincing 92-65 win over Australia.

2008 — At the Beijing Games, Angel Matos of Cuba and his coach are banned for life after the taekwondo athlete kicks the referee in the face following his bronze-medal match disqualification against Kazakhstan’s Arman Chilmanov. Matos is declared the loser for taking too much injury time after hurting his leg. Matos angrily questions the call, pushes a judge, then pushes and kicks referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden.

2012 — Lance Armstrong chooses not to pursue arbitration in the drug case brought against him by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. That’s his last option in his bitter fight with USADA and his decision sets the stage for the titles to be stripped and his name to be all but wiped from the record books of the sport he once ruled.

2015 — Ohio State becomes the first unanimous preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll. The defending national champion Buckeyes, receive all 61 first-place votes from the media panel in the rankings.

2015 — Usain Bolt wins the 100-meter race at the World Championships in Beijing, edging Justin Gaitlin by 0.01 seconds.

2020 — Takuma Sato of Japan wins his second Indianapolis 500 under yellow caution flag after a crash with three laps remaining.

—Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally...

Angel Matos kicks the referee in the face at the Olympics. Watch and listen here.