The Sports Report: Some USC players can’t wait for the Las Vegas Bowl
Howdy, I’m your host, Austin Knoblauch, filling in for Houston Mitchell, who’s probably busy trying to calculate the Dodgers’ luxury tax penalty for 2025. Let’s get right to the news.
From Ryan Kartje: When he first arrived at USC last January, Bryan Jackson was still a few months short of his 18th birthday. The bright-eyed freshman running back had graduated from high school early, in the hope that he’d hit the ground running at USC. And right away it was clear how quickly that ground was moving beneath his feet.
But Jackson, a 230-pound power back, resolved not to let the speed of it all swallow him up. He watched closely as Woody Marks, the Trojans’ workhorse and Jackson’s roommate on the road, worked his way through a stellar season. He took note of Marks’ every move, how he arrived early and stayed late, how he took care of his body, how he watched film, filing it all away for when his moment finally came.
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It might have seemed then as if Jackson would have a while to wait, what with Marks leading the way and standout sophomore Quinten Joyner waiting in the wings. But Marks opted out of the bowl game, and Joyner entered the transfer portal, and suddenly, the keys to USC’s backfield for Friday’s Las Vegas Bowl against Texas A&M were in the hands of one of the youngest players on USC’s roster, a freshman with barely 20 carries to his name.
“It’s an opportunity for me,” Jackson said recently, “one of the biggest of my life.”
Similar circumstances are playing out all over college football this month, with the transfer portal ravaging rosters and potential NFL prospects opting out of bowls en masse. At USC, 19 players have already entered the transfer portal, while three more — Marks, center Jonah Monheim and cornerback Jaylin Smith — chose to skip the bowl game in lieu of preparing for the draft.
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NFL
From Sam Farmer: The NFL single-season rushing record has stood for 40 years, far longer than Saquon Barkley has been on this planet.
But now, with two games to play, the Philadelphia Eagles running back is 268 yards from eclipsing the mark of Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, who set the league record of 2,105 with the Rams in 1984.
Barkley, 27, who signed with the Eagles last offseason after spending the first part of his career with the rival New York Giants, is also 162 yards from becoming the ninth player to run for 2,000 yards in a season.
The other seven are Adrian Peterson (2,097 with Minnesota in 2012), Jamal Lewis (2,066 with Baltimore in 2003), Barry Sanders (2,053 with Detroit in 1997), Derrick Henry (2027 with Tennessee in 2020), Terrell Davis (2,008 with Denver in 1998), Chris Johnson (2,006 with Tennessee in 2009) and O.J. Simpson (2,003 with Buffalo in 1973).
The Eagles finish the regular season with home games against the Dallas Cowboys and the Giants.
Dickerson spoke to The Times this week about Barkley, running backs in general, the Rams and the thought of his longstanding record going away:
How do you feel about the possibility of Barkley breaking your single-season rushing record?
I don’t think he’ll break it. But if he breaks it, he breaks it. Do I want him to break it? Absolutely not. I don’t pull no punches on that. But I’m not whining about it. He had 17 games to do it? Hey, football is football. That’s the way I look at it. If he’s fortunate to get over 2,000 yards and get the record, it’s a great record to have.
ALSO: Pete Carroll wants to mentor Caleb Williams, coach Bears and teach at USC? He’s a young 73
DODGERS
From Chuck Schilken: When Gustavo Zermeño Jr. heard about the death of legendary Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela in October, the Los Angeles artist knew what he needed to do.
Paint.
Zermeño had a Dodgers wall in the Mid-City neighborhood, and adding Valenzuela’s image between those of fellow icons Vin Scully and Tommy Lasorda was a welcome distraction from the sad news.
“My way of coping is painting, whether it’s a personal loss or something going on in the family or in a relationship or something.” Zermeño said. “I don’t want to sound cheesy, but it is my way [of] escaping and just really kind of not thinking and just letting go and working. It’s really just my stress reliever, my meditation, all that stuff kind of combined together when I paint.”
Fellow L.A. artist Robert Vargas had already started on his massive Fernandomania mural in Boyle Heights when Valenzuela died at age 63 on Oct. 22. Like Zermeño, Vargas was glad to have been working on something meaningful to help himself and others deal with the loss of such a beloved figure.
CHARGERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The Chargers could get their leading rusher back Saturday against New England as running back J.K. Dobbins was a full participant in practice Thursday.
The running back missed four games while on injured reserve because of a knee injury and is listed as questionable. He would give the Chargers a much-needed boost just as fellow running back Gus Edwards (ankle) was ruled out for the game.
Edwards suffered the injury during last Thursday’s win over the Denver Broncos, Jim Harbaugh said, and reaggravated it during practice. The Chargers coach did not clarify whether the injury was related to the high-ankle sprain that put Edwards on IR earlier this season.
The running backs were expected to be a potent 1-2 punch, but injuries have reduced them to an alternating, tag-team tandem. Edwards is coming off a season-best 68 yards with two touchdowns in 14 carries against the Broncos. Dobbins leads the Chargers with 766 yards and eight touchdowns in 158 carries and was on track to become their first 1,000-yard rusher since 2017 before he tweaked his knee against the Baltimore Ravens.
RAMS
From Gary Klein: It seems like ages ago. Week 2 of the NFL season was in September but for the Rams, the memory remains fresh.
A 41-10 rout by the Arizona Cardinals made it so.
“An ass whuppin’,” defensive lineman Bobby Brown III said this week.
“Embarrassing,” defensive coordinator Chris Shula said.
In all phases.
“We got our butt kicked,” offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said.
The loss dropped the Rams’ record to 0-2 en route to a 1-4 start that had coach Sean McVay’s team on the brink of potential playoff oblivion.
HORSE RACING
From John Cherwa: If you believe in horse racing’s future in California, there is no better place to realize it than opening day at Santa Anita. The day after Christmas is filled with tradition, anticipation and hope. The only thing missing Thursday was snow on top of the San Gabriel mountains that provide one of the most picturesque settings in sports.
Oh, yeah, there was also racing. The marquee name was Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, running in the Grade 1 $300,000 Malibu Stakes. He did not bring his “A” game after an almost 2,000-mile van ride from New Orleans, where he was spending the winter.
He broke well in the seven-furlong dirt contest but never seemed to get his footing and finished last in the six-horse race. Raging Torrent ($7.20), who has won four of seven races this year, rallied to win. Stronghold was second and Imagination was third.
Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. said Mystik Dan “broke good, but it just seemed like we were always chasing. I think shortening up took away from him. After the mile and a quarter [in the Derby], it is tough to go back to seven-eighths. The horse is fine.”
NBA
NHL
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1953 — The Detroit Lions edge the Cleveland Browns 17-16 for the NFL championship. Doak Walker’s extra point, following a 33-yard scoring pass, is the difference.
1959 — The Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants 31-16 in the NFL championship. Three field goals by Pat Summerall give the Giants a 9-7 lead after three periods, but Baltimore’s defensive backfield makes three interceptions that result in scores.
1964 — The Cleveland Browns break out after a scoreless first half with 17 points in the third quarter and go on to beat the Baltimore Colts 27-0 for the NFL title.
1974 — Ohio State junior running back Archie Griffin wins the Heisman Trophy.
1981 — Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky becomes fastest NHLer to get 100 point in a season (his 38th game), with 4 goals and an assist in 10-3 win over visiting Los Angeles Kings.
1987 — Steve Largent of the Seattle Seahawks becomes the NFL’s all-time reception leader in the Seahawks’ 41-20 loss to Kansas City. Largent’s six catches gives him 752, surpassing the 750 by San Diego’s Charlie Joiner. Gayle Sierens announcing the game for NBC becomes the first female play-by-play announcer in NFL history.
1999 — Joe Sakic scores his 1,000th career point on a second-period assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche to a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.
2000 — Mario Lemieux makes a remarkable comeback after 3½ years of retirement, scoring a goal and assisting on two others — one on his first pass on his first shift, no less — as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-0.
2005 — Rudy Carpenter passes for 467 yards and four touchdowns as Arizona State holds off Rutgers for a wild 45-40 victory in the Insight Bowl. The teams combine for 1,210 yards, a record for any bowl game.
2008 — Pat White, the most prolific running quarterback in college football history, has the best passing game of his career to lead West Virginia to a 31-30 victory over North Carolina in the Meineke Bowl. The senior is voted MVP of a bowl for the third straight year and finishes 4-0 in postseason games, the first quarterback to do so.
2010 — Niklas Kronwall scores the game-winner with 1:18 remaining in overtime and Chris Osgood stops a season-high 46 shots in the Detroit Red Wings’ 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche to become the 10th goalie in NHL history to reach 400 wins.
2015 — Carolina’s bid for an undefeated season ends when Julio Jones’ dramatic 70-yard touchdown reception powered the Atlanta Falcons to a 20-13 victory over Cam Newton and the 14-1 Panthers.
2015 — Kansas City beat Cleveland 17-13 for its ninth consecutive victory and clinches a playoff spot when Pittsburgh loses to Baltimore. The Chiefs and 1986 Jets are the only teams in NFL history with a nine-game win streak and five-game losing streak in the same season.
2017 — Raheem Sterling scores to give Manchester City 1-0 win over Newcastle United at St. James’ Park; EPL record 18th consecutive win; streak ends with 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace 31/12.
2022 — Luka Dončić becomes the first player to register a 60-21-10 triple-double in NBA history as the Dallas Mavericks beat the New York Knicks, 126-121; first 60-point game in Mavs franchise history.
Compiled by the Associated Press
And finally
Seventeen Los Angeles Times staff writers and columnists selected a story they wrote in 2024 that was their favorite. You can read (or read again) some of our very best journalism of the year here.
Until next time...
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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