UCLA moves up in the CFP rankings

Undefeated UCLA earned its highest College Football Playoff ranking Tuesday night, ascending to No. 4 in the latest top 25 released Tuesday night.

The Bruins (9-0) are coming off a decisive 34-20 win at Minnesota and moved up four spots.

UCLA will host Illinois on Friday, at Michigan on Nov. 21 and at the Rose Bowl against crosstown rival USC.

The Trojans (7-2) are coming off a bye week and were ranked No. 18, moving up two spots.

USC will play at No. 9 Indiana on Saturday and host Maryland Nov. 21 before what could be an especially high stakes rivalry showdown with UCLA.

Players union can’t walk away from cap

From Bill Shaikin: In the hours before Game 1 of the World Series, as the Violent Femmes played “Kiss Off” before their hometown fans in Milwaukee, Bruce Meyer talked about getting blown off by baseball’s owners.

He didn’t put it quite that way. But Meyer, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Assn., expressed his frustration that months of collective bargaining over dozens of issues has boiled down to what he sees as one gigantic, inflexible roadblock: “They’ve made clear they’re not willing to talk about anything outside of their cap system.”

The league and its owners are willing to talk about key issues for the union: higher minimum salaries, fewer years to free agency, an end to the qualifying offers that can dampen the market for free agents. But the price would be a salary cap.

The players have made clear they’re not willing to consider the salary cap that owners insist would underpin everything else in what would be a radical new economic system. That could backfire: a wonky provision in labor law could give the owners the option to adopt a salary cap no matter what the players want.

With three weeks left before the collective bargaining agreement expires — and with the owners planning to lock out players immediately thereafter — player representative and former Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs called the negotiations“a complete waste of time” and “a charade.” He told the Philadelphia Inquirer the owners continue to present proposals “with the salary cap attached to every single proposal.”

So why wouldn’t the union just walk away from the bargaining table and tell the owners to call when they get serious?

Brandon Gomes discusses Dodgers’ offseason plans

From Maddie Lee: Standing outside of a packed conference room, half a day into General Managers meetings, Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes said none of his conversations leading up to or since arriving in Las Vegas had painted a clear picture of how the free agent or trade markets would play out over this month.

The Dodgers are going to take a “business as usual” approach to the offseason, prepared to react whenever those markets reveal themselves. But even if Gomes and president of baseball operations Andrew Freidman aren’t ready to predict how threat of a lockout — expected to go into effect when the current CBA expires on Dec. 1 — will affect their offseason, it will surely color this transaction window.

The Dodgers don’t have any gaping holes to fill this winter, but they still need to fortify their roster if they hope to reclaim their spot at the top of the league.

Their most pressing needs are their bullpen and bench, areas that often draw less fanfare. But the Dodgers also have a track record of splashy offseason moves.

Here are takeaways from Gomes’ media availability Tuesday:

Rams quiet at trade deadline

From Gary Klein: High-profile trades before the season showed their fans and the rest of the NFL that with Super Bowl LXI to be played at SoFi Stadium, the Rams were unquestionably all in.

But as the league’s trade deadline came and went Tuesday, the injury-ravaged Rams made only one minor move, essentially saying they’ll handle this all internally.

While the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers added veteran receiver Keenan Allen, the Rams — with Davante Adams on injured reserve and Puka Nacua expected to be sidelined for an extended period — brought back receiver Xavier Smith, whom they released in October.

That is a far cry from moves the Rams made in previous Super Bowl seasons. In 2018, they traded for edge rusher Dante Fowler Jr. In 2021, they signed free-agent receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and traded for edge rusher Von Miller.

Chargers make one deal

From Sam Farmer: The Chargers traded linebacker Daiyan Henley to the Denver Broncos on Tuesday for a 2027 fourth-round draft pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick, the Chargers announced.

Henley, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, was dealt just before the NFL’s 1 p.m. PST trade deadline. He has been a defensive fixture for the Chargers, who at 0-8 are the NFL’s only winless team.

The Chargers had indicated that they were not planning any dramatic moves at the deadline, such as trading defensive lineman Khalil Mack, injured safety Derwin James Jr. or receiver Ladd McConkey.

Clippers routed by Suns

Jordan Goodwin scored 18 points in his return from a calf injury, Devin Booker added 17 and the Phoenix Suns cruised past the Clippers 133-110 on Tuesday night.

Phoenix shot 22 of 43 (51%) from three-point range and had seven players score in double digits, including five who came off the bench. Luke Kennard had 14 points, Jalen Green scored 13 and Collin Gillespie added 12 points and eight assists while Khaman Maluach contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Suns had a 17-point halftime lead and pushed the advantage to 91-59 with four minutes left in the third quarter. They have a 3-2 record so far on their season-long, seven-game homestand.

USC women win by 61 points

Saniyah Hall and Jazzy Davidson scored 24 points each, JuJu Watkins added 20 and No. 3 USC routed Charleston 105-44 on Tuesday night.

The Trojans (3-0) have scored 100 points or more in each win.

Hall had a 7-0 run of her own in the third quarter, capped by a three-pointer that started on the other end with Davidson’s block and defensive rebound. USC then ran off nine in a row, with Hall scoring four around Davidson’s steal and fast break layin.

Davidson and Watkins combined to score USC’s final eight points and send the Trojans into the fourth leading 86-35. Sitaya Fagan had nine rebounds and Hall had eight as USC controlled the boards, 52-36.

Kings shut out by Nashville

Filip Forsberg scored two goals, Juuse Saros made 30 saves in his 28th career shutout and the Nashville Predators extended their winning streak to five games with a 3-0 victory over the Kings on Tuesday night.

Nils Hoglander had two assists and Adam Wilsby got an empty-net goal in the Predators’ opener of a five-game West Coast trip. Saros finished his first shutout of the season with 13 saves in the third period against the Kings’ improved effort.

Anton Forsberg stopped 27 shots for the Kings, who were shut out for the first time this season. They dropped to 2-3-0 on their seven-game homestand with back-to-back losses.

Former Angels catcher Bob Boone dies

From Steve Henson: Bob Boone, a four-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner who spent much of his career with the Angels, has died, his son Bret announced Tuesday via social media. He was 78. No cause of death was shared.

The sturdy catcher was the middle man in one of the most accomplished three-generation Major League Baseball families. He caught more games than all but two catchers in history.

Boone’s father, Ray, and his sons Aaron and Bret also enjoyed successful playing careers. But Bob’s stood out primarily because he was as durable as a cast-iron skillet, catching 2,225 games in 19 seasons.

This day in sports history

1911 — Carlisle Indian School of Carlisle, Pa., led by Jim Thorpe, beats nationally ranked Harvard 18-15 before 25,000 in Cambridge, Mass. Thorpe scores all the points for Carlisle, a touchdown, extra point and four field goals.

1939 — Texas Tech and Centenary (La.) play to a 0-0 tie in a torrential downpour in Shreveport, La. There are an NCAA-record 77 punts in the game (39 by Tech and 38 by Centenary).

1944 — The New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 to end their NHL record of 25 straight games without a win (0-21-4) over two seasons.

1978 — Eddie Lee Ivery rushes for 356 yards to lead Georgia Tech to a 42-21 victory over Air Force.

1981 — The Minnesota North Stars score eight goals in the second period of a 15-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.

1981 — Dodgers starter Fernando Valenzuela becomes first MLB rookie to win a Cy Young Award; Milwaukee Brewers’ Rollie Fingers takes AL Award.

1995 — Eddie George rushes for a school-record 314 yards in 36 carries and scores three TDs as Ohio State routs Illinois 41-3.

2001 — In his sixth career start, Shaun Alexander has 266 yards rushing in 35 carries and an 88-yard touchdown run as Seattle beats AFC West-leading Oakland 34-27.

2002 — The Oakland Raiders, behind record-setting performances, beat the Denver Broncos 34-10. Rich Gannon completes 21 straight passes and Jerry Rice becomes the first player to score 200 career touchdowns.

2004 — Earl Boykins, at 5-foot-5, becomes the smallest player in NBA history to reach 30 points, scoring a career-high 32 in Denver’s 117-109 victory over Detroit.

2006 — Wake Forest beats Florida State 30-0 to become the first team to shutout the Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium in Bobby Bowden’s 31 seasons as coach.

2007 — Brett Favre joins Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks to throw for 60,000 yards in a career during the second quarter of Green Bay’s 34-0 win over Minnesota.

2008 — Jockey Julien Leparoux has a record-tying day at Churchill Downs. The 25-year-old Frenchman ties Hall of Famer Pat Day’s track record with seven wins. Day set the record on June 20, 1984.

2011 — Faulkner defeats Union (Ky.) 95-89 in triple overtime to set an NAIA football record. The 184 combined points, smashes the previous mark of 141 set in 1994 when Southwestern (Kan.) defeated Sterling (Kan.) 79-62.

2012 — Antron Brown becomes the first Black champion in any NHRA pro series when he wins the Top Fuel title at the season-ending event.

2012 — Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez catches the 100th TD pass of his career, a 2-yarder from Matt Ryan in the Falcons 31-27 loss at New Orleans. He adds another score on a 6-yard pass and becomes the first tight end with 100 TD receptions.

2013 — Novak Djokovic claims back-to-back ATP World Tour Finals tennis titles with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the final in London, England.

2017 — Lamar Jackson accounts for four touchdowns and 342 yards while establishing an NCAA milestone in beating Virginia 38-21. Jackson, the Heisman Trophy winner, becomes the first player in NCAA history to post two seasons with 1,000 yards rushing and 3,000 yards passing.

2017 — Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski becomes the first men’s Division I basketball coach to win 1,000 games at one school, when his top-ranked Blue Devils beat Utah Valley 99-69.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time...

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