From Benjamin Royer: The rich get richer.
Kyle Tucker, the prized outfielder who was widely considered the top player available in free agency, reportedly agreed to a four-year, $240-million deal with the Dodgers, according to multiple reports Thursday night.
Shortly after the deal was reported, Tucker posted to his Instagram account, “It’s Time for Dodger baseball.”
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the deal. The $60-million annual value attached to Tucker’s contract would be the second highest in Major League Baseball, if not accounting for deferrals such as Shohei Ohtani’s record-setting contract two seasons ago.
ESPN also reported that Tucker will receive opt outs in 2027 and 2028, and a $64-million signing bonus — while $30 million of his four-year contract will be deferred.
Despite dealing with a fractured right hand and a calf strain last season with the Cubs, the left-handed slugger slashed .266/.377/.464 with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs. Seventeen of his home runs came before the All-Star break, a sign of injuries bogging down his results at the plate.
Clayton Kershaw to pitch in WBC
From Bill Shaikin: On the eve of the Dodgers’ final regular season series at Dodger Stadium, Clayton Kershaw announced his retirement. There would be one final regular season start at home, then one final regular season start at Seattle, then one final World Series appearance at Dodger Stadium, then one final World Series championship celebration at Dodger Stadium.
“I know they’re going to get one more next year,” Kershaw told the crowd, “and I’m going to watch just like all of you.”
This is Hollywood, so get me rewrite. Kershaw did not change his retirement script Thursday, but he did alter it, joining Team USA for the World Baseball Classic.
Defense drags down Lakers again
From Broderick Turner: In a back-and-forth high-scoring affair Thursday night, the Lakers led by 13 points in the second quarter before the Charlotte Hornets rallied to build a 15-point lead in the third quarter.
In the end, the Hornets kept the momentum they stole from the Lakers, rolling to a 135-117 win at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers’ defense couldn’t slow down LaMelo Ball in the second half and it was unable to stop the Hornets’ blistering three-point shooting.
As a result, the Lakers (24-15) lost for the fourth time in five games.
“I mean, it doesn’t matter who it is. Doesn’t matter the team, doesn’t matter the player,” Marcus Smart said. “If they were shooting 20% [before], they’re shooting 50%. And it’s unfortunate, but that’s part of the game. It’s tough. We got to figure it out. We got to play with a little bit more urgency on that end, especially, and kind of impose our will.
“It’s not easy. Especially when you play for the Lakers, you always are the hunted— no matter what.”
USC women fall to Maryland
From Steve Galluzzo: Entering a game unranked for the first time in the JuJu Watkins era seemed to motivate the USC women’s basketball team on Thursday night.
The Women of Troy have not been playing like one of the Top 25 teams in the country of late, but they gave maximum effort despite a 62-55 loss to No. 12 Maryland that stretched their losing streak to four and dropped them to 3-5 in games against ranked opponents this season.
“I thought we played our asses off,” Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. ”That doesn’t guarantee an outcome but I’ll take our effort every day. This one hurts. We laid it on the line but we didn’t do enough to win the game.”
Point-shaving scandal in college basketball
From Steve Henson: Twenty-six people have been charged in connection with an alleged bribery and point-shaving scheme involving men’s basketball games at the NCAA Division I and Chinese professional levels, U.S. Atty. David Metcalf announced Thursday.
The bribery charges carry a maximum sentence of five years and the fraud charges up to 20 years.
The indictment is the latest in a string of illegal gambling and game-fixing episodes in the seven years since the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, the federal statute that restricted legal betting to primarily Nevada.
Rams have eye on Caleb Williams
From Gary Klein: Jared Verse, the 2024 NFL defensive rookie of the year, made the Pro Bowl for the second time after recording 7½ sacks, a number that does not fully represent his impact on opposing offenses.
Under first-year coach Ben Johnson, the Bears averaged 25.9 points and 369.2 yards per game, which ranked ninth and sixth respectively, among 32 NFL teams. The Bears were third in rushing (144.5 yards per game) and 10th in passing (225.1).
Quarterback Caleb Williams passed for 27 touchdowns, with seven interceptions. He was sacked only 24 times, third-fewest in the league behind the Rams and the Denver Broncos, each of which allowed 23 sacks.
“He looks comfortable,” Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula said of Williams, who also rushed for nearly 400 yards and three touchdowns, “He looks calm.”
Jumping or lunging at Williams is futile, Verse said, because “he’s very able to get away from anything you bring to him.” So it is imperative to wrap up the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
“It’s impossible to say like he won’t get away from one of us,” Verse said, “but we all have to keep pursuing him and be able to make that tackle on him.”
Chargers look within
From Benjamin Royer: If the Chargers were a home, general manager Joe Hortiz and coach Jim Harbaugh are in agreement: its foundation is set in stone.
The team is going to continue to build its offense around quarterback Justin Herbert, that much is clear. But as the renovation begins — with Harbaugh parting ways with offensive coordinator Greg Roman and offensive line coach Mike Devlin earlier this week — the Chargers coach said Thursday he knows that growth is necessary after back-to-back years of first-round playoff exits.
Hortiz concurred with his longtime colleague.
“That’s what the offseason is for; time to look at things internally and look externally to see how you can get better,” said Hortiz, who is wrapping up his second season with the organization alongside Harbaugh. “You’ve got a nice structure, and that’s what we have here. But we’re going to keep renovating every room. And right when you get done with the bathrooms, you go to the kitchen. But you know what? You can’t ignore the bathroom.” Hortiz added: “You can’t focus all your attention on one room and let the other ones fall too.”
NFL playoffs schedule
All times Pacific
Divisional round
NFC
Saturday
No. 6 San Francisco at No. 1 Seattle, 5 p.m., (FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes)
Sunday
No. 5 Rams at No. 2 Chicago, 3:30 p.m. (NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, Universo)
AFC
Saturday
No. 6 Buffalo at No. 1 Denver, 1:30 p.m., (CBS, Paramount+)
Sunday
No. 5 Houston at No. 2 New England, noon (ESPN/ABC, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes)
Conference championships
Sunday, Jan. 25
AFC
Noon, (CBS, Paramount+)
NFC
3:30 p.m. (FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes)
Super Bowl
Sunday, Feb. 8, NBC, Time TBA
Controversy brewing at Santa Anita
From John Cherwa: The fight over horse racing tracks’ right to legally install slot-machine-like terminals in their facilities to allow betting on past races hit the boiling point on Thursday when Santa Anita installed 26 Racing on Demand machines at the track on the ground floor of the grandstand. They will be in operation after 11 a.m. on live racing days.
At the crux of the issue is the legality of slot-machine-type terminals. Is it pari-mutuel wagering, where the payoff is determined by the amount of money bet, and considered a game of skill? Or is it a game of chance, such as slot machines and most table games? If it is a pari-mutuel game of skill, then it is governed by the state regulatory agency, the California Horse Racing Board. If it is a game of chance, it is governed by the tribes, who hold exclusive purview over most non-pari-mutuel wagering in the state.
“This puts it on a collision course with the tribes,” said Victor Rocha, conference chair of the Indian Gaming Assn., who said he did not have advance notice of this. “They clearly know what they are doing, they are smart guys, but it is clearly gambling. They will get the appropriate response, politically speaking.
A lot of people want LA 2028 tickets
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: LA28 announced that more than 1.5 million people from 150 countries signed up for 2028 Olympic tickets in the first 24 hours of registration, making the first day of registration the busiest in Olympic history.
The 2028 Summer Games attracted more registrations in one day than the first day of sign-ups for Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024 and Milan Cortina 2026 combined, LA28 said.
“The Olympic Games returning to Los Angeles in 2028 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to witness history,” LA28 president Casey Wasserman said in a statement. “The spirit of the LA28 Games is now officially ignited around the world, and fans have already shown up in record-breaking numbers just one day into our ticket registration. The journey is just beginning, and we look forward to an epic and unforgettable experience together in 2028.”
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1962 — Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scores 42 points and grabs 24 rebounds as he won MVP honors even though his East team lost to the West 150-130 in the NBA All-Star game. The West’s Bob Pettit pulls down an All-Star record 27 rebounds.
1972 — The Dallas Cowboys dominate the Miami Dolphins, setting a Super Bowl record of 252 yards rushing en route to a 24-3 victory.
1974 — Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Mantle is elected in his first year of eligibility and Ford in his second year.
1988 — Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, the CBS NFL Today tout for 12 years, is fired for his racial comments during an interview the previous day with WRC-TV in Washington.
1993 — Kansas beats Louisville 98-77 for its 1,500th win in school history.
1993 — Michael Jordan scores 64 points, but Chicago is upended in overtime by visiting Orlando 128-124. The Magic are led by rookie center Shaquille O’Neal, who has 29 points and 24 rebounds.
2008 — Bob Knight becomes the first men’s Division I coach with 900 wins when Texas Tech beats No. 10 Texas A&M 68-53.
2011 — New York Jets stun the New England Patriots 28-21. The Patriots — who had the league’s best record during the regular season — suffer their third straight postseason loss. Mark Sanchez throws three touchdown passes, Tom Brady is sacked five times and the Jets advance to their second straight AFC championship game.
2015 — The NCAA restores 112 football wins it stripped from Penn State and Joe Paterno in the Jerry Sandusky child-molestation scandal and reinstates the venerated late coach as the winningest in major college football history. The NCAA announces the new settlement with the school weeks before a scheduled trial on the legality of the sanctions imposed in 2012.
2016 — Larry Fitzgerald sets up and scores the winning touchdown on the third play of overtime, taking a five-yard pass from Carson Palmer that lifts Arizona past Green Bay 26-20 after Aaron Rodgers’ desperation 41-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Janis on the final play of regulation. Fitzgerald turns a short pass into a 75-yard gain on the first play of overtime to set up his five-yard shovel pass reception for the winning score.
2019 — Golden State guard Stephen Curry first player in NBA history to make at least eight three-pointers in three consecutive games; goes nine-of-17 in Warriors’ 147-140 win over New Orleans; teams combine for NBA record 43 three-pointers.
2020 — Former Sacramento State softball player Alyssa Nakken becomes first woman to hold a coaching position on a MLB staff when named an assistant by the San Francisco Giants.
2022 — Unvaccinated World #1 tennis player Novak Đoković is deported by the Australian government on “health and good order” grounds, without playing in the Australian Open.
Compiled by the Associated Press
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. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.