From Gary Klein: With a strong nucleus of veterans and ascending young players, and the addition of several key free-agents, the Rams went into training camp with a deep and talented roster.
So deep that veteran running back Ronnie Rivers and several recent draft picks were among 23 players waived on Tuesday as the Rams trimmed the roster to the NFL-mandated 53 players.
“Really love this team,” coach Sean McVay said after practice. “Love the makeup of it.”
Among those waived: Inside linebacker Chris “Pooh” Paul, a 2025 fifth-round draft pick, and outside linebacker Brennan Jackson, a 2024 fifth-round pick.
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CHARGERS
From Anthony De Leon: Year 2 of the Jim Harbaugh experience arrived with a roster far more settled than last summer, giving him room to further shape it in his image — a process that has left him satisfied with the foundation.
Set at running back, Raheim Sanders and Kimani Vidal were among 25 players waived by the Chargers on Tuesday ahead of the NFL’s 53-man roster deadline.
The cuts also included eight veterans, most notably quarterback Taylor Heinicke and safety Tony Jefferson.
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: The Dodgers might be sprinting toward the finish line this year, trying to edge out the San Diego Padres in a tight National League West race.
But on Tuesday night, in a win that kept them one game up in the standings with 29 to play, they made a 6-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds feel more like a nice, leisurely stroll.
Clayton Kershaw continued his renaissance season, pitching five innings of one-run ball to earn a fifth-consecutive victory (his longest such streak since the end of the 2022 season). The offense steadily wore the Reds’ pitching staff down, answering a first-inning Cincinnati run with one of their own before taking the lead for good in the fourth.
It all added up to a third-straight win for the Dodgers (76-57), and helped them hold serve on a night the Padres beat the Mariners in Seattle (despite blowing an early five-run lead).
“It’s been really fun to watch our guys play at the level that they’re capable of,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I like how we’re playing. I like where we’re at right now.”
Kershaw provided the bedrock for Tuesday’s victory.
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ANGELS
Patrick Corbin gave up three hits over eight shutout innings, Corey Seager became the first Ranger to reach 20 home runs this season, and Texas beat the Angels 7-3 on Tuesday night.
Corbin (7-9) gave up a walk with eight strikeouts. He is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in four starts against the Angels this season. He won for the first time since July 10 when he beat the Angels 11-4.
Wyatt Langford drew a walk from Yusei Kikuchi (6-9) leading off the first and Seager walked with one out. Adolis García doubled in a run, Josh Jung had an RBI single, and Cody Freeman added a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead.
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From Ryan Kartje: When he arrived as a walk-on center in the fall of 2022, Kilian O’Connor came in with every intention of fighting for a spot on USC’s offensive line.
For the O’Connor family, there was a certain pride in being a walk-on. His father and grandfather were walk-ons. It didn’t matter that he was buried on the depth chart, or that the odds were stacked against him. It was his duty to stay ready.
“I came here to be a player,” O’Connor said. “I didn’t come here just to be a bag holder.”
Now this season, he’ll play a much more essential role for the Trojans as their newly minted starting center.
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: With a sudden burst, Donovan Dent accelerated toward the basket for a layup while absorbing contact that sent him tumbling to the baseline.
With an outstretched hand, Dent blocked a shot to trigger a fast break that he ended with his own long jumper.
With a flick of the wrist, Dent made almost every three-pointer he took.
Everything UCLA’s point guard did Tuesday during a roughly 80-minute summer workout open to reporters showed his ability to elevate his new team.
SPARKS
From Kara Alexander: Execution, intensity, and pacing defined Tuesday’s matchup at Crypto.com Arena, where the Sparks (17-19) faced the Phoenix Mercury (23-14) in their third meeting of the season, with the Sparks losing for the third time to the Mercury, 92-84.
Before the game, Sparks coach Lynne Roberts emphasized the importance of focus on both ends of the floor.
“For us offensively, it’s going to come down to pace and being willing to execute,” Roberts said. “You have to execute with intensity and intention.”
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1884 — Richard Sears beats Howard Taylor 6-0, 1-6, 6-0, 6-2 to win his fourth straight U.S. national tennis championship.
1903 — Britain’s Hugh Doherty is the first non-American to win the men’s singles title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships with a 6-0, 6-3, 10-8 victory over the William Larned.
1909 — William Larned wins his fifth U.S. singles tennis title with a five-set victory over William Clothier in Newport, R.I.
1928 — Helen Wills beats Helen Hull Jacobs to take the fifth women’s singles title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships. Wills needs only 33 minutes, defeating Jacobs 6-2, 6-1.
1957 — Hickory Smoke, driven by John Simpson, Jr., wins the Hambletonian Stakes after capturing the fifth and deciding heat.
1969 — Lindy’s Pride, driven by Howard Beissinger, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in straight heats.
1975 — Onny Parun of New Zealand defeats Stan Smith 6-4, 6-2 in the first night match at the U.S. Open before a crowd of 4,949 at the West Side Tennis Club.
1978 — The Cosmos defeat the Tampa Bay Rowdies 3-1 to win the NASL Championship.
1985 — Mary Joe Fernandez, 14, becomes the youngest player to win a match at the U.S. Open. Fernandez beats Sara Gomer 6-1, 6-4.
1996 — Stefan Edberg stuns Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek at the U.S. Open, winning 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in his record 54th straight and final Grand Slam event.
1999 — Maurice Greene and Inger Miller win at 200 meters at the world championships, giving the U.S. a sprint sweep. Greene is the first to win the 100 and 200 at a major global meet since Carl Lewis at the 1984 Olympics.
2006 — Marco Andretti, 19, becomes the youngest winner of a major open-wheel event, beating Dario Franchitti by 0.66 seconds to take the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.
2015 — Usain Bolt wins his fourth straight 200-meter title at the world championships, finishing in 19.55 seconds in Beijing.
2018 — Simona Halep becomes the first No. 1-seeded woman to lose her opening match at the U.S. Open in the half-century of the professional era. Halep is overwhelmed by 44th-ranked Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-2, 6-4.
2023 — Gymnast Simone Biles (26) wins her record 8th U.S. Championship in San Jose, California.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1897 — Roger Bresnahan, later a Hall of Fame catcher, made his major-league debut as a pitcher for the Washington Senators by shutting out the St. Louis Browns 3-0.
1911 — Ed Walsh of the Chicago White Sox pitched a 5-0 no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox. Walsh struck out eight and walked one.
1937 — Brooklyn’s Fred Frankhouse pitched a rain-shortened no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. The game was stopped with two out in the eighth inning with the Dodgers leading 5-0.
1977 — Toby Harrah and Bump Wills of the Texas Rangers hit back-to-back inside-the-park home runs on consecutive pitches in the seventh inning in an 8-2 victory over New York at Yankee Stadium.
1978 — Joe Morgan of the Cincinnati Reds hit his 200th career home run to become the first player in major league history to have 200 homers and 500 stolen bases.
1982 — Rickey Henderson of Oakland broke Lou Brock’s 1974 record of 118 stolen bases in a season and stole three more bases in the Athletics’ 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. It gave Henderson 122 thefts in 127 games.
1999 — Vladimir Guerrero’s hitting streak was halted at 31 games by Cincinnati’s Ron Villone in the Reds’ 4-1 win over Montreal. Guerrero went 0-for-2 with an intentional walk against Villone, ending the majors’ longest hitting streak since 1987.
2005 — Jeff Kent became the first player to hit 300 home runs as a second baseman in the Dodgers’ 8-3 win over Houston. The homer was the 325th of his career.
2010 — Florida led off a game with back-to-back homers for the first time in franchise history in a 7-1 victory over Atlanta. Cameron Maybin hit the first pitch of the game into the left-field seats. Logan Morrison then connected off Tommy Hanson for his first major league home run.
2011 — Justin Verlander became the majors’ first 20-game winner, grinding through six innings in the Detroit Tigers’ 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Verlander (20-5) became the first pitcher to win 20 games before the end of August since Arizona’s Curt Schilling in 2002.
2017 — Giancarlo Stanton hit his 50th home run to break an eighth-inning tie, helping the Miami Marlins sweep the San Diego Padres with a 6-2 victory. Stanton became the first NL player to reach 50 homers since Prince Fielder hit 50 for Milwaukee in 2007.
2017 — Rookie Rhys Hoskins homered for the fifth straight game and made a diving catch to start a game-changing triple play in the fifth inning, leading Philadelphia to a 6-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Hoskins led off the eighth with a drive to left-center to give him 11 home runs in his first 18 games, becoming the fastest in major league history to reach 11 homers. Hoskins was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Aug. 10.
2018 — Kendrys Morales’ home run streak was ended at seven games by the Baltimore Orioles, who halted an eight-game skid by defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-0. Morales went 0 for 3 with a walk and did not hit the ball out of the infield.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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