HERMOSA BEACH — The Rams finally broke their streak of no first-round picks, selecting Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse at No. 19 on the first night of the NFL draft on Thursday. Verse, 23, is the prototypical build for an edge rusher at 6-foot-4 with a 79.5-inch wingspan. He had nine sacks in back-to-back seasons in 2022 and 2023, and adds to a core on the defensive front … [Read more...] about NFL draft: Rams take Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse in first round
Alexander: Lakers have gone from puncher’s chance to punchline
LOS ANGELES — Even for those who fervently believe in what we call Lakers Exceptionalism, it is time to face facts. This series, this exercise in futility against the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets, might as well be over now. It likely will officially end Saturday night in downtown L.A., in much the same manner that the previous 11 meetings between the teams have been … [Read more...] about Alexander: Lakers have gone from puncher’s chance to punchline
NFL draft: Rams’ first-round pick Jared Verse ready to kick off post-Aaron Donald era
HERMOSA BEACH — Fate can be funny sometimes. When Jared Verse was an unknown outside linebacker at Albany, his head coach was Greg Gattuso, who had been the defensive line coach at Pittsburgh during the freshman season of one Aaron Donald. Gattuso arranged a Zoom call between Donald and his Albany defensive linemen, and Verse had the opportunity to pick the brain of the Rams’ … [Read more...] about NFL draft: Rams’ first-round pick Jared Verse ready to kick off post-Aaron Donald era
Lakers fall flat against Nuggets in Game 3, on brink of being swept again
LOS ANGELES — For all of the talk about adjustments and what the Lakers needed to do between Monday’s Game 2 loss in Denver and Thursday night’s Game 3 at Crypto.com Arena to keep themselves from falling into an even deeper hole in their first-round playoff series, star forward LeBron James’ message was simple. “There’s only so much we can talk about,” he said after the team’s … [Read more...] about Lakers fall flat against Nuggets in Game 3, on brink of being swept again
NFL draft: Chargers select Notre Dame lineman Joe Alt with 5th pick
COSTA MESA — In the end, the Chargers didn’t trade the fifth pick in the NFL draft on Thursday. They didn’t pick a wide receiver such as Malik Nabers of LSU to replace Keenan Allen or Mike Williams. They didn’t select Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State, who went fourth to the Arizona Cardinals. The Chargers did take Joe Alt, a mammoth offensive lineman from Notre Dame, in … [Read more...] about NFL draft: Chargers select Notre Dame lineman Joe Alt with 5th pick