The Sports Report: Dodgers start second half with comeback victory

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Jack Harris: Mookie Betts saved the day.

But the Dodgers bullpen made it a lot harder than it needed to be.

After his team led by five runs early, then blew it by giving up six in the seventh and eighth innings, Betts came to the plate with the score tied in the bottom of the eighth. There were two runners on and two outs in the inning.

It was the night’s critical moment.

And the former MVP delivered.

Betts hit a three-run home run to left field, putting the Dodgers back in front for good in an eventual 9-6 win. The moment the ball left his bat, an MLB season-high crowd of 53,165 at Dodger Stadium jumped to its feet. Long before the no-doubter landed in the left-field pavilion, they all knew it was gone.

A few minutes earlier, though, they all thought the game was already over.

After an early barrage from the Dodgers lineup -- including a solo home run from Freddie Freeman in the first, an RBI double from Trayce Thompson in the second and a three-run rally aided by a missed fly ball from Giants outfielder Luis González in the third -- the Dodgers led 5-0.

Their starting pitcher, Mitch White, pitched five-plus scoreless innings in which he didn’t give up his first hit until his last batter in the sixth.

But the Dodgers bullpen -- a group that has sustained injury after injury, and tenuously navigated the season with unproven middle relievers and a unreliable veteran closer -- couldn’t hold the lead.

In the top of the seventh, right-handed reliever Phil Bickford gave up a solo home run to Evan Longoria, then yielded a walk and a single before recording an out. He was replaced by left-hander Alex Vesia, who hit a batter to load the bases, then piped a two-out, two-strike fastball down the middle of the plate.

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Trevor Bauer’s accuser says in court filing her allegations were not ‘false’

UCLA pitcher Jared Karros gets his wish after being drafted by the Dodgers

USC FOOTBALL

From Bill Dwyre: The recent story in The Times about Caleb Williams, projected USC star quarterback, brought to mind words about history repeating itself. The most-used quote on that subject is from Harvard-educated Spanish author/philosopher George Santayana, who wrote: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Williams transferred from Oklahoma to USC after last season. At Oklahoma, Williams took over for preseason Heisman candidate Spencer Rattler, and did well. His coach at Oklahoma, Lincoln Riley, jumped ship to take over at USC, and Williams followed.

There is little unusual about that. This is the age of transfer portals, glamour and greed in college football. What is out of the ordinary is the extent, as documented in The Times story, to which Williams’ father, Carl, has gone to build his 19-year-old into a brand. Not an athlete. Not a student. Not just a good person. A brand.

This branding is no longer illegal in the cesspool formerly known as college football. The days of Little Johnny starring on his high school football team, happily accepting a scholarship to go to school for free, and playing his heart out for Big State U in return, are long gone. There will be some who still do that, but if they are unable to “build their own brand,” we won’t hear much about them. Their consolation prize will be actually living the cliché that college coaches have foisted on us for decades. They will have gone to school and “built their character.” What a concept.

Which brings us to Carl and Caleb Williams, and, in sort of a retrospective cautionary tale, to Marv and Todd Marinovich.

RAMS

The Rams’ Super Bowl LVI ring.

(Jason of Beverly Hills)

From Gary Klein: The Rams won Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium, so their rings commemorating the achievement are an homage to their home venue, where they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, in February.

Rams players, coaches and team personnel received their rings Thursday night in a ceremony held at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. The ceremony was not open to the media or public.

The ring was designed by Los Angeles-based jewelry house Jason of Beverly Hills in a “collaborative effort” with Rams players and team leadership, a Rams news release said. The ring includes about 20 carats of white diamonds set on white and yellow gold, the release said.

HORSE RACING

From John Cherwa: The Breeders’ Cup, horse racing’s biggest event, has chosen Santa Anita to host its 40th anniversary Nov. 3-4, 2023. It will be the 11th time the Arcadia track has been the host.

The announcement Thursday was not unexpected as the event has alternated between California and Kentucky the last few years. Del Mar last hosted it in 2021 with Santa Anita serving as host in 2019. This year’s Breeders’ Cup is at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

The two days of racing comprise 14 races, five on Friday and nine on Saturday, worth more than $31 million. The bulk of the money for purses comes from nominating fees. Generally, breeders nominate their stallions every breeding season for about the cost of their stud fee. Then the foal that results from the breeding is nominated in their first year for $400, which is good for the rest of their career.

Drew Fleming, president and chief executive of the Breeders’ Cup, says there are currently no plans to change any of the races for next year.

“We’re always looking to improve,” Fleming said. “But right now we have no current plans to change the races.”

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Commentary: Outspoken horse racing trainer Peter Miller makes a return to Del Mar

SPARKS

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Three weeks of home cooking helped the Sparks go from outside of the postseason picture to playoff position.

The Sparks finished their seven-game homestand on Thursday with an 85-78 win over the Atlanta Dream, jumping into sixth place in a tight playoff race of five teams vying for three postseason berths.

Nneka Ogwumike, two days after dropping a season-high 35 against the Indiana Fever, led the Sparks with 20 points on nine-of-11 shooting. Chiney Ogwumike had a season-high 15 points with seven rebounds as the Sparks (12-14) evened the season-series against the Dream.

After landing on the wrong end of a three-game tiebreaker and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2011, the Sparks know the importance of winning these critical matchups. Instead of focusing on the entire standings, guard Brittney Sykes whittles the playoff race down to series against individual teams. The technique is something she learned while playing for Atlanta for former coach Nicki Collen and prevents Sykes from getting overwhelmed by the entire season. It’s her hack to handle the season.

“It’s a numbers game,” Sykes said this month.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1921 — Jim Barnes wins the U.S. Men’s Open golf championship by edging Walter Hagen, Leo Diegel, Jock Hutchinson and Fred McLeod.

1962 — Gary Player of South Africa becomes the first non-resident of the United States to win the PGA championship.

1963 — Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson in 2 minutes, 10 seconds of the first round to retain the world heavyweight title. Liston took the title from Patterson with a first-round knockout in Chicago on Sept. 25, 1962.

1973 — Sue Berning wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf championship for the third time with a five-stroke victory over Gloria Ahret.

1984 — Kathy Whitworth becomes the all-time winner in pro golf tournaments by winning the Rochester Open. Whitworth, with 85 career wins, passes Sam Snead’s total of 84 PGA tournament victories.

1984 — Seve Ballesteros wins the British Open with a four-round 276, breaking the course record set by Ken Nagle in 1960 by two strokes. Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer finish two strokes behind.

1990 — Nick Faldo wins his second British Open crown in four years, defeating Payne Stewart and Mark McNulty by five strokes.

1996 — Naim Suleymanoglu of Turkey becomes first weightlifter in Olympic history to win three gold medals. Suleymanoglu wins the 141-pound division by hoisting 413¼ pounds.

1998 — Jackie Joyner-Kersee ends her brilliant heptathlon career with a victory at the Goodwill Games. It’s her fourth consecutive Goodwill title. Earlier, the 4x400-meter relay world record of 2:54.29, set by the 1993 U.S. World Championship team, comes crashing down. Michael Johnson, the anchor on that 1993 team, anchors this United States 4x400 team, which finishes in a 2 minutes, 54.20 seconds.

2001 — David Duval shoots a 4-under 67 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes to win the British Open title, his first major championship. He finishes at 10-under 274 for a three-stroke victory over Sweden’s Niclas Fasth.

2005 — Yelena Isinbayeva clears the 5-meter mark at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix in London for her latest world record. The Olympic champion easily clears 16 feet, 4¾ inches on her first attempt, barely nudging the bar.

2007 — Padraig Harrington survives a calamitous finish in regulation and a tense putt for bogey on the final hole of a playoff to win the British Open over Sergio Garcia.

2008 — Candace Parker scores 21 points and DeLisha Milton-Jones adds 19 before both are ejected after a scuffle in the final minute as the Sparks beat the Detroit Shock 84-81 at Auburn Hills, Mich. The WNBA game turns ugly in the final seconds as a collision between Parker and Detroit’s Plenette Pierson turns into a shoving match that has players and coaches from both teams leaving the bench.

2012 — Bradley Wiggins becomes the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France by protecting the yellow jersey during the final processional ride into Paris. Fellow Briton and Sky teammate Christopher Froome finishes second, 3 minutes, 21 seconds behind.

2012 — Ernie Els wins his fourth major championship in an astonishing finish, rallying to beat Adam Scott in the British Open when the Aussie bogeys the last four holes. Els, who starts the final round six shots behind, finishes off a flawless back nine with a 15-foot birdie putt for a 2-under 68. Scott was four shots ahead with four holes to play.

2018 — Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird plays in a record 500th WNBA game.

And finally

Seve Ballesteros wins the 1984 British Open. Watch and listen here.