The Sports Report: JJ Redick to get his shot to win over the Lakers
Howdy, I’m your host, Iliana Limón Romero, filling in for Houston Mitchell, who is probably very excited he missed Thursday night’s Dodgers loss. Let’s get right to the news.
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From Dan Woike: JJ Redick, the presumptive front-runner for the Lakers’ head-coaching job for much of their offseason, will undergo his most formal interview to date in Los Angeles this weekend, according to people with knowledge not authorized to publicly discuss the search.
The timing of the interview, which will come after Game 4 of the NBA Finals, seems to signal the Lakers’ significant interest in the player-turned-media member.
Redick has said publicly that his focus has been on his job broadcasting the Finals.
He’ll be the third candidate through the door for the Lakers, following James Borrego and Dan Hurley. Hurley, the UConn head coach, turned down the Lakers’ six-year, $70-million offer Monday. Borrego is considered a leading candidate for the Cavaliers’ job.
While the Lakers have spoken to other coaches earlier in their offseason, those were more exploratory conversations with candidates such as Denver’s David Adelman and Minnesota’s Micah Nori.
Reddick’s interview this weekend is expected to be with a wider spectrum of team executives beyond general manager Rob Pelinka and team owner Jeanie Buss, the people who met with Hurley last Friday in Los Angeles.
Lakers’ draft needs: Bronny James isn’t the only prospect drawing L.A.’s interest
Lakers’ $70-million offer not enough for Dan Hurley? ‘There probably is a number’ to leave UConn
The Showtime Lakers remember Jerry West, the man who assembled the team
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DODGERS
From Mike DiGiovanna: The table could not have been set any better for the Dodgers on Thursday night, their two-run deficit seemingly on the verge of disappearing in the eighth inning after Cavan Biggio was hit by a pitch and Austin Barnes singled to right field, putting runners on first and third with no outs for the top of the order.
But three of the best hitters in baseball, a trio that has four most valuable player awards among them and has combined for 36 home runs and 125 RBIs this season, failed to deliver in an eventual 3-1 loss to the Texas Rangers before 50,134 at Dodger Stadium.
Veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen threw seven strong innings for the Rangers, giving up one run and four hits, striking out two and walking one, his only blemish a hanging sweeper that Andy Pages lined into the left-field seats for a solo homer that pulled the Dodgers to within 3-1 in the seventh.
Setup man David Robertson replaced Lorenzen to start the eighth and hit Biggio, the No. 8 batter, in the back foot with a breaking ball. Barnes, the No. 9 hitter, followed with a single to right to put men on the corners.
But leadoff man Mooke Betts and No. 2 hitter Shohei Ohtani each struck out on three pitches, Betts swinging through a 93-mph cut-fastball and Ohtani whiffing on an 86-mph, down-and-in knuckle-curve.
Freddie Freeman worked a five-pitch at-bat but struck out swinging through an 89-mph knuckle-curve, making Robertson the only pitcher this season to strike out Betts, Ohtani and Freeman in succession. The Rangers right-hander also accomplished the feat in the eighth inning Wednesday night.
Clayton Kershaw ‘further along’ than expected in his shoulder rehab
Hernández: Why the evolution of Walker Buehler remains a ‘process’
ANGELS
From the Associated Press: Christian Walker hit two homers, Joc Pederson added a late grand slam and the Arizona Diamondbacks coasted past the Angels 11-1 on Thursday night.
Arizona won two of three in the series and eight of its last 12 overall.
Walker got the Arizona offense started in the first inning with a three-run blast on a full count. The first baseman turned on an inside fastball from Griffin Canning and hit a high-arching shot deep into the left field seats for his 14th homer of the season.
“Felt really good to come through for the team early,” Walker said. “You get a chance with a couple guys on, to be able to make that count in the first, that’s good.”
SPARKS
From Marissa Kraus: Sparks forward Dearica Hamby signed a contract extension through the 2025 season, the team announced Thursday.
Financial terms were not released. Hamby, who has been in the league for 10 years, was selected sixth overall in the 2015 draft by the Aces franchise, which was then in San Antonio and known as the Stars.
Hamby joined the Sparks in 2023 after being traded by the Aces — whom she was with for eight seasons — during her pregnancy in January 2023. Last year, after giving birth to her son in March, she played all 40 games for the Sparks, starting 19, while averaging 8.9 points and 5.9 rebounds.
HOCKEY
From the Associated Press: Following their leaders who got them this far in the playoffs and a winning recipe that has worked all season, the Florida Panthers are on the verge of lifting the Stanley Cup.
Captain Aleksander Barkov set up a goal and scored another, Sergei Bobrovsky made some of the biggest of his 32 saves to thwart a comeback bid and the Panthers held on to beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in Game 3 of the Cup final Thursday night.
They can win the first title in franchise history as soon as Game 4 on Saturday night in Edmonton.
“We know it’s going to be the hardest game for sure,” Barkov said. “We don’t take anything for granted. Every single day is one day at a time. Whether it’s one period, one shift, we take it one at a time. That’s how we’ve been all year.”
STANLEY CUP FINAL
Schedule and results
All times Pacific
Florida Panthers vs. Edmonton Oilers
at Florida 3, Edmonton 0 (box score)
at Florida 4, Edmonton 1 (box score)
at Edmonton 3, Florida 4 (box score)
Saturday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Tuesday at Florida, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Friday, June 21 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Monday, June 24 at Florida, TB5 p.m.D, ESPN
*-if necessary
NBA Finals
Schedule and results
All times Pacific
Boston Celtics vs. Dallas Mavericks
at Boston 107, Dallas 89 (box score)
at Boston 105, Dallas 98 (box score)
Boston 106, at Dallas 99 (box score)
Friday at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Monday at Boston, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Thursday, June 20 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Sunday, June 23, at Boston, 5 p.m., ABC
*-if necessary
CHARGERS
From Jeff Miller: No quarterback in NFL history has attempted more passes per game than Justin Herbert.
His 39.1 mark over the last four seasons edges Andrew Luck, with Patrick Mahomes and Matthew Stafford next on the list.
Now, Herbert is playing for a head coach and offensive coordinator who, since their arrivals five months ago, have talked extensively about emphasizing the run game.
“Selfishly as a quarterback I’d love to throw the ball every time,” Herbert said Thursday. “But if we throw it one time or we throw it 100 times, as long as we’re winning and finding a way to do that, it’s good with me.”
After the Chargers wrapped up their three-day minicamp in Costa Mesa, Herbert met with the local media for the first time since the team brought in Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman.
The new regime — including general manager Joe Hortiz — first reshaped the roster to try to become more powerful and physical. Roman then spent the several weeks introducing an offense designed to operate from the ground up.
GOLF
From the Associated Press: Rory McIlroy had his first bogey-free round in a major since his last time winning one 10 years ago, a five-under 65 that gave him a share of the lead with nemesis Patrick Cantlay on Thursday in the U.S. Open.
McIlroy had one of two clean cards, a rarity for Pinehurst No. 2. He capped off his round with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, where he was taking his fourth step toward the cup when it dropped and he waved to the crowd in the double-deck grandstands.
That was about the only thing that didn’t go as planned for McIlroy.
“I wasn’t showing off. I thought I left it short,” McIlroy said. “But it got up there, it was nice, and a great way to finish. The way I played today, the way I hit the ball, the way I managed myself, I felt like that score was pretty deserved.”
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1922 — Gene Sarazen edges Bobby Jones and John Black to win the U.S. Open tournament.
1934 — Max Baer stops Primo Carnera in 11th round in New York to win the world heavyweight title.
1952 — Jim Peters runs world record marathon (2:20:42.2).
1952 — Julius Boros shoots a 281 at Northwood Club in Dallas to win the U.S. Open over Ed Oliver by four strokes.
1958 — Tommy Bolt beats Gary Player by four strokes to win the U.S. Open.
1958 — Britain beats the United States 4-3 at Wimbledon to win the Wrightman Cup, the first win for Britain since 1930.
1981 — Donna Caponi Young wins the LPGA championship by one stroke over Jerilyn Britz and Pat Meyers.
1987 — The Los Angeles Lakers win their 10th NBA championship with a 106-93 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 at the Forum.
1990 — Vinnie Johnson scores 15 points in the fourth quarter, including a 15-footer with seven-tenths of a second left, to give the Detroit Pistons a 92-90 win and the NBA title over Portland in five games.
1991 — Leroy Burrell sets a world record in the U.S. Championships in New York with a 9.90-second clocking in the men’s 100-meter dash. Carl Lewis, who held the record at 9.92 since the 1988 Olympics, finishes second.
1992 — NBA Finals: Chicago Bulls beat Port Trail Blazers, 97-93 in Game 6 for back-to-back titles; MVP: Michael Jordan for second straight year.
1994 — The New York Rangers hold off the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in Game 7 for their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. MVP Brian Leetch, Adam Graves and Mark Messier score goals and Mike Richter makes 28 saves for New York.
1995 — The Houston Rockets complete the unlikeliest of NBA championship repeats, sweeping the Orlando Magic with a 113-101 victory. MVP Hakeem Olajuwon finishes with 35 points and 15 rebounds.
1998 — Michael Jordan scores 45 points, stealing the ball from Karl Malone and hitting a jumper with 5.2 seconds left to give Chicago an 87-86 win and a 4-2 series victory over Utah for a sixth NBA title.
2005 — Asafa Powell breaks the world record in the 100 meters with a 9.77 clocking at Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece. Powell shaves one hundredth of a second off Tim Montgomery’s record of 9.78 set in Paris in 2002 — a mark that would later be wiped out because of doping charges.
2005 — Michelle Wie becomes the first female player to qualify for an adult male U.S. Golf Association championship, tying for first place in a 36-hole U.S. Amateur Public Links sectional qualifying tournament at Belle Vernon, Pa.
2007 — The San Antonio Spurs, who bounced over from the ABA in 1976, move in among the NBA’s greatest franchises with an 83-82 victory for a sweep of Cleveland. With their fourth championship since 1999, the Spurs join the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls as the only teams in NBA history to win four titles.
2009 — The Los Angeles Lakers win their 15th championship, beating the Orlando Magic 99-86 in Game 5 of the NBA finals. Kobe Bryant, the MVP, scores 30 points in winning his fourth title, the first without Shaquille O’Neal. It’s the 10th championship for coach Phil Jackson, moving him past Boston’s Red Auerbach for the most all-time.
2015 — Inbee Park shoots a final round 68 to finish at 19-under par to win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship for the third consecutive year and retake the No. 1 ranking in women’s golf. Park of South Korea finishes the season’s second major five strokes ahead of 22-year-old compatriot Sei Young Kim.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time...
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Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
