The Sports Report: Local star Alyssa Thompson is picked first in NWSL draft

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

From Luca Evans: A few years ago, in an airport in Florida, a man came up to Santa Clarita Blue Heat President Carlos Marroquin and told the owner he should take a look at his niece Alyssa Thompson.

Marroquin, as the founder of the well-known pro-am women’s soccer team, fielded plenty of these requests. He still asked how old Thompson was.

“Fourteen,” Thompson’s uncle responded.

“Ah, she’s too young,” Marroquin remembered saying.

Two months later, though, Thompson came out for a scrimmage against a team from Orange County.

“She killed everybody,” Marroquin said.

Such has been the life of Alyssa Thompson, the 18-year-old soccer prodigy from Harvard-Westlake. When she was 7, she was dusting teenagers. When she was in sixth grade, she was dusting high schoolers. When she was in eighth grade, she was dusting college kids. On and on, and Thompson’s legend has been built, winning the Gatorade High School player of the year in 2021 after a 48-goal season and subbing in for Megan Rapinoe at 17 to make her USWNT debut in September.

And as a senior in high school, she sat on a white couch Thursday for an NWSL draft party inside Nike’s campus in Playa Vista, taking deep breaths before applauding as Angel City FC selected her with the first overall pick. It was an inevitability — Angel City tossing in picks and cash and rainbows in orchestrating a three-team deal for the No. 1 pick to select Thompson — but also unprecedented, a teenager decommitting from Stanford to turn pro.

“For her now to be the first high school athlete selected No. 1 overall — when you really think about her whole career and trajectory — is not actually that surprising,” Harvard-Westlake girls’ soccer coach Richard Simms said. “She’s always been years ahead of everybody else ... it’s just who she is.”

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CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: The Chargers didn’t have Mike Williams in practice this week, but the team remains hopeful to have him Saturday night in Jacksonville.

The veteran wide receiver was listed as questionable Thursday because of a back contusion suffered last weekend in the Chargers’ regular-season finale in Denver.

Coach Brandon Staley said Williams will travel with the team Friday morning, with the expectation of him working out on the field before the game to see if he can play.

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CHARGERS POLL

We asked readers of this newsletter, “How far will the Chargers advance in the NFL playoffs?” After 1,235 votes, here is the result:

Lose in wild-card round, 43.8%

Lose in divisional round, 36.6%

Lose in conference round, 9.8%

Win Super Bowl, 8.5%

Lose Super Bowl, 1.3%

NFL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
Wild-card round
Saturday
Seattle at San Francisco, 1:30 p.m., FOX, FOX Deportes
Chargers at Jacksonville, 5:15 p.m., NBC, Peacock, Universo

Sunday
Miami at Buffalo, 10 a.m., CBS, Paramount+
New York Giants at Minnesota, 1:30 p.m., FOX, FOX Deportes
Baltimore at Cincinnati, 5:15 p.m., NBC, Peacock, Universo

Monday
Dallas at Tampa Bay, 5:15 p.m., ESPN/ABC, ESPN2-Manningcast, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes

RAMS

From Gary Klein: No hurry. Take all the time you need.

That is the message the Rams front office has sent coach Sean McVay as he ponders whether to step away or return for a seventh season.

“We’ve known for some time that he was going to wait until after the season to make a decision about whether he wants to coach in 2023,” Kevin Demoff, the Rams’ chief operating officer, said during an interview Thursday. “We’ve always told Sean we’d give him that space to make that decision and we’ll support him in whatever direction he goes.”

Demoff made his comments before former Rams lineman Andrew Whitworth’s ribbon-cutting for a multipurpose field at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Los Angeles—Challengers Clubhouse in South Los Angeles. Whitworth refurbished the facility with the $250,000 grant he received for winning the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award last season.

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UCLA BASKETBALL

From Ben Bolch: Adem Bona can always take Mick Cronin out of a grumpy mood, whether it’s by flashing a wide smile or throwing an arm around his coach’s shoulder and telling him everything is going to be all right.

UCLA’s ceaselessly happy big man generated delight Thursday night with an evolving talent.

His ferociousness.

Bona was a force around the basket in the game’s early going against Utah, the freshman powering in for a putback, rising for a mini-hook shot and taking a Tyger Campbell lob for a dunk as part of a personal six-point run.

A few minutes later, when Campbell was desperately searching for someone to take an inbounds pass, looking one way and then another, Bona burst through the lane to collect the ball and drive for a dunk.

Bona was everywhere the seventh-ranked Bruins needed him to be during a 68-49 victory over the Utes, continuing a recent emergence that has made his team far more formidable while stretching its winning streak to 12 games.

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USC BASKETBALL

Drew Peterson knocked down a clutch jumper with 1:35 left and added a pair of clutch free throws in the closing seconds and Kobe Johnson hit four straight from the line as USC held off Colorado, 68-61 in a Pac-12 Conference battle on Thursday night.

KJ Simpson pulled the Buffaloes within one with his jumper with two minutes to play, but the team committed several untimely turnovers down the stretch and misfired on two late 3-pointers in the final half-minute.

As big as the win was for the Trojans, the debut of 7-foot-1 freshman Vince Iwuchukwu rivaled it for its good-news value. The former five-star recruit collapsed during an informal workout in July, suffering major heart failure. He was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he stayed for several days. Iwuchukwu said in September that his recovery and rehabilitation remain positive. When he stood up from the bench and trotted toward the scorer’s table, the home crowd gave him a standing ovation. He missed both of his shot attempts during four-and-a-half minutes.

LAKERS

From Dan Woike: Luka Doncic held his nose. LeBron James grabbed at his face. Tim Hardaway Jr. threw his hands in the air. And Troy Brown Jr. spent the final moment of regulation, fittingly, on the ground.

In a physical game without some expected whistles, the Lakers and the Mavericks fought into double overtime Thursday night, and while Dallas kept making big plays, the Lakers couldn’t ever close the door.

LeBron James had one three-point shot rim out and another bounce off the iron as he tried to make the big plays for the Lakers that Doncic was making for the Mavericks.

The Lakers lost 119-115, the weight of so many missed shots and free throws too much to overcome.

It’s the Lakers’ second-straight loss after the team had won the previous five.

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DODGERS

From Dylan Hernández: On one side there are the Dodgers, who have a complicated relationship with the truth, and on the other is Trevor Bauer.

They are telling two very different stories about a meeting they both acknowledge took place in Arizona last week, Bauer claiming Dodgers officials told him they wanted him to pitch for them in the upcoming season, and anonymous team officials denying such sentiments were ever conveyed.

Many people in Major League Baseball familiar with both parties don’t know whom to believe, this ambiguity diminishing whatever moral triumph the Dodgers were trying to claim when they officially released Bauer on Thursday.

The Dodgers can only blame themselves.

When Bauer was suspended by the commissioner’s office last year for a violation of MLB’s sexual assault and domestic violence policy, the team released a statement in which it cited his right to appeal and said: “Therefore, we will not comment further until the process is complete.”

Well, the process is now complete and the Dodgers still aren’t commenting; Stan Kasten and Andrew Friedman told The Times they won’t talk about Bauer because he is a free agent. In theory, Bauer could file a grievance against the Dodgers if they made comments that diminished his value.

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Will Trevor Bauer play Major League Baseball again? What executives around the league are saying

GALAXY

From Kevin Baxter: Chris Klein will return for an 11th season as president of the Galaxy, the MLS club confirmed in a statement Thursday. Klein’s contract expired at the end of the 2022 and Klein, the team and AEG, the Galaxy’s parent company, had all declined to comment on his status.

“Per club policy, we don’t disclose employment terms,” the Galaxy said in a two-sentence statement. “Chris Klein is the LA Galaxy’s President and he will resume full responsibilities at the close of the winter transfer window.”

Last month Klein, 47, was suspended by MLS through the primary transfer window, which usually runs until early May, as part of a series of penalties levied against the Galaxy for violating MLS salary guidelines in the 2019 acquisition of Argentine winger Cristian Pavón. The team was also fined $1 million and docked another $1 million in future general allocation money.

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THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1962 — Wilt Chamberlain scores an NBA regulation-game record 73 points to lead the Philadelphia Warriors to a 135-117 triumph over the Chicago Packers.

1971 — Lenny Wilkens of the Seattle Supersonics, at 33, becomes the oldest All-Star MVP as he scores 21 points to give the West a 108-107 victory over the East.

1974 — The Miami Dolphins win their second straight Super Bowl in their third straight appearance with a 24-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Larry Csonka, the game’s MVP, gains 145 yards on 33 carries and scores a touchdown.

1986 — NCAA schools vote overwhelmingly in favor of adopting the controversial Proposition 48. The rule requires that incoming freshman maintain 2.0 grade point averages and score 700 or more on the Scholastic Aptitude Test or a 15 on the American College Testing program.

1987 — Lewis Lloyd and Mitchell Wiggins of the Houston Rockets become the third and fourth NBA players to be banned from the league for using cocaine.

1991 — Phil Mickelson overcomes an 8 on the 14th hole to become the second amateur since 1954 to win a PGA Tour event as he posts a one-shot victory over Bob Tway and Tom Purtzer in the Northern Telecom Open.

1995 — America3, the first all-women’s team in the 144-year history of America’s Cup, wins the first race of the America’s Cup defender trials, beating Team Dennis Conner by 1 minute, 9 seconds.

2003 — Jennifer Capriati becomes the first women’s Australian Open defending champion to lose in the first round in the Open era. Capriati, seeded third, loses 2-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 to 90th-ranked Marlene Weingartner of Germany.

2006 — Larry Brown becomes the fourth coach in NBA history to win 1,000 regular-season games as New York beats Atlanta 105-94. Brown, 1,000-762 in 23 seasons in the NBA, joins Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson and Pat Riley in the 1,000-win club.

2013 — Matt Bryant kicks a 49-yard field goal with 8 seconds left and the Atlanta Falcons bounce back after blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, defeating Seattle 30-28 in an NFC divisional playoff game. The Falcons lead 27-7 at the start of the final quarter before rookie quarterback Russell Wilson leads the Seahawks to three fourth-quarter touchdowns and a 28-27 lead with 31 seconds left.

2013 — Tom Brady becomes the winningest quarterback in postseason play, throwing for three touchdowns to beat Houston 41-28 and lift the New England Patriots into the AFC championship game. Brady gets his 17th victory, surpassing Joe Montana, by throwing for 344 yards.

2017 — Kelsey Plum scores 36 points to become the 12th player in women’s basketball history to top 3,000 career points and Washington routs Arizona 90-73.

2020 - Houston Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow are fired by team owner Jim Crane for their roles in the sign-stealing scandal after MLB suspends both for one year

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

The Miami Dolphins win Super Bowl VIII. Watch and listen here.