The Sports Report: USC fires Alex Grinch, but it’s too late

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

From Bill Plaschke: What a waste.

The USC football season essentially ended Saturday as one big fat waste.

A wasted brilliant offense. A wasted Heisman Trophy winner. A wasted full Coliseum. A wasted revival of Trojan pride.

Wasted, all of it, because of coach Lincoln Riley’s refusal to fix an indefensibly bad defense that, in a single, frightening word, has forever chiseled itself on to this season’s tombstone.

GRINCHED

The end came Saturday night in front of a rollicking sellout crowd that roared as the Caleb Williams’ led Trojan offense pinned 42 points and 515 yards on fifth-ranked and unbeaten Washington.

And still lost.

They lost because the Alex Grinch-led defense allowed Washington 52 points … and 572 total yards … and an unthinkable 316 rushing yards to the 117th-ranked rushing team in the country.

They lost 52-42, the Huskies steamrolling defensive coordinator Grinch’s national embarrassment while sending the Trojans to their third defeat and essentially knocking them out of the Pac-12 championship hunt with two games remaining.

Grinch was finally fired Sunday morning, but it’s too late. Riley finally placed the success of the Trojans’ program ahead of the protection of his buddy, but it’s way, way too late.

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After nearly two seasons of struggles, USC fires defensive coordinator Alex Grinch

USC can’t keep up with Washington in scoring spree, crushing its Pac-12 title hopes

UCLA FOOTBALL

From Ben Bolch: It was the sort of loss that left UCLA longing for something else, like basketball season.

Two quarterbacks were lost to injury. Two field goals went astray, including one that was blocked. Three chances in the red zone came up empty.

Fittingly, the Bruins’ final drive against Arizona on Saturday night ended with a third-string quarterback throwing a fourth-down pass that fell incomplete, giving the ball back to the Wildcats.

About the only countermeasure UCLA could employ from there was calling a timeout to momentarily stop the clock inside Arizona Stadium. That just delayed the inevitable frustration that followed the No. 19 Bruins’ 27-10 loss that dropped them into seventh place in the Pac-12 standings and likely out of the national rankings.

“I told them it stings and it hurts,� UCLA coach Chip Kelly said, “and it stings and it hurts because they put so much into it.�

UCLA finished the game with Collin Schlee at quarterback after starter Ethan Garbers left early in the fourth quarter with an apparent right leg injury and backup Dante Moore departed two series later after hitting his head on the artificial turf.

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RAMS

From Sam Farmer: Were these the old days, the Rams might have the satisfaction of burning the game film from Sunday’s 20-3 debacle at Lambeau Field. They could have destroyed the evidence and warmed their hands on a chilly and damp Wisconsin evening.

Instead, they’ve got to live with the high-definition reality of a lopsided loss to the three-win Green Bay Packers, who were on a four-game losing slide.

“It was a humbling game,� said Rams coach Sean McVay, whose team has lost three in a row.

Told of that assessment, receiver Cooper Kupp said, “Humbling’s a word. Crappy would be good too.�

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Rams box score

Sunday’s NFL scores

NFL standings

Matthew Stafford-starved Rams offense no match for Jordan Love and Packers in loss

Rams’ 20-3 road loss to the Green Bay Packers by the numbers

Tonight’s schedule

Chargers at NY Jets, 5:15 p.m., ABC/ESPN

CLIPPERS

From Broderick Turner: James Harden sat in a chair with a microphone in his hand, a smile on his face and his mood even brighter when the question was asked about him making his debut with the Clippers against the New York Knicks on Monday night.

“Definitely,� Harden said. “Definitely, baby.�

And thus will begin the process of integrating Harden with new teammates Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook, the foursome taking the court together for the first time since Harden was acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers last Monday night.

How many minutes Harden will play at Madison Square Garden is unknown.

“I mean, I don’t expect to go out there and play 40-something minutes,� Harden said, “but no restrictions.�

It’ll be up to Clippers coach Tyronn Lue and the medical staff to “gauge how he feels� after practice Sunday to decide how best to use Harden and what sort of minutes restriction he’ll have.

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USC BASKETBALL

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: USC players stood backstage waiting for their cue. The Trojans hadn’t even been introduced at HoopLA, their midnight madness-like event tipping off the basketball season, and Lindsay Gottlieb’s assistant advised the third-year coach to peek at the scene. She poked her head out from behind the curtain.

Light sticks illuminated the dark arena. Thousands of people in the stands were cheering. In October. Gottlieb sensed the significance of the moment.

“I really do believe this is the start of a different era and perception of USC women’s basketball,� she said.

Building off their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2014 and the excitement surrounding one of the most significant prospects in program history, the 21st-ranked Trojans hope to usher in a new era of success on and off the court. When Gottlieb took over in 2021, the hire was hailed as a new age for the program trying to return to the glory once defined by stars like Cheryl Miller, Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson.

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UCLA BASKETBALL

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Cori Close is not concerned with being among the top four teams in the polls. The UCLA coach is concerned only with being among the final four teams standing.

The No. 4 Bruins have their highest preseason ranking since 1999-2000. They have four of five starters returning, last season’s top-ranked freshman class is a year older, they landed one star transfer and feature a healthy, versatile frontcourt that turned a weakness into what coaches are calling the team’s “super power.�

No wonder expectations are soaring.

“Really [the ranking] just shows potential and talent level. And we have a lot of potential and a lot of talent level,� Close said. “Now, what are we going to do with that?�

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BOBBY KNIGHT

From Bill Dwyre: News of Bobby Knight’s death last week produced thousands of words, with descriptions ranging from sadness to admiration to disgust.

Many even wrote that he was an “enigma,� which is a mysterious person, somebody difficult to understand. That was rationalizing. It was also incorrect.

John Feinstein, who wrote a best-selling book about Knight years ago, hit closer to the truth last week in his assessment of a man who gave him complete access for the book and then hated it so much that he barely spoke to Feinstein for the rest of his life. That’s because Feinstein told the truth. In his story the day after Knight died, Feinstein wrote of the infamous college basketball coach that “many swore by him and many swore at him.� Feinstein was being kind. It never was 50-50.

Knight was never an enigma. He was a jerk and a bully. To some, those in the school of “only wins and losses count,� his behavior was to be forgiven by his marvelous coaching record. Throw a chair, berate hundreds of referees, verbally assault just about anybody who played for him — or against him. Tell female sportswriters that their only worth is “to have babies and make bacon,� tell a sports official from Puerto Rico that his country’s only value is to “grow bananas� — that’s all OK to those who subscribe to “Just win, baby.�

Over time, the timid or those wired to avoid confrontation just stayed out of his way. Others stopped fighting back or trying to get him to see himself. He wore them down.

That’s what bullies do.

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LAFC

Denis Bouanga scored on a first-half penalty kick and Maxime Crepeau made it stand up against his former club as defending champion LAFC finished off a first-round sweep of the Vancouver Whitecaps with a 1-0 victory on Sunday night.

Bouanga, who scored 20 goals during the regular season to win the Golden Boot and was named a finalist for the MVP award, scored on a penalty kick in the 24th minute to give LAFC the lead. Bouanga took the kick after Mario González drew a foul on Whitecaps defender Tristan Blackmon.

Crepeau, a member of the Whitecaps from 2018 to ‘21, finished with five saves to earn his second career clean sheet in the postseason — both with LAFC.

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DUCKS

Mason McTavish scored the go-ahead goal with 3:40 to play, Sam Carrick had two late goals, and the Ducks rallied from two goals down in the third period to hand the Vegas Golden Knights their first regulation loss of the season with a 4-2 victory on Sunday night at Honda Center.

Carrick scored the tying goal with 9:05 left and added an empty-netter for the upstart Ducks, winners of six straight for the first time in nearly two years.

Adam Henrique scored early in the third for the Ducks, who rallied from two goals down in the final period to beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights, who had earned a point in 12 straight games to start this season, the longest streak by a defending champ in NHL history. Vegas also had earned a point in 20 straight regular-season games since last March, the second-longest such streak in the last 40 years.

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Ducks box score

NHL box scores

NHL standings

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1869 — First U.S. college football game played, Rutgers 6, Princeton 4.

1966 — Philadelphia’s Timmy Brown returns kickoffs 93 yards and 90 yards for touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a 24-23 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

1981 — Larry Holmes knocks out Renaldo Snipes in the 11th round to retain the world heavyweight title in Pittsburgh.

1988 — Britain’s Steve Jones win the New York City Marathon in 2:08:20, the fastest time in the world this year. His margin of victory, 3 minutes and 21 seconds over Salvatore Bettiol, is the largest in the history of the five-borough race. Grete Waitz wins an unprecedented ninth women’s title, finishing in 2:28:07 well ahead of Italy’s Laura Fogli (2:31:26).

1992 — Manon Rheaume of the Atlanta Knights becomes the first woman to suit up for a regular-season pro hockey game. The 20-year-old goalie doesn’t play in Atlanta’s 3-2 overtime loss to Cincinnati in the IHL game.

1993 — French-based Arcangues stages the biggest Breeders’ Cup upset, rallying to beat Bertrando by 2 lengths in the $3 million Classic at Santa Anita. Arcangues went off at 133-1 and returned $269.20 on a $2 bet.

1993 — Evander Holyfield regains the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships from Riddick Bowe in a fight disrupted by a parachutist. During the seventh round at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the chutist tumbles into the ringside seats and stops the fight for 21 minutes. Holyfield becomes the fourth man to become a heavyweight champion at least twice.

1995 — Art Modell announces Cleveland Browns are moving to Baltimore.

1999 — Charles Roberts rushes for 409 yards and five touchdowns to lead Sacramento State past Idaho State 41-20, setting a new NCAA record for a single-game rushing performance.

2005 — Annika Sorenstam becomes the first player in LPGA Tour history to win a tournament five straight times, shooting an 8-under 64 for a three-stroke victory in the Mizuno Classic.

2010 — Michigan wins the highest scoring game in its 131-year history by stopping a 2-point conversion attempt in the third overtime for a 67-65 victory over Illinois.

2010 — Zenyatta comes within a head of finishing a perfect career. Horse racing’s biggest star closes from dead last, but Blame holds off the 6-year-old mare and wins the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic under the lights Churchill Downs. Zenyatta entered the race hoping to improve to 20-0 on her career.

—Compiled by the Associated Press