#oregon-state

#oregon-state

The UCLA women's basketball team will look to continue its promising season when the fourth-seeded Bruins play No. 13 Sacramento State in the first round of the Greenville 1 Regional of the NCAA tournament Saturday.After its stunning win over Stanford, the 17th-ranked Bruins fell to Washington State in the Pac-12 tournament final March 5, dashing its hopes of an automatic bid.

With two Pac-12 football heavyweights falling off its schedule, UCLA's slate of conference games in 2023 seems favorable ... or does it?The Bruins won't have to play Oregon or Washington, who combined for a 21-5 record last season, but they will have to face three presumed contenders on the road as part of their farewell season in the Pac-12.

Two hours before the Pac-12 championship matchup would be settled, Eric Gentry considered his options carefully when asked of whether he wanted a rematch against the team that spoiled USC's perfect season.After a two-second pause, the middle linebacker smiled wide."Happy to be in the Pac-12 championship," Gentry said with a toothy grin after USC's 38-27 win over No. 15 Notre Dame on Saturday at the Coliseum.

The Times will highlight the top college football games worth watching each week.Here's a rundown of six games in Week 13 of the 2022 season that should be worth your viewing time.All times are Pacific.No. 3 Michigan (11-0) at No. 2 Ohio State (11-0)

To say there is a lot at stake in this game at Ohio Stadium is an understatement - the winner clinches the Big Ten East Division title, a trip to the conference championship in Indianapolis and most likely a berth in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

We have only two names left until we've completed the 2023 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List, our annual ranking of the top 44 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization.Coming in at No. 42 on the list is Wade Meckler, who sneaks into the CPL in his first year of eligibility.The Giants selected Meckler, a left-handed hitting outfielder, in the eighth round of the 2022 MLB Draft.

JSerra High baseball coach Brett Kay has assembled a group of players that college recruiters have judged among the best ever in the Southland.Ten players from the Class of 2023 are set to sign letters of intent with colleges this week.The first day of the early signing period is Wednesday.Another nine players in the program are committed to colleges.

(Nell Redmond / Associated Press)

For UCLA, the saying is true.Practice does make perfect.After a string of heartbreaking late-game collapses, coach Cori Close changed UCLA's training regimen to finish practice two or three times a week with a must-win scrimmage.Two minutes and 30 seconds on the clock.

Lindsay Gottlieb knew her defense was good.But she didn't realize how good.Allowing just 54.8 points per game, USC is on pace to have the best scoring defense in the program's NCAA history.Gottlieb, the team's second-year coach, raised her eyebrows and nodded in modest approval when she heard the fact.

Before the chaos of March descended on Pauley Pavilion this week, Cori Close gathered her team at center court at the end of practice.During this time of the year, teams that remember and embrace their identity find the most success, the UCLA head coach reminded her players.That foundation helps overcome inevitable NCAA tournament adversity.

It wasn't always the smoothest ride, all the way down to the long wait on Selection Sunday.But for the third straight season, USC is on its way to the NCAA men's basketball tournament, punching its ticket as a No. 10 seed.The Trojans will face Michigan State, the No. 7 seed in the East region, on Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

Mick Cronin rarely goes easy on his players.Known for ripping his team in good times (a recent home win over USC, albeit a hideous one) and bad (a November loss to Illinois after holding a 15-point lead in the second half), UCLA 's volatile coach took a softer approach Thursday night.He praised USC.

As the clouds cleared Saturday morning, letting the sun come through for the opening day of high school baseball, Calabasas pitcher Jordan Kingston stood on the mound perhaps asking himself where he could hide after two hit batters and an error in the first inning left him with the bases loaded and none out against El Camino Real.

Today's chat guest, Tim Kissner, has 22 years of experience as an MLB scout.Tim was born in Homer, Alaska, and grew up in Juneau.He played baseball at Mendocino Community College and Oregon State and has a masters degree from Eastern Oregon State College.Kissner began his MLB career as a part-time scout with the Phillies in 1999.

His back still ached, the tightness building over the second half of a long season, down the homestretch of a long college career.Drew Peterson was not his usually limber self.That much was certain Saturday night.The senior's stiff back had slowed him Thursday and nearly sidelined him for USC 's regular-season finale.

The Washington Commanders have many needs to fill via free agency and the NFL draft during this critical offseason.The draft process is going to be front and center with several all-star games on the near horizon.Welcome to the first offseason edition of these mock drafts.The Washington Commanders have multiple positions that need upgrades and an obvious infusion of young talent.

The Nittany Lions boast a strong 10-2 record, but they somehow accomplished it without beating a team currently ranked in the top 25.Their two losses, to College Football Playoff semifinal teams Michigan and Ohio State, were both by double digits.Certainly, Penn State has a lot to prove for a team privileged enough to be playing in the "Granddaddy of Them All."

It wasn't over.It was time to refocus.Time to go for a state title.So after a weekend jubilation on the heels of last Friday's Southern Section Division 4 championship win over Cypress, the Downey Vikings laced their cleats, took the field for Monday practice, and got back to competition.Sort of.Coach Jack Williams called it "Finish the Lyric" - offense vs. defense, a boombox brought to the middle of the field, Viking players hearing hip-hop and R&B and '70s hits and having to recite the proper words.

TEAM TALK

Evan Lazar's 2023 Free Agent Forecast: Offensive Line.Mike Dussault's 2023 Free Agent Forecast: Defensive Line.Paul Perillo tackles this week's Patriots Mailbag: Options at wideout, drafting a plan and more.Paul Perillo's NFL Notes: Combine's lost luster hasn't stopped the hype.Alexandra Francisco talks about how David Andrews, Deatrich Wise Jr. & Cole Strange celebrated Read Across America in the community.

As the 2022 NFL regular season winds down for the Washington Commanders, they will quickly turn their focus to the offseason and what awaits them in free agency and the draft.As the weather turns colder and the NFL playoffs begin to take shape, teams will soon be turning their attention to roster re-shaping through the two main tools of the offseason - free agency and the draft.

David Berding/Getty Images New York Giants receiver Isaiah Hodgins said he would "love" a long-term deal to remain with the team and "wants to be here," according to Art Stapleton of the Record.In the meantime, Hodgins is hopeful to return as an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA).

As you know, Nick Madrigal had an injury-filled 2022 season with the Cubs that resulted in him playing just 59 games and batting .249/.305/.282(52-for-209) with seven extra-base hits, all doubles.This, obviously, wasn't what anyone would have wanted from Madrigal, who was the first-round pick (fourth overall) of the White Sox in 2018 from Oregon State.

SAN FRANCISCO  Friday marked the official end of a chapter for Gary Payton II.A key rotation player on last season's championship team, Payton returned to Chase Center with his new team, the Portland Trail Blazers, and was given his championship ring.A brief video montage highlighting some of his brightest moments in a Warriors uniform played on the video board before Draymond Green presented Payton with his championship ring.

UCLA fans watching the Pac-12 Conference championship football game Friday might be tempted to utter two appalling words: fight on.A USC victory over Utah at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas would enhance the Bruins ' chances of being selected for the Alamo Bowl, the best possible postseason outcome for a team that finished in a tie for fifth place in the Pac-12 alongside Oregon State.

The date, location and opponent for UCLA's bowl game are set.The Bruins will play Pittsburgh in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 30 in El Paso, Texas.But lots of uncertainty remains.Who will play for the Bruins in their first bowl game since 2017?And who will be calling their defense?UCLA coach Chip Kelly presumably can answer some of these questions when he speaks with reporters later Sunday, but doubts could remain about the status of NFL-eligible players for a few more days.

USC and UCLA will settle the debate on the field Nov. 19 in the Rose Bowl, but, until that fateful Saturday in Pasadena, the weekly College Football Playoff rankings unveiling will have to suffice fanning the flames between the crosstown rivals.And Tuesday's second release of the CFP top 25 provided some pretty good fodder.

The nation's focus will be on Las Vegas on Friday night when USC and Utah play for the Pac-12 championship."That's the only drama left," ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit said Tuesday night after the College Football Playoff rankings reveal.Based on the CFP selection committee's ranking of the Trojans as No. 4, USC is in the playoff with a win over the Utes.

In another life, another time, Cypress quarterback Aidan Houston's favorite receiver was Aidan Chiles, the Aidan-to-Aidan connection running wild across Pop Warner fields."I liked him," Houston said, smiling.He might like him a little less between the lines on Friday night, when Cypress takes on Downey in the Southern Section Division 4 championship game.