#oregon-state

#oregon-state

There will be lots of alterations to the Green Bay Packers offense in 2023.A few of the team's players would like to make sure there's one less change.The times have certainly changed in "Titletown."For the first time since 2004, quarterback Aaron Rodgers is not an employee of the Green Bay Packers.

Pat McAfee finding out about the Indianapolis Colts' collapse to the Minnesota Vikings is the type of content the internet was made for.No matter if this is remembered as The Second Minneapolis Miracle or The Great Indianapolis Collapse, Pat McAfee was in utter disbelief of the outcome, whilst tucked away in a Las Vegas broadcasting booth.

The New England Patriots acquired a top talent in the draft at a premiere position of need with the selection of cornerback Christian Gonzalez Thursday night.With a major hole now filled in New England's secondary, Bill Belichick and Co. will have a number of options on how to attack Day 2 of the NFL Draft.

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.

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.

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.

Amari Bailey always lets his teammates hear it.A high-pitched scream at a random moment.Yodeling as they're about to step into the shower.It often pierces the silence.It always makes everyone on UCLA's basketball team laugh.He's a whole different person off the court, teammate Jaylen Clark said, cracking a smile at the memory of the auditory assault.

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.

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 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).

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

To play a football championship game in the 100-year-old Rose Bowl, known as "The Granddaddy of Them All," makes the Southern Section Division 1 championship game between No. 1 Santa Ana Mater Dei (12-0) and No. 2 Bellflower St. John Bosco (11-1) a historic night for high school football in Southern California.

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.

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.

A look at some of the top high school regional football bowl games this week.Friday
Chula Vista Mater Dei (9-4) at Downey (12-2), 7 p.m.In 2-AA, Downey's offensive firepower could prove decisive.Oregon State commit Aidan Chiles has passed for 3,096 yards and 36 touchdowns, and run for 905 yards and nine touchdowns.

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.

What has changed since USC's loss to Utah?

Kartje: The Trojans' lone defeat under Lincoln Riley happened just last month, but it feels like a lifetime ago considering the confidence USC is playing with right now.Players have said that loss - and the heart-wrenching scene after - changed them as a team, and it's hard to dispute that given what we've seen since.

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.

USC may need some help to make the College Football Playoff after all.Despite the Trojans' national statement victory Saturday night over rival UCLA in the Rose Bowl, the CFP committee kept them behind two-loss Louisiana State in Tuesday's top 25 rankings.LSU, 9-2, is No. 5, while USC, 10-1, is No. 6.

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.

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.

Winning October, never the goal for UCLA's basketball team, continues to be an annual ritual under coach Mick Cronin.For the third time in as many years, the Bruins were picked to win the Pac-12 Conference in a media poll released Wednesday morning.In each of the last two years, they fell short of those projections.

The over/under for Saturday night's game is set at 60½ points with USC expected to account for most of those points.He wasn't as sharp in last Saturday's win at Oregon State, but rallied USC to a hard-fought 17-14 victory in the type of early-season game that fans have seen the Trojans lose in recent years.The USC Trojans take their No. 6 AP ranking into their 7:30 p.m. Saturday meeting with the Arizona State Sun Devils at the Coliseum.The Trojans are led by quarterback Caleb Williams, who also came with Riley from Oklahoma.