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From Chuck Schilken: The NHL has postponed Wednesday night’s scheduled game between the Kings and the Calgary Flames at Crypto.com Arena because of the wildfires burning across L.A. County.
“Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working First Responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community.
“We appreciate the League’s support in keeping our fans, staff, and players safe.”
The Kings said the game will be rescheduled for a later date and tickets for Wednesday’s game will be valid on the rescheduled date. More information and additional ticketing options will be offered by the Kings once the new date and time are confirmed.
The Lakers are scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night. The NBA declined to comment on whether that game will take place as planned.
Firefighters have been battling multiple blazes since Tuesday, with wind gusts reaching nearly 100 mph and fueling three major fires that have burned more than 1,000 buildings and caused at least two deaths. The Palisades fire has burned more than 5,000 acres and many homes, businesses and landmarks in Pacific Palisades and westward along Pacific Coast Highway, toward Malibu.
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From Eric Sondheimer: Jeff Bryant, the boys’ basketball coach at Palisades High, was about to hold practice at 11 a.m. on Tuesday in the school gym when security informed him that the campus needed to be evacuated because of the Palisades fire that had broken out at 10:30 a.m.
“We saw fire above our parking structure,” Bryant said. “The wind was bad. I had my 2-year-old with me. I ran straight to the car and got on the road.”
The girls’ team was also about to hold practice. Everyone quickly left and made it out with no issues, according to Bryant. Players drove their cars out or had parents with them.
Bryant will be one of the last to have seen a campus that may have received extensive damage to its facilities.
A basketball game scheduled for Wednesday against Venice has been canceled. Bryant said players have already asked whether their season will continue, and he advised that the focus must be on families first. He said several in his program have lost homes. Bryant said coaches from other programs have reached out offering gym time if needed. Bryant said he does not know the status of the gym.
The Los Angeles Unified School District canceled all games and practices for schools on Wednesday. LAUSD also announced that all its schools will be closed on Thursday.
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Lakers coach JJ Redick’s family evacuated from their home in Pacific Palisades
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RAMS
From Gary Klein: Defensive tackle Kobie Turner said the Rams’ long but joyful regular season primed them for what’s next.
On Monday night, the No. 4-seeded Rams will play the No. 5 Minnesota Vikings in an NFC wild-card game at SoFi Stadium.
“We’ve been waiting on this moment,” Turner said after the Rams’ regular-season finale against the Seattle Seahawks.
Even before the Rams knew their opponent — they had to wait until Sunday night for the outcome of the Detroit Lions’ 31-9 victory over the Vikings — Turner and his teammates said their rebound from a 1-4 start showed they were gritty, resilient and prepared to make a run to the Super Bowl.
“The energy in this group is insane,” Turner said. “The urgency picks up, but we’ve been putting ourselves in position this entire last back half of the season.”
And the Rams, who will resume their regular game-week prep and media availability on Thursday, will do it with a rested and healthy roster.
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NFL plans for Rams to host Vikings Monday but may shift to Arizona due to fires
CHARGERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: A second safety went on injured reserve in as many weeks. The Chargers were calling on practice squad players who hadn’t even had a week’s worth of practices to fill in.
With the pressure of the postseason looming, how did Jim Harbaugh feel about the position that was scraping the bottom of the team’s personnel barrel?
“Tremendous confidence,” the Chargers coach said with a proud smile. “We’re talking about Derwin James’ position.”
The star safety has re-established himself as one of the league’s top defensive backs, earning a fourth Pro Bowl nomination and notching a career-best 5½ sacks while anchoring a secondary that has started 10 players.
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NFL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
Wild-card round
Saturday
All times Pacific
AFC
No. 5 Chargers at No. 4 Houston Texans, 1:30 p.m. (CBS, Paramount+)
No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens, 5 p.m. (Prime Video)
Sunday
AFC
No. 7 Denver Broncos at No. 2 Buffalo Bills, 10 a.m. (CBS, Paramount+)
NFC
No. 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles, 1:30 p.m. (FOX, FOX Deportes)
No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 5 p.m. (NBC, Peacock, Universo)
Monday
NFC
No. 5 Minnesota Vikings at No. 4 Rams, 5 p.m. (ESPN/ABC/ESPN+/ ESPN Deportes; ManningCast-ESPN2/ESPN+)
Divisional round: Jan. 18-19
Conference championships: Jan. 26
Super Bowl 59: Feb. 9 at New Orleans (Fox)
CLIPPERS
Jamal Murray had 21 points and nine assists, Russell Westbrook added 19 points and eight assists and the Denver Nuggets beat the Clippers 126-103 on Wednesday night in a matchup of short-handed teams.
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard was not available after he flew back to Los Angeles before the game to help his family deal with the wildfires.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was out for the second straight game due to an illness. Denver is 2-3 without him this season.
Norman Powell scored 30 points to finish with a 27.6 average in the Clippers’ four games against the Nuggets. James Harden had 16 points and Ivica Zubac added 10.
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UCLA BASKETBALL
From Dylan Hernández: UCLA coach Mick Cronin sounded exasperated as he cataloged his team’s crimes against his brand of basketball, pointing out his players didn’t play defense and allowed their opponents to push them aside to collect rebounds. The details he recalled during his 10-minute postgame news conference were intended to support an overarching thesis.
“We’re soft,” he said.
The blunt appraisal after No. 22 UCLA’s 94-75 crushing defeat to No. 24 Michigan at Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday night was part of an annual tradition during which Cronin questions the character of his players and declares they lack the ability to win without exerting maximum effort.
Not everyone is enamored with the approach, a segment of UCLA’s fan base insisting he should temper his sideline behavior and take greater responsibility for his team’s failures.
But here’s the thing: His approach works.
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USC BASKETBALL
Oumar Ballo powered his way to 23 points and Indiana overcame an early double-digit deficit to beat USC 82-69 Wednesday.
The Hoosiers (13-3) earned their fourth win in five Big Ten Conference games, the program’s best start since the 2015-16 season.
Playing for the first time at Bloomington, USC built a quick 10-point lead on a layup by Wesley Yates III eight minutes into the game, 19-9. Kanaan Carlyle knocked down a three-pointer to get the Hoosiers within two, 24-22 with 6:18 left, and Myles Rice hit a pair at the line.
After Chibuzo Agbo‘s three put USC in front 27-24, Ballo grabbed a rebound, drew a foul and converted a pair of free throws, added two more from the line, a layup and a short jumper to help Indiana draw even at intermission, 38-38.
Yates finished with 18 points to lead USC (9-6, 1-3). Desmond Claude added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists and Saint Thomas and Agbo each added 11 points.
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JuJu Watkins scored 21 points before fouling out in the final minute, and No. 4 USC rallied to hand No. 8 Maryland its first loss, 79-74 on Wednesday night.
Shyanne Sellers scored 26 points for Maryland, but the Terrapins (14-1, 4-1 Big Ten) came up empty down the stretch after leading by seven in the fourth quarter.
A three-point play by Kiki Iriafen gave USC a 75-72 lead with 1:28 to play. Then Rayah Marshall blocked a jumper by Sellers.
Watkins fouled out on an offensive foul with 31 seconds left, but Maryland’s Saylor Poffenbarger missed from three-point range, and Avery Howell pushed the Trojans’ lead to five with a couple free throws.
With USC (15-1, 5-0) having just joined the Big Ten, this was the first meeting between these teams since 1995.
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THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1942 — Joe Louis knocks out Buddy Baer with four seconds left in the first round at Madison Square Garden in New York to retain the world heavyweight title.
1977 — Oakland wins their first NFL title and the Minnesota Vikings drop their fourth Super Bowl as the Raiders post a 32-14 triumph.
1988 — Anthony Carter catches 10 passes for an NFL postseason-record 227 yards to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a 36-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers and advanced to the NFC title game.
1991 — Dean Smith collects his 700th coaching victory as North Carolina routs Maryland 105-73. Smith is the sixth Division I basketball coach to reach the 700-win plateau and does so in the shortest time.
1996 — The Toronto Raptors set an NBA record by not making a free throw in a 92-91 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The expansion Raptors shoots 0-for-3 from the foul line.
2004 — Brian Boucher of Phoenix posts his fifth consecutive shutout in a 2-0 win over Minnesota. He stops 21 shots and passes Bill Durnan’s NHL mark of 309:21, early in the third period.
2006 — Kobe Bryant of the scores 45 points against Indiana, making him the first player since Wilt Chamberlain — in November of 1964 — to score at least that many in four straight games.
2007 — Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Mark McGwire, whose 583 home runs ranked seventh on the career list, does not make it on his first ballot.
2008 — Golf Channel suspends anchor Kelly Tilghman for two weeks for saying a week earlier that young players who wanted to challenge Tiger Woods should “lynch him in a back alley.”
2010 — Peyton Manning becomes the first player to win The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player honors four times.
2010 — Detroit’s Ben Gordon scores 20 points, including the 10 millionth point in NBA history, in a loss to Philadelphia.
2012 — Jeremy Shelley kicks five field goals and Trent Richardson breaks a 34-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter as No. 2 Alabama beats No. 1 LSU 21-0 — the first shutout in BCS title game history.
2013 — No one is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. For the second time in four decades, baseball writers fail to give any player the 75 percent required for induction to Cooperstown. Craig Biggio, 20th on the career list with 3,060 hits, appears on 68.2% of the 569 ballots, the highest total but 39 votes shy.
2016 — Quarterback Carson Wentz, out since mid-October with a broke wrist, returns to lead North Dakota State to an unprecedented fifth straight FCS championship with a 37-10 victory over top seed Jacksonville State.
2016 — Chris Boswell kicks a 35-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining as the Steelers somehow pull out an 18-16 victory over Cincinnati in the AFC wild-card game. Pittsburgh moves into field goal position after a pair of 15-yard penalties on the Bengals, one on linebacker Vontaze Burfict and another on Adam Jones after Burfict hits defenseless Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.
2017 — College Football National Championship, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa: #2 Clemson beats #1 Alabama, 35-31.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
