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By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer Pro Picks is a weekly column where AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi shares his picks for upcoming games. For all previous Pro Picks, head here. ___ The NFL’s two current No. 1 seeds facing off in a prime-time matchup on Christmas night was the best present schedule-makers
Continue ReadingBy GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Sean McVay turned the Los Angeles Rams’ already jubilant locker room into a party Thursday night with an announcement: The players are off until Tuesday, allowing them to spend the entire Christmas holiday with their families. These surprising Rams earned their holiday with a surge
Continue ReadingBy CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, Chet Holmgren gave Oklahoma City the lead for good with a dunk he threw off the backboard to himself, and the Thunder beat the Clippers 134-115 on Thursday night, ending Los Angeles’ nine-game winning streak. With Oklahoma City trailing by
Continue ReadingBy The Associated Press RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Benjamin Griscti had 19 points in UC Riverside’s 82-67 victory against Idaho on Thursday night. Griscti added six rebounds for the Highlanders (5-7). Nate Pickens added 16 points while going 5 of 8 from the floor, including 1 for 3 from 3-point range, and 5 for 8
Continue ReadingLOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal appeals court on Thursday revived a child sexual exploitation lawsuit filed by the man who appeared naked as a 4-month-old on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album “Nevermind.” Spencer Elden’s lawsuit against the grunge rock group alleges that he has suffered “permanent harm” as the band and others profited
Continue ReadingBy The Associated Press MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Michael Ajayi scored 16 points as Pepperdine beat William & Mary 71-59 on Thursday night. Ajayi added 12 rebounds for the Waves (6-8). Boubacar Coulibaly scored 13 points and added 13 rebounds and three blocks. Malik Moore was 6 of 12 shooting to finish with 13 points.
Continue ReadingLOS ANGELES (AP) — California sued the Ralphs supermarket chain on Thursday, alleging that it violated state law by asking job-seekers whether they had criminal records and illegally rejecting hundreds of applicants. The California Civil Rights Department contends that Ralphs Grocery Co. “has ignored and continues to ignore” the Fair Chance Act “by screening out
Continue ReadingBy RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer Oregon State and Washington State announced Thursday they have reached an agreement in principle with 10 departing Pac-12 schools on revenue distribution for 2023-24 that ends a legal battle sparked by conference realignment. Last week, Oregon State and Washington State were given control of the Pac-12 and
Continue ReadingMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — LeBron James sat out the Los Angeles Lakers ‘ game Thursday night against Minnesota to rest his left ankle on the second night of back-to-back games. Bothered by tendinitis in the ankle, James had 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers on Wednesday night in a 124-108 loss at
Continue ReadingLONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — McKenzie Forbes finished with a career-high 36 points and No. 6 USC, despite missing two starters, turned back Long Beach State 85-77 on Thursday. The Trojans managed to match the 10-0 starts of the 1983-84 and 1984-85 teams despite missing their top two scorers, freshman star Juju Watkins (26.8 points
Continue ReadingBy The Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Duncan Powell had a triple-double to power Sacramento State to a 100-45 victory over Bethesda University on Thursday night. Powell finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for the Hornets (3-8). Zee Hamoda added 14 points and five rebounds. Alex Kovatchev was 5 of 10
Continue ReadingBy EUGENE GARCIA and JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — Motorists were stranded in their vehicles on flooded roadways in typically idyllic Santa Barbara on Thursday, while nearby Oxnard got a month’s worth of rain in a single hour in a storm that pummeled Southern California while Christmas travel got underway. The
Continue ReadingLOS ANGELES (AP) — “Fast and Furious” star Vin Diesel has been accused by his former assistant of sexual battery while working for him in 2010. Asta Jonasson filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles on Thursday alleging that Diesel forced himself onto her in a hotel suite in Atlanta. The lawsuit alleges she tried to
Continue ReadingBy BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — No. 2 UCLA cruised undefeated through its nonconference schedule, beating ranked UConn, Florida State and Ohio State on the road. Now, the Bruins are about to face their biggest test yet. They’ll take on No. 6 Southern California after Christmas in the teams’ Pac-12 opener
Continue ReadingBy NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer It’s one of the biggest debates of the 2023 NFL season: Brock Purdy, superstar or game manager? His next opponent already sounds convinced of the answer. “Seems like he gets a lot of hate from the stuff that I see. I don’t know why,” Baltimore cornerback Marlon Humphrey said.
Continue ReadingBy ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Democrats running California’s government have passed some of the strictest gun laws in the country, but those efforts to restrict firearm access are increasingly facing successful challenges in court. Gun rights groups have been aggressively fighting the laws, often winning initial rulings in their favor before
Continue ReadingBy RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Yoshinobu Yamamoto already has New York Yankees pinstripes with No. 18, the numeral prized by many Japanese pitchers. “I gave him that jersey. It’s his if he wants to keep it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday. Some Japanese pitchers covet No. 18 because the
Continue ReadingORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills placed defensive tackle Jordan Phillips on injured reserve on Thursday after the backup had surgery for a wrist injury last weekend. Phillips is expected to miss about three weeks, and now will be required to miss four games. He won’t be available to play unless Buffalo reaches
Continue ReadingCOSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — NFL receptions leader Keenan Allen will miss his second straight game due to a heel injury. The Los Angeles Chargers declared Allen out Thursday for their Saturday night home game against the Buffalo Bills. Allen leads the league with 108 catches, a Chargers single-season record, and is fourth in yardage
Continue ReadingBy JOSHUA GOODMAN and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — A defense contractor at the center of one of the biggest bribery scandals in U.S. military history is expected to face additional charges following his return to the United States from Venezuela as part of a broader prisoner swap between the two countries, a
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