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From Gary Klein: Now that’s what you call making yourself right at home, even if it was nearly 400 miles away.
Because of safety concerns caused by wildfires in Southern California, the NFL moved the Rams’ NFC wild-card game against the Minnesota Vikings from SoFi Stadium to State Farm Stadium.
But the Rams — on a mission to win and also lift the spirits of their devastated hometown — did not flinch Monday night.
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The defense dominated and Matthew Stafford passed for two touchdowns in a 27-9 victory that advanced the Rams to an NFC divisional round playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
“With everything that’s gone on with our community, everything that these guys have gone through, I thought they epitomized and they represented the city the right way,” coach Sean McVay said. “You talk about sports offering a platform for people to come together, offer a little bit of temporary relief, and I thought the way that our team competed tonight is what it looked like.”
The Rams sacked Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold nine times, tying an NFL postseason record shared by five other teams. Cornerback Cobie Durant intercepted a pass, and rookie edge rusher Jared Verse returned a fumble for a touchdown as the Rams beat the Vikings for the second time this season and advanced to the divisional round for the first time since the 2021 season, when they won Super Bowl LVI.
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“The circumstances gave us a little bit more juice to play not only for that name on the front and the name on the back” of their uniforms, said defensive tackle Kobie Turner, “but also for the city.”
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Rams box score
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How the NFL and Rams worked together to relocate playoff game amid an L.A. tragedy
Rams PA announcer displaced by fire but keeps voicing optimism at relocated playoff game
Magic Johnson has won in NBA, MLB, WNBA and MLS as owner. His winning touch is showing in NFL
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CHARGERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Chargers players quietly packed up their lockers Sunday, collecting a season’s worth of Jim Harbaugh’s blue collar-themed gifts into plastic bags. They left signed jerseys in their teammates’ lockers like classmates inscribing yearbooks after the school year, except the end came much more suddenly than any planned graduation.
After returning to the playoffs in Harbaugh’s first season, the Chargers began an offseason with optimism for the future, but grappled with the disappointment of an early exit in the AFC wild-card round.
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“Obviously not the way you would have liked it to end,” right tackle Joe Alt said. “It’s over, but there’s a new beginning now.”
Three takeaways from the Chargers season:
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NFL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
Wild-card round
Saturday, Jan. 11
All times Pacific
AFC
No. 4 Houston Texas 32, No. 5 Chargers 12
No. 3 Baltimore Ravens 28, No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers 14
Sunday, Jan. 12
AFC
No. 2 Buffalo Bills 31, No. 7 Denver Broncos 7
NFC
No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles 22, No. 7 Green Bay Packers 10
No. 6 Washington Commanders 23, No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20
Monday
NFC
No. 4 Rams 27, No. 5 Minnesota Vikings 9
Divisional round
Saturday
AFC
No. 4 Houston Texans at No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs, 1:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN
NFC
No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 1 Detroit Lions, 5 p.m., Fox
Sunday
NFC
No. 4 Rams at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles, noon, NBC/Peacock
AFC
No. 3 Batlimore Ravens at No. 2 Buffalo Bills, 3:30 p.m., CBS/Paramount +
Conference championships: Jan. 26
Super Bowl 59: Feb. 9 at New Orleans (Fox)
REMEMBERING KOBE BRYANT
Jan. 26 will mark five years since Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and his daughter Alyssa; Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton; basketball coach Christina Mauser; and the pilot, Ara Zobayan were killed in a helicopter crash.
We’d like to hear from you. Where were you when you heard about the crash, and what effect did Bryant’s death have on your life? Selected memories will be published at a future date. Please send them to me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com.
As an example, co-worker Athan Atsales was so saddened by the death that he wrote this song about it, which you can listen to here.
WILDFIRES RELIEF
From Bill Shaikin: Los Angeles sports teams committed $8 million toward wildfire relief and announced three events to provide supplies to those affected by the fires, the teams said Monday.
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The events — at Dodger Stadium, SoFi Stadium and BMO Stadium — all take place on Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Teams will be distributing items including apparel, hygiene kits, school supplies, and sneakers. The teams said “proof of residency in evacuated ZIP codes” would be required, with supplies provided to those who lost their homes or were evacuated from them.
Separately, the teams said, a combined donation of “more than $8 million” would be split among organizations that include the American Red Cross, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and World Central Kitchen.
The participating teams: Dodgers, Angels, Lakers, Clippers, Rams, Chargers, Kings, Ducks, Galaxy, LAFC, Angel City FC and Sparks. Those teams — as well as UCLA, USC, LA28 and a new professional golf team — joined Fanatics in producing a “LA Strong” collection of T-shirts and sweatshirts, with all profits dedicated toward wildfire relief.
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LAKERS
From Dan Woike: Most of the time, NBA teams do whatever they can to fight off distractions. Monday, the Lakers couldn’t have been more thrilled to have one.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis had to evacuate their homes. JJ Redick lost his. The rebuild hasn’t even begun, another round of winds keeping red-shaded swaths of the city on edge.
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But Redick, one of the most public faces of these fires, knew this would be a chance to think about something else, temporary as that might be.
“I think a group functions best when you draw strength from each other. And the way my players, my staff, the organization has supported, rallied around me — rallied around the city, clearly — loved on my family, there’s real strength in that. And that’s the sort of receiving of strength. Then it’s our job to go give strength, and give hope and give joy,” Redick said pregame. “Sports are a lot of things and sports can certainly provide an escape and a distraction and hopefully sports, and tonight, can provide some joy as well.”
Through that lens, this was all a success — fans soaking in the moments where James and Davis tried to solve Victor Wembanyama’s 7-foot-3 frame after fires postponed the Lakers last two games.
The distraction from the outside world, the actual game, though, again exposed some of the Lakers’ issues inside the basketball one, a team again attacking them with more physicality and toughness, the Spurs deflating the crowd and surging to a 126-102 win, the Lakers’ third straight loss.
Davis and James combined to score 48 on 20-of-29 shooting, but the Lakers’ supporting cast struggled. Austin Reaves got targeted by the Spurs’ offense after they pulled Davis away from the rim. They pushed and shoved through Rui Hachimura and Max Christie.
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Lakers box score
NBA scores
NBA standings
CLIPPERS
From Broderick Turner: Clippers players wore T-shirts with the words “L.A. STRONG” on them, and Clippers public address announcer Eric Smith delivered a pregame speech, offering encouragement to those affected by the devastating fires ravaging Los Angeles.
“The smoke will lift and they will return and rebuild because this is L.A., and today we all stand together — one team, one Los Angeles,” Smith told the Intuit Dome crowd.
The Clippers then played their first game since Wednesday, looking sluggish and falling behind by 13 points in the first half.
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But the Clippers surged in the third quarter, taking control behind a strong defense and the play of James Harden and Norman Powell to pull out a 109-98 win over Miami.
Powell finished with 29 points and six rebounds and Harden had 26 points and 11 assists. The Clippers also got a dominant performance from center Ivica Zubac, who had a 20-20 game with 21 points and 20 rebounds. It was his second career game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.
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Clippers box score
NBA scores
NBA standings
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UCLA BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: Mick Cronin smiled, if only for a moment.
Waiting in the hallway for the UCLA coach after his team’s latest disappointment was former Bruins big man Adem Bona, one of the most buoyant players to ever wear the school’s jersey.
Cronin shared a hug and a brief exchange with the Philadelphia 76ers rookie before approaching a handful of reporters to face truths as cold and hard as the cinder block wall behind him.
His team is playing some of the worst defense of his six seasons in Westwood. His guards aren’t giving him nearly enough and his offense struggles to find any consistent rhythm.
Add it up and a season that looked incredibly promising as recently as two weeks ago is now on a distinctly different trajectory.
On the same day the Bruins fell out of the Associated Press rankings, they might have bottomed out Monday evening with a 75-68 loss to Rutgers at Jersey Mike’s Arena.
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UCLA box score
Big Ten standings
AP top 25 rankings
KINGS
Connor McDavid scored in the second period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Kings 1-0 on Monday night for their second straight win.
Stuart Skinner stopped 31 shots to earn his second shutout of the season and sixth of his career as the Oilers won for the sixth time in seven games to move ahead of the Kings into second place in the Pacific Division. The Oilers are four points behind first-place Vegas.
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Darcy Kuemper finished with 29 saves for the Kings, who have lost two straight after a five-game winning streak.
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Kings summary
NHL scores
NHL standings
1943 — Montreal’s Alex Smart scores three goals in his first NHL game and leads the Canadiens to a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks.
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1962 — Margaret Smith wins her third straight Australian Open with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Jan Lehane.
1968 — The Green Bay Packers win their second straight Super Bowl. The game draws the first $3 million gate in football history. Bart Starr, the game’s MVP, completes 13 of 24 passes for 202-yards.
1973 — The Miami Dolphins, who went 14-0 in the regular season and won two playoff games, beat the Washington Redskins 14-7 in the Super Bowl to become the only undefeated team in NFL history.
1990 — Joe Montana sets an NFL record when he tosses his 30th and 31st postseason touchdown passes as the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams 30-3 in the NFC championship game. Terry Bradshaw had thrown 30.
1990 — John Elway passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns as the Denver Broncos advance to their fourth Super Bowl with a 37-21 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Championship.
2001 — Led by Kerry Collins’ five touchdown passes, the New York Giants reach their first Super Bowl in a decade with a 41-0 romp past the hapless Minnesota Vikings — the biggest rout in NFC championship history.
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2006 — Johnny Weir win’s his third straight title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and Sasha Cohen takes the women’s division.
2007 — In Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, Julia Mancuso and Lindsey Kildow captures the top two places in a World Cup super-combined and Resi Stiegler just misses making it an American sweep. The 1-2-4 finish is a first for American women in a World Cup alpine skiing event.
2012 — Tom Brady throws for a record-tying six touchdown passes, five in the first half and three to Rob Gronkowski, to lead the New England Patriots to a 45-10 win over Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos in the divisional playoffs.
2012 — Alex Smith completes a 14-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with 9 seconds left just after Drew Brees put the high-powered Saints ahead, and the resurgent San Francisco 49ers capitalize on five New Orleans turnovers for a thrilling 36-32 playoff victory.
2017 — Top-ranked UConn breaks its own NCAA record with its 91st consecutive victory, scoring the first 21 points and romping past SMU 88-48. Coach Geno Auriemma and the Huskies (16-0) surpass the record of 90 that his team first accomplished more than six years ago. The four-time defending national champion Huskies haven’t lost a game since falling in overtime at sixth-ranked Stanford on Nov. 17, 2014.
2017 — New England’s Dion Lewis becomes the first in NFL postseason history to have a rushing TD, receiving TD and kickoff return for a TD in a single game, which led to the Patriots’ 34-16 division playoff win over Houston.
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2020 — Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is fired amid Major League Baseball’s investigation into sign-stealing by the Houston Astros; Cora was the Astros’ bench coach before moving to Boston.
Compiled by the Associated Press
The Sports Report: Rams sack Sam Darnold nine times and advance to face Eagles
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