Hi, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. The Rams actually looked like Super Bowl winners on Sunday, knocking off the Denver Broncos. Of course, with the way the Broncos have played this season, especially of late, you could gather a group of friends and look like Super Bowl winners against them.
Plus, we look at how the Chargers can clinch a playoff spot tomorrow, the Lakers losing, the start of the Santa Anita meet and we ask whether or not the Dodgers should keep Trevor Bauer.
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From Gary Klein: Rams running back Cam Akers rushed for more than 100 yards and three touchdowns.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield played efficiently and with the occasional flash. Veteran tight end Tyler Higbee stepped up, and the defense forced multiple turnovers that facilitated the offense.
Nothing, of course, has been easy for the Rams, the defending Super Bowl champions during their losing season.
But for one game anyway, they executed and played the complementary football, so sought after but almost never achieved, that coach Sean McVay has longed for desperately.
The Rams’ 51-14 victory Sunday over the hapless Denver Broncos at SoFi Stadium was a welcome respite for McVay and the Rams organization.
It was the most points scored by the Rams since a 54-51 win at the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018.
From start to finish Sunday, the Rams (5-10) had reason to feel good about themselves en route to a season-high in points. Sunday’s effort overshadowed a 31-27 win over the Atlanta Falcons in the second game of the season.
The Rams scored on all eight possessions.
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CHARGERS
By Jeff Miller: The Chargers have gained ground in their pursuit of the franchise’s first playoff berth since the 2018 season.
The Chargers can clinch a playoff spot with a win Monday at Indianapolis. The possibility presented itself after New England and Las Vegas lost on Saturday. The Patriots fell at home to Cincinnati 22-18 and the Raiders fell to Pittsburgh 13-10.
The 8-6 Chargers are sixth in the AFC and have a chance to move up to No. 5. They trail Baltimore (10-5) by a game and a half. Miami is also 8-6, but the Chargers hold the tiebreaker advantage.
The Chargers have their playoff hopes in their hands regardless of what the rest of the conference does.
“We don’t have to look over our shoulders or be fans of other teams,” safety Derwin James Jr. said. “When you can control your own destiny, that’s what’s good.”
LACERS
From Dan Woike: Luka Doncic wore cowboy boots and a black hat. Russell Westbrook wore a gray pleated skirt and white sneakers with wings. And LeBron James donned a camel coat and little round sunglasses.
Christmas Day in the NBA, as much as any other during the 82-game season, is an opportunity to show off to everyone watching.
And, if you’re just tuning in, now you know exactly what the Lakers are all about this season.
The Dallas Mavericks scored a laughable 51 points in the third quarter, carving up the Lakers’ defense with crisp passes and open 3-pointers in a 124-115 victory that was more lopsided than the final score.
The Lakers (13-20) have lost four straight and are in danger of their third five-game losing streak of the season. The team, when faced with these tough times early in the season, has mostly responded to claw their way back to respectability.
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HORSE RACING
By John Cherwa: The plot was hatched in June when Aidan Butler, the soon-to-be chief executive of the Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita Racecourse, approached Europe’s most renowned and accomplished jockey and suggested a winter to the south. California might be a good idea.
“I guess it resonated,” Butler said. “Now, it’s all part of a bigger story.”
It took a couple of months to put it all together, but Lanfranco Dettori, better known as Frankie, will ride five horses on Monday’s opening day of Santa Anita’s signature six-month meeting. Dettori plans to be a regular at Arcadia at least until the Santa Anita Derby on April 8, or maybe longer if he has the right 3-year-old horse to ride.
“The first Saturday in May is a long way off,” Dettori said of the Kentucky Derby. “There’s no point speculating too much. Right now it’s all about Boxing Day, [Dec. 26]and get off to a good start.”
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DODGERS
The arbitrator shortening Trevor Bauer’s suspension and making him eligible to play this season has polarized Dodger fans. Some want him released immediately, some want the Dodgers to play him. what do you think
Click here to vote in our poll and let us know. The results will be announced in Friday’s newsletter.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1908 – Jack Johnson becomes the first black man to win the world heavyweight boxing title, with a 14th-round knockout of Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia.
1917 – Toronto’s Harry Cameron becomes the first defenseman to score four goals in a game as the Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens 7-5.
1943 – Sid Luckman throws five touchdown passes to lead the Chicago Bears to a 41-21 victory over the Washington Redskins for the NFL championship.
1946 — The United States wins the Davis Cup with a 5-0 sweep of Australia, the worst defeat for a defending champion.
1954 – Otto Graham scores three touchdowns and passes for three more to lead the Cleveland Browns to a 56-10 rout of the Detroit Lions for the NFL title.
1955 – The Cleveland Browns intercept six passes, one of which is returned 65 yards for a touchdown by Don Paul, in a 38-14 victory over the Rams for the NFL championship.
1960 – The Philadelphia Eagles come from behind twice with Norm Van Brocklin’s 35-yard pass to Tommy McDonald and Ted Dean’s 5-yard run to beat the Green Bay Packers 17-13 for the NFL title.
1964: Wray Carlton and Jack Kemp score touchdowns and Pete Gogolak kicks two field goals to give the Buffalo Bills a 20-7 victory over the San Diego Chargers in the AFL championship.
1965 – The Buffalo Bills win their second consecutive AFL Championship with a 27-0 victory over the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers are only allowed one drive inside the Buffalo 25-yard line.
1986 – Hartford Whalers center Doug Jarvis plays in his 915th consecutive game, setting an NHL record.
1992 – The San Jose Sharks end a 13-game losing streak with a 7-2 victory over the Kings, despite allowing a team-high 59 shots; Jeff Hacket makes 57 saves
1999 – Mike Vanderjagt’s 21-yard field goal with four seconds left gives the Indianapolis Colts a 29-28 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Indianapolis, which went 3-13 in 1998, makes NFL history by winning 10 more games than the previous season.
2001 – Colorado’s Patrick Roy becomes the first NHL goaltender to win 500 games as he records his seventh shutout of the season in a 2-0 win over Dallas.
2004 – Peyton Manning breaks Dan Marino’s single-season touchdown pass record when he throws his 48th and 49th of the season, rallying Indianapolis from a 31-16 deficit in the fourth quarter to win 34- 31 in overtime over San Diego.
2007 – Chris Summers kicks a 40-yard field goal as time expires in the Motor City Bowl, lifting Purdue to a 51-48 victory over Central Michigan. The 99 points are tied for the second-highest total in a bowl game that ended in regulation, behind only the 2003 Insight Bowl, where California beat Virginia Tech 52-49.
2011 – Drew Brees sets the NFL record for passing yards in a season, breaking a mark held by Dan Marino since 1984, and the New Orleans Saints clinch the NFC South title with a 45-16 victory over Atlanta Falcons on Monday night. Brees throws for 307 yards and four touchdown passes, the last a 9-yard strike to Darren Sproles that set the record with 2:51 left. It was Brees’ last pass of the game and gave him 5,087 passing yards, breaking the record by three yards.
Compiled by the Associated Press
And finally
Jack Johnson Boxing Career Highlights. Watch and listen here.
Until next time…
This concludes today’s newsletter. If you have comments, ideas for improvement, or things you’d like to see, please email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To receive this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
