The Sports Report: Agent shares posting process for Dodgers target Roki Sasaki
Howdy, I’m your host, Iliana Limón Romero, filling in for Houston Mitchell, who is probably spending the day watching Freddie Freeman’s World Series walk-off grand slam again and again. Let’s get right to the news.
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From Jack Harris: Like the rest of Major League Baseball, the Dodgers have closely monitored Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki over the last couple of years, anxiously waiting for the hard-throwing phenom to come to MLB.
And now that the 23-year-old officially has been posted for major league teams to sign this offseason, they’re about to find out whether they actually possess what Sasaki is looking for in his next club.
On the second day of MLB’s annual winter meetings on Tuesday, Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman Media Group, began to detail such factors during a media scrum that turned into an informal news conference at the Hilton Anatole, speaking at length to reporters craving any information about the talented right-hander and potential future ace.
“My first answer is, I’m not entirely sure yet,” Wolfe said when asked what Sasaki is looking for in a team. “I’ve known Roki for a little over two years now. And as I’ve gotten to know him, it’s been a little bit difficult to really ascertain what his decision-making process would be for choosing a team, because his focus has been predominantly on whether or not he’s going to be able to post.”
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RAMS
From Gary Klein: Matthew Stafford made NFL history several times this season, moving into the top 10 in career yards passing, completions and touchdowns.
On Thursday night against the San Francisco 49ers, the Rams’ quarterback won’t be chasing a record but he could achieve a personal milestone of sorts.
Stafford has not had a pass intercepted in his last four games, a streak he achieved only four other times in his 16-year career.
But he never extended that efficiency to five games.
The Rams could use another error-free performance by Stafford in their NFC West matchup against the 49ers in what amounts to a playoff game for both teams.
The Seattle Seahawks (8-5) lead the division and the Rams (7-6) are in second-place. The Rams play the 49ers (6-7), at the New York Jets (3-10) and then finish the season with home games against the Arizona Cardinals (6-7) and Seahawks.
“Just trying to keep our team in it as best I can, be as disciplined as I can while still being aggressive and giving our guys opportunities to make plays,” Stafford said Tuesday of his recent efficiency, “because they’re doing a great job of that for me right now.”
USC FOOTBALL
From Ryan Kartje: The transfer portal was open less than 24 hours when Lincoln Riley appeared on USC’s “Trojans Live” radio show Monday night. Already by that point, 11 players had announced their plans to hit the portal, among them the Trojans’ right tackle, Mason Murphy, and running back of the future, Quinten Joyner — two departures that stir red a frustrated fan base into a portal-induced panic.
So when Riley was asked about his approach to the transfer market, he had a point to make. College football, the coach opined, was now basically “a professional model.” That meant “making some tough decisions” about “where to allocate reps or where to allocate resources, roster spots, all of those things.”
“The reality is there’s just some guys that you just can’t or are not going to pay what they want,” Riley said. “If your value doesn’t match the money, then it’s not going to go well much longer, it’s not going to go further. There’s a cutthroat part of that that is just part of being a professional organization, and again, that’s what we’re becoming.”
UCLA ATHLETICS
From Ben Bolch: UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond’s contract extension that runs through June 30, 2029, calls for incremental raises rising to an annual salary of $2.1 million.
The contract, signed in May by recently departed chancellor Gene Block, took effect July 1 and superseded Jarmond’s previous contract that was set to expire in the summer of 2026. As part of his new contract, he will receive $1.55 million in Year 1, $1.6 million in Year 2, $1.8 million in Year 3, $2 million in Year 4 and $2.1 million in Year 5.
Those amounts in the first two years represent significant raises over the $1.25 million Jarmond was set to make this year and the $1.31 million he would have made in 2025-26 under his previous contract.
USC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
From Anthony De Leon: All it took was half of a quarter and a defensive adjustment for No. 5 USC to seize control against Fresno State Tuesday night.
What started as a tight, back-and-forth contest changed halfway through the first quarter when the Trojans deployed a relentless full-court trap. USC held Fresno State (7-4) to 12 points for the rest of the first half.
USC continued to smother the Bulldogs’ offense and put the game out of reach early, cruising to an 89-40 victory at Galen Center.
“We went to our press, which helps sometimes to generate some easy offense,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “I knew the offense would come. We just had to feel out what they were doing, find the soft spots. I think the press got us going.”
GALAXY
From Kevin Baxter: The Galaxy won their sixth MLS Cup on Saturday and celebrated the achievement long into Sunday afternoon.
Then on Monday, shortly after the champagne sprays in the locker room had dried, the team began tweaking its roster for next season, letting players know who would be coming back and who might be moving on.
Not because it wanted to, but because the league’s rules demanded it do so.
“It’s a function of the league’s calendar and the players association rules about when players must be notified,” general manager Will Kuntz said Tuesday. “It’s really difficult and it’s obviously much less times than any other domestic league [has] with respect to these kinds of conversations.
“No league finishes their season with the championship game on Saturday and then is already doing offseason stuff on Monday.”
That Kuntz, in his first full season as a general manager, built something special with the Galaxy is undeniable. He signed 10 of the 14 players who appeared in Saturday’s 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls in the MLS Cup final, setting the foundation for one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in league history.
CLIPPERS
From Broderick Turner: The Clippers were in the midst of a drill when suddenly, and even surprisingly, Kawhi Leonard joined their practice session Tuesday.
“We were doing a shooting drill at the beginning of practice and we go back and forth passing and I’m passing it to Kawhi, I go, ‘Oh, snap! That’s Kawhi!’ Know what I mean?” guard Jordan Miller said. “But again, it just gives us energy.
“Like at this point where we’re at, we can get all the energy we need. So, like I said, it’s good to have him back on the court and at the end of the day we all want what’s best for him. So, whenever that is, whenever he can play with us, that’s great. But at the end of the day, we want what’s best for him.”
KINGS
From the Associated Press: Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala scored and Darcy Kuemper made 19 saves as the Kings beat the New York Islanders 3-1 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight win.
The Kings started a seven-game road trip, their longest of the season, with a strong performance. Mikey Anderson added an empty-net goal as Los Angeles improved to 17-8-3 with its eighth victory in 10 games.
Anders Lee scored for the Islanders, who won their previous two.
Kempe opened the scoring at 13:51 of the first period with his 14th goal when he converted a pass from behind the net from captain Anze Kopitar, who played in his 1,401st career game.
HIGH SCHOOLS
From Steve Galluzzo: When Catholic school powerhouses Loyola and Cathedral meet in their annual early season soccer showdown, the energy is palpable and tensions are high. The playoffs are still months away, yet both sides treat the game as if a title is on the line.
Tuesday’s clash saw the visiting Cubs prevail 2-0 on a pair of goals by striker Josh Gallagher.
Gallagher’s first tally came in the 15th minute after he slipped past the back line and fired a low drive that skipped between the legs of goalkeeper Maizcer Villalobos. That allowed Loyola to be aggressive for the remainder of the half knowing it had a lead.
Prep basketball roundup: EJ Vernon is making an impact for Crossroads
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1938 — New York Giants beats the Green Bay Packers 23-17 to win the NFL championship.
1946 — The Chicago Stags and Cleveland Rebels play an experimental game featuring 15-minute quarters, instead of the usual 12-minute quarters. The Stags beat the Rebels 88-70.
1949 — Johnny Lujack of the Chicago Bears passes for 468 yards and six touchdowns in a 52-21 rout of the Chicago Cardinals.
1951 — Joe DiMaggio announces his retirement from baseball.
1959 — Richie Guerin scores 57 points, at the time the most ever by a Knick, as New York defeats Syracuse 152-121. His team record was broken by Bernard King 25 years later.
1971 — The Los Angeles Lakers set an NBA record with 21 straight wins by beating the Atlanta Hawks 104-95, breaking the record of 20 set by the Milwaukee Bucks the previous year.
1972 — Joe Namath of the New York Jets passes for 403 yards and Don Maynard sets an NFL record for career receptions in a 24-16 loss to the Oakland Raiders. Maynard, with seven catches, breaks Raymond Berry’s record of 631 by one catch.
1977 — Philadelphia’s Tom Bladon scores four goals and collects four assists to set a record for defensemen with eight points in the Flyers’ 11-1 victory over the Cleveland Barons.
1981 — Former world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali’s 61st and last fight; loses to Trevor Berbick by unanimous decision in 10 rounds at Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, Nassau, Bahamas.
1982 — Dan Fouts the San Diego Chargers passes for 444 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-37 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. San Francisco’s Joe Montana passes for 356 yards to set an NFL record with five consecutive games of 300 yards or more passing.
1983 — John Henry becomes the first racehorse to surpass $4 million in career earnings when he wins the Hollywood Turf Cup with jockey Chris McCarron at Hollywood Park.
1985 — Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers registers seven assists in a 12-9 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks. The teams tie the NHL record for most total goals in a game.
1992 — Gary Bettman, the NBA’s senior vice president and general counsel, is named the NHL’s first commissioner.
1999 — Rowan ends Mount Union’s NCAA-record 54-game winning streak, beating the Purple Raiders 24-17 in overtime in a Division III semifinal game.
2002 — Danielle Dube becomes the third female goalie to start in a men’s professional hockey game, stopping 18 shots in the Long Beach Ice Dogs’ 4-1 loss to San Diego in the West Coast Hockey League.
2002 — Colorado’s Joe Sakic scores his 500th career goal in a 3-1 loss at Vancouver. Sakic is the 31st player in NHL history to reach the milestone.
2006 — Jerry Sloan becomes the fifth coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games after Utah defeats Dallas 101-79.
2009 — Tiger Woods announces an indefinite leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage.
2010 — Carl Hagelin scores two goals in the Michigan’s 5-0 victory over Michigan State at Michigan Stadium. The announced attendance of 113,411 crowd sets a world attendance record for a hockey game.
2015 — The Golden State Warriors need two overtimes to remain perfect on a very imperfect night and improved to 24-0 this season by outlasting the Boston Celtics 124-119.
2021 - 87th Heisman Trophy Award: Bryce Young, Alabama (QB)
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time...
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Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
