TALKING POINTS

Trojans race past Cal 66-51 in Pac12 opener

BERKELEY — Reese Dixon-Waters scored 10 of his career-high 17 points in a 20-0 run in the second half that lifted Southern California to a 66-51 win over California in the Pac-12 Conference opener Wednesday night.

The Trojans (5-3) were clinging to a 46-43 lead midway through the second half when Dixon-Waters made a pair of free throws to start the barrage. He added a three-point play and a 3-pointer 28 seconds apart as the run reached 10 and the lead was 5643 at the 7:21 mark.

Joshua Morgan capped the run with a jumper before Devin Askew scored for the Golden Bears to end a drought of 10 minutes. The Bears missed 11-straight shots in what was just a horrible shooting night for the home team.

Morgan and Drew Peterson both added 14 points for the Trojans. Morgan also contributed to Cal’s shooting problems with six blocks.

Askew had 23 points for the Golden Bears (0-8), who did not get a point from their bench.

Rams’ Donald to miss 1st game of career due to injury

THOUSAND OAKS — Seven-time All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald will miss a game because of injury for the first time in his NFL career when his Los Angeles Rams host Seattle on Sunday.

Donald has a high ankle sprain from the Rams’ loss at Kansas City last Sunday, and Los Angeles coach Sean McVay ruled him out Wednesday.

Donald sprained his ankle in the first quarter against the Chiefs, but kept playing on it, McVay said. He won’t need surgery, but his ironman streak will end at 86 consecutive games since the finale of the 2017 regular season.

“That’s what makes Aaron, Aaron,” McVay said. “He’s unbelievable. To be able to play through that, the toughness, everything that he embodies is what you love.”

Donald has missed only two games in his nine-year NFL career, both in 2017. He sat out the Rams’ season opener on the day after ending his contract holdout, and he sat out the finale to rest for the playoffs.

Donald has five sacks in 11 games this year, the slowest pace of his career, but he remains the anchor of a solid Los Angeles defense that has soundly outperformed its struggling offense all season long.

“So much of it is built around him,” McVay said. “He is truly one of one. You don’t replace anybody like him. Guys will be asked to step up, (and we) have confidence in those guys, but I think Aaron’s resume speaks for itself, the way that he works, the way that he brings others with him, so it’s a huge loss.”

LA Kings put goaltender Cal Petersen on waivers

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings put goaltender Cal Petersen on waivers Wednesday, a surprising move for a player once considered the successor in net to two-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Quick.

Petersen, 28, went on waivers the day after allowing four goals on 16 shots in relief of Quick during a 9-8 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night. Quick was pulled after giving up five goals on 14 shots.

Only one NHL goalie has a save percentage lower than Petersen’s .868 this season, Elvis Merzlikins of the Columbus Blue Jackets with .864. Petersen is 5-3-2 in 10 games with a 3.75 goals-against average in his third full season with the Kings and fifth overall.

L.A. signed Petersen to a $15 million, three-year contract in September 2021, and he figured to take the starting job from Quick, who turns 37 in January and is set to be a free agent after the season. Petersen has two years left on that deal after this one at an annual salary cap hit of $5 million.

Pulisic listed as day-to-day with pelvic injury at World Cup

DOHA, Qatar — U.S. forward Christian Pulisic is listed as day to day after sustaining a pelvic injury during his team’s 1-0 World Cup win against Iran that sent the Americans to the round of 16 of the tournament on Tuesday.

Pulisic scored the 38th-minute winning goal against Iran, but crashed into Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand during the same play. The Chelsea striker was substituted at the start of the second half and taken to a hospital for tests.

The U.S. Soccer Federation said Pulisic was diagnosed with a pelvic contusion and returned to the team hotel.

A video posted later on social media by the U.S. team showed Pulisic celebrating with the rest of the squad as they arrived at the team hotel.

The U.S. Soccer Federation did not make Pulisic available to media on Wednesday but posted a video of him dribbling a ball.

Ukrainian Olympian auctioning medals to help war effort

One of Ukraine’s most decorated Olympians is auctioning his medals — two golds and a bronze — in hopes of raising a six-figure donation to contribute to the war effort in his native land.

“My Olympic medals won’t matter if Ukraine can’t stand for this fight for freedom and independence,” two-time canoe champion Yuri Cheban told The Associated Press in an email exchange Wednesday.

Cheban won Olympic gold in the 200 meters in 2012 and 2016 and a bronze in the 500 meters in 2008. SCP Auctions, which is conducting the sale, expects the gold medals to fetch in the neighborhood of $75,000 each, an impressive estimate buoyed by the relative scarcity of available recent medals, and also their meaning.

Cheban will give the proceeds to the Olympic Circle charity fund, a collection started by athletes and targeted toward helping the city of Mykolaiv, which isn’t far from the recently liberated city of Kherson and also close to Cheban’s home, the Black Sea port city of Odessa.