Quick hits
LeBron James seeks normalcy with family safe
LOS ANGELES — Around 2 a.m. Monday, LeBron James and his family drove around Los Angeles trying to find a place to stay. James could see the Getty fire as he left his Brentwood home, grabbing just a credit card and his passport.
The first alarm had rung at about 1:30 a.m. and the evacuation order for their neighborhood came shortly thereafter. James walked into three hotel lobbies asking if they had vacancies while his family waited in the car. Each place turned him away. Around 4 a.m. they found a fourth hotel with room for them, and by 6:30 they were able to get some sleep.
Fueled by high winds and dense brush, the Getty fire started about 1:30 a.m. along the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass and burned 600 acres within five hours. It had destroyed eight homes and damaged six others, and it was only 5% contained as of Tuesday morning.
As James spoke after the Lakers’ shootaround about 11 a.m. Tuesday, he said his home had not been affected.
“I am blessed, and I am truly blessed to be able to get my family to safety at that point in time and not be able to face anything that was harmful to us,” James said. “And I wish the same for everyone else in the community that’s ever had to deal with these things over the years. There’s been so many natural disasters over many decades that have been harmful. People have lost lives. But like I said, the most important thing is the first responders, how important they are, how committed they are to be able to respond at that hour, at that speed.”
James slept for about two hours before waking up at 8:30 a.m. to get to the Lakers’ training facility in El Segundo. The team did individual workouts and met for a talk with magician David Blaine before practice. Once they gathered on the court, coach Frank Vogel canceled the rest of practice.
Rams trade Talib to Miami
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams don’t play a game Sunday, but they notched a big turnover on defense.
In a cost-cutting move, the team parted ways with Aqib Talib on Tuesday, sending the injured cornerback and a 2020 fifthround draft pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2022.
The swap saves the Rams about $4.25 million in cash and salary-cap space, which helps them in crafting a long-term deal for newly acquired cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
Talib, 33, scheduled to become a free agent after this season, was on injured reserve after suffering fractured ribs in a Week 5 loss at Seattle and will not be eligible to return until after Week 15.
The Rams acquired Talib from Denver in early 2018. He sat out eight games last season because of an ankle injury that required surgery and finished the season with an interception and a forced fumble. When healthy, he provided more reliable coverage than counterpart Marcus Peters, who was traded to Baltimore two weeks ago.
NBA player Robin Lopez unknowingly bought stolen Disney World items
ORLANDO, Fla. — NBA player Robin Lopez, a longtime Disney fan, unwittingly bought rare items stolen from Disney World in a high-profile criminal case, newly released records reveal.
The Milwaukee Bucks player was in possession of clothing that belonged to a vintage Epcot animatronic called Buzzy — items that authorities later discovered were stolen before the clothes could be sent to Disney’s archives in Anaheim, according to the audio interviews released by the state attorney’s office after an Orlando Sentinel public records request.
Some of the audio exchanges recorded in April are between a pair of Orange County sheriff’s investigators and Lopez’s friend, Brett Finley, a certified public accountant from Winter Park. They shed more light on the case, including the athlete’s connection as a victim in the case.
Patrick Spikes, an ex-Disney employee known for his social media that showed behind the scenes areas of Disney, and his cousin, Blaytin Taunton, are accused of sneaking into Disney World and stealing items that Spikes allegedly sold to capitalize on the lucrative market for Disney exclusive merchandise.