James sets points mark but doesn’t settle GOAT debate Baffert’s Newgate out until summer
One of trainer Bob Baffert’s promising 3-year-old colts is off the Kentucky Derby trail.
Newgate will be out of training for at least two months after being diagnosed with a minor hock issue. The hock is an area on the back of a horse’s leg involving a series of joints and bones.
“His prognosis to return is excellent,” Tom Ryan of SF Racing, part of the colt’s ownership group, posted on social media. “We look forward to seeing him back this summer.”
Newgate won the Robert B. Lewis Stakes by a neck at Santa Anita last week.
Hit Show won the $250,000 Withers Stakes by 51⁄2 lengths in the Kentucky Derby prep at Aqueduct.
Dodgers, Reyes close to deal
The Dodgers were set to add to their bullpen depth, nearing a one-year deal with free agent reliever Alex Reyes, according to a person with knowledge of the situation unauthorized to speak publicly.
Reyes, 28, is a hardthrowing right-hander who was an All-Star with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021 before missing all of last year with a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery in May.
— Jack Harris
The Oakland Athletics acquired left-handed hitting outfielder JJ Bleday from Miami, sending left-hander A.J. Puk to the Miami Marlins . ... Reliever Jason Adam beat Tampa Bay in the first of four arbitration cases involving the Rays and will get $1.775 million instead of the team’s offer of $1.55 million.
New Mexico State basketball players Shahar Lazar and Kent Olewiler announced on social media
Sorry to disagree with you, Bill Plaschke, but you are old enough to know better. Trying to name a basketball GOAT is like trying to name the best automobile — you just can’t. Each basketball era has its own “greatest” list, and you can’t really compare the game as it was played, the rules as they were, the competition and makeup of teams, or the individual players from generation to generation, at least not without a lot of qualification to equalize the comparison. Numbers are numbers. They do not represent the entirety of any one player’s impact on a team or on the game overall.
Right now, of course it’s LeBron James. But what about Stephen Curry’s impact on the game? Or Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabber — there’s a “GOAT” case for each of them in their own time and in their own ways. Barry Bauling
Calabasas
In another losing performance, LeBron James set an NBA scoring record. He may have passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in scoring but never in humbleness, class and team play. Kent M. Paul
Costa Mesa
If you assign two points for field goals and one point for free throws, after Tuesday’s game, Kareem has 38,386 points (he loses one of his 38,387 points) and LeBron has 36,153 points. By the way, using the same math, Karl Malone has 36,843 points.
No question about it, Kareem is the GOAT. Brian Lipson
Beverly Hills
I was disgusted by LeBron when he broke Kareem’s record. As soon as he scored his 36th point, it was all about him. He soaked in the adulation. He scored only two more points while his team lost. He made sure to get interviewed while his team lost.
I didn’t read one of The Times articles on him the next day. It’s all LeBron all the time and The Times “buys” into it.
Steve Gonzales
Irvine
Wonder how many
that they quit the team less than 24 hours after the program was put on indefinite suspension while the university looks into possible violations of school policy.
Vinicius Junior scored twice and assisted Karim Benzema to lead Real Madrid to its record-extending eighth Club World Cup title by beating Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal 5-3 in Rabat, Morocco.
The Chicago Sky acquired Marina Mabrey as part of a four-team deal with the New York Liberty, Dallas Wings and Phoenix Mercury. The Sky also received the Mercury’s second-round draft pick next year.
The Wings received Diamond DeShields from
LeBRON JAMES,
points Kareem would have scored had he been able to go to the NBA directly from high school as was the case with LeBron? My guess would be another 3,500 points over four seasons. Joe Cohen
Mar Vista
Raise a glass to honor LeBron, but let’s not forget the real objective of Lakers basketball: winning a championship.
Mark Mallinger Malibu
LeBron James has surpassed Kareem AbdulJabbar’s career NBA scoring record. But has he been named NBA Finals MVP at age 38, written acclaimed history books and articles about important social issues, or co-starred in a movie as funny and brilliant as “Airplane!”?
Stephen A. Silver
San Francisco
Can we as Lakers fans set aside the negative chatter for a moment? LeBron broke what many thought was an unbreakable record. Give the man his due. Russell Hosaka Torrance
Trade talk
The Lakers were smart to get back D’Angelo Russell. Now to trade for Julius
Phoenix as well as Chicago’s first-round draft picks the next two seasons. New York gave up 2021 WNBA rookie of the year and UCLA alum Michaela Onyenwere to Phoenix and received the rights to Leonie Fiebich from Chicago as well the Sky’s second-round pick next year.
Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin filed a defamation lawsuit seeking $100 million in damages, claiming he was falsely accused of misconduct by a female employee at a Phoenix hotel.
O’Shaquie Foster beat Rey Vargas by unanimous decision to win the WBC super-featherweight title in San Antonio . ... Yair Rodriguez submitted Josh Emmett in the second round for the interim featherweight championship at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia.
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara became the first Japanese pairs skaters to win the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Yibing Wu became the first Chinese player to reach an ATP Tour final, rallying for a three-set win over No. 1seed Taylor Fritz in the Dallas Open. Wu will play John Isner for the championship.
Randle and Brandon Ingram, each of whom is starring elsewhere, and we’d have a young, vibrant, competitive team.
While we’re at it, how about the Clippers trading the often-injured Paul George for emerging superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. You know, the talented rookie that they let go.
Ron Brumel
West L.A.
So who did Southern California sports fans dislike more, Trevor Bauer or Russell Westbrook? I know, tough question.
Chris Sorce Fountain Valley
The D’Angelo Russell saga is a cautionary tale about the uncertainties of what a team gets with 18- or 19-year-olds in the NBA draft. No wonder draft picks are traded so much since they are more likely to be worth less than teams think they are worth. Much better to ship the picks and rely on the free-agent market; at least that way you know what you are getting.
Ken Blake
Brea
The last-minute Clippers trades, and maybe also those by the Lakers, remind me of the old expression: rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Jack Wishard Los Angeles
Why no Irving?
So the Lakers couldn’t match a very uninspiring offer from the Dallas Mavericks to get perennial AllStar Kyrie Irving from Brooklyn. All to hold on to two draft picks four and six years from now that aren’t guaranteed to be No. 1 even if they lose all 82 games.
Jerry Buss would have never let this happen.
Bob Goldstone Corona Del Mar
Bill Plaschke really nailed it in his column about the Lakers passing on Kyrie Irving and LeBron James’ egocentric “maybe it’s me” reaction. Rumor has it LeBron was also disappointed the balloon from China didn’t have a Nike swoosh and a picture of him on it. Just a rumor.
Bert Bergen La Cañada Flintridge
If someone had come on “Shark Tank” and proposed a deal like Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban just made, Cuban would have thrown him out.
Ron Ovadia Irvine
I hope when the Mavericks picked up Irving they also picked up a first-aid kit, for when they get burned. Russell Morgan Carson
Mr. Popular
I love Fernando Valenzuela, but “the most popular Dodgers player in Los Angeles franchise history”? Not a chance, Bill Plaschke, when Sandy Koufax is on the roster.
Ray McKown Torrance
While I am pleased by and supportive of the Dodgers retiring the number of Fernando Valenzuela, its coincidence with the Trevor Bauer fiasco is no accident. It is a calculated gambit to turn fan attention away from the team’s lack of a heroic role model, either in the front office or on the field, with the exception of Clayton Kershaw.
Bill Waxman
Simi Valley
I celebrated this one-ofa-kind athlete on the East Coast too. It wasn’t about statistics or accomplishments. From his rookie year magazine cover on my wall, to the reference in “Bull Durham” — and mimicking his windup in the backyard — Valenzuela inspired young fans and reminded us of the joy of the game. As Jaime Jarrín summarized: 40 years later, he’s still “unbelievable.”
Adam Silbert New York
When the Dodgers announced they were retiring Fernando’s No. 34, Vin’s words rang in my ears: If you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky.
Marc Gerber Encino
Pro Bowl disappointment
I occasionally switched channels to watch the 2023 Pro Bowl Games. That was the most pathetic, boring, inane thing I’ve seen in many a year. Anyone associated with it must have been embarrassed.
Susan Stann
Vote with your attendance
Those who felt that this newspaper lacked enough attention to USC basketball should realize that media coverage is usually in direct proportion to fan interest in the team. Average attendance for last weekend’s games: UCLA 9,213, USC 4,728. If the Trojans’ own fans have such little interest, how can they expect the general public to care? Bennett Beebe
Westwood
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