The Sports Report: JuJu Watkins suffers season-ending injury in USC's victory

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From Ryan Kartje : The Galen Center crowd sat in hushed disbelief, every cardinal-and-gold soul struggling to process a scene that seemed ripped straight from their worst nightmares: USC s superstar laying crumpled on the court, clutching her right knee, her cries rising to the rafters where she hoped a banner would soon hang.

JuJu Watkins , for the better part of two seasons, seemed nothing short of invincible.

The sophomore surpassed every sensible expectation with stunning grace, never wavering even as she bore the weight of an entire program.

She already captivated the college basketball world, and in the process, dragged the Trojans back from the depths of obscurity to the doorstep of tournament glory, just a few short steps away from a Final Four.

That pursuit felt well within their reach through 30 wins this season and just over five minutes of Mondays first quarter, before Watkins barreled toward the basket in transition and her right knee buckled inexplicably beneath her.

Right away, she fell to the court, writhing in pain.

Right away, hope took a sharp turn into dread.

The devastating confirmation from USC wouldnt come until later, hours after the team stamped its ticket to the Sweet 16 in a bittersweet 96-59 win over Mississippi State: Watkins sustained a season-ending knee injury, and the Trojans were dealt a heart-wrenching blow to their once-towering championship hopes.

Though, as Watkins lay screaming on the hardwood, clutching her knee, the grim reality seemed plenty clear in the moment.

Her teammates surrounded her, doing their best to block her anguish from the view of nearby photographers, before trainers arrived to help her.

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LAKERS From Dan Woike : In a moment when the crowd was quiet and the in-arena music stopped blaring, you could hear the Orlando Magic bench screaming out instructions to teammates on the floor, frantically pointing to places the Lakers were trying to attack.

The yelling was clearly heard from the other side of the court, and the Orlando defense responded, talking their way through switches.

That LeBron James still found a seam and made a tough shot didnt matter.

The Magic were connected.

They were communicating.

They looked, really, like the Lakers used to look, an energy that carried over to Orlandos offense in a 118-106 win over the Lakers.

Used to might be a little harsh since the Lakers have only had a completely healthy team available for two games since Feb.

28.

During that time, the team had to play for stretches without James, Rui Hachimura or Jaxson Hayes .

It also has needed to rest Luka Doncic , Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent and hold out Austin Reaves .

But the Lakers (43-28), for the second straight game, looked like a team trying to recapture its defensive identity.

Continue reading here Lakers box score NBA scores NBA standings DODGERS From Jack Harris : Mookie Betts might be ready for the Dodgers home opener after all.

Despite being scratched from the teams Freeway Series exhibition game Sunday, and held out of the lineup again Monday at Angel Stadium, the converted shortstop reported improved symptoms following a workout at Dodger Stadium on Monday afternoon, manager Dave Roberts said, raising hopes that Betts will make his season debut in Thursdays home opener against the Detroit Tigers.

Really encouraged, Roberts said.

I do think that Mookie has turned a corner.

Betts missed the Dodgers opening two games in Japan last week while battling a stomach virus, one that is believed to be a case of norovirus, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.

Betts said he had lost almost 20 pounds over the course of his illness, which began a few days before the team left for Japan earlier this month.

He was scratched shortly before first pitch Sunday, he said, because he needed to throw up after trying to eat solid food.

On Monday, however, Roberts said Betts was not only able to keep down solid food, but felt good after a workout that included both defensive drills at shortstop (the position Betts is returning to on a full-time basis this season) and batting practice.

Continue reading here Shohei Ohtanis former interpreter has his prison start postponed How does Freddie Freeman process his place in World Series history? Ask Kirk Gibson NL West preview: The Dodgers should romp and those pesky Padres might take a step backward ANGELS From Bill Shaikin : The Angels last put up a winning record 10 years ago.

I was looking for a reason to believe in the Angels, any reason.

There is a magazine called Reason .

The editor-at-large, Matt Welch, is an Angels diehard.

In 1982, he slept in a Ford Pinto in the Big A parking lot, waiting for his chance to buy tickets for what would have been the first World Series in Angels history.

He got the tickets, but the Angels blew a two-game lead in the American League Championship Series.

So, Mr.

Reason, do you see a reason to believe in the Angels? Generally speaking, of course not, Welch said.

And also, because Im an Angels fan, sure.

Baseball Prospectus and Fangraphs each project another losing season in Anaheim.

Attendance has fallen 32% from its peak.

On Thursday on Opening Day! the state auditors office is scheduled to release a report that could say whether the team has shirked its maintenance responsibilities at Angel Stadium.

On Friday, former Anaheim mayor Harry Sidhu is expected to learn whether he will be sent to prison for four felony charges triggered by the public corruption investigation that derailed the citys sale of the stadium to Angels owner Arte Moreno .

Neither an FBI affidavit nor Sidhus plea agreement alleges any wrongdoing by the Angels.

Continue reading here AL West preview: Rangers could bounce back, but Angels will struggle again THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY 1934 Horton Smith wins the first Masters golf tournament by one stroke over Craig Wood.

1947 Holy Cross, led by George Kaftan, beats Oklahoma 58-47 in the NCAA basketball championship.

1958 Sugar Ray Robinson regains the middleweight title for a record fifth time with a 15-round decision over Carmen Basilio.

1961 Cincinnati ends Ohio States 32-game winning streak with a 70-65 win in the NCAA basketball championship.

In the third-place game, St.

Josephs beats Utah 127-120 in quadruple-overtime.

1967 UCLA, led by sophomore Lew Alcindors 20 points, beats Dayton 79-64 for the NCAA basketball championship.

1972 Bill Walton scores 24 points to lead UCLA to an 81-76 victory over Florida State and the NCAA basketball title.

1972 Maryland beats Niagara 100-69 in the NIT championship, becoming the first team to score 100 points in the finals of the tournament.

1973 The Philadelphia 76ers post the worst mark in NBA history at 9-73 under coaches Roy Rubin (4-47) and Kevin Loughery (5-26).

1982 Wayne Gretzky becomes first NHL player to score 200 points in a season.

1995 Scotty Bowman gets his 900th regular-season coaching victory as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Canucks 2-1 in Vancouver.

2006 16-year-old Kimmie Meissner uses the performance of her life to soar to the World Figure Skating Championships title.

2008 Tennessee gives coach Pat Summitt her 100th NCAA tournament win, a 78-52 rout of host Purdue.

The win sends the Lady Vols to the NCAA regional semifinals.

2011 The Southwest regional is the first in NCAA mens basketball history with three double-digit seeded teams in the semifinals.

Virginia Commonwealth, an 11th seed beats 10th seed Florida State 72-71 in overtime and the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks beat No.

12 seed Richmond 77-57 in the regions other semifinal.

2012 In the NBAs first quadruple-overtime game since 1997, Joe Johnson scores 37 points and Josh Smith adds 22 as the Atlanta Hawks beat Utah 139-133.

The four overtimes tie for the third-longest game in NBA history.

2016 Klay Thompson scores 40 points and Stephen Curry adds 33 to help the Golden State Warriors become the second team to post back-to-back 65-win seasons with a 128-120 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

The Warriors improve their record to 65-7 following a 67-win season a year ago.

The only other team to win at least 65 games in consecutive seasons was Chicago in 1995-96 and 1996-97.

2017 Arrogate shows his class again in the $10 million Dubai World Cup as he comes from last place to win by an impressive 2 1/4 lengths.

Compiled by the Associated Press.

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