Los Angeles Times - 02.11.2019

SPORTS

D SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2019:: LATIMES.COM/SPORTS

D

The search for USC’s next athletic director has ze-
roed in on a leading candidate, people close to the
process told The Times on Friday.
Mike Bohn, who spent the last five years at Cincin-
nati, is nearing a deal to replace Lynn Swann and be-
come just the second athletic director in school history
without ties to USC. The first, Mike McGee, also came
to USC from Cincinnati.
An official announcement is not expected this
weekend, but multiple people confirmed that a deal is
likely to be finalized shortly.
In a statement Friday, USC said: “Our search for a
new athletic director is progressing well. When details
become available, we’ll let you know.”
Six weeks after Swann abruptly resigned from
USC, ending a three-year tenure at the top of a depart-
ment in turmoil, the search for his replacement has
homed in on Bohn, who took the reins of the Cincinnati
athletic department in 2014 after spending the better
part of a decade in the same position at Colorado.
At USC, the 58-year-old Bohn

MIKE BOHN, athletic director of the Cincinnati Bearcats, is expected to finalize a deal shortly to assume the same position at USC. He
will lead a program roiled by the college admissions scandal and a federal investigation into a college basketball pay-for-play plot.

Michael HickeyGetty Images

USC poised to hire Bohn

as next athletic director

Official at Cincinnati

nears deal to take over

a program blemished

by scandal and turmoil

By Ryan Kartje

[SeeBohn,D7]

DALLAS — On a night

when the Lakers struggled

from three-point range,

their most important at-

tempt was perfect.

LeBron James drove

toward the basket with the

Lakers down three, just sec-

onds remaining in Friday’s

fourth quarter. He drew two

Dallas defenders to him.

That left one man standing

in the corner right in front of

Mavericks owner Mark Cu-

ban.

Danny Green.

Green had failed at this

exact task more than once in

his career. During the game,

he’d missed a few shots be-

fore this one. But Dwight

Howard had set a screen to

get him open, and James

had waited until he reached

the corner. His teammates

set him up perfectly, and all

that experience meant he

knew exactly what to do

next.

“You can change the

whole game with one shot,”

Green said.

It swished through the

net and the game went to

overtime, where the Lakers

notched their toughest win

so far this season.

The Lakers beat the Mav-

ericks 119 -110, improving to 4-1

with their fourth straight

victory. James and Dallas

star Luka Doncic both

notched triple-doubles, with

James racking up 39 points,

16 assists and 12 rebounds,

and Doncic scoring 31 points

with 15 assists and 13 re-

bounds.

He’s got

Green

light at

the end

His three forces extra

period, where James

and Davis take over

to steal one in Dallas.

LAKERS 119

DALLAS 110 (OT)

By Tania Ganguli

[SeeLakers,D4]

Five-time defending City

Section Open Division foot-

ball champion Harbor City

Narbonne learned Friday

that it has been banned from

this year’s playoffs as well as

the 2020 playoffs and must

vacate its 2018 City title be-

cause of rules violations.

School administrators

were informed at 3:22 p.m. of

the sanctions but did not in-

form coaches until after the

City Section, the governing

body for sports in the Los

Angeles Unified School Dis-

trict, released information

to the media at 3:45 p.m.,

leaving players to find out

via Twitter and angering

coaches who were trying to

prepare the team for a final

regular-season game

against visiting Wilmington

Banning.

Then, at 5:15 p.m., as the

junior varsity game was be-

ing played, Banning varsity

players were told to stay on

their bus until LAUSD offi-

cials decided if the game

against Narbonne should be

played.

It was supposed to be

senior night for the Gau-

chos. District officials de-

cided to cancel the game out

of safety concerns and de-

PLAYOFF

BAN FOR

NARBONNE

FOOTBALL

City Section rules the

team used ineligible

players and will miss

2019-20 postseasons.

By Eric Sondheimer

[SeeNarbonne,D6]

Whatever anyone
thought they knew about
this year’s 2-year-old divi-
sion heading toward next
year’s Kentucky Derby was
surely dashed, smashed and
turned upside-down after
Saturday’s running of the
$2-million Breeders’ Cup Ju-
venile at Santa Anita.
Storm The Court, a 45-1
longshot, went to the front
and stayed there, holding off
Anneau d’Or, another long-
shot at 28-1, to win the most
important 2-year-old race
by a neck. Finishing third
was Wrecking Crew, who was
sent to post at odds of 39-1.
Going into Breeders’ Cup
week, it seemed as if there
were three horses that stood

head and hoof above every-

one else. There was Dennis’

Moment, Eight Rings and

Maxfield. But Peter Eurton’s

Storm The Court, benefiting

from an equipment change

by adding blinkers, won a

race that even his trainer

wasn’t sure he could win.

“Honestly, I thought it

was going to be tough, I

really did,” Eurton said. “I

wasn’t fooling anybody. ... I

think everybody sitting here

next to me” — owners —

“probably would have been

content getting a placing

against some of the best

2-year-olds in the country.

But we’re pretty happy the

way it ended up.”

Maxfield was eliminated

from the race on Tuesday

when he developed a prob-

lem with his right front leg

and scratched from the race.

Dennis’ Moment, the even-

money favorite, was elimi-

nated at the break when he

stumbled badly. He finished

last in the eight-horse race.

Storm wins battle of longshots

At 45-1, the colt holds

off 28-1 Anneau d’Or

to take charge in the

2-year-old division.

By John Cherwa

WITH FLAVIEN PRATup, Storm The Court, right,

battles Ricardo Santana Jr. and Shoplifted.

Joe ScarniciGetty Images

[SeeHorse racing, D8]

Scaling fight

expectations

Kovalev needs four

trips to the scale to

make weight for his

title fight against

Alvarez. D3

Clippers get

one OK

The FAA

approves

the bulk of

proposed

plan for arena

in Inglewood, which

is mired in other

legal fights. D5

Chargers glad

he made leap

Lambeau no longer

his home, but

Hayward remembers

time in Green Bay. D5

Garfield shuts

out Roosevelt

The Bulldogs defense

dominated by forcing

four fumbles by the

Rough Riders. D6

You ever heard of Mike Bohn?

Me neither, and that’s a good thing.

USC is apparently set on naming

Bohn as its new athletic director, the

smart hiring of a man who embodies

the most important attribute for the

new leader of the Trojans family.

He’s a complete stranger.

He never played football at USC.

He never coached football at USC. He

never attended USC. He’s surely never even cheered

for USC.

He comes from Cincinnati, a cozy Midwestern

school that thrives in the shadows. He spent the last

five years building excellence in those shadows. He

has done a lot with little, and has done so while follow-

ing the rules.

He is everything that recent former USC athletic

directors were not. This job is not his hobby, it’s his

business. This is not his first gig, it will be his fifth

post. He cares little about being a star, as he is a 58-

year-old administration lifer

BILL PLASCHKE

If integrity is to mean

anything to the Trojans,

an easy first decision

is to nothire Meyer

[SeePlaschke, D7]

USC vs.

7 Oregon

THE COLISEUM

Tonight, 5 TV:Channel 11

TRENCH BATTLE:The offen-

sive lines for the Trojans and

Ducks will probably determine

each team’s level of success. D7

------------------------------------------

UCLA vs.

Colorado

at ROSE BOWL

Tonight, 6 TV:Pac-12 Networks

CREATIVE JUICES:The Bru-

ins’ resurgent offense seeks to

maintain its production with

clever play-calling. D6

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

WEEK 10