Los Angeles Times - 13.11.2019

D2 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS

PRO CALENDAR

WED THU FRI SAT SUN 13 14 15 16 17

LAKERS

GOLDEN ST. 7 SpecSN, ESPN

SACRA. 7:30 SpecSN

ATLANTA 6:30 SpecSN

CLIPPERS

at Houston 4:30 Prime, ESPN

at New Orleans 5 Prime

ATLANTA 7:30 Prime

RAMS

CHICAGO 5:15 Ch. 4

CHARGERS

NEXT: MONDAY VS. K.C. AT MEXICO CITY, 5:15, ESPN

KINGS

DETROIT 7:30 FSW

VEGAS 1 FSW

DUCKS

SAN JOSE 7 Ch. 13

at St. Louis 5 FSW

Shade denotes home game

TIME EVENT ON THE AIR BASKETBALL 4:30 p.m. Clippers at Houston TV:ESPN, Prime R: 570 7 p.m. Golden State at Lakers TV:ESPN, SpecSN R:710, 1330 COLLEGE BASKETBALL 3 p.m. Louisiana State at Virginia Commonwealth TV:ESPN2 4 p.m. Colgate at Syracuse TV:FSW 4 p.m. St. Joseph’s at Connecticut TV:CBSSN 4 p.m. McNeese State at Wisconsin TV:Big Ten 4 p.m. Villanova at Ohio State TV:FS1 5 p.m. Indiana State at Louisville TV:ACC 6 p.m. Florida International at North Carolina State TV:FSW 6 p.m. Oklahoma State at College of Charleston TV:CBSSN 6 p.m. Providence at Northwestern TV:Big Ten 6 p.m. Purdue at Marquette TV:FS1 COLLEGE FOOTBALL 5 p.m. Northern Illinois at Toledo TV:ESPN2 5 p.m. Bowling Green at Miami (Ohio) TV:ESPNU COLLEGE SOCCER 1 p.m. ACC tournament, Wake Forest at Virginia TV:ACC 3 p.m. ACC tournament, Pittsburgh at Clemson TV:ACC HOCKEY 4:30 p.m. Washington at Philadelphia TV:NBCSN 7 p.m. Chicago at Vegas TV:NBCSN TENNIS 6 a.m. ATP Finals, singles round robin TV:Tennis 10 a.m. ATP Finals, doubles round robin TV:Tennis Noon ATP Finals, singles round robin TV:Tennis

TODAY ON THE AIR

College Basketball
Favorite Line Underdog
at Virginia Comm. 11 ⁄ 2 Louisiana State
at Ohio State 2 Villanova
at Connecticut 141 ⁄ 2 St. Joseph’s
at South Florida 141 ⁄ 2 IUPUI
at Brown 61 ⁄ 2 Quinnipiac
at Pennsylvania 9 La Salle
at Iona 51 ⁄ 2 Ohio
Miami (Ohio) 21 ⁄ 2 at Purdue Fort Wayne
at Louisville 23 Indiana State
at Northern Iowa 10 Cal State Bakersfield
at Illinois Chicago PK Ball State
at Rutgers 16 Drexel
at St. Louis 61 ⁄ 2 Eastern Washington
at Kansas State 181 ⁄ 2 Monmouth
at Western Illinois 21 ⁄ 2 Tennessee-Martin
at Drake 91 ⁄ 2 Missouri-Kansas City
at Marquette 11 ⁄ 2 Purdue
at Brigham Young 131 ⁄ 2 Southern Utah
at New Mexico 121 ⁄ 2 Green Bay
at N.C. State 161 ⁄ 2 Florida International
Oklahoma State 4 at Coll. of Charleston
at Colorado State 31 ⁄ 2 Nebraska-Omaha
Providence 8 at Northwestern
at Wyoming 2 Cal State Fullerton
at San Diego State 111 ⁄ 2 Grand Canyon

NHL
Favorite Underdog
at New Jersey -173 Ottawa +161
at N.Y. Islanders -121 Toronto +111
Washington -116 at Philadelphia +106
at Calgary -144 Dallas +134
at Vegas -212 Chicago +192

College Football
TODAY
Favorite Line (O/U) Underdog
at Miami (Ohio) 18 (50) Bowling Green
at Toledo 21 ⁄ 2 (52^1 ⁄ 2 ) Northern Illinois
THURSDAY
Buffalo 6 (57) at Kent State
at Pittsburgh 4 (50^1 ⁄ 2 ) North Carolina
FRIDAY
at Marshall 21 ⁄ 2 (56) Louisiana Tech
Fresno State 1 (42^1 ⁄ 2 ) at San Diego State
SATURDAY
at Kansas State 14 (47^1 ⁄ 2 ) West Virginia
Virginia Tech 51 ⁄ 2 (52^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Georgia Tech
Tulane 6 (55^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Temple
at Penn State 14 (55) Indiana
Cincinnati 14 (50) at South Florida
at Duke 101 ⁄ 2 (54^1 ⁄ 2 ) Syracuse
Ohio State 51 (61) at Rutgers

Louisville 4 (58^1 ⁄ 2 ) at N.C. State at Iowa 3 (44^1 ⁄ 2 ) Minnesota at Clemson 34 (59) Wake Forest at Ball State 2 (57^1 ⁄ 2 ) Central Michigan at Georgia Southern 61 ⁄ 2 (58) Louisiana-Monroe at Northwestern 401 ⁄ 2 (56^1 ⁄ 2 ) Massachusetts Troy 8 (61) at Texas State at Boise State 28 (59^1 ⁄ 2 ) New Mexico at Utah 21 (51^1 ⁄ 2 ) UCLA Air Force 10 (61^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Colorado State at Utah State 61 ⁄ 2 (49^1 ⁄ 2 ) Wyoming Appalachian State 16 (62) at Georgia State at Notre Dame 9 (54) Navy Arizona State 3 (58) at Oregon State USC 61 ⁄ 2 (48^1 ⁄ 2 ) at California at Oregon 27 (67^1 ⁄ 2 ) Arizona at Arkansas State 121 ⁄ 2 (60) Coastal Carolina at Ala. Birmingham 18 (45) Texas El Paso at Texas A&M 11 (50^1 ⁄ 2 ) South Carolina Georgia 3 (40) at Auburn Louisiana-Lafayette 28 (53^1 ⁄ 2 ) at South Alabama at Oklahoma State 171 ⁄ 2 (65^1 ⁄ 2 ) Kansas at Iowa State 61 ⁄ 2 (66^1 ⁄ 2 ) Texas Texas Christian 3 (56^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Texas Tech Oklahoma 10 (67^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Baylor Memphis 10 (69) at Houston Kentucky 10 (44) at Vanderbilt at Michigan 131 ⁄ 2 (44) Michigan State Florida 7 (50^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Missouri Hawaii 7 (74^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Nev. Las Vegas at Middle Tenn. 141 ⁄ 2 (47^1 ⁄ 2 ) Rice Southern Miss 16 (52) at Texas San Ant. Alabama 21 (64) at Mississippi State Wisconsin 141 ⁄ 2 (51^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Nebraska Louisiana State 21 (65^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Mississippi at Washington State 10^1 ⁄ 2 (64) Stanford

NFL THURSDAY Favorite Line (O/U) Underdog at Cleveland 21 ⁄ 2 (40) Pittsburgh SUNDAY at Detroit OFF (OFF) Dallas New Orleans 51 ⁄ 2 (50) at Tampa Bay at Carolina 51 ⁄ 2 (50^1 ⁄ 2 ) Atlanta at Indianapolis 3 (44) Jacksonville at Minnesota 101 ⁄ 2 (39^1 ⁄ 2 ) Denver at Washington 11 ⁄ 2 (37^1 ⁄ 2 ) N.Y. Jets Buffalo 51 ⁄ 2 (40) at Miami at Baltimore 4 (50) Houston at San Francisco 111 ⁄ 2 (46^1 ⁄ 2 ) Arizona New England 31 ⁄ 2 (44^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Philadelphia at Oakland 10 (49) Cincinnati at RAMS 61 ⁄ 2 (41) Chicago MONDAY Kansas City 4 (52) CHARGERS

ODDS

With each passing day, as the two restless running backs rehabbed alongside each other, Vavae Malepeai and Stephen Carr would wonder aloud when the other might return to a USC back- field riddled by injury. And when they did return, what it might mean for electri- fying freshman Kenan Chris- ton. On Tuesday, all three got their answers. Malepeai and Carr, who’d been the Trojans’ top two backs at the start of the season, returned to practice. Neither is guaranteed to play against California on Sat- urday but appear to be trend- ing in that direction. “I thought it was really positive,” coach Clay Helton said of their return. “There were no setbacks. They looked explosive, but we have to see. Is there no flare-up after practice? How sore are they? We’ll go through the week. But it was positive today.” For Malepeai, it has been nearly a month since knee surgery, done with the hope of reducing the pain and swelling that has lingered since training camp. For Carr, it was a hamstring injury that kept him out the last three games.

Whether those reinforce- ments in the running game come this week, they’ll be joined no matter what by Christon, who, after an im- pressive month, will play out the rest of his freshman season, relinquishing his ability to redshirt. That decision was made official this week after Chris- ton turned in another stand- out effort against Arizona State, touching the ball a ca- reer-high 24 times and rack- ing up 144 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. It was enough to convince the running backs Christon replaced that a redshirt would be the wrong move. “He had an opportunity and he ran with it,” Malepeai said. “At the beginning of the season, he looked like he was going to redshirt. After what he’s done on the field, there’s no way you can redshirt some-

one like that.” Running backs coach Mike Jinkssaid he was con- vinced a week earlier that Christon deserved to play the rest of the season. But as the 185-pound Christon handled his heaviest workload, his per- formance also proved how much he might benefit from more backs in the fold. “He was a different player in the second half, and we knew that would probably be the case,” Jinks said of Chris- ton. “Getting those guys back, he’ll be fresher in the second half. Maybe he’ll still be able to do those things, but as the game went on, and the kid got up to 15-16 touches and had to take on protections, we had to take him out for three series. He just couldn’t go any- more.” When Carr and Malepeai return, the trio is expected to settle into a rotation that more closely resembles what USC did earlier , when Markese Steppwas the third back in that rotation. Helton said that he and Jinks assured Christon that he would have a role. Christon, who initially planned to redshirt this season, happily obliged. “He’s going to see produc- tive time,” Helton said. “He really is. That was our commitment to him. He’s been such a great player these last

four games. He’s really cre- ated a great spark for us.”

Center change After a relatively smooth season up front, USC must confront a shake-up to its starting offensive line. Brett Neilon, who left Sat- urday’s game early, will be out several weeks because of a calf strain, Helton said. In his place, USC will have to rely on redshirt freshman Justin Dedich, who lost the training- camp battle at the position. “It wasn’t even a blink of an eye last week,” Helton said of Dedich, who took over in the third quarter against Arizona State. “There was just no panic amongst our staff. We knew he was ready. He goes out there and there was no lack of production. That’s the type of player he is.” Right guard Jalen Mc- Kenzie, who played some center in high school, took snaps Tuesday as the emer- gency option at the position.

Etc. Wideout Tyler Vaughns was limited at practice because of a sprained ankle. His status for Saturday remains uncertain. ... Defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotuand linebacker Palaie Gaoteote IV returned to practice after sit- ting out the last game because of injuries.

If his weekly routine holds up, UCLA cornerback Elisha Guidrywill FaceTime with a counterpart from the Utah defense in the days before their teams’ showdown Sat- urday. Don’t worry, no pregame protocols will be violated be- tween the players. They’re brothers. Elisha is a reserve for the Bruins’ resurgent defense and Javelinis a starting nickel back for a Utah defense that has been among the best in the nation all season. Their parents, Javelin Sr. and Kaishauna, both attended UCLA but may not have to split their allegiances when their sons face each other at Rice-Eccles Sta- dium in Salt Lake City. “We’re both on defense,” Elisha said Tuesday, “so they can really root for us.” The family is expected to wear Guidry Bowl shirts fea- turing helmets from each team when the Bruins (4-5 overall, 4-2 Pac-12 Confer- ence) play the No. 7 Utes (8-1, 5-1). The younger Javelin, a junior, will have the name- sake factor in his favor but Elisha, a redshirt freshman who didn’t play when the teams met last season, can always remind his parents where they went to school. “My parents are alumni, so they might be a little bit [pro]-UCLA,” Elisha said, “but they definitely want to see us both succeed, so that’s the main thing.” Elisha and his sibling were inseparable growing up, sharing the same room and playing on the same teams at Cedar Park (Texas) and Vista Murrieta highs before Javelin went to Utah before the 2017 season and Elisha completed his final season of high school. They were re- united last week at their Murrieta home because both of their teams had open

weeks on the schedule. Trash talk was not on the agenda, at least according to the younger brother. “We just want to see each other succeed,” Elisha said. “We’ve never been big on smack talk, but that’s my brother and I love that dude.” Said the younger Javelin, during a telephone interview: “I just said, ‘I hope y’all are ready for the cold.’ It’s going to be cold because we play at 6 [p.m. MST]. And he was like, ‘Aw, I’ll be all right.’ ” The forecast calls for tem- peratures to drop into the high 30s by game’s end. “They’re not used to that

at all,” Javelin said. “I’ll be fine, but ... ” Elisha is following in the footsteps of his father, who played defensive back for the Bruins from 1994 to 1997, but the younger Javelin is step- ping into foreign territory with the Utes. “They’re the ones that of- fered me,” said Javelin, who has 32 tackles and four pass breakups. “That was the best

option I felt like for me. That’s why I’m here.” Javelin, a decorated sprinter, is quicker, but Eli- sha, whose 5-foot-11 frame makes him two inches taller than his sibling, possesses superior length. Elisha has made 24 tackles and one fumble recovery this season for the Bruins. “I’m able to break on routes quicker than he can,” Javelin said. “But still, he’s longer than me, so he’s able to jump higher and make plays.” On that, the siblings can agree.

A real ‘yes man’ UCLA is on such a recruit- ing tear that the Bruins received one commitment twice. It came from Myles Jack- son, a defensive end from Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek High, who originally committed in June only to back out after UCLA opened the season 0-3. He committed anew last week, with the Bruins on a three-game winning streak, announcing the move on Twitter. The Bruins also received a commitment Monday from Kenny Mestidor, a defensive end from Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More School. UCLA has received five com- mitments this month, sig- nificantly enhancing a re- cruiting class that now in- cludes 19 players and is ran- ked fifth in the Pac-12 and No. 31 nationally by 247Sports.

Etc. For the first time since he suffered a foot injury in Au- gust, linebacker Tyree Thompsonhas returned to working out on the side of the practice field with a trainer. Thompson worked out Tues- day alongside running back Sitiveni Kaufusiand defensive lineman Winston Polite. ... Safety Quentin Lake (wrist) and linebacker Bo Calvert(NCAA suspension) continued to work with the scout team in practice.

“heads.” Actually, the only thing clear about the matter is that the Seattle Seahawks backup quarterback didn’t say anything clearly as his team’s game against the San Francisco 49ers went into overtime Monday night. In one of the most antici- pated “Monday Night Foot- ball” games of the year, the two-loss Seahawks were looking to upset the then- unbeaten 49ers. So when the score was 24-24 at the end of regulation, the coin toss to determine who got possession for the start of overtime was a pretty big deal. And many viewers thought official Alex Kemp botched the call. Watching the replay, Smith said something that sounded like “teds.” Kemp went with “heads,” and no

There are many legend-
ary stories involving Michael
Jordan and gambling. For-
mer hockey great Jeremy
Roenick added one when he
appeared on a Chicago radio
station Tuesday.
Jordan asked Roenick to
play a round of golf. Roenick
had the day off, so he agreed.
And then: “I beat him for a
couple thousand and I’m
getting ready to leave. Now
the Bulls are playing that
night, they play Cleveland,
that night. I’m thinking he’s
leaving, it’s 10 [a.m.]. He’s
like ‘No, let’s go play again.’
So he goes, we fill up a bag
full of ice and Coors Light
and we walk again, we roll
around another 18, and I
take him for another cou-

ple,” Roenick said. “And now we’ve been drinking all afternoon, now he’s going from [the golf course] to the stadium to play a game. And I’m like messing around. I’m like, ‘I’m gonna call my bookie and all of the money you just lost to me I’m putting on Cleveland tonight.’ “He goes ‘I tell you what, I’ll bet you that we win by 20 points and that I have more than 40,’ I’m like, ‘Done.’ Son of a gun goes out and scores 52 and they win by 26 or something after ... 36 holes of golf and having like 10 Bud Lights.”

Can’t make heads or tails of it Geno Smith clearly said “tails” before the coin toss. No, wait. He clearly said

one seemed to have a prob- lem with it at the time — not Smith when Kemp first said “heads,” not 49ers’ Richard Sherman after the coin landed on heads. But over on social media, a heated debate was taking place. The funniest part about this debate is none of it ended up mattering. The Seahawks got possession of the ball but ended up turn- ing it over. Then the 49ers missed what would have been a game-winning field goal, and the two teams exchanged punts before Seattle won the game 27-24 on a 42-yard field goal by Jason Myers as time expired.

Your favorite sports moment What is your all-time

favorite local sports moment? Email me at houston. [email protected] and tell me what it is and why, and it could appear in a future Sports newsletter or Morning Briefing. This moment comes from Ron Mossler of Northridge: “Having grown up a huge UCLA fan in the ’60s and ’70s, I eventually earned my undergraduate and gradu- ate degrees from there. Of course my children grew up to be die-hard Bruins fans as well. In fact, when I brought my 3-year-old son Max to campus one day he was disappointed he didn’t see Snoopy or the blimp flying overhead since he saw West- wood as an extension of his Rose Bowl playground. Like the rest of my family, Max always had plenty of blue and gold gear, which he wore

proudly whenever we attended events. “When Max was about 9, we went to a UCLA-Stanford basketball game at Pauley Pavilion. The family with whom we attended knew Tara VanDerveer, Stanford’s women’s basketball coach, and we were introduced to her after the game. As we all made plans to go with Van- Derveer to have dinner in the Village, the coach turned to Max and good-naturedly said, ‘Only if you remove that UCLA sweatshirt!’ Max took the opportunity to make his first, best joke: ‘Sure!’ he excitedly said, and immedi- ately removed it. Under- neath the sweatshirt was a UCLA T-shirt that left Van- Derveer and the rest of us in stitches. “Favorite [and proud] moment indeed!”

MORNING BRIEFING

Bet against Jordan on the course, but never on the court

By Houston Mitchell
and Chuck Schilken

Top 25 The second of six College Football Playoff rankings compiled by a 13-member selection committee:

School W-L13. Baylor 9-0

Louisiana State 9-0 14. Wisconsin 7-2

Ohio State 9-0 15. Michigan 7-2

Clemson 10-0 16. Notre Dame 7-2

Georgia 8-1 17. Cincinnati 8-1

Alabama 8-1 18. Memphis 8-1

Oregon 8-1 19. Texas 6-3

Utah 8-1 20. Iowa 6-3

Minnesota 9-0 21. Boise State 8-1

Penn State 8-1 22. Oklahoma St. 6-3

Oklahoma 8-1 23. Navy 7-1

Florida 8-2 24. Kansas State 6-3

Auburn 7-2 25. App. State 8-1

NEXT UP

UCLA (4-5)at 7 Utah (8-1) at Salt Lake City Saturday, 5 p.m. PST TV:Channel 11

NEXT UP

USC (6-4)at California (5-4) at Berkeley Saturday, 8 p.m. TV:FS1

UCLA REPORT

A Guidry family affair in Utah

By Ben Bolch

UCLA CORNERBACK Elisha Guidry celebrates his fumble recovery against Arizona State on Oct. 26.

Sean M. HaffeyGetty Images

USC REPORT

Christon to remain in the mix

By Ryan Kartje

Los Angeles Times - 13.11.2019

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