Los Angeles Times - 04.10.2019

LATIMES.COM/SPORTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019D5

The WNBA is investigat-

ing what took place in the

Sparks’ locker room Sept. 19

after the team lost Game 2 of

its WNBA semifinal series

with the Connecticut Sun

94-68. The Sparks were

eliminated by the second-

seeded Sun three days later.

According to a report

from ESPN, Sparks general

manager Penny Toler, who is

black, entered the locker

room after Game 2 and chal-

lenged the team in a diatribe

that included obscenities,

racial epithets and threats

that players would be re-

placed.

“We’ll be looking into it as

a league,” WNBA Commis-

sioner Cathy Englebert told

ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.”

“We understand heat of the

moment and that the

Sparks lost in the semifinals,

but we don’t condone that

kind of language, and we’ll

be reviewing it over the next

couple of days.”

The Sparks declined to

comment to The Times.

ESPN reported that Toler, a

former Sparks player, ac-

knowledged using racial epi-

thets but said they were not

directed at any of the team’s

players. In a statement,

Toler said, “No one is above

criticism or feedback, and I

am committed to ensuring

my words consistently re-

flect the Sparks’ values of a

productive and positive

working environment mov-

ing forward. I will take this as

a learning opportunity and

grow from this and make

sure that not only myself,

but my staff, team and the

entire organization is cog-

nizant of the language we

use in the locker room.”

All five Sparks starters

were benched by the end of

the third quarter in Game 3,

as the Sun completed the

sweep 78-56 at the Pyramid

in Long Beach.

Candace Parker, a two-

time league MVP, played

only 11 minutes in that game.

Some Sparks players re-

portedly attributed her

benching to pressure coach

Derek Fisher was under af-

ter Toler’s rant, as well as a

confrontation that took

place between Fisher,

Parker and All-Star forward

Nneka Ogwumike during a

practice before the game.

Toler has been the

Sparks’ general manager for

20 years. She hired Fisher

11 months ago without inter-

viewing any other candi-

dates.

Parker and the team’s

other top players are under

contract for next season.

Sparks’ Toler

used racial slur

in rant to team

WNBA investigating

general manager’s

behavior after loss.

By Brady Klopfer

Mickey Callaway went

11-1 in his first 12 games as

manager of the New York

Mets. After that, nothing

ever seemed to go smoothly

for him again.

Following more than a

year of near-constant specu-

lation about his job security,

Callaway was fired Thurs-

day by the Mets after miss-

ing the playoffs in both his

seasons at the helm.

The move came four days

after New York wrapped up

an 86-76 season that marked

a nine-win improvement

over his 2018 debut. But a

strong second half wasn’t

enough to save the embat-

tled Callaway, who had one

year remaining on his con-

tract.

New York went 46-26 fol-

lowing the All-Star break

and made an unlikely charge

into the National League

wild-card race, only to be

eliminated during the final

week.

“I feel unfulfilled. I feel we

left some games on the field

that we should have won,

and we didn’t fulfill what we

really had as a goal, which

was get to the postseason,“

chief operating officer Jeff

Wilponsaid on a 30-minute

conference call with report-

ers. “We’re not playing Octo-

ber baseball, and that’s what

it’s about.”

ETC.

CHRB chief

turns in license

California Horse Racing

Board Commissioner Den-

nis Alfieriturned in his own-

er’s license and will no longer

race horses in California.

The board had been under

attack for perceived con-

flicts of interest.

The state regulatory

agency was criticized re-

cently by Gov. Gavin New-

som with the hopes of

“pulling away from those

with direct conflicts and

pulling out a more objective

oversight capacity.”

— John Cherwa

In Las Vegas, Nick Taylor

ran off a six-hole stretch at

six-under par, including a

drive on the 314-yard 14th

hole at the Shriners Hospi-

tals for Children Open at

TPC Summerlin that

stopped five feet away for

eagle. He birdied all the par

fives, kept bogeys off his card

and opened with an eight-

under 63 for a one-shot lead

over Brian Harman. ...

Stephanie Meadowhad five

straight birdies on the front

nine and shot an eight-

under 63 in hot and humid

conditions to take the first-

round lead in the LPGA

Tour’s Volunteers of Ameri-

ca Classic at the Colony,

Texas. Dori Carterand Amy

Olsonwere tied for second

at 65.... Kristian Krogh Jo-

hannessenof Norway shot a

career-best eight-under 63

to match the course record

and take a two-shot lead af-

ter the first round of the

Spanish Open in Madrid.

Former Air Force tail-

back Joseph Saucier

pleaded guilty to cocaine use

and marijuana possession.

The Colorado Springs

Gazette said Saucier en-

tered the pleas at an acade-

my hearing in which military

prosecutors agreed to drop

allegations that he also in-

tended to distribute illegal

drugs. Air Force Judge Lt.

Col. Sterling Pendletonac-

cepted the plea deal.

Bill Fisk Jr., a 1964 All-

American offensive guard at

USC, died in Elizabeth,

Colo., at age 75 after a long

battle with cancer. Services

were pending.

Fisk was a three-year

letterman at USC, from 1962

to 1964, and was a member of

the Trojans’ 1962 national

championship team that

went 11-0 and beat Wisconsin

in the 1963 Rose Bowl.

The Chicago Blackhawks

locked up Alex DeBrincat

through the 2022-23 season,

signing the high-scoring

winger to a three-year,

$19.2-million contract exten-

sion. DeBrincat’s deal has a

reasonable cap hit of $6.4

million. ... The Calgary

Flames announced a multi-

year contract extension for

general manager Brad Tre-

living, hours before their

season opener against Col-

orado.

Saying that she wants to

be “a normal kid for once,”

Olympic snowboarding

champion Chloe Kim

posted a video explaining

her decision to skip the up-

coming season while attend-

ing Princeton as a freshman.

“I don’t want anyone to

think I’m about to retire or

anything like that,” she said

on YouTube. “I just need

some Chloe time.”

At 19, Kim has taken

snowboarding by storm over

the last few years, cementing

her stature as the sport’s

top performer when she

won gold in the women’s

halfpipe at the 2018 Winter

Games in Pyeongchang,

South Korea.

—David Wharton

THE DAY IN SPORTS

Improved Mets

fire Callaway

staff and wire reports

HONOLULU — Clippers
owner Steve Ballmer on
Thursday reiterated his ex-
pectation to win in the com-
ing years, both on the court
and in courtrooms.
Hours before the Clip-
pers opened their preseason
schedule against the Hous-
ton Rockets at Honolulu’s
Stan Sheriff Center, Ballmer
said he will gauge the suc-
cess of the upcoming season,
one of the most anticipated
in franchise history follow-
ing the offseason additions
of Kawhi Leonard and Paul
George, by the postseason
success that has eluded the
franchise for so long.
Ballmer also reiterated
that legal opposition,
backed by New York Knicks
owner James Dolan, will not
deter his efforts to build the

Clippers a new arena in In-

glewood.

Dolan is chairman and

chief executive of Madison

Square Garden Co., which

owns and operates an arena,

the Forum, that sits less

than a mile from the site of

the proposed Clippers arena

complex and has brought

lawsuits seeking to block its

construction.

“We’re on a path where

we think we can build the

arena, whatever happens in

the litigation,” Ballmer said.

“We’re moving along.

Certainly, suffice it to say, I

think the other side is just

trying to slow us down a little

bit. But it’s another thing

where we’re grinders. We’re

long-term players, and we’re

grinders. You want to hit us

in the nose? OK! We’ll keep

moving. You can’t knock us

down.

“I’m not sure they under-

stand what they’ve gotten

themselves into, from my

perspective, in the sense

that we’ll just keep going.”

He later added that the

Clippers “are going to open

that arena one way or anoth-

er.”

Speaking at June’s NBA

Finals, Commissioner Ad-

am Silver called the legal

fight between owners “not

something you like to see be-

tween partners in the NBA.”

Said Ballmer: “It’s a

weird form of partnership.”

As litigation continues,

the Clippers have continued

efforts to build support

within Inglewood. A “com-

munity benefits package”

valued by the team at $100

million was proposed to city

officials last month.

The Clippers say it repre-

sents the largest benefit

plan connected to the con-

struction or renovation of a

stadium or entertainment

venue in the state.

“We were willing to put up

more money than would be

kind of natural because we

are going to be there, we are

going to be members of the

community,” Ballmer said.

Construction must begin

by mid-2021 for the arena to

open on time before the

2024-25 season, arena back-

ers say.

An environmental im-

pact report on the proposed

project has yet to be re-

leased.

Should the arena project

proceed as Ballmer expects,

he hopes a championship

banner will hang in the raft-

ers on its opening night.

Following their July free-

agent signing of Leonard, a

two-time MVP of the NBA

Finals, and trade for George,

a six-time All-Star, the Clip-

pers enter the season among

the betting favorites to win

what would be the team’s

first NBA title.

“We’re not at the top of

the mountain,” Ballmer

said.

“As [coach Doc Rivers]

has reminded all of us many

times, you don’t win any

games as it turns out during

the months of July, August,

September. So whatever

people say about you, you’re

not winning any basketball

games during those months.

“So as we get into Octo-

ber, we want to win a lot of

games. But again, planning

and working, the No. 1 goal is

to win a lot of games in April,

May and June.”

THE SITEof the proposed Clippers arena project in Inglewood. The space is less than a mile from the Forum,
which is owned by Madison Square Garden Co. and headed by New York Knicks owner James Dolan.

Allen J. SchabenLos Angeles Times

Ballmer steadfast on arena

project in face of litigation

The Clippers owner

repeats the Inglewood

venue will be built

despite MSG lawsuit.

By Andrew Greif

McGee for a starting role on
a team James hopes to lead
to a championship. Howard
played in only nine games
last season after having
surgery and was traded
away by the Washington
Wizards. He’s been on six
teams in the last five years
and entered this season
humbled and on a one-year
minimum nonguaranteed
contract.
Given all of that, few ex-
pected the Lakers’ center
position to feature a true
competition. But that is ex-
actly what’s developed. Mc-
Gee and Howard have both
scrimmaged on the first
team as Lakers coach Frank
Vogel determines the best
fits next to James and star
forward Anthony Davis.
“Our centers have really
impressed me — both
Dwight and JaVale,” Vogel
said. “JaVale’s performing at
a really high level. Dwight
Howard has been all busi-
ness since he came in this
time around. We’re asking
our whole group to have a se-
riousness about ourselves.
He’s been an all-business
type of guy. It’s really helped
us to be focused and working
on the task at hand.”
Whereas Howard, 33, en-
tered the league as a cele-
brated first overall pick who
dominated the league for
several years, McGee, 31, was
a mid-first round pick
traded during his rookie
deal. A two-year stint with
the Golden State Warriors
resulted in two champi-
onships and gave McGee’s
career a boost.
He became the Lakers
starting center last year, and
not much has changed for
McGee personally.
“Doing the same thing I
was doing last year,” he said.
“Being my vegan self. Work-
ing hard, lifting every day.

Just trying to be the best

center for the Los Angeles

Lakers I can be.”

His familiarity with

James has been helpful. “It’s

a lot easier to play with him

just because you know ex-

actly where you need to be,”

McGee said. “You know

what he’s going to do. He’ll

find you if the opportunity

comes. It’s just a great thing

knowing exactly what’s go-

ing to happen this year and

who I’m playing with.”

McGee came into the sea-

son expecting to compete

with DeMarcus Cousins for

playing time. But when

Cousins suffered a torn ante-

rior cruciate ligament, the

Lakers brought in Howard.

If McGee had any precon-

ceived notions of what How-

ard would be like, he didn’t

share them. But he has no-

ticed Howard’s serious de-

meanor just like Vogel and

others have.

Said Anthony Davis:

“Dwight has it on his mind

that he wants to help this

team win. And whatever

that entails, he’s going to do

it. He wants to have his sec-

ond run in L.A. be a great

one. ... He’s been all about

business from Day 1.”

For Howard, that’s part

of what he needs to show his

team. For years, he’s been

accused of not taking

basketball seriously enough.

And even though Howard

disagrees with that charac-

terization, he understands

that he needs to change that

perception.

Rather than look to the

future now, he’s treating his

time with the Lakers as pre-

cious. Having missed nearly

all of last year after lower

back surgery, this feels new

to Howard in many ways.

“As humans and as

basketball players and pro-

fessional athletes we are

built up by what people say,”

Howard said. “For me it was

like none of that stuff really

matters. I can’t take any-

thing with me when I die but

what lives on is my name and

I want that to be great. I

want to make sure when

people say my name, when

my kids think about me, my

grandkids, this city, that’s

what I want.”

So far with the Lakers,

he’s been a man of his word.

Centers Howard, McGee in a tight

battle for the Lakers’ starting spot

[Lakers, from D3]

LAKERScenter Dwight Howard has made a believer out of one of the team’s top

stars. “He’s been all about business from Day 1,” Anthony Davis says.

Frederic J. BrownAFP/Getty Images