SPORTS

T UESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2019::L ATIMES.COM/SPORTS

D

Part of the charm of last

year’s Clippers was their

anonymity. With a finite

amount of basketball atten-

tion available, so much of it

was aimed at LeBron James

and the Lakers.

The Clippers flew under

the radar as they built a real

success story — a star-less

team full of exciting scorers

like Lou Williams, tenacious

defenders led by Patrick

Beverley and an energetic

big man in Montrezl Harrell.

But when you add Kawhi

Leonard, the reigning Finals

most valuable player and

top free agent, and you swing

and connect on a blockbust-

er trade for Paul George, the

secret gets out.

The Clippers will be a fix-

ture on the NBA’s biggest

nights all season, highlight-

ing a first week when they

host the Lakers on opening

night, Oct. 22, before trav-

eling to San Francisco to

christen the new Chase Cen-

ter in the Golden State War-

riors’ home opener on Oct

24, the league announced

Monday.

The Clippers will play in a

franchise-high 26 nationally

televised games, including a

Christmas showdown with

the Lakers. They’ll also be

on NBA TV another 12 times.

The Lakers, fortified af-

ter trading for premier big

man Anthony Davis, will

continue their quest to

break a six-season playoff

drought with their Oct. 25

home opener against a Utah

Jazz team expected to chal-

lenge for a top spot in the

Western Conference. They

play 31 times on national TV.

Davis and the Lakers

travel to meet the New Orle-

ans Pelicans and No. 1 over-

all draft pick Zion

There’s

a new

name

in lights

Clippers, bolstered by

big stars, join Lakers as

a marquee team on

the NBA schedule.

By Dan Woike

[SeeNBA,D3]

FUKUSHIMA, Japan — An hour north of
Tokyo by way of bullet train, the land is lush and
green, framed by thickly wooded mountains in
the distance.
This vast rural prefecture in northeast
Japan was once renowned for its fruit orchards,
but much has changed.
“There has been a bad reputation here,” a lo-
cal government official said.
Since the spring of 2011, the world has known
Fukushima for the massive earthquake and tsu-
nami that killed approximately 16,000 people
along the coast. Flooding triggered a nuclear
plant meltdown that forced hundreds of thou-
sands more from their homes.
As the recovery process continues nearly a
decade later, organizers of the 2020 Summer
Games say they want to help.
Under the moniker of the “Reconstruction
Olympics,” they have plotted a torch relay
course that begins near the crippled
Fukushima Daiichi plant and continues
through adjacent prefectures — Miyagi and
Iwate — impacted by the disaster. The region
will host games in baseball, softball and soccer
next summer.
“We are hoping that, through sports, we can
give the residents new dreams,” said Takahiro
Sato, director of Fukushima’s office of Olympic
and Paralympic promotions. “We also want to
show how far we’ve come.”
The effort has drawn mixed reactions, if only
because the so-called “affected areas” are a sen-
sitive topic in

THIS AERIAL VIEW,taken on March 14, 2011, shows an area destroyed by the tsunami in Sendai, in the Miyagi Prefecture that’s
nearly 90 miles from Fukushima, three days after a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake devastated the coast of eastern Japan.

Noboru HashimotoAFP/Getty Images

Reconstruction event

Nearly a decade after

9.0 Japan earthquake,

Olympic organizers

want to help Fukushima

By David Wharton

[SeeOlympics,D6]

2020 OLYMPICS TOKYO

Dave Roberts pondered

the question but couldn’t

produce an answer.

Who does Dustin May re-

mind him of?

“That’s a hard one,” the

Dodgers manager said. “I’ll

get back to you. I’m still try-

ing to learn him myself.”

Indeed, the 21-year-old

rookie is making a first im-

pression almost without

parallel. In two starts, his

production has been prom-

ising. His presence on the

mound is unique.

“He’s got a charisma to

him,” pitcher Ross Stripling

said. “He’s not rattled by

anything. He keeps his

mouth shut, he works hard.

Goes out there and takes the

ball, attacks everyone.”

Roberts had some idea of

what to expect when the

fast-rising, flame-throwing

prospect was called up at

the start of August. He was

told May’s emotions would

The first commitment in
USC’s 2019 recruiting class
was perhaps its most low-
key.
As the nation’s 567th
overall prospect and 68th-
best receiver, according to
the 247Sports composite
rankings, Munir McClain
didn’t solicit much buzz as a
prospect.
A torn knee ligament and
meniscus kept him off the
field for his junior season at
San Juan Capistrano JSerra
High, robbing him of a cru-
cial stretch for his recruit-
ment.
When McClain chose

USC in April 2018, no one had

seen him play in months. As

a result, the recruiting world

responded to his commit-

ment with a collective shrug.

In the months that fol-

lowed, as USC reeled in other

top-flight receiver recruits,

McClain’s arrival slipped

even further under the radar.

Four-star receivers Kyle

Ford and Drake London

joined the fray, followed by

TOKYO — Around the corner

from Shibuya Station is a

narrow side street called Non-

bei Yokocho that is lined with

tiny bars, many of them so

small they have enough space

for only six or seven customers

to be seated with their knees

pressed against their neigh-

bors’.

The customers’ proximity to one another

magnifies the oppressive humidity of the sum-

mer months, as people in this country don’t like

to blast air conditioning the way we do in the

United States. Drink choice is often limited.

And, yet, there’s nothing like this place.

When people are packed into a small area and

served alcohol, they talk to each other. They

share laughs. Strangers become friends, for a

few hours, at least.

The world will become acquainted with such

hidden gems of Tokyo next year when the city

stages the Summer Olympics.

Practically speaking, this is one of the pri-

mary functions of the Games, to serve as a

multiweek paid adver-

DYLAN HERNANDEZ

TWO MEN talk on skid row in 2016. The homeless crisis could be to L.A., the 2028

Summer Olympics host, what the Fukushima controversy is to the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Genaro MolinaLos Angeles Times

L.A. has nine years to fix its crisis

[SeeHernandez,D6]

SEASON OPENER

Lakers vs.

Clippers

AT STAPLES CENTER

Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m.

TV:TNT

Fake show: James feels

he belongs among Lakers

greats, but fans disagree,

Arash Markazi writes. D2

PITTSBURGH 10

ANGELS 2

Young pitchers

roughed up again

Suarez and Rodriguez

are battered as Pirates

snap eight-game skid. D4

ROOKIE DUSTIN MAYhas risen to the ocassion in

two starts since being called up this month.

Jayne Kamin-OnceaGetty Images

It’s red alert with

May on mound

Dodgers rookie’s usual

easygoing personality

morphs into fiery

mode when pitching.

By Jack Harris

[SeeMay,D5]

SEASON OPENER

USC vs.

Fresno State

AT THE COLISEUM

Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m.

TV:ESPN

Freshman receiver is

creating a buzz that

was absent during the

recruiting process.

By Ryan Kartje

[SeeMcClain,D5]

USC’s McClain is

quickly catching up