The Sports Report: Chargers win third game in a row

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The linebacker ended up on his backside. The cornerback fell backward as if he was breakdancing. Justin Herbert just kept running, juking and winning.

Used to embarrassing defenders with his arm, Herbert added a display of shifty running in the Chargers’ 27-17 win over the Tennessee Titans (2-7) on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. The quarterback rushed for 32 yards in nine carries with one touchdown, his first rushing score since Oct. 1, 2023.

“I’m changing his name to Beast,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Beast Herbert. Half man, half beast.”

Finally paired with a defense that can begin to match his talents, Herbert led the Chargers (6-3) to their third consecutive win, the team’s longest winning streak since four straight victories in 2022.

The Chargers held a ninth consecutive opponent under 20 points, moving into a tie for the NFL’s second-longest streak of games with 20 or fewer points allowed to begin a season. Matching the record of 10 — set by the New York Giants in 1990 — won’t be an easy task as the Chargers’ schedule takes a dramatic turn.

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RAMS

From Gary Klein: The Rams are at the midpoint of their season — and they have yet to play a game with the offensive line that coach Sean McVay projected before the season.

But they are inching closer.

Interior linemen Jonah Jackson and Steve Avila, sidelined since suffering injuries in the season opener against the Detroit Lions, are expected to play Monday night against the Miami Dolphins, McVay said Saturday.

“It’s a start to building the foundation that you hoped to build during training camp,” McVay said.

Jackson and Avila had been on injured reserve because of shoulder and knee injuries, respectively. They returned to practice this week.

Joe Noteboom, who can play guard or tackle, also is set to play for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in the opener. Noteboom practiced last week, but did not play in the Rams’ 26-20 overtime victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

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LAKERS

From Dan Woike: JJ Redick caught himself before the 10th game of his coaching career Sunday night.

The young Lakers coach was about to use an old coaching saying, chuckling at the absurdity of offering a “back in my day” to anyone listening.

“There’s an old saying in coaching, ‘You are what you emphasize,’” he said before the Lakers played the Toronto Raptors. “‘Your team becomes what you emphasize.’”

Since taking the job, Redick has repeatedly offered his players that advice. Crash the glass. Get back on defense. Stay in rhythm on offense.

After a sluggish first quarter, the Lakers started to do the things the coaching staff had been emphasizing, zooming past the Raptors for a 123-103 win to stay undefeated at Crypto.com Arena.

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DODGERS

From Jack Harris: The Dodgers’ World Series-winning coaching staff won’t remain entirely intact next season.

On Sunday, the Miami Marlins hired Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough to be their new manager, as ESPN first reported, creating the first opening on the Dodgers’ coaching staff in two seasons.

A 44-year-old former minor-league catcher, McCullough had spent the last 10 years in the Dodgers organization. He’d been first base coach since 2021. He was minor league field coordinator before that.

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UCLA BASKETBALL

Lauren Betts had a career-high 31 points and nine rebounds and No. 5 UCLA defeated Colgate 81-63 on Sunday in the Bruins’ home opener.

The Bruins (3-0) were back in action for the first time since beating No. 17 Louisville 66-59 in Paris on Monday.

Playing down low, Betts shot 15 of 18 from the floor and scored the Bruins’ first 12 points of the fourth before sitting down for good with 3:25 remaining. Her only blemish in the period were two missed free throws. She was one of five from the free-throw line.

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DUCKS

John Gibson made 38 saves, Brett Leason and Jackson LaCombe each scored their first goals of the season and the Ducks ended a four-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night.

Gibson made his season debut after having an emergency appendectomy in September.

The Ducks got off to a fast start when Leason scored 3:13 into the game off a feed from Cutter Gauthier.

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U.S. MEN’S SOCCER

From Kevin Baxter: With next year’s World Cup drawing closer, Mauricio Pochettino called up a 25-man roster Sunday for his first competitive games as coach of the men’s national soccer team.

The U.S. will face Jamaica in a pair of CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals, the first on Thursday in Kingston and the second on Nov. 18 in St. Louis. The winner of the two-leg playoff will advance to the tournament’s final four in March at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The U.S. won the first three Nations League tournaments under Gregg Berhalter, who was sacked as coach in July after his team was bounced from the Copa América in the group stage.

The roster:

Goalkeepers: Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona Atletic), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace).

Defenders: Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Celtic).

Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven).

Forwards: Cade Cowell (Guadalajara), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Brandon Vazquez (Monterrey), Tim Weah (Juventus), Alex Zendejas (Club América).

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THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1911 — Carlisle Indian School of Carlisle, Pa., led by Jim Thorpe, beats nationally ranked Harvard 18-15 before 25,000 in Cambridge, Mass. Thorpe scores all the points for Carlisle.

1939 — Texas Tech and Centenary (La.) play to a 0-0 tie in a torrential downpour in Shreveport, La. There are an NCAA-record 77 punts in the game (39 by Tech and 38 by Centenary).

1944 — The New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 to end their NHL record of 25 straight games without a win (0-21-4) over two seasons.

1978 — Eddie Lee Ivery rushes for 356 yards to lead Georgia Tech to a 42-21 victory over Air Force.

1981 — The Minnesota North Stars score eight goals in the second period of a 15-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.

1981 — Dodgers starter Fernando Valenzuela becomes first MLB rookie to win a Cy Young Award; Milwaukee Brewers’ Rollie Fingers takes AL Award.

1995 — Eddie George rushes for a school-record 314 yards in 36 carries and scores three TDs as Ohio State routs Illinois 41-3.

2001 — In his sixth career start, Shaun Alexander has 266 yards rushing in 35 carries and an 88-yard touchdown run as Seattle beats AFC West-leading Oakland 34-27.

2002 — The Oakland Raiders, behind record-setting performances, beat the Denver Broncos 34-10. Rich Gannon completes 21 straight passes and Jerry Rice becomes the first player to score 200 career touchdowns.

2004 — Earl Boykins, at 5-foot-5, becomes the smallest player in NBA history to reach 30 points, scoring a career-high 32 in Denver’s 117-109 victory over Detroit.

2006 — Wake Forest beats Florida State 30-0 to become the first team to shutout the Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium in Bobby Bowden’s 31 seasons as coach.

2007 — Brett Favre joins Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks to throw for 60,000 yards in a career during the second quarter of Green Bay’s 34-0 win over Minnesota.

2008 — Jockey Julien Leparoux has a record-tying day at Churchill Downs. The 25-year-old Frenchman ties Hall of Famer Pat Day’s track record with seven wins. Day set the record on June 20, 1984.

2011 — Faulkner defeats Union (Ky.) 95-89 in triple overtime to set an NAIA football record. The 184 combined points, smashes the previous mark of 141 set in 1994 when Southwestern (Kan.) defeated Sterling (Kan.) 79-62.

2012 — Antron Brown becomes the first Black champion in any NHRA pro series when he wins the Top Fuel title at the season-ending event.

2012 — Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez catches the 100th TD pass of his career, a two-yarder from Matt Ryan in the Falcons 31-27 loss at New Orleans. He adds another score on a six-yard pass and becomes the first tight end with 100 TD receptions.

2013 — Novak Djokovic claims back-to-back ATP World Tour Finals tennis titles with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the final in London.

2017 — Lamar Jackson accounts for four touchdowns and 342 yards while establishing an NCAA milestone in beating Virginia 38-21. Jackson, the Heisman Trophy winner, becomes the first player in NCAA history to post two seasons with 1,000 yards rushing and 3,000 yards passing.

2017 — Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski becomes the first men’s Division I basketball coach to win 1,000 games at one school, when his top-ranked Blue Devils beat Utah Valley 99-69.

Compiled by the Associated Press