From Sam Farmer: What once were points have now become penalties.
Touchdowns have been replaced by turnovers.
The Chargers, after a 3-0 start, have pulled a dispiriting U-turn, losing consecutive games and suddenly groping for answers a mere five weeks into the NFL season.
The latest setback came Sunday with a 27-10 loss to the Washington Commanders, a game that had all the hallmarks of this whipsaw Chargers season.
They scored the first 10 points, then surrendered an unanswered 27.
“We prepare all week, the coaches emphasize focus and discipline every single day,” safety Derwin James said. “To come out and not execute, not play disciplined, that’s disappointing.”
The most coordination the Chargers showed all day was their hasty exit from SoFi Stadium, an SUV whisking away owner Dean Spanos, followed by a pair of golf carts whizzing past the locker room. One carried standout left tackle Joe Alt, reduced to a spectator with his high ankle sprain. Riding on the back of the second cart was rookie running back Omarion Hampton, a first-round pick, wearing a protective boot on his left foot. His coach declined to elaborate on that apparent injury.
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Chargers summary
NFL standings
DODGERS
From Bill Shaikin: Teoscar Hernández does not lack for emotion. He plays with joy, with exuberance, with delight.
The Dodgers know he can hit. We all do. If the emotion dissipates, so can the performance.
Hernández could have been the goat Saturday night, in what would have been the Dodgers’ first loss in this postseason. Instead, he hit the game-winning home run, nearly levitated around first base, and became an October hero yet again.
In the Dodgers’ 16 postseason games last year, he hit three home runs and drove in 12 runs. In the Dodgers’ three postseason games so far this year, he has hit three home runs and driven in nine.
You might fret about his uneven defense. You might second guess a defensive play that put the Dodgers deeper into an early hole.
All’s well that ends well, as evidenced by his three-run home run that powered the Dodgers to a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League division series opener.
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Hernández: Dodgers save Shohei Ohtani, not the other way around, in monumental Game 1 NLDS win
MLB POSTSEASON SCHEDULE, RESULTS
NL Division Series
All times Pacific
Dodgers vs. Philadelphia
Dodgers 5, at Philadelphia 3 (box score)
Monday at Philadelphia, 3 p.m., TBS
Wednesday at Dodgers, 6 p.m., TBS
*Thursday at Dodgers, 3 p.m., TBS
*Saturday at Philadelphia, 5 p.m., TBS
Chicago vs. Milwaukee
at Milwaukee 9, Chicago 3 (box score)
Monday at Milwaukee, 6 p.m., TBS
Wednesday at Chicago, 2 p.m., TBS
*Thursday at Chicago, 6 p.m., TBS
*Saturday at Milwaukee, 1:30 p.m., TBS
AL Division Series
Detroit vs. Seattle
Detroit 3, at Seattle 2 (11) (box score)
at Seattle 3, Detroit 2 (box score)
Tuesday at Detroit, 1 p.m., FS1
Wednesday at Detroit, noon, FS1
*Friday at Seattle, 1:40 p.m., FS1
New York vs. Toronto
at Toronto 10, New York 1 (box score)
at Toronto 13, New York 7 (box score)
Tuesday at New York, 5 p.m., FS1
*Wednesday at New York, 4 p.m., FS1
*Friday at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox
*-if necessary
LAKERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The Lakers entered training camp with hopes of finally establishing chemistry between stars Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves. But the trio have yet to see the court together. On Sunday, they all stayed on the bench during the Lakers’ 111-103 loss to the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center.
With Doncic (rest) and James (glute) already out, Reaves was rested Sunday after an already full first week of training camp. The fifth-year guard had the highest workload on the team entering the first preseason game that took place after three days of practice. He scored 20 points against the Phoenix Suns as one of the few offensive bright spots in Friday’s blowout loss.
Without their top offensive playmakers, the Lakers got a lift from guard Gabe Vincent, who made his preseason debut after nursing a knee injury. He had 16 points and five assists while center Deandre Ayton, who scored just one point on two shots in Friday’s preseason game, scored seven points, all in the first quarter, with seven rebounds.
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KINGS
From Kevin Baxter: Luc Robitaille knew his hockey playing career was over when it took him longer to get his battered body ready for a game than it did to play it.
“It became harder and harder physically,” said Robitaille, whose next stop was the hall of fame. “I think I knew at that point.”
And once his mind was made up, there was no turning back.
For Anze Kopitar, who is in the peak of good health, the decision was a little different. The Kings’ longtime center announced last month that, at 38, he will retire after this season and spend more time with his family. But, like Robitaille, there will be no turning back.
“I’m not going to change my mind,” he said.
In fact, he’s not going to change anything. Kopitar said he’s approaching this season, his 20th with the Kings, the same way he approached the first 19.
“The last few years, I told myself that I have to enjoy it because you don’t know when the ending is com[ing],” he said. “So I’ve been enjoying it. I’m obviously having a lot of fun, still playing the game. This year won’t be any different.
“The focus is still on this season.”
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LAFC
Denis Bouanga scored in his sixth consecutive match Sunday night, connecting in the 86th minute to send LAFC past Atlanta United 1-0 for its fifth consecutive victory.
Late in a frustrating evening for LAFC stars Son Heung-min and Bouanga, the French star pounced when a long cross into the box deflected to him off the head of Atlanta’s Enea Mihaj. In his 100th MLS match, Bouanga hammered home his 99th total goal in his No. 99 LAFC jersey.
LAFC has been turbocharged by Son’s arrival, losing just once in all competitions since July 25 while streaking up the standings and becoming the Western Conference’s highest-scoring team.
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LAFC summary
MLS standings
JEFF SIEGEL
From John Cherwa: Jeff Siegel, a major player on the Southern California horse racing scene for more than half a century, died at his home in Duarte on Saturday after an extended battle with cancer. He was 74.
There are few roles in horse racing, besides trainer or jockey, that Siegel didn’t perform since he first got a job in the publicity department at Hollywood Park in 1974.
Siegel’s last job in racing was both serving as a host on XBTV, a service, owned by The Stronach Group, that specializes in horse workout videos. He was also the morning-line maker for both Santa Anita and Del Mar. He continued doing the job until his health no longer allowed it earlier this year.
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THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1928 — Leo Diegel wins the PGA championship, beating Al Espinosa 6 and 5.
1956 — Oklahoma blanks Kansas 66-0 to set a modern college football winning streak of 32 straight. The Sooners had the previous record of 31 set 1948-50. The victory is also a conference record of 54 straight wins.
1973 — Washington’s Chris Rowland ties an NCAA record with four touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, but still loses to California, 54-49.
1976 — Roland Erickson of the Minnesota North Stars has four assists in his first NHL game, a 6-5 loss to the New York Rangers.
1980 — Marvin Hagler wins the world middleweight title, beating Alan Minter in three rounds at Wembley Arena in London.
1985 — San Francisco’s Joe Montana passes for 429 yards and five touchdowns and sets an NFL record with 57 passes attempted and no interceptions in a 38-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
1990 — Stacey Robinson sets an NCAA quarterback rushing record with 308 yards and scores five touchdowns to lead Northern Illinois to a 73-18 victory over Fresno State.
1993 — Michael Jordan announces his retirement after nine seasons in the NBA.
2000 — Marty McSorley is found guilty of assault with a weapon for his two-fisted stick attack on an opponent by a Canadian court. McSorley is convicted for the Feb. 21 blow that sent Vancouver Canucks forward Donald Brashear sprawling to the ice.
2001 — Maurice Hicks runs for a record 416 yards and four touchdowns, but it isn’t enough as Morgan State defeats N. Carolina A&T 52-42. Hicks breaks the Division I-AA single-game rushing record of 409 yards set by Charles Roberts of Sacramento State in a 1999 game against Idaho State.
2001 — Middle Tennessee State beats Idaho 70-58 as the teams set a Division I record for total points scored in a game. The teams combine for 1,445 yards of offense.
2001 — Michigan’s victory, combined with Yale’s 32-27 loss to Dartmouth, gives the Wolverines the record for all-time wins in all divisions at 809.
2003 — Indianapolis, led by Peyton Manning, becomes the first team in NFL history to win after trailing by 21 or more points with less than 4 minutes left in regulation. Mike Vanderjagt’s 29-yard field goal with 3:47 left in the extra period gives the Colts a 38-35 victory over Tampa Bay.
2007 — Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree sets the NCAA record for touchdown receptions by a freshman with a 32-yard scoring catch in a 42-17 win over Iowa State. Crabtree scores three times against the Cyclones, giving him 17 for the season.
2013 — Tiger Woods beats Richard Sterne, 1 up, to give the Americans the 18 points they need to win the Presidents Cup for the fifth straight time. It’s the third straight Presidents Cup that Woods wins the cup-clinching match.
2013 — Matt Prater kicks a 28-yard field goal as time expires and Peyton Manning and Denver overcome the first 500-yard passing game in Dallas history for a 51-48 victory over the Cowboys. Tony Romo throws for 506 yards and five touchdowns for Dallas, but he is intercepted by Danny Trevanthan inside the Dallas 30 to set up Prater’s winning kick. It’s the second-highest scoring game in regulation since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. Manning finishes with 414 yards and four scores for Denver.
2017 — The Vegas Golden Knights defeat the Dallas Stars 2-1 in franchise’s inaugural season opener. James Neal scores both of the Knight goals in the third period and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stops 45 of 46 shots for the win.
2023 — American Simone Biles wins all-round gold at the World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, – becoming the most decorated gymnast ever with 34 world and Olympic medals.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1926 — Babe Ruth becomes first MLB player to hit 3 home runs in a World Series game as NY Yankees beat St. Louis Cardinals, 10-5 in Game 4.
1963 — World Series: Dodgers edge NY Yankees, 2-1 at Dodger Stadium for 4-0 series sweep; MVP: Sandy Koufax.
2010 — Roy Halladay pitches the second no-hitter in postseason history, leading the Philadelphia Phillies over the Cincinnati Reds 4-0 in Game 1 of the NL division series.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…