ANAHEIM — Angels manager Ron Washington talks often about how the team is still “learning how to win.” It’s not like this. The Angels made a handful of critical mistakes that proved to be just enough to cost them in a 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. The Angels (10-16) have now lost seven of their last eight games. At the plate, they didn’t even manage a hit against Bailey Ober until the sixth inning, when they were already down by four runs. They had opportunities in the sixth and eighth innings, but only Nolan Schanuel managed to drive in any runs, with a groundout and a sing ..read more

HERMOSA BEACH — When he landed about 20 hours after being selected by the Rams in the first round of the NFL draft, Jared Verse was told he would have at least half an hour to change and decompress before heading to the team’s draft headquarters. But when they arrived at the hotel on Friday, Verse’s escort told him he had two minutes before they had to leave. He questioned the sudden change of plan, and was told his new coaches wanted to speak to him before they made their second-round pick. Verse bought that explanation, but was still wary of the sudden haste with which they were moving. When ..read more

HERMOSA BEACH — The Rams added some depth to their secondary to close out the second day of the NFL draft, selecting Miami safety Kamren Kinchens with the penultimate pick of the third round. Kinchens, the 99th overall pick in the draft, had 59 total tackles and five passes defended in each of his final two seasons with the Hurricanes. He totaled 11 interceptions as a sophomore and junior. He was a first-team Associated Press All-American in 2022. He joins a safety room that lost both starters from last season. Captain Jordan Fuller signed with the Carolina Panthers, while John Johnson III rem ..read more

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer DALLAS — Luka Doncic had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and the suddenly defensive-minded Dallas Mavericks took a chippy 101-90 victory over the Clippers on Friday night for a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series. The Mavs rode the same defense that gave them home-court advantage with a Game 2 victory in L.A., and won in Dallas three years after losing all three first-round games on their floor in a seven-game loss to the Clippers. Game 4 is Sunday afternoon in Dallas. Rookie Dereck Lively II scored all 13 of his points in the first half and ..read more

HERMOSA BEACH — The Rams selected Michigan running back Blake Corum in the third round of the NFL draft on Friday night. Using the 83rd overall pick, the Rams addressed a need that head coach Sean McVay had spoken about since the owners’ meeting in March. The Rams needed a dependable backup for starting running back Kyren Williams after last season’s breakout star dealt with multiple injuries, including an ankle sprain that cost him four games. Corum, 23, rushed 258 times for 1,245 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior, serving as a team captain during the Wolverines’ unbeaten run to a national ..read more

The consensus box of Santa Anita horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Terry Turrell, Eddie Wilson and Kevin Modesti. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Trouble viewing on mobile device? See consensus picks Enjoy the consensus horse racing picks online? Subscribe Sign up for Ponies Express newsletter and get the latest news and tips on wagers for weekend Horse Racing at Santa Anita and other Southern California tracks in your inbox. Subscribe here.     Related Articles Sports | Santa Anita horse racing consensus picks for Fr ..read more

At the very end of Paul Cauthen’s Friday set at the Stagecoach Country Music Festival, Cauthen surprised fans with a surprise duet with singer Lana Del Rey.  Paul Cauthen performs on the Palomino stage on the opening day of the Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio on Friday, April 26, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Del Rey, who’d been in Indio two weekends before for Coachella, where she was a headliner, came out with the “Cocaine Country Dancing” singer for a performance of The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody.” Lana Del Rey at the end of her ..read more

TORONTO — Canadians are known to be good-natured, polite and just downright nice. They went a little off brand at Rogers Centre on Friday night, putting that aside to boo Shohei Ohtani like so many jilted lovers who stored up their animosity since December when false media reports gave them false hope that Ohtani would be starting a deeper, more meaningful relationship with them. Ohtani had a 360-foot response to the boos in his first at-bat, drilling a home run into the right field seats. If the sellout crowd of 39,688 came to boo Ohtani, their passion didn’t help the home team (except a ..read more

ANAHEIM — Anthony Rendon’s hamstring injury is not just some tightness that will resolve in a matter of weeks. The Angels’ oft-injured third baseman has a high grade partial tear of his left hamstring. The Angels had not provided detail on the severity of the injury until Friday because Rendon had sought further opinions after the initial diagnosis. Although the Angels won’t give a timetable, it’s going to be a matter of months. The team is still hoping that he’ll come back this season, but given Rendon’s history nothing is certain. “I have no idea how long because hamstrings are tricky,” Gene ..read more

A 67-year-old man was sentenced Friday to 98 years to life in prison for molesting a boy from 1997 through 2001 in the Stanton area. Terry Lyn Myers of Garden Grove was convicted in February of five counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and three counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a minor, all felonies. Myers began molesting the boy when he was about 9 years old, prosecutors said in a sentencing brief. At one point, Myers, who volunteered at various Orange County churches, sexually assaulted the boy “in exchange for a trip to church camp,” prosecutors said. The boy was sexually assa ..read more