This was a BUSY weekend for LA sports. One team has raised its championship hopes. Another team appears to be throwing in the towel, while two additional teams opened training camp. Let’s dive into what happened this weekend.
DODGERS LAND THE BIGGEST FISH (AGAIN)
Let me ask you Dodgers fans something. Are you tired of the Dodgers getting the best guy available? Have you gotten sick of them winning so much? Is it too much of listening to being labeled the “Doctor Doom” or the “Darth Sidious” of baseball? I am willing to bet the answer is the same as the fans’ answer that I got from Fan Fest when I asked them if they felt bad for the Toronto Blue Jays. That answer, if you recall, was no.
The Dodgers landed the biggest fish again. This time, it was in the trade market before Monday’s deadline. Our beloved “bums” secured Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. He was exchanged for outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-hander pitcher River Ryan, and right-hander Brady Smith. The Dodgers made a few minor deals to reinforce their bullpen and aimed to fix trouble spots behind the plate.
The general vibe around baseball is…“That’s all it took?” or “No, not the Dodgers!” With many additional exclamation points. Look, the Dodgers and their fans are used to the fact that are the “bad guys” of MLB. “It just seems like there’s always blowback with us,” Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday, “People are passionate. We feel good about it. There’s nothing that we did that no one else couldn’t have done. I just love our front office. We have to have the players to go pull something like this off, and we’ve still got, you know, arguably the top one or two or three farm systems in baseball. So, it’s a credit to a lot of people in this organization.”
Some people are saying the Dodgers are adding more fuel to the fire for a salary cap for the upcoming CBA negotiations. However, I’d like to point this out: nobody ever complained when the Yankees did this in 2002 when they signed Jason Giambi to a seven-year, $120 million contract or many other top players in MLB history. This is yet another case of “east coast bias” against a team based on the west coast of the United States. “Experts” keep preaching that just because the Dodgers have the best players, doesn’t mean they are going to win.
While that is true, that is NOT the tone they struck in the last NFL season when “experts” were certain that Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs would bounce back because Mahomes was SUCH A GREAT PLAYER. Don’t get me wrong, Mahomes is a good player, but the argument “experts” made saying the Chiefs were great because they had Mahomes wipes out their credibility when they say the Dodgers aren’t guaranteed to be great because they have all these great players.
The narrative that the Dodgers are ruining baseball has only been exacerbated because of these absurd arguments. “Passionately disagree,” Andrew Friedman, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations, said when asked his opinion on the matter. Friedman went on to say what he usually does in these transactions — that the franchise is rewarding its passionate fans, that this trade is a testament of all the departments that have made the Dodgers an enviable franchise, and that this is a rare opportunity on which they want to capitalize.
But let’s face it, the Dodgers have assembled a once-in-a-lifetime assembly of talent. They’re getting healthier, they won’t stay in a slump forever, and it seems they’re all but guaranteed another ring. Essentially, the rest of the league isn’t facing the Dodgers anymore…they’re pretty much facing the Avengers, if I may use that term a few months out from the premiere of Avengers: Doomsday.
KELSEY PLUM ERA ENDS FOR THE LA SPARKS
While one of the LA, Mark Walter owned, teams seem to be trending only up…another just can’t seem to go anywhere but down. The Los Angeles Sparks seem to have thrown in the towel this season by trading star Kelsey Plum. It seemed inevitable since word was that Plum was unhappy in LA and would explore free agency after the season ended. That’s why the Sparks traded Plum to the Phoenix Mercury for Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick.
Now, this is an interesting spot for the Sparks. Both the Sparks and the Mercury are on the outside looking in at the WNBA playoff picture. If both teams fail to make the playoffs, that gives the Sparks a better chance in the Draft Lottery. The 2027 WNBA Draft Class is expected to be one of the best in recent years. I’ve said this several times before…but USC star JuJu Watkins would look great in the Sparks’ purple and gold. After all, Caitlyn Clark has proved to be a special player and transformed the Indiana Fever…and Watkins might be just as good.
The Sparks now have the flexibility for the future GM to decide on a new path, as the team fired general manager Raegan Pebley in July. There will be cap space with Plum and Nneka Ogwumike off the books and draft capital with a pair of likely lottery picks. The new GM could want to bring Ogwumike back, but her current deal expires after the season and that will free up her $950,000 salary to use one way or another. But losing one of the best players in the world in Plum, who was brought in to be the face of the franchise less than two years ago, can only be considered a failed venture.
RAMS AND CHARGERS’ NEWS FROM TRAINING CAMPS
Last weekend was the annual “Back Together” Weekend for the NFL. It marks the official kickoff of the NFL preseason and training camps. The event ran Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2, giving fans a first look at the 2026 season with open practices, player interviews, mic’d-up moments, and fan fests across all 32 NFL teams. Of course that means the local LA teams as well: the Rams and the Chargers.
Defense has been the star of the Chargers training camps. The unit was a part of the team’s success in the 2025 season. What was impressive for the coaching staff was the number of players showing off their skills. From free agent cornerbacks Avery Smith and Rodney Shelley to veteran defensive back Donte Jackson. The only defensive player that was a topic of concern is edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu, who missed four days of practice with ongoing contract talks. However, the franchise will continue to run through quarterback Justin Herbert. To protect him, the team added rookie guards Jake Slaughter and Kayode Awosika. And to give Herbert more passing targets, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston have been joined by Brenen Thompson and Derius Davis.
Of course, the other team member looking for a big improvement is head coach Jim Harbaugh. After making the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in nearly 20 years, Harbaugh is aiming for a better playoff run and maybe a Super Bowl appearance for the first time during the Chargers stay in Los Angeles. Harbaugh’s biggest change was bringing in quirky, innovative former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel as the new offensive coordinator. His job is to get the most out of Justin Herbert as he reaches his prime years.
That’s not the only thing changing for Herbert this season. This offseason, Herbert announced his engagement to singer-songwriter Madison Beer. The couple shared the news on July 28th in a joint post on Instagram, captioned with a simple message: “Meet my fiancé.” Herbert and Beer were first spotted together in August 2025 on the set of a music video Beer was shooting, which began to spark dating rumors. Beer would appear at Chargers games throughout the fall, with the dating rumors seemingly confirmed when the two shared a kiss on the sideline before the Chargers’ Week 5 game against the Washington Commanders. The pair attended a Los Angeles Dodgers World Series game together later that autumn. The duo was also spotted sitting courtside at Crypto.com Arena supporting the Los Angeles Lakers.
As for the Rams, Myles Garrett is the top addition to the team in the offseason. Garrett did miss three straight practices with what team medical staff called “lower body soreness.” Head coach Sean McVay said he is not concerned, telling reporters that the Rams are playing on the side of caution. Of course, the Rams’ offense will be run by quarterback Matthew Stafford with Jimmy Garoppolo as back up. Rookie Ty Simpson will battle Stetson Bennett IV for the third string spot. And number one running back Kyren Williams has spent more time on improving his running instead of working on pass catching. Williams is hoping for more carries to give the offense a more balanced attack.
The big news out of Rams’ training camp however remains the prospect of the return of Aaron Donald from retirement. McVay says he doesn’t expect Donald, an all pro defensive tackle, to decide about coming out of retirement until after the team returns to its facility on Aug. 8, but McVay noted that “things are going in the right direction.” The Rams are spending the first portion of their training camp at Loyola Marymount before returning to their practice facility in Woodland Hills, California. Their last practice at LMU is scheduled for Aug. 7.
“There won’t be any news on that front until we get back to Woodland Hills,” McVay said Friday, “We’ve loosely had some different timelines that are kind of temporary. I want to keep those between us just if something unforeseen happens, out of respect for him and the situation. But I know this: Things are going in the right direction. And if there’s an arrow, it’s trending upwards.”
Garrett said that he doesn’t want to push defensive tackle Aaron Donald to come out of retirement but has expressed excitement at the idea of playing beside one of the best defensive players in Rams franchise history. “I don’t want to push him in one way or another,” Garrett said Wednesday, “If he’s here, I’m going to be excited to be his teammate, his partner in crime. And I think we can do great things, but it’s a difficult thing coming back, and I know he has a family. He has a lot of decisions to make.”
