Kings open preseason with loss to Golden Knights in Empire Classic

• September 20, 2026

ONTARIO — The Kings began the preseason inauspiciously on Saturday evening, dropping this year’s Empire Classic at Toyota Arena to the defending Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights, 4-2.

Andre Lee and Lane Pederson each picked up a goal for the hosts. Anton Forsberg, the Kings’ playoff starter, made 12 of 15 saves in a loss.

Viliam Kmec and Raphael Lavoie scored for Vegas late in the first period, and Kmec added an assist on the first of two Jackson Hallum markers deep into the contest. 2023 Stanley Cup hero Adin Hill came up with 17 stops.

Both teams iced groups that were light on high-profile veterans. Forsberg was joined by Trevor Moore and Scott Laughton as the only other players who finished last season as regulars and were locks for a roster spot this year. Jared Wright, Kenny Connors, Erik Gustafsson and Lee were notable NHL-AHL tweeners clad in black and silver.

“It’s Game 1, there were a lot of new bodies in there and different faces from what you’ll see on opening night,” Kings coach Peter Laviolette said, who was hired in the offseason. “I was happy with the effort; I thought we played hard.”

A low-event game got spicy late, with the teams trading goals to leave Vegas back in front before it tacked on an empty-netter.

Hallum drove wide to sneak a low shot past Forsberg for what stood as the game winner, with 5:31 to play. He then found the vacated cage for a second goal as 1:23 showed on the clock.

“There were definitely some system plays we’d like to have back, especially that (second to) last goal,” Connors said.

The Kings had pulled even with 7:54 left in the match when Pederson crashed the net to push home Northridge native Cole Guttman’s rebound.

“It’s Game 1, you can’t expect it to be perfect, but I was happy that we got better as the game went on,” Connors said.

Through 40 minutes, the Kings were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill (they finished 4-for-4) as Forsberg settled in after some defensive miscues late in the first period. Yet they found themselves down a goal.

They had halved their deficit 87 seconds into the second period when Lee converted a rush opportunity with authority off a sweet setup from Connors. Tallying at Toyota Arena was a familiar feeling for Lee, who finished second on the Reign in goals with 26 last season.

“(The crowd) was awesome. The fans here are unbelievable, as we saw tonight. I’m sad that we couldn’t get the win for them, but I’m sure that they’re going to show up to the next game and cheer for us,” Lee said.

A hermetically sealed first period opened up when the visitors struck twice in the span of 52 seconds.

Kmec, who also notched the first goal of the preseason for Vegas last year, opened the scoring before Lavoie stretched Vegas’ lead 38 seconds before the first intermission.

Kmec’s blistering slapper from the right circle was Vegas’ second shot of the game. They went up 2-0 after an atrocious Kings line change gave the Golden Knights a 3-on-0 chance that Lavoie finished conclusively.

“The first period was really good for 18 minutes. I would have liked to have seen a little bit more offensively,” Laviolette said. “We were sitting there in a good spot … then we got caught on one goal and a puck got knocked down in the neutral zone and came back (at us) quick.”

Next up, the Kings will host the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday in their second of four exhibition games.

​ Orange County Register 

Marco Reus lifts Galaxy past Minnesota United with late goal

• September 20, 2026

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Marco Reus had a goal and an assists, João Klauss and Pablo Ruiz also scored a goal, and the LA Galaxy beat Minnesota United 3-2 on Saturday night.

Minnesota (7-11-8) has lost four straight and is winless in its last five.

Reus played a free kick from near the left end line to the near post, where Klauss flicked a header inside the back post into the side-net in the 76th minute, then redirected a cross played into the area by Lucas Calegari — known simply as “Calegari” — into the net to give the Galaxy (8-10-9) a 3-2 lead in the 80th.

Marcus Caldeira scored in the 23rd minute and Kelvin Yeboah converted from the penalty spot to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead in the 30th minute. Yeboah has scored in three consecutive games and has six of his 14 goals this season in the past six matches.

Ruiz, acquired Sept. 3 from Real Salt Lake in exchange for $400,000 in 2027 general allocation money, scored his first goal since 2023 to give LA a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.

Drake Callender had two save for Minnesota.

JT Marcinkowski stopped three shots for the Galaxy.

Up next

Galaxy: Host Colorado next Saturday.

​ Orange County Register 

UFC 331: Van turns back Pantoja to retain flyweight title

• September 20, 2026

LOS ANGELES — Joshua Van turned away a determined former champion to keep his gold.

The flyweight champ delivered stiff stand-up and defended enough takedowns over five rounds to come away with the unanimous-decision victory in the UFC 331 main event Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.

The judges scored it 49-46, 49-47, 50-45 for the 25-year-old phenom, who has now won eight in a row and looks to be on an insurmountable run in the 125-pound division.

In their first go-around, the Houston striker became the second-youngest champion in UFC history when Pantoja suffered a dislocated elbow just 26 seconds into their title bout at UFC 323 in December.

With Pantoja sidelined, Van accepted the challenge of Tatsuro Taira in May, coming away with a fifth-round TKO in a classic bout at UFC 328.

Pantoja matched Van’s aggression to start the fight, with Van showing an edge in being the quicker striker.

Pantoja was perturbed in the second round when his left eyebrow was cut by a Van headbutt, which was verified by replays. The blood leaked all fight, but not seemingly enough to affect the challenger’s vision.

In the third round, Van stayed active, piecing up Pantoja, who egged the champion on.

Despite the scorecards, the bout appeared even going into the final five minutes after Pantoja took the champ down and held position for much of the fourth round.

In the fifth round, Van looked to be the fresher fighter, dropping the 36-year-old Pantoja and peppering the Brazilian with combinations. As the fight ended, Pantoja slumped against the cage on one side while Van scaled it with his arms raised on another side.

It was a telling picture and the judges overwhelmingly saw it for the only Burmese champion in UFC history.

Tsarukyan soars

Arman Tsarukyan stamped his place as the next candidate for a lightweight title fight. And he did it in the most surprising way.

The Armenian 155-pounder cracked knockout artist Mauricio Ruffy with a left elbow to the cheek, then gave him one more for good measure en route to a first-round knockout.

Ruffy (14-3), who had knocked out 13 of his 14 vanquished opponents, might have been out after the first elbow, his face slumping onto Tsarukyan’s shoulder. But Tsarukyan (24-3), with a partisan crowd with many Armenian fans backing him, held him up and threw a right elbow, his forearm catching Ruffy on his way down.

Referee Jason Herzog called off the fight with four seconds left in the round.

Many felt Tsarukyan would have to implement his superior wrestling to neutralize Ruffy, but he proved how well-rounded he is.

Ruffy still had his moments, especially cracking Tsarukyan and causing a welt under his left eye. By the time the fight was over, the swelling had grown to the point that a mid-round inspection by the ring doctor would not have been a surprise.

Tsarukyan, who has now won six in a row, can set his sights on 155-pound champion Justin Gaethje, who was sitting cageside three months after pulverizing and winning the title from then-champion Ilia Topuria.

Pitbull back on track

Patricio Pitbull needed a win and encountered an opponent willing to trade and bang.

The former two-division Bellator champion had yet to find his way in the UFC, but a right hand over the top staggered Dooho Choi and was the beginning of the end in the first round of their featherweight fight.

Choi, known as the Korean Superboy, has developed a reputation for engaging in mind-boggling scraps – one so incredible that he and Cub Swanson were inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for their 2019 brawl.

It was just the foe for Pitbull (38-9), who was 1-2 in the UFC. The Brazilian kept popping Choi (17-5-1), who proved game and took damage and delivered his own until the fateful punch that almost knocked him down before he reeled to his right and stayed upright.

Pitbull took care of that, dropped Choi and continued with more ground-and-pound, earning the stoppage at 3:28 of the opening round.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

Mookie Betts stays hot as Dodgers hammer Giants

• September 20, 2026

LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts is showing that the view from the top offers a wide range of possibilities.

Hitting in Shohei Ohtani’s leadoff spot for the second consecutive game, Betts’ four-hit performance Saturday topped his three-hit output from Friday and started some serious downhill momentum toward a 10-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

The victory kept the Dodgers two games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in the National League with seven games remaining. That includes four games against the Giants, who continue to limp toward the finish line of a miserable, injury-riddled season.

Betts couldn’t be feeling better, with his past two games part of a run of 10 hits over the last three games he has played. After more than two months of looking for an offensive leader, Betts has charged into the role, while reaching base five times Saturday.

The Dodgers also have been transformed by the emergence of Will Smith, who returned at the start of September after three months away because of neck inflammation. He had a home run among his three hits to give him homers in consecutive games, with three over his past eight contests.

There is also 21-year-old rookie Josue De Paula, who has continued to operate with ease since arriving in the major leagues last week. De Paula had a two-run single Saturday and walked twice while scoring two runs.

All of it overshadowed Tarik Skubal’s ninth start for the Dodgers. The two-time American League Cy Young Award winner was far from his best, allowing four runs on eight hits over five innings. His three strikeouts were his fewest in an outing with his new club.

And yet the offense allowed Skubal (11-7) to pick up the win, while improving to 4-2 with a 2.95 ERA for the Dodgers.

The offense was not only productive, it was steady. The Dodgers scored runs in each of the first six innings and when they were held scoreless in the seventh, Betts still reached base with a walk.

Betts opened the game for the Dodgers with a leadoff double and scored on a Max Muncy double. Betts brought home his own run with an RBI single in the second.

The Dodgers received Smith’s home run in the third and got an RBI double from Betts in the fourth but were still tied 4-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth. They blew the game open from there, getting a go-ahead two-run single from Tommy Edman and an RBI pinch-hit single from Miguel Rojas for a 7-4 lead.

They scored three more times in the sixth, getting a Smith RBI single followed by a two-run single from De Paula.

The Dodgers now have a 5-4 lead in the Giants in the season series and are in line for a sweep Sunday, which would be their first against their longtime rival since April of 2024.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

Newport Harbor boys water polo reloads with South Coast Tournament title

• September 20, 2026

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NEWPORT BEACH — Caruso Polenzani and Sean Anderson stretched their arms high out of the water at the top of the perimeter as Newport Harbor’s boys water polo team defended a 7-on-6 advantage by Cathedral Catholic in the closing seconds of the South Coast Tournament semifinals on Saturday.

The duo forced a shot toward the middle of the Sailors’ defense and into the chest of 2-meter guard Owen Marks.

Newport Harbor’s defensive stop sealed a dramatic 16-15 victory that ignited a wild celebration not usually seen early in the season.

But it was no ordinary victory for the host Sailors.

And it was no ordinary day for the Orange County powerhouse.

Newport Harbor later defeated Miramonte of Orinda 11-10 in the finals on a perimeter strike by Anderson on the first possession of sudden-death overtime.

The Sailors celebrated a third consecutive South Coast Tournament title and ended Miramonte’s bid to be the first Northern California champion since the tournament began in 1977.

Anderson forced overtime and tied the score 8-8 with a goal from the wing with three seconds left in regulation.

In sudden-death overtime, Cooper Kelly won the sprint that set the stage for Anderson, who scored all four of his goals starting in the fourth period.

Newport Harbor’s dramatic title run as the No. 4 seed began against No. 1 Cathedral Catholic. The Sailors produced a win soaked with significance.

Newport Harbor upsets top-seeded Cathedral Catholic 16-15 in the semis of South Coast Tournament and is fired up! Great sign for a young team on multiple levels @NH_SailorSports pic.twitter.com/cBzZRYVhPI

— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) September 19, 2026

The Sailors avenged a 12-10 loss against Cathedral Catholic in late August at Newport Harbor High.

Polenzani led the Sailors (8-1) by exploding for 10 goals, including the winner on the extra man with 21 seconds left in the fourth period.

The junior snapped a 15-15 tie by scoring off an assist from left-hander Davis Kipp, who earned the exclusion in transition following a save goalie Lian Kim.

If the names of Newport Harbor’s contributors sound new, they should. The two-time defending CIF-SS Open Division champion graduated the starting core from its squad last season and has reloaded with several young players.

In the field, the Sailors started four juniors, one sophomore and a freshman.

Kim is the team’s lone senior.

The first-year starter played a pivotal role against the Dons with eight saves, including a few that sparked goals at the other end of the pool.

Despite their youth, Newport Harbor’s players displayed impressive composure in a riveting semifinal that produced three lead changes and 10 ties.

One of the Sailors’ best responses came in the second period after Cathedral Catholic scored the first three goals to open an 8-5 lead.

After a timeout by Newport Harbor coach Ross Sinclair with 5:35 left in the quarter, the Sailors netted three unanswered goals to tie the score.

Anderson, a junior, netted the first goal and Polenzani scored the next two.

Newport Harbor finished 7 for 9 with the extra attacker and held Cathedral Catholic (7-1) to a 3 for 8 effort.

Kim made three of his saves against the Dons’ power play. He blocked a shot on the counterattack late in the third that kept the score deadlocked 12-12. Moments later, Polenzani scored but the duel stretched deep into the fourth period.

End 3: Newport 14, Cathedral 12 pic.twitter.com/zovrKlfpwd

— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) September 19, 2026

Braylen Axline scored six goals to pace the Dons.

The Newport Harbor-Cathedral Catholic rivalry heated up last season as the schools played six times. The Sailors went 5-1.

Over the summer, a club powered by Cathedral Catholic players defeated Newport Beach in the 18-and-under final at Junior Olympics.

“I’m sure we’ll see them a couple more times,” Cathedral Catholic coach Tommy Corcoran said of Newport Harbor.

​ Orange County Register 

Man O Rose wins again at Los Al, ends rider’s drought

• September 20, 2026

CYPRESS — His confidence shaken by a bad slump, Edwin Maldonado needed something, anything, he could count on. He got it Saturday at Los Alamitos in the familiar four-legged form of Man O Rose.

Bouncing back from a disaster at Del Mar that typified the jockey’s recent fortunes, Man O Rose and Maldonado faced a challenge most of the way in the E.B. Johnston Stakes but pulled away late to win the race for the third year in a row.

It didn’t look as easy as bettors expected in making Man O Rose ($3.40) a heavy favorite, or as easy as when the now 6-year-old gelding won the race for California-breds by open lengths after taking clear leads in 2024 and 2025. Man O Rose won this time by 2-1/4 lengths over Speedy Wilson after fighting off third-place Mr. Disrespectful. The 1:36.13 for 1 mile made this the slowest of the three wins, mostly because of a 25.85 final quarter-mile.

But Maldonado said he never had a doubt. It may have been a while since he felt that way.

“These are the type of horses that keep you around,” Maldonado said. “It’s a tough game, up and down. I was in a little bit of a slump after leaving Del Mar, (but) we’re back in the winner’s circle, thanks to this guy here.”

A little bit? The 43-year-old Maldonado had lost with his past 51 mounts before Saturday’s victory. He went 3 for 71, a 4% win rate, and finished tied for 18th in wins during the Del Mar summer season. His percentage declined for the third major meet in a row since he went 6 for 32 (19%) and tied for eighth at the 2025 Del Mar fall meet.

“It happens to the best of us. You’ve just got to keep your head down and keep working,” said Maldonado, who has long embraced the power of positive thinking and self-help books. The good thing is, from here there’s only way (to go), up. I can’t go any lower than I was.”

In the Los Alamitos winner’s circle, Maldonado held up three fingers to the camera to mark Man O Rose’s triple success in the $75,000 E.B. Johnston.

“It kind of lifts your spirits,” he said. “You need to win. If you’re not winning, nobody wants you.”

Bred and owned by retired oncologist Bruce Zietz of West Hills and trained by Jeff Mullins, Man O Rose won for the 13th time in 22 career starts that have taken him from sprints to miles and dirt to turf.

Last time out at Del Mar, Man O Rose was eased to a last-place finish in the Green Flash Handicap, having surprisingly been allowed to race after breaking through the starting gate, bloodying a foreleg and expending energy by running the length of the backstretch.

Man O Rose had no trouble Saturday.

The two-week Los Alamitos meet, the second of the Orange County track’s three short daytime thoroughbred seasons, ends Sunday.

Kazushi Kimura leads the jockey standings with seven wins, three more than Edgar Payeras and Armando Aguilar; Kimura has no mounts Sunday because of a suspension that allowed him to ride only Speedy Wilson in the final three days, while Pereira and Aguilar are named to ride in all nine races Sunday.

Peter Miller leads the trainer standings with four wins, one more than Jesus Uranga. Miller has a horse in one race Sunday, Uranga three.

​ Orange County Register 

Denis Bouanga sets LAFC scoring record in draw with Earthquakes

• September 20, 2026

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Denis Bouanga scored his franchise-record 79th career regular-season goal for Los Angeles FC on Saturday night in a 2-2 tie with the San Jose Earthquakes.

Reid Roberts scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time for San Jose (12-8-6), which is unbeaten in five straight.

Aaron Long was shown a straight red card in the 36th minute and LAFC (11-8-8) played a man down the rest of the way.

Son Heung-min added a goal and an assist and Hugo Lloris had seven saves for LAFC. Son has five goal contributions (two goals, three assists) in the past four games.

Bouanga, on the counter-attack, put away a first-touch shot off a cross from Son that slipped between the legs of defender Dave Romney to make it 2-0 in the 53rd minute. Bouanga has scored a goal in back-to-back games and moved past Carlos Vela (78) on LAFC’s regular-season goals list.

Son bent a low shot from 24 yards out past the outstretched hand of goalkeeper Angus Gunn and inside the near post to open the scoring in the 34th minute.

Preston Judd put away a header off an entry played into the area by Timo Werner in the 70th for the Earthquakes. Gunn had one save.

Up next

LAFC: Play next Saturday at Dallas.

​ Orange County Register 

Andy Benesh, Taylor Crabb reach AVP Laguna Open semifinals

• September 20, 2026

Andy Benesh and Taylor Crabb showed Saturday why they are the top-seeded men’s team at the AVP Laguna Open.

The duo defeated No. 4 James Shaw and Ryan Wilcox in straight sets, 22-20, 21-16, to advance to Sunday’s semifinals.

“We’ve been playing well this season and we’re trying to continue that,” Benesh said.

Benesh and Crabb opened the tournament with a straight-set victory over No. 16 Cash Adamsen and Jacob Kim, then outlasted No. 9 Hagen Smith and Logan Webber in three sets.

They will play at 1 p.m. Sunday against an opponent to be determined.

The No. 2 team of Chase Budinger and Trevor Crabb also advanced to the semifinals, defeating No. 3 Mathias Berntsen and Hendrik Mol, 21-16, 21-17.

Budinger and Crabb did not drop a set in their three matches Saturday.

“We were very confident coming in here,” Budinger said. “And then we had more of an incentive to win these first matches. We’ve been having to get thrown into the contenders (bracket) and really have to battle in these long tournaments. We did not want that to happen this tournament.”

They opened with straight-set victories over the Nos. 15 and 7 seeds before beating Berntsen and Mol.

Trevor Crabb said he is looking forward to the possibility of meeting his brother Taylor in the final.

“There’s always a rivalry, but it’s nice now that we’re both on the opposite sides of the semis,” Trevor Crabb said.

Crabb and Budinger will also play at 1 p.m. Sunday.

CORY, NEWBERRY ADVANCE DESPITE INJURY

Savannah Cory and Devon Newberry reached the women’s semifinals despite Newberry sustaining an ankle injury earlier in the day.

The second-seeded duo defeated Kylie DeBerg and Hailey Zacca in straight sets, 21-18, 21-17, in their third match Saturday.

“It’s been a grind, so we’re just really, really excited and really proud of the progress we made today,” said Cory, who had a match-high 15 kills and 12 digs. “And we’re hoping we can finish on top tomorrow.”

Cory and Newberry were familiar with many of their opponents after facing them at other tournaments over the past three months, but their path through Saturday’s bracket was hardly easy.

They opened with a straight-set victory over No. 15 Molly Martin and Madison Shields before facing No. 10 Ally Batenhorst and Sara Hughes.

Midway through that match, Newberry needed a medical timeout after injuring her ankle near the net.

“I just kind of fell in a hole, so it kind of just rolled inward,” said Newberry, who still recorded a match-high 12 kills. “So not fun, and honestly, it was probably more scary than in pain. And Sav (Savannah) was the best partner and carried me pretty much through the rest of that match.”

Cory and Newberry still won in straight sets to advance.

Cory said she was surprised they would not have to face either the world’s third-ranked team of Thâmela Coradello and Victoria Lopes of Brazil or top-seeded Kelly Cheng and Megan Kraft after both pairs were eliminated.

Cory said their passing and setting remained consistent throughout the day. Their primary adjustment after Newberry’s injury was for Cory to “play to the left side,” reducing how much Newberry needed to jump.

Cory and Newberry will play in the semifinals at noon Sunday against an opponent to be determined.

​ Orange County Register