The Sports Report: Concerned about Matthew Stafford's back? Sean McVay says he isn't

Los Angeles Times

28-07-2025

From Gary Klein: Sean McVay claims he is not concerned about star quarterback Matthew Stafford's back issue.
The Rams coach said so three different times Saturday during a post-practice news conference. He added a 'it does not worry me' for good measure.
But how could it not?
Stafford, 37, has not practiced since the Rams opened training camp while receiving treatment from trainers and the team medical staff for what McVay initially described as back soreness.
McVay said last Tuesday that Stafford would sit out the first block of practices, but return on Monday when the Rams will be in pads for the first time.
Not so fast.
McVay said Stafford would not practice next week, and that his status would be evaluated 'a week at a time.'
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From Jack Harris: On a day the Dodgers were facing one of their former longtime starters, Dustin May faced the prospect of potentially soon having the same distinction.
In the last week, trade rumors have started to swirl around May, the oft-injured right-hander who is finally healthy this season — but also having an up-and-down campaign in his final year before free agency.
It's an idea that, on several levels, makes sense to explore: The Dodgers will soon have to demote someone from the rotation (likely May or Emmet Sheehan) to make room for Blake Snell's return next weekend. And there are few foreseeable scenarios in which May would pitch big innings in the postseason, given his 4.85 earned-run average and the fact that, in his return from a 2023 elbow surgery this year, he is already past his previous career-high for innings pitched.
May hardly seemed surprised to see his name mentioned as possible trade bait in multiple reports this week; having long ago grown accustomed to such speculation during his rise as a top pitching prospect.
It all made Sunday's start, against former Dodgers rotation-mate and current Boston Red Sox right-hander Walker Buehler, a pivotal one for the 27-year-old May — providing him one last chance to try and stay in the rotation, and the Dodgers' front office one more data point to evaluate in the coming week.
The result: An at-times impressive, but ultimately disappointing, effort in which May yielded four runs over five innings in the Dodgers' 4-3 loss against the Red Sox, largely cruising through the first four innings before getting ambushed in a three-run fifth.
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Mike Trout hit a two-run homer in a four-run fifth inning to reach 1,000 career RBIs, and the Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1 on Sunday.
Kyle Hendricks (6-7) gave up one run on two hits over six-plus innings and Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 18th save as the Angels earned a split of the four-game series.
Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 41st home run for the Mariners.
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From Austin Knoblauch: Rashawn Slater, a former first-round draft pick and one of the veteran leaders on the Chargers' offensive line, is staying in L.A. for the long haul.
Slater signed a four-year, $114-million contract extension with the Chargers on Sunday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.
A two-time Pro Bowl selection and a second-team All-Pro in 2021, Slater will be paid $92 million guaranteed, ESPN and NFL Media reported, the most guaranteed money ever for an NFL offensive lineman. The guaranteed amount surpasses the $88.24 million Tristan Wirfs received from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a five-year, $140.6-million deal he signed last summer.
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From Kevin Baxter: Frankie Muniz may be the only actor who has been nominated for an Emmy award and driven in a NASCAR event at Daytona. But if Muniz had been old enough to get a driver's license before he moved to Hollywood, there may never have been a 'Malcolm in the Middle.'
'When I'm in that race car and I put my visor down and I drive out of that pit lane, I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be,' he said. 'That's what I'm supposed to do and that's what I'm doing.'
And acting?
'I don't feel like I'm a good actor,' he said. 'I know I can act. But when I look at good acting, I go 'dang, I could never do that'.'
That's not true, of course. Muniz, who started acting when he was 12, has been credited in 26 films and 37 TV shows, including the title role in 'Malcolm in the Middle,' which earned him two Golden Globe nominations and one Emmy nod during its seven-year run on Fox.
But acting was a profession. Racing is a passion.
'Excitement and all the emotions. That's what I love about racing,' he said. 'The highs are so high and the lows are unbelievably low. It's awesome.'
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Bubba Wallace makes history with his NASCAR Brickyard 400 win
England thrived in the high drama yet again to take down Spain in a penalty shootout and win another Women's European Championship title on Sunday.
Chloe Kelly lashed in her spot kick to give defending champion England a 3-1 win in the shootout after a 1-1 draw after extra time.
It's the second straight Women's Euros final decided by Kelly scoring.
England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton saved spot kicks from Mariona Caldentey and Spain superstar Aitana Bonmati, before substitute Salma Paralluelo dragged her shot wide of the goal.
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Tadej Pogačar won his fourth Tour de France title by a comfortable margin after Sunday's final stage, which he tried to win even though he did not need to.
The 26-year-old Slovenian rider won the Tour last year and in 2020 and 2021.
'Just speechless to win the Tour de France, this one feels especially amazing,' he said. 'Just super proud that I can wear this yellow jersey.'
Two-time Tour champion Jonas Vinegaard finished the overall race 4 minutes, 24 seconds behind Pogačar in second place and Florian Lipowitz was 11 minutes adrift in third.
Belgian rider Wout van Aert won the 21st and last stage, which broke with tradition and featured three climbs of Montmartre hill.
Because of the risk of heavy rain and crashes, organizers had earlier decided to neutralize the times 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the end, effectively giving Pogačar the victory — but providing he crossed the finish line.
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1913 — The United States wins its first Davis Cup since 1902 by beating Britain three matches to two.
1928 — The Summer Olympics open in Amsterdam and the Olympic flame is lit for the first time.
1929 — The Chicago Cardinals become the first NFL team to train out of state, holding camp in Michigan.
1972 — The American Basketball Association announces that San Diego will receive a franchise and the NBA's Buffalo Braves relocate to San Diego and are renamed the San Diego Clippers.
1972 — The Dallas Cowboys beat the College All-Stars in Chicago 20-7.
1984 — The Summer Olympics open in Los Angeles with a record 140 nations competing. The Soviet Union and 13 Communist allies, including Cuba and East Germany, boycott the games.
1987 — Laura Davies shoots a 1-under 71 to defeat Ayako Okamoto and JoAnne Carner in an 18-hole playoff to win the U.S. Women's Open.
1987 — Angel Cordero Jr. becomes the fourth U.S. jockey to win 6,000 races when he rides Lost Kitty to victory at Monmouth Park, N.J.
1992 — American Mike Barrowman sets a world record in winning the 200-meter breaststroke, and Russian Evgueni Sadovyi becomes the Summer Olympics' first triple gold medalist, also smashing a world record in the men's 400-meter freestyle.
2000 — Blaine Wilson, America's pre-eminent gymnast, wins his fifth straight championship in St. Louis. He becomes the first gymnast to win five straight national titles since George Wheeler did it from 1937-41.
2009 — Germany's Paul Biedermann hands Michael Phelps his first major individual loss in four years, setting a world record in the 200-meter freestyle at the world championships in Rome. Phelps, a body length behind, loses for the first time in a major international meet since Ian Crocker beat him in the 100 butterfly final at the 2005 worlds.
2011 — Ryan Lochte celebrates the first world record set since high-tech bodysuits were banned 1 1/2 years ago. Lochte edges Michael Phelps in 200-meter individual medley at the world championships at Shanghai.
2013 — Brek Shea scores less than a minute after entering the game as a second-half substitute, giving the United States a 1-0 victory over Panama in the Gold Cup final. It's the fifth Gold Cup title for the Americans but their first since 2007.
2016 — Mirim Lee shoots a 10-under 62 to match the Women's British Open record and take a three-stroke lead in the major championship at tree-lined Woburn (England) Golf Club.
2016 — Stephan Jaeger shoots a 12-under 58 in the Web.com Tour's Ellie Mae Classic in Hayward, Calif., for the lowest score in major tour play. The German finishes with a 10-foot birdie putt.
2019 — 22-year-old Egan Bernal becomes the first Colombian and Latin American cyclist to win the Tour de France.
1931 — Bob Fothergill of Chicago hit a home run and a triple in an 11-run eighth inning. The White Sox set an American League record with 12 hits in the inning and beat the New York Yankees 14-12.
1940 — King Kong Keller hit three homers to give the New York Yankees a 10-9 win over Chicago in the first game of a doubleheader split.
1951 — Clyde Vollmer of Boston hit a grand slam in the 16th inning, the latest ever hit in a major league game. The Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 8-4.
1971 — Sixteen-time Gold Glove winner Brooks Robinson committed three errors in the sixth inning against the Oakland A's. Frank Robinson's three-run homer in the ninth won the game for the Orioles.
1976 — John Odom (five innings) and Francisco Barrios (four innings) combined on a no-hitter, and the Chicago White Sox defeated Oakland 2-1.
1983 — AL President Lee McPhail ruled that George Brett's 'pine tar' home run against New York on July 24 should count. The umpires had disallowed the homer because the pine tar on Brett's bat exceeded the 18-inch limit. The rest of the game was played Aug. 18 with the Kansas City Royals beating the Yankees, 5-4.
1989 — Atlanta's Dale Murphy tied two major league records by hitting two homers and driving in six runs in the sixth inning in the Braves' 10-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Murphy's two home runs equaled the record shared by 13 others and the six runs batted in matched a record shared by nine players.
1990 — Shawon Dunston tied a major league record with three triples and led the Chicago Cubs to a 10-7 win over the Montreal Expos.
1990 — Cal Ripken's errorless streak ends at 95 consecutive games, as Baltimore loses to Kansas City, 10 - 9. The streak is a new major-league record for a shortstop, eclipsing Kevin Elster's 89-game mark.
1991 — Dennis Martinez pitched a perfect game for the Montreal Expos, who topped the Dodgers 2-0 at Dodger Stadium.
1993 — Ken Griffey Jr. tied a major league record by homering in his eighth consecutive game, but it wasn't enough for the Seattle Mariners in a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
1994 — On the night the baseball players set an Aug. 12 strike date, Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers pitched a perfect game for a 4-0 victory over the Angels.
2004 — Troy Percival recorded his 300th save after John Lackey allowed three hits over 8 1-3 innings to help the Angels beat Texas 2-0.
2006 — Houston rookie Luke Scott hit for the cycle and drove in five runs, but the Astros lost to Arizona 8-7.
2018 — Rookie Francisco Arcia had a homer and six RBIs, giving him a major league-record 10 RBIs in two career games, and the Angels rolled past Seattle 11-5.
2021 — In the first Olympic baseball game in thirteen years, Japan rallies to defeat the Dominican Republic 4-3.
Compiled by the Associated Press
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