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The college football gods have determined that the 88^th edition of what we once declared to be “The Hood vs. The ‘Wood” — USC (5-5, 4-4) taking it upon themselves to go to the Rose Bowl and have an extended tailgate with UCLA (2-8, 2-5) – shall begin at 12:30 p.m., and be televised by Fox (KTTV-Channel 11). While not officially the “can’t miss” game of Week 12 — these are the most combined losses for the two teams coming into this game in the series history — it certainly comes very early in the calendar year that we can remember for one of the nation’s top rivalry contests. For the record, only four other times has this been played on a Nov. 17 (2012 at the Rose Bowl won by UCLA 38-28; 2001 at the Coliseum won by USC 27-0; 1990 at the Rose Bowl won by USC 45-42 and 1984 at the Rose Bowl won by UCLA 29-10). Continue reading “11.12.18: Five things you should plan for the week ahead based on unscientific evidence of guaranteed importance” →

Do new laundry logos and a re-varnished home court make a college basketball team look better, feel better and play better? At Long Beach State, it’s another statement of another new direction for coach Dan Monson, starting his 12^th season here. There may be affirmation of the first two parts of that question, but probably a long ways to go to resolve that third part. First, the 49ers have a new-look home floor with the retro “LB” for center court instead of the swirly “The Beach” stuff. They’ve also got new uniforms that change the “A” in “Beach” into some sort of … arrow-pointing-up statement? And “The LBC” jerseys may be making some other sort of proclamation.
But then there’s the roster assembled by Monson, who took Gonzaga to the Elite Eight 20 seasons ago but has had back to back 49ers teams with 15-19 and 15-8 overall records, each 9-7 in the Big West, and hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since a 25-9 run in 2012.
In Sports Illustrated’s annual preseason ranking of all 353 teams, the 49ers are slotted at No. 234. That’s no better than Air Force, but a step above something called University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley (which we didn’t even know existed, in the WAC, and thrown off by the fact it calls itself “UT-RGV” when the first two initials might signify “Utah.”0.
The 49ers are slotted a deep sixth in the Big West behind experienced-deep UC Irvine (104) and defending tournament champ Cal State Fullerton (118), with room to maneuver if they pull something together in a usually tough pre-conference schedule.
Who votes on all that anyway? Where is the transparency?
Which leads to Election Day Tuesday. Someone decided this Tuesday would be a great time to launch the college basketball season. The 49ers are wise. They will wait for the commotion to die down and then launch their 2018-19 campaign at UCLA (Pauley Pavilion, Friday at 8 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
Which leads us to the Bruins, No. 21 in that SI ranking, highest of any Southern California school, because of the presence of returning sophomores Kris Wilkes and Jaylen Hands for coach Steve Alford, starting his sixth season with a 117-57 career mark in Westwood thus far, without a conference title but three Sweet 16 appearances. UCLA just found out it will also be without – again – Cody Riley, who, if it’s not academic trouble or stealing sunglasses in China, it’s an injured jaw that will do him for a few weeks. Shareef O’Neal (Shaq’s kid), Tyger Campbell and Alex Olesinki are three others who were thought could contribute right away but are also injured.
USC (No. 48 SI ranking), trying to replace Jordan McLaughlin and Chimezie Metu, is expected to be the Bruins’ main challenger to the Pac-12 title under coach Andy Enfield (94-76 in five seasons, including 24-12 last season and second in the conference at 12-6 but failing to get an NCAA Tournament bid). Enfield’s biggest guns could be sophomore Chuck  O’Bannon Jr., and freshman Kevin Porter Jr., plus returning senior Bennie Boatwright and junior Nick Rakocevic.
Loyola Marymount (No. 174), Pepperdine (No. 215) and Cal State Northridge (No. 312) help fill out the SI list, but the Matadors get special mention with this comment: “Why, exactly, did Northridge hire Mark Gottfried again? The coach whose tactics have brought NC State into the scope of the FBI’s investigation into college basketball will have a long road to relevance with a team that finished alone in last in the Big West a year ago.” Don’t forget, Jim Harrick is one of his assistants.
Tuesday’s openers:
* UCLA vs. Purdue-Fort Wayne, at Pauley Pavilion, 6 p.m., Pac-12 Network
* USC vs. Robert Morris, at Galen Center, 8 p.m., Pac-12 Network
* Cal State Northridge vs. New Mexico, at the Matadome, 7 p.m.
* Loyola Marymount vs. Westcliff University, at Gersten Pavilion, 5 p.m.
Also this week:
* Long Beach State at UCLA (Pauley Pavilion, Friday at 8 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
* USC vs. Vanderbilt, at Galen Center, Sunday at 6 p.m., Pac-12 Network
* Long Beach State vs. Menlo College at the Walter Pyramid, Saturday at 4 p.m.
* Pepperdine vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills, at Firestone Fieldhouse, Wednesday at 7 p.m.
* Pepperdine vs. Cal State Northridge, at Firestone Fieldhouse, Saturday at 7 p.m.
* Loyola Marymount at UNLV, Saturday at 5 p.m.
Games of national interest:
Tuesday: Duke vs. Kentucky in Indianapolis, 6:30 p.m., ESPN; Michigan State vs. Kansas in Indianapolis, 4 p.m., ESPN
Sunday: Army at Duke, 10 a.m., ESPN

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The previous two trips Pete Carroll made to the Coliseum wearing it as the Seattle Seahawks’ head coach have been somewhat memorable. In
In 2016, the Rams grinded out a 9-3 win on three Greg Zuerlein field goals – it was the Rams’ first game in L.A. in nearly 22 years, and Case Keenum was the quarterback. In 2017, the Seahawks pulled off a 16-10 win as the Rams turned the ball over five times, including a strip of Todd Gurley at the goal line to kill the Rams’ opening drive. The Rams were 3-1 coming into that contest and had been averaging 35 points a game.
The 8-1 Rams, coming off the heave-and-pray loss to the Saints in New Orleans, have the NFC West rival Seahawks this time (Sunday, 1:25 p.m., Channel 2) with memories of a tight 33-31 win in Seattle in Week 5 — where Sean McVay made a Carroll-like gutsy fourth-down call and less than a yard to go with 1:39 left— a Goff keeper — that effectively let the Rams run the clock out.
Meanwhile, the 6-2 Chargers, winners of five in a row after going to Seattle and registering a 25-17 win, reunited with the Raiders in Oakland (Sunday, 1 p.m., Channel 11). The Chargers already have logged a 26-10 win over the Raiders in Week 5 where Philip Rivers threw for 339 yards and a pair of TDs.
(And, yes, it’s odd that two NFC teams have a CBS broadcast, while two AFC teams have a Fox broadcast, but that’s this new art of cross flexing that … somehow, it all evens out).
To finish Week 9:
* Tennessee at Dallas, Monday at 5:15 p.m., ESPN
Also in Week 10:
* Carolina at Pittsburgh, Thursday at 5:20 p.m., Channel 11/NFL Network/Amazon Prime
* Dallas at Philadelphia, Sunday at 5:20 p.m., Channel 4

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The fact USC (5-4, 4-3) still has a shot at winning the Pac 12 South may not be surprising, consider the Pac 12 South has lowered the bar on what’s acceptable for division supremacy. The Trojans, coming off a decent show at Oregon State that could turn things around offensively, have three more left, two in conference, including this Week 11 homecoming game against Cal (5-4, 2-4) at the Coliseum (Saturday at 7:30 p.m., ESPN). If you want to go early, there’s UCLA (2-7, 2-4) playing out the string at Arizona State (5-4, 3-3) on Saturday morning (11 a.m., Pac-12 Network). This is the final appearance for both teams before the USC-UCLA game at the Rose Bowl on Nov. 17 (kickoff time to be determined).
Other key games in Week 11 (with rankings due to change after Tuesday’s College Playoff committee meeting):
Saturday:
Mississippi State at No. 1 Alabama, 12:30 p.m., Channel 2
No. 2 Clemson at No. 22 Boston College, 5 p.m., Channel 7
No. 3 LSU at Arkansas, 4:30 p.m., SEC Network
Florida State at No. 4 Notre Dame, 4:30 p.m., Channel 4
No. 5 Michigan at Rutgers, 12:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
Auburn at No. 6 Georgia, 4 p.m., ESPN
Oklahoma State at No. 7 Oklahoma, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7
No. 8 Washington State at Colorado, 12:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 9 Kentucky at Tennessee, 12:30 p.m., SEC Network
No. 10 Ohio State at Michigan State, 9 a.m., Channel 11
Oregon at No. 15 Utah, 2:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network
Oregon State at Stanford, 6 p.m., FS1
UNLV at San Diego State, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2

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The Lakers/Magic Johnson/Luke Walton/LeBron James drama is already building. A 14-point loss (it wasn’t that close) to Toronto on Sunday night, coming off a four-point win (it was closer) in Portland, gave the Lakers some sense of a roller-coaster weekend. So what kind of Hollywood-like drama do the Minnesota T-Wolves bring to L.A. this week? With Jimmy Butler saga and a Derrick Rose redeption script. Butler says he will “let them know” whether he’s up for playing in back-to-back games after Minnesota’s 116-99 loss at Golden State on Friday. So, as both Butler and Rose sat out Minnesota’s 30-point loss in Portland on Sunday, who knows what’ll happen when the T-Wolves visit the Clippers on Monday at Staples Center (7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket).  Maybe they just drop one, or both, into the Clippers’ lap as a parting gift before they continue their road trip with another Staples Center visit with the Lakers (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet, ESPN). Rose had that odd 50-point game in 41 minutes against Utah last Wednesday but hasn’t followed it up with anyone remotely special, battling ankle soreness. The 2011 NBA MVP is “still a superhero” according to LeBron James.
The rest of the Lakers week:
* At Sacramento, Saturday at 7 p.m., SSN
* At Staples Center vs. Atlanta, Sunday at 6:30 p.m., SSN
Also for the Clippers:
* At Portland, Thursday at 7 p.m., Prime Ticket
* At Staples Center vs. Milwaukee, Saturday at 12:30 p.m., Prime Ticket

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Any other time, and maybe any other season, a Kings-Ducks Freeway Frozen Frenzy Folly might create more froth. Will this first of four meetings have any buzz when they meet up at Staples Center on Tuesday (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket)? Maybe only because the Kings (4-8-1), last in the league in goals (28, vs. 45 allowed, for a minus-17) and tied with Florida with fewest points (9), have become the first to make a head coaching change. The Ducks (6-6-3, 15 points, 37 goals scored vs. 42 allowed and losers of a league-worst seven in a row before snapping that streak Sunday with an OT win against Columbus) really aren’t all that much better in a tightly-packed Pacific Division can can be flipped in a matter of weeks.
Oddly, the Kings and Ducks don’t meet again until March, 2019, where they then get in each other’s face in three of the Kings’ final 14 games.
Also this week for the Kings:
* At Staples Center vs. Minnesota, Thursday at 7:30 p.m., FSW
* At Staples Center vs. Calgary, Saturday at 7 p.m., FSW
Also this week for the Ducks:
* At Honda Center vs. Calgary, Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., NBCSN
* At Honda Center vs. Minnesota, Friday at 7 p.m., Prime Ticket

ALSO:
* The NHRA’s Auto Club Finals back at Pomona Fairplex wrap up the season (Thursday-Sunday).
* Del Mar’s fall season (Friday through Dec. 2) includes the Hollywood Turf Cup (Nov. 23), the Seabiscuit Handicap (Nov. 24), the Hollywood Derby (Dec. 1) and the Matriarch Stakes (Dec. 2).

The damage has been done.
The 114^th World Series may resulted in a Red Sox October, leaving the Dodgers a bit bluer, but there is no more baseball until the spring, we turn the clocks back on Saturday night, and dig in after this equinox thing has passed us by.
And by the way, World Series Games 6 and 7 at Fenway Park, Tuesday and Wednesday … not necessary.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming …

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Which of you wise guys seriously expected to see the Rams land at 8-0 at this point in the NFL’s annual exercise to see who might possibly challenge the 1972 Miami Dolphins for undefeated greatness? Bovoda.lv just posted odds improving the Rams from 9/2 on Sept. 26 to 10/3 to win Super Bowl 53, and from 5/2 to 7/4 to win the NFC. (Odds to win the NFC West? They just improved to 1/25, from 1/16 … isn’t that easy money?) Bovoda also released this prop bet: What will be the total number of championships won by the ’18 Dodgers, ’19 Lakers, ’19 Rams, ’19 Chargers and ’19 Kings? Zero is the 5/7 favorite, with one next at 7/4. The Dodgers have already blown their shot. The Rams have the best chance, of course, of making one the loneliest number.

For NFL Week 9, the Rams travel to New Orleans (Sunday at 1:25 p.m., Channel 11 as the national game) while the Chargers shoot up to Seattle (Sunday at 1:05 p.m., Channel 2).
To finish Week 8:
* New England at Buffalo, Monday at 5:15 p.m., ESPN
Also in Week 9:
* Oakland at San Francisco, Thursday at 5:20 p.m., Channel 11, NFL Network, Amazon Prime
* Detroit at Minnesota, Sunday at 10 a.m., Channel 11 (or Atlanta-Washington or Tampa Bay-Carolina in this window)
* Green Bay at New England, Sunday at 5:20 p.m., Channel 4

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Going into Week 10, the first of six straight College Playoff Rankings come out Tuesday (ESPN, 4:30 p.m.), with updates each week through Nov. 27, then the final poll on Sunday, Dec. 2 that determines not just the final four but also who else is slotted in the bowl games.
You should know the drill. USC and UCLA, unfortunately, can’t have much to look forward here.
Coming into this, the Pac 12 might also find itself disappointed. The practice of each team playing a nine-game conference schedule may have done the conference in again.
The last AP poll for October has the Pac-12 teams somewhat generously bunched whatever’s left into Nos. 10-20 range – No. 10 Washington State and No. 16 Utah is all to be found, with Washington, Oregon and Stanford falling out of the AP Top 25.
The SEC has teams ranked No. 1, 4, 6, 11, 13, 21 and 25.
The locals:
* USC (4-4, 3-3) at Oregon State (2-6, 1-4), Saturday at 7 p.m., FS1
* UCLA (2-6, 2-3) at Oregon (5-3, 2-3), Saturday at 4:30 p.m., Channel 11
Other key games in Week 10:
Thursday:
Temple at Central Florida, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
Friday:
Colorado at Arizona, 7:30 p.m., FS1
Saturday:
Alabama at LSU, 5 p.m., Channel 2
Georgia at Kentucky, 12:30 p.m., Channel 2
Louisville at Clemson, 9 a.m., Channel 7
West Virginia at Texas, 12:30 p.m., Channel 11
Penn State at Michigan, 12:45 p.m., ESPN
Utah at Arizona State, 1 p.m., Pac-12 Network
Notre Dame at Northwestern, 4:15 p.m., ESPN
Oklahoma at Texas Tech, 5 p.m., Channel 7
Stanford at Washington, 6 p.m., Channel 11
Cal at Washington State, 7:45 p.m., ESPN
San Diego State at New Mexico, 7:15 p.m., ESPNU

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How cool was it seeing Magic Johnson and Larry Bird have that back-and-forth on camera before Game 5 of the World Series? That had to make everyone smile. Thanks, again, for the memories.
And we move forward:
The Lakers didn’t get enough of Portland on opening night, so they go back to the Rose City for a 7 p.m., Saturday contest to highlight their four-game work week. Is Rondo back yet? Yeah, like it matters. …
Also for the Lakers:
at Minnesota, Monday at 5 p.m.; at Staples Center vs. Dallas, Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and vs. Toronto, Sunday at 5:30 p.m. All on Spectrum SportsNet.
Also this week for the Clippers:
at Oklahoma City, Tuesday at 5 p.m. (Prime Ticket); at Philadelphia, Thursday at 4 p.m. (Fox Sports West); at Orlando, Friday at 4 p.m. (Prime Ticket)

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The MLS playoffs are finally the real deal for rookie phenom LAFC, as it finished third in the Western Conference and is awarded a home game against sixth-seed Real Salt Lake (Banc of California Stadium, Thursday at 7:30 p.m., ESPN2) in this Knockout Round phase. A win puts them into the conference semifinals (Nov. 4 and 11), which feeds into the conference championships (Nov. 25 and 29) and leads up to The MLS Cup (Dec. 8). But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Galaxy may have, and look at what happened. Had the Galaxy won their last regular season game instead of blowing a 2-0 lead, they’d be facing LAFC. Twice in the regular season, LAFC handled RSL, including a 5-1 rout back in March, then 2-0 in L.A. in mid-August.

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When the annual Breeder’s Cup isn’t at Santa Anita, we get a little down. But it’s back at Churchill Downs in Louisville (for the ninth time), so on the last day before we push the clocks back, we’ll try to justify a reason to push forward and tune in. First, unbeaten Triple Crown winner Justify isn’t here. Trainer Bob Baffert retired him with an ankle injury after his 6-0 run. That leaves Accelerate as the favorite in the 14-horse Breeders’ Cup Classic field. Last month at Santa Anita, the 5-year-old Accelerate beat Baffert’s McKinzie and West Coast. It’s a 14-race schedule over Friday and Saturday with a record $30 million in purses. Coverage: NBCSN has Friday from noon-to-4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. NBC has the Classic included from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Here’s our tale of the tape for the 114^th World Series. It does not mention Frank McCourt (maybe a little). Or the event at the Coliseum in 2008 where the teams played an exhibition game before a record 115,300 to celebrate the Dodgers’ 50^th season in L.A.
But it could have.
The schedule goes this way:
Games 1 and 2 at Fenway Park in Boston: Tuesday and Wednesday, 5:08 p.m., Channel 11
Games 3, 4 and 5 at Dodger Stadium: Friday and Saturday at 5:08 p.m., Sunday at 5:15 p.m., Channel 11
(Games 6 and 7 if necessary at Fenway Park in Boston, Oct. 30 and 31, 5:09 p.m.)

Prior to the Rams’ 39-10 win over San Francisco on Sunday, USA Today came out with a wacky story headlined: “7 reasons why the Los Angeles Rams won’t go undefeated in 2018.” Seven, after their 7-0 start. Why not make it eight now? The eighth could be their match up against Green Bay at the Coliseum (Sunday, 1:25 p.m., Channel 11).
Meanwhile, the 5-2 Chargers have a bye week trying to get home from London before Halloween.
To finish Week 7:
N.Y. Giants at Atlanta, Monday at 5:15 p.m., ESPN
Also in Week 8:
Miami at Houston, Thursday at 5:20 p.m., Channel 11, NFL Network, Amazon Prime
Philadelphia vs. Jacksonville in London, Sunday at 6:30 a.m., NFL Network
N.Y. Jets at Chicago, Sunday at 10 a.m., Channel 2
Washington at N.Y. Giants, Sunday at 10 a.m., Channel 11 (or Seattle at Detroit)
Indianapolis at Oakland, Sunday at 1:05 p.m., Channel 2 (perhaps)

Week 9 of the college football season finds Utah at UCLA (Friday at 7:30 p.m., ESPN) and USC playing Arizona State at the Coliseum (Saturday at 12:30 p.m., Channel 7). We’d like to get somewhat excited about each of them. We can’t, logically. But there are a few others nationally that could make a difference in the race to get aligned for the first College Football Playoff poll a few days after this:
Other key games in Week 9:
Thursday:
Baylor at West Virginia, 4 p.m., FS1
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
Appalachian State at Georgia Southern, 4:30 p.m., ESPNU
Friday:
Louisiana Tech at Florida Atlantic, 3:30 p.m., CBSSN
Miami at Boston College, 4 p.m., ESPN
Indiana at Minnesota, 5 p.m., FS1
Wyoming at Colorado State, 7 p.m., CBSSN
Colorado State at Boise State, 6 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday:
Oregon at Arizona, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Washington at Cal, 1:30 p.m., FS1
Washington State at Stanford, 4 p.m., FS1
Clemson at Florida State, 9 a.m., Channel 7
Purdue at Michigan State, 9 a.m., 9 a.m., ESPN
Florida vs. Georgia at Jacksonville, Fla., 12:30 p.m., Channel 2
Iowa at Penn State, 12:30 p.m., ESPN
Texas A&M at Mississippi State, 4 p.m., ESPN
Boise State at Air Force, 4 p.m., CBSSN
Notre Dame vs. Navy in San Diego, 5 p.m., Channel 2
Texas at Oklahoma State, 5 p.m., Channel 7
San Diego State at Nevada, 7:30 p.m.., ESPNU

Fights on an NBA court can be entertaining, right? Uhhh.
In the new Sports Illustrated NBA preview issue, a list of teams ranked according to “Entertainment Value” has the Lakers at No. 2 in the league, just behind defending champion Golden State. “LeBron (James) will play at his fastest pace ever, surrounded by promising prospects, volatile veterans and fun-loving fall guys. Their hype exceeds their ability, but James’ Lakers will be a ratings monster.” Now, consider the San Antonio Spurs – never much fun to watch in the first place with coach Paul Popovich, but even more space of star value. They’re at No. 18, generously. “No Kawhi, no Manu, no Tony and now no Dejounte Murray. Popovich’s ‘Beautiful Game’ offense cedes the court to the brutish midrange games of LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan. No thanks.” With that, the Lakers and Spurs meet twice in six days this week – Monday at Staples Center ( 7:30 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet) and then Saturday in San Antonio (5:30 p.m., SSN).
Also this week for the Lakers:
At Phoenix, Wednesday at 7 p.m., SSN
At Staples Center vs. Denver, Thursday at 7:30 p.m., TNT, SSN

By the way, the Clippers rate No. 17 in that poll. “Blake (Griffin) and DeAndre Jordan are gone, but their replacements are energetic, plucky and well-coached. After so many injuries and trades, their motto should be, ‘Huh, I forget he was on this team’.”
The Clippers this week:
At New Orleans, Tuesday at 5 p.m., Fox Sports West
At Houston, Friday at 5 p.m., Prime Ticket
At Staples Center vs. Washington, Sunday at 6:30 p.m., Prime Ticket

At the moment, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Galaxy (13-11-9) stands one point behind Real Salt Lake (14-13-7) for the final Western Conference playoff spot. The Galaxy just needs a win against Houston (StubHub Center, Sunday at 1:30 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet), while RSL is finished up. Meanwhile, LAFC (16-8-9) shares the same record with FC Dallas for the second spot in the West, but has scored 16 more goals. Both are two points back of leader Sporting KC, which plays host to LAFC in the finale (Sunday at 1:30 p.m., YouTube TV). Playoffs start with knockout rounds on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, leading to the conference semifinals Nov. 4 and 11 and conference championships Nov. 25 and 29. The MLS Cup happens Dec. 8 at 4:30 p.m.

Also this week:
UCLA starts its preseason men’s basketball schedule against the New York Institute of Technology (at Pauley Pavilion, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Pac 12 Network) …
In the NHL: Kings vs. N.Y. Rangers at Staples Center (Sunday at 12:30 p.m., FSW) highlights a week that includes trips to Dallas (Tuesday, 5:30 p.m., Channel 13) and Minnesota (Thursday, 5 p.m., FSW). For the Ducks: At Chicago (Tuesday, 5:30 p.m., Prime Ticket), at Dallas (Thursday at 5:30 p.m., Prime Ticket), at Honda Center in Anaheim vs. San Jose (Sunday at 5 p.m., FSW)

The National League Championship Series diverts from the Milwaukee indoor beer garden/green house to the autumn-friendly outdoors of Los Angeles, where the weather forecast for a Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday arrangement of Games 3, 4 and 5 is a consistent high of 81, a low in the 57 range and no precipitation, with humidity in the 25 percent range. The perfect storm for the Dodgers to take three in a row at Dodger Stadium while also smoking a fresh victory cigar, calling an end to this best-of-seven exercise that is intended to teach us all a lesson in “bullpenning.” In that, it can be defeated with heated wood at the right times.
The NLCS schedule:
* Game 3: Dodgers’ Walker Buehler vs. Brewers’ Jhoulys Chacin, Monday at 4:39 p.m., FS1
* Game 4: Dodgers’ Rich Hill vs. Brewers’ undecided (does it really matter?), Tuesday at 6:09 p.m., FS1
* Game 5: Wednesday at 2:05 p.m., FS1
If necessary:
* Games 6 and 7 at Milwaukee, Friday at 5:39 p.m. and Saturday at 6:09 p.m., FS1
Also this week in the American League Championship Series between Boston and Houston:
* Game 3 at Houston: Tuesday at 2:09 p.m., TBS
* Game 4 at Houston: Wednesday at 5:39 p.m., TBS
* Game 5 at Houston: Thursday at 5:09 p.m., TBS
If necessary:
* Games 6 and 7 at Boston, Saturday at 2:09 p.m., and Sunday at 4:39 p.m., TBS
Note: Game 1 of the World Series will be Tuesday, Oct. 23.

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Headline in the Washington Post last Sunday under their “Fancy Stats: Analysis” column: “2018-19 NBA Preview: LeBron James as and the Lakers won’t dethrone the Warriors. Yet.” Give them credit for banner punctuation and putting the pause for reflection in the correct place.
Now, this isn’t Watergate or anything, but is there an investigation in place as to how the Lakers could ever dethrone the Warriors in this season or anyone coming up before the next presidential election? The basis of the piece is the Lakers made the “biggest move” of the offseason when they enticed James to leave Cleveland for “the glitz and glam of Hollywood,” giving the francise its first shot at a playoff birth since … wait for it … 2013. It’s been that long? We hardly noticed. This story uses some sort of WARcels simple forcasting system to project a players’ 2018-19 box score Plus Minus and then simulates 1,000 games. The Lakers are projected to win 44 times and become the eighth seed in the West. Defending champion Golden State is projected to win a league-best 59, which would put the Warriors and Lakers up against each other in the first round of the playoffs. So … there’s your dethrone opportunity, folks.
Before we get close to that conclusion, the Lakers open the season in Portland (Thursday, 7:30 p.m., TNT) and have their home opener against Houston (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet).
Meanwhile, the Clippers, projected to miss the playoffs with 36 wins (behind the Blazers’ 40, above the Mavs and Grizzlies at 34), start this exercise at Staples Center against Denver (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket) and also play host to Oklahoma City (Friday, 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket) and Houston (Sunday, 6 p.m., Prime Ticket).
Other games of note on the first week of the NBA regular season:
Tuesday:
Philadelphia at Boston, 5 p.m., TNT
Oklahoma City at Golden State, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Wednesday:
New Orleans at Houston,, 5 p.m., ESPN
Dallas at Phoenix, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Friday:
Boston at Toronto, 5 p.m., ESPN
Golden State at Utah, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

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On one end, the 4-2 Chargers continue their “Wanna Get Away” trip, exiting Cleveland in due time and jetting toward Wembley Stadium for a mandatory London encounter with Tennessee (Sunday, 6:30 a.m., Channel 2). It’s their way of grieving the loss of their original owner, Alex Spanos.
The 6-0 Rams get to circle back to San Francisco (Sunday, 1:25 p.m., Channel 2, traded with Fox) for another opportunity to put distance between themselves and anyone else still with a pulse in the NFC West. The 1-4 49ers have lost three in a row, including by two against the Chargers, and have yet to exit Week 6 yet before considering this Week 7 strategy.
And through it all, the 1-5 Raiders have a bye week.
To finish Week 6:
* San Francisco at Green Bay, Monday at 5:15 p.m., ESPN
Also in Week 7:
* Denver at Arizona, Thursday at 5:20 p.m., Channel 11, NFL Network, Amazon Prime
* Carolina at Philadelphia, Sunday at 10 a.m., Channel 11
* New England at Chicago, Sunday at 10 a.m., Channel 2
 * Cincinnati at Kansas City, Sunday at 5:20 p.m., Channel 4

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Now on the backside of the college football season, Week 8 first brings us a ESPN “College GameDay” visit to Pullman, Wash. This is significant for many reasons. One of them: Really, Pullman gets a visit, but not L.A.? We haven’t have the persistence to get this close to a Lee Corso sighting actually. WSU (5-1, 2-1) just jumped up to No. 23 in the coaches’ poll and No. 25 in the AP writers’ poll and have a key game against visiting No. 10 Oregon (5-1, 2-1). Besides, in this frame, USC (4-2, 3-1) goes to Utah (4-2, 2-2) (Saturday, 5 p.m., Pac 12 Network), where the Trojans have lost in their last two trips to Salt Lake City on a late TD. UCLA (1-5, 1-2) tries to see what a win streak feels like with a home game against struggling  Arizona (3-4, 2-2) (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2)
Other key games in Week 8:
Thursday:
Stanford at Arizona State, 6 p.m., ESPN
Friday:
Colorado State at Boise State, 6 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday:
Oklahoma at TCU, 9 a.m., Channel 7
Michigan at Michigan State, 9 a.m., Channel 11
Auburn at Mississippi, 9 a.m., ESPN
Alabama at Tennessee, 12:30 p.m., Channel 2
North Carolina State at Clemson, 12:30 p.m., ESPN
Colorado at Washington, 12:30 p.m., Channel 11
Penn State at Indiana, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7
Mississippi State at LSU, 4 p.m., ESPN
Ohio State at Purdue, 4:30 p.m., Channel 7
Oregon at Washington State, 4:30 p.m., Channel 11

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Don’t sleep on the LAFC (16-8-8, 56 points). It may have already secured a playoff spot – a huge achievement for an expansion team – and finished with a 9-1-6 home record, but there’s that 7-7-2 road mark that could use some polishing. It needs to fourth or better to get home field for the playoffs, but having won eight of their last nine since Aug. 11 bodes well for a next-to-last trip to Vancouver (Sunday, 2 p.m., YouTube TV) before finishing the season Oct. 28 at Kansas City.
The Galaxy (12-11-9, 45 points) also spends the weekend away (at Minnesota, Sunday, 2 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet) before its Oct. 28 finale at home against Houston. Both are behind them in the Western Conference standings, where the Galaxy is a point out from getting into the top six and needs something bad to happen to Real Salt Lake (13-12-7), which finishes the season at home vs. Portland (Saturday, 2 p.m.)

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The NHL’s snooze alarm may kick in at any moment. The Kings’ four-game road trip ends in Toronto (Monday, 4:30 p.m., Fox Sports West) before they’re back at Staples Center to play the New York Islanders (Thursday, 7:30 p.m., FSW) and Buffalo (Saturday, 12:30 p.m., FSW). The Ducks also get home visits from the Islanders (Wednesday, 7 p.m., FSW) and Sabers (Sunday, 5 p.m., FSW) around a trip to Las Vegas (Saturday, 7 p.m., Prime Ticket).