The Sports Report: Charles White might have been the toughest player in USC history

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Ryan Kartje: Charles White, the most prolific running back in the storied history of USC and its third Heisman Trophy winner, has died of cancer. He was 64.

Even among the many great backs who would lace up for USC during the past half century, White stood alone. More than four decades after he won the Heisman Trophy in 1979, White remains the career rushing record holder at USC. The 6,245 rushing yards he accumulated during four seasons with the Trojans still ranks fifth all-time in the history of college football.

The Los Angeles native and former San Fernando High star was a two-time All-American and College Football Hall of Famer. White helped lift USC to a national title in 1978 and, two years later, became a first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams. He even led the NFL in rushing in 1987.

All the while, White earned a reputation for his bruising style and reckless abandon on the football field.

“Pound for pound, he was one of the toughest guys to ever play in the program,� Paul McDonald, one of White’s quarterbacks during his four years, told The Times in July

But White would deal with the consequences of those collisions long after his playing career had ended.

Years of drug and alcohol abuse accelerated the end of his football career, even eventually leading him to sell his Heisman Trophy. He landed back at USC after his NFL tenure, first as a special assistant to the athletic director in 1990 and then as the Trojans running backs coach from 1993-97. But as White spiraled deeper into addiction, the relationship with one of USC’s best-ever backs deteriorated. USC cut ties completely more than a decade ago.

Soon after, following years of erratic behavior, White was diagnosed with dementia, likely a product of the pummeling the prolific back took over the years.

“Everybody thought his problems were strictly drug related, now we find out that it could have been directly related to the traumatic brain injury,� Judi White-Basch, White’s ex-wife, told The Times in July. “For so many years it didn’t make sense; now it makes sense.�

White spent the last two years of his life in an assisted living facility, where a list of his accomplishments sat on a lampshade next to his bed and photos of his glory days at USC adorned the walls. When The Times visited White in July, he was still well aware of what he’d accomplished for the university he still loved, even if it had been years since the university had connected with the legendary back.

“USC forever,� he said.

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Photos: Charles White, USC’s 1979 Heisman Trophy-winning tailback, dies at age 64

Plaschke: Why has USC forgotten Charles White? Haunted Heisman winner hopes relationship heals

USC BASKETBALL

From Ryan Kartje: Six months after he suffered cardiac arrest during a summer workout, USC is hopeful that freshman 7-footer Vince Iwuchukwu could make his long-awaited debut as soon as this weekend.

Iwuchukwu’s status remains uncertain for Thursday’s home meeting with Colorado, but a source not authorized to speak publicly about the matter told The Times that the former five-star prospect has “a chance� to return as early as this weekend. USC also plays Utah at home on Saturday.

A top-25 recruit in the 2022 class, Iwuchukwu arrived at USC with the expectation of becoming the latest in a line of star Trojans big men, following in the footsteps of Evan Mobley, Isaiah Mobley and Onyeka Okongwu before him.

But on July 1, Iwuchukwu collapsed during an informal team practice after suffering sudden cardiac arrest. He spent the next several days in the hospital.

When he returned to USC, coach Andy Enfield made it clear that the team would exercise extreme caution in handling Iwuchukwu’s return. Enfield indicated at the start of the season that he was “very hopeful� the freshman would play at some point during his first year at USC.

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CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: The Chargers have a quarterback whose most recent postseason game was the Rose Bowl.

They have a head coach who owns just a single playoff victory — as an NFL assistant.

They represent a franchise that hasn’t played this deep into January in four years, only six players still around from that team.

All of which “doesn’t matter,� according to the man among them who has appeared in the most NFL postseason games.

“Playoff experience doesn’t mean anything to be honest,� Kyle Van Noy said. “But everybody likes to talk about it this time of year. Look at the Bengals last season. Their coach, their quarterback had no experience, either.�

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CHARGERS POLL

How far will the Chargers advance in the NFL playoffs? Click here to vote. Results will be in Friday’s newsletter.

RAMS

From Sam Farmer: What will Sean McVay do? Will he continue to coach the team? Will he take a TV job? How about a leave of absence on a beach in St. Somewhere?

Whatever McVay decides — and that could come any day — there’s a community of former NFL coaches, some of them in the Hall of Fame, who are all too familiar with the pressures of the job. They understand the notion of burnout, even among those with incredibly high-paying and coveted positions.

“There’s only a few Bill Belichicks or Andy Reids out there,� said Dick Vermeil, citing two of the league’s longest-tenured coaches. “There’s only a few Don Shulas or Bud Grants around. I think coach McVay has proven he’s in that talent level. He’s a potential Hall of Fame coach. But if he doesn’t have that personality make-up, no fault of his own, then that may not happen.�

Vermeil gets it. He was Philadelphia’s head coach from 1976-82 and took the Eagles to the Super Bowl. But then he left for a TV job — doubling his $75,000 salary — and didn’t return to coaching until taking over the St. Louis Rams in 1997. There, he won a Super Bowl with Kurt Warner and the “Greatest Show on Turf,� before closing out his career as coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 2001-05.

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Bills’ Damar Hamlin is released from hospital to continue recovery at home

NFL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
Wild-card round
Saturday
Seattle at San Francisco, 1:30 p.m., FOX, FOX Deportes
Chargers at Jacksonville, 5:15 p.m., NBC, Peacock, Universo

Sunday
Miami at Buffalo, 10 a.m., CBS, Paramount+
New York Giants at Minnesota, 1:30 p.m., FOX, FOX Deportes
Baltimore at Cincinnati, 5:15 p.m., NBC, Peacock, Universo

Monday
Dallas at Tampa Bay, 5:15 p.m., ESPN/ABC, ESPN2-Manningcast, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes

DODGERS

From Mike DiGiovanna: The Dodgers fortified their infield defense by acquiring veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas from the Miami Marlins for infield prospect Jacob Amaya on Wednesday, a move that could push Gavin Lux to more of a second-base role and utility man Chris Taylor to more of an outfield role.

Rojas, who turns 34 in February, is an elite defender whose offensive production dipped last season, when he hit .236 with a .605 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, six homers, 19 doubles and 36 RBIs in 140 games.

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UCLA BASKETBALL

From Ben Bolch: A winner of 11 consecutive games, the longest streak in the nation among major-conference teams, UCLA keeps losing one important battle.

Its backups are repeatedly getting beaten.

The Bruins’ bench players have been outscored by more than double in their five Pac-12 Conference games, the 81-39 shortfall not entirely their fault.

David Singleton, the team’s star sixth man, has started three consecutive games with freshman guard Amari Bailey sidelined by discomfort in his left foot. That move has shortened coach Mick
Cronin’s rotation, particularly in tight games, leaving starters Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr. to log unusually heavy minutes.

Bench usage is a conundrum the No. 7 Bruins (14-2, 5-0 Pac-12) will face once more Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion against Utah (12-5, 5-1) as they try to maintain sole possession of first place in the conference standings.

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TENNIS

From Chuck Schilken: Tennis star Naomi Osaka posted “a little life update� on social media Wednesday morning:

She’s pregnant.

Osaka, 25, did not state the news outright, but her post included an ultrasound photo and a reflective message that indicated she will not return to the court until the 2024 Australia Open.

“One thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, ‘that’s my mom,’ haha,� she wrote. “2023 will be a year that’ll be full of lessons for me and I hope I’ll see you guys in the start of the next one cause I’ll be at Aus 2024.�

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KINGS

Quinton Byfield had a goal and an assist, Gabe Vilardi and Drew Doughty scored in the third period, and the Kings defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-3. Adrian Kempe also had a goal, Pheonix Copley make 26 saves, and the Kings won their third straight game while improving to 10-2-1 in their past 13.

Timo Meier had a goal and an assist, Alexander Barabanov and Nick Bonino also scored, but the Sharks couldn’t sweep back-to-back games after winning at Arizona on Tuesday. James Reimer had 33 saves.

DUCKS

Klim Kostin scored two goals and Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist in the Edmonton Oilers’ 6-2 victory over the last-place Ducks. Dylan Holloway, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl also scored and Jack Campbell made 21 saves for the Oilers, who snapped a two-game skid on their second stop of a four-game West Coast trip.

Sam Carrick and Simon Benoit scored and John Gibson stopped 31 shots while giving up six goals in the first two periods for the Ducks, who dropped to 3-5-1 on their franchise-record 10-game homestand.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1951 — Ezzard Charles knocks out Lee Oma in the 10th round at Madison Square Garden in New York to retain the heavyweight title.

1958 — Dolph Schayes of the Syracuse Nationals sets an NBA record for career points in a 135-109 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Schayes scores 23 points to bring his career mark to 11,770, breaking the record of 11,764 held by George Mikan.

1958 — The NCAA rules committee makes the first change in football scoring rules since 1912 by adding the two-point conversion.

1960 — Syracuse’s Dolph Schayes becomes the first player in NBA history to score 15,000 career points.

1969 — New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath “guarantees� a victory before the game against the 17-point favorite Baltimore Colts, then leads the AFL to its first Super Bowl victory, a 16-7 triumph over a Baltimore team that had lost only once in 16 games all season.

1975 — The Pittsburgh Steelers totally shut down Minnesota’s offense, handing the Vikings their third Super Bowl defeat, 16-6. Franco Harris, the game’s MVP, sets a Super Bowl rushing record with 158 yards.

1986 — Chicago’s Denis Savard ties an NHL record for the fastest goal to start a period by scoring four seconds into the third period of the Blackhawks’ 4-2 victory over the Hartford Whalers.

1991 — Princeton beats Cornell 164-71 in an unusual swimming meet. The schools agree to compete by telephone due to a blizzard making transportation a problem to Ithaca, N.Y. Both teams swim in their owns pools and the results are exchanged by FAX.

2001 — Minnesota defenseman J.J. Daigneault ties an NHL record by playing for his 10th team when he appears in a 5-0 loss to the Avalanche.

2007 — Tadd Fujikawa, just shy of his 16th birthday, steals the show at the Sony Open. Fujikawa shoots a 4-under 66, making him the youngest player in 50 years to make the cut on the PGA Tour.

2008 — Tom Brady completes all but two of his 28 passes to lead New England to its second straight AFC championship game with a 31-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Patriots improve to 17-0, matching the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only team to go unbeaten from the first game of the season through the Super Bowl.

2008 — The Green Bay Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks 42-20 to reach the NFC championship game. Ryan Grant recovers from two fumbles that put the Packers down 14-0 after only four minutes. Grant sets a team postseason record by running for 201 yards, and scores three times.

2012 — Dwight Howard breaks Wilt Chamberlain’s nearly 50-year-old NBA record for most free throw attempts in a game, making 21 of 39 in the Orlando Magic’s 117-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Chamberlain shot 34 for the Philadelphia Warriors against St. Louis on Feb. 22, 1962.

2013 — Colin Kaepernick rushes for a quarterback playoff-record 181 yards and two touchdowns and throws two scoring passes to Michael Crabtree in San Francisco’s 45-31 win over Green Bay.

2013 — Joe Flacco throws a 70-yard tying touchdown to Jacoby Jones with 31 seconds left in regulation, helping send it into overtime and Baltimore beats Denver in the second extra period, 38-35.

2014 — Jeremy Abbott wins his fourth U.S. figure skating title. Teenager Jason Brown finishes second and defending champion Max Aaron places third.

2015 — Ezekiel Elliott rushes for 246 yards and four touchdowns and Ohio State wins the first national title in college football’s playoff era, running over Oregon 42-20.

2017 — Justin Thomas (23) becomes the youngest player to shoot a sub-60 round of 59 in the opening round of the Sony Open at Waialae CC in Hawaii; he also wins the tournament.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Joe Namath’s Super Bowl III Guarantee: Legends of the Super Bowl. Watch and listen here.