Chargers release Bosa after 9 seasons

The Chargers released Joey Bosa on Wednesday night, ending the linebacker’s nine-season tenure with the franchise. The move, which came less than a week before the start of the new league year, was expected due to Bosa’s large salary cap number and injury history. The 29-year-old five-time Pro Bowler had a cap number of $36.47 million for the 2025 season, but the Chargers will save $25.36 million in cap space. Bosa was the third overall pick by the Chargers in the 2016 draft. He signed a five-year extension worth $135 million in 2020 that made him the league’s highest-paid defensive player at the time. Bosa played in 14 games with nine starts last season after agreeing to restructure his contract. But his five sacks were his fewest in the six seasons during which he has played at least 12 games as he battled injuries. Bosa’s 72 sacks are tied for 10th most in the NFL since he entered the league and are second in team history. Tuli Tuipulotu, who led the Chargers with 8 1/2 sacks last season, is expected to move into a starting spot.

Harden puts on a show for Obama

James Harden delivered another 50-point game Wednesday night, putting on a throwback performance in the Clippers’ new arena. The 35-year-old All-Star guard reached that total for the first time with the Clippers and the 24th time in his career, pulling within one of Kobe Bryant for third-most in NBA history. Harden’s big night — with former President Barack Obama, above, sitting next to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer behind the baseline — carried the team to a 123-115 victory over the Pistons. Harden said he had met Obama before and they had a good relationship. “So it was pretty cool to see him at the game,” Harden said. “Probably the reason why I played so well.” But he wasn’t able to get a picture after the game with Obama. “He left,” Harden said. “I guess he wanted to beat the traffic.” Wilt Chamberlain has the NBA record with 118 games of 50 or more points, followed by Michael Jordan with 31 and Bryant with 25. Bryant put on plenty of scoring shows in Los Angeles but Harden’s was the biggest yet in the Intuit Dome, the Clippers’ new arena that will host next season’s All-Star Game.

Rare Skenes card hits auction block

Pirates ace Paul Skenes has been in the major leagues for less than a year. A one-of-a-kind autographed baseball card featuring a patch of the No. 30 jersey Skenes donned during his big league debut headed to auction on Thursday. Fanatics Collect, which is running the two-week auction that closes on March 20, isn’t estimating (at least publicly anyway) what the card might fetch, though Fanatics CEO Nick Bell expects “a very significant sale.” A combination of the 22-year-old Skenes’ burgeoning stardom, the considerable reach of his girlfriend, LSU gymnast/influencer Livvy Dunne and a head-turning offer the Pirates made in hopes of securing the card — including season tickets behind home plate at PNC Park for 30 years — has generated significant interest. The card was claimed by an 11-year-old in the Los Angeles area in a pack he received as part of a Christmas present. He declined the Pirates’ offer and instead turned over the card to Fanatics Collect, which plans to donate any of its proceeds from the eventual sale to the LA Fire Relief Fund. —AP