FOOTBALL

Rivers, Chargers defeat Seahawks in preseason — Philip Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers looked almost ready for the regular season from their first series. Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks probably feel like they’ve got more work to do. Melvin Gordon rushed for a short touchdown to cap a strong 70-yard opening drive by the Chargers’ first-team offense, and Rivers went 6 of 7 for 62 yards in Los Angeles’ 24-14 preseason victory over the Seahawks on Saturday night at compact StubHub Center. While Rivers played only two series, Wilson was 13 of 21 for 193 yards while playing the entire first half for the Seahawks (0-2). His offense was limited to two field goals by execution mistakes in the red zone.

Watson, Garoppolo sharp as Texans top 49ers — Deshaun Watson threw a touchdown pass and the Houston Texans earned a 16-13 preseason win over the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night. Watson led the Texans down the field, going 5 of 8 for 73 yards, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown pass to Bruce Ellington. Watson’s efficiency matched a nice opening drive from San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo, who threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Trent Taylor. Garoppolo was 10 of 12 for 136 yards.

Rams win, spoil Raiders’ return to Coliseum — Sean McVay and Jon Gruden both knew they have to coach against each other in a real game just 23 days after the Rams’ preseason visit from the Raiders. So while the Raiders’ return to the Coliseum was a thrill for their faithful Southern California fan base, the Rams’ young coach and his veteran role model both made sure the action on the field was as meaningless as possible. Rookie John Kelly rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown, and the Rams welcomed the Raiders back to L.A. with a 19-15 preseason victory over Oakland on Saturday. Chris Warren rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown for the Raiders in their return to the venerable stadium that was their home for 13 seasons. “It was awesome being back here,” Gruden said. “If you understand the Raiders, they have had a history here, a championship history here. There are still a lot of fans that remember those teams, and rightfully so.”

BASKETBALL

Former Spurs, Hornets GM Bass dies at 89 — Bob Bass, the former San Antonio and Charlotte general manager who was an integral part of the front office for most of the Spurs’ first 20 years in South Texas, has died. He was 89. The San Antonio Express-News reported that Bass died Friday at home in San Antonio after a series of strokes. The two-time NBA Executive of the Year spent 20 seasons with the Spurs in various roles before going to Charlotte as the GM in 1994. He spent nine seasons with the Hornets. Bass coached his alma mater of Oklahoma Baptist from 1952-1967, first joined the ABA as coach of the Denver Rockets in 1967-1968. He went back to college at Texas Tech from 1969-1971, then back to the ABA with the Floridians in 1971-1972 and the Memphis Tams in 1973-1974 before landing with the Spurs. Bass had a 311-300 career regular-season coaching record in the ABA and NBA.

— From wire reports