Dodgers fans stand and some tip their caps after singer and social media personality Nezza sang the national anthem in Spanish before a game against the Giants at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers on Thursday will announce their plans to assist the immigrant communities recently impacted in Los Angeles, according to a team spokesperson.
The announcement will mark the Dodgers’ first public comment regarding the recent unrest in the city since federal immigration agents began launching raids throughout the Southland almost two weeks ago.
The Dodgers initially declined to make any public comment when the raids first began. But their silence had become divisive among parts of their fan base, leading to increased calls on social media in recent days for the team to address what was happening around the city.
Manager Dave Roberts was asked about the situation last week, saying, “I just hope that we can be a positive distraction for what people are going through in Los Angeles right now.”
Utilityman Kiké Hernández also spoke out on social media on Saturday, writing: “I cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart. ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and human rights.”
The Dodgers became embroiled in a related controversy last weekend, when singer and social media personality Nezza sang a Spanish version of the national anthem at Dodger Stadium, in an act of protest against the immigration raids, despite being asked by a team employee to sing in English.
To this point, the only other local professional sports teams to issue public statements in the wake of the raids have been soccer clubs LAFC and Angel City FC, which both acknowledged the “fear and uncertainty” being felt throughout the L.A. community.
The full breadth of the Dodgers’ plans was not immediately clear. But, their silence on the situation will soon be broken.
It was another rough night behind the plate for a Mets catcher as Luis Torrens made a few uncharacteristic mistakes against the Atlanta Braves on the heels of Francisco Alvarez's errant throw to second base in extra innings.
In the starting lineup to give the young Alvarez a night off following a bad night defensively on Tuesday, the normally sure-handed and heady Torrens cost his team a couple of runs with his own miscues, the first of which coming on a strange play in the first inning.
With Paul Blackburn in trouble and the Mets already down 1-0, Torrens touched the ball that skipped by after a swing-and-a-miss with his mask which is not allowed. It's a very common rule that all catchers know, but for some reason Torrens blanked which cost New York a run as it acted as a balk which brought home the runner at third base.
"I took off my mask and I had the mask in my hand and when I went to grab the ball I touched it and I immediately knew," Torrens said through a translator after the game. "I tried to stop it, but it’s something that shouldn’t have happened."
Another odd play involving Torrens happened in the fourth inning. On a 3-1 count and a runner on third base, Jose Butto threw a fastball inside for a ball. However, Torrens made little to no effort to even catch the ball and it went to the backstop, resulting in another run. It was called a wild pitch on Butto, but it could've easily been called a passed ball on Torrens.
Offensively, Torrens finished 0-for-4 as Chris Sale dominated New York over 8.2 scoreless innings. While the Mets' entire offense looked bad against Sale, Torrens is now 2-for-his-last-25 and has seen his batting average drop to .223.
With Alvarez also struggling at the plate and behind it as well, New York suddenly has a problem at the catcher position -- add it to the growing list lately.
"We did a really good job the first month, two months and a half of playing things through," said Francisco Lindor after the loss. "And this is the time of year that we’re going through it. Every team goes through it and as a team we gotta continue to push each other. We gotta dig deep and continue to climb.
"At the end of the day, everybody here wants it and we all understand it’s a long year, we’re gonna deal with adversity. Put our heads down and work as hard as you can to get back to the winning side and then don’t look back."
The Mets return to action on Thursday night as they close out their three-game series against the Braves, hoping to not get swept at the House of Horrors that has become Truist Park.
On Wednesday, former Penguins' forward and two-time Stanley Cup champion Nick Bonino announced that he would be joining the Penguins' organization as a coach. He also officially announced his retirement from professional hockey.
Nick Bonino himself confirms he is joining Dan Muse’s coaching staff as an assistant coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins!
The 37-year-old center spent his final season in professional hockey playing for Ljubljana Olimpija HK of the Austrian League, where he recorded six goals and 17 points in 22 games.
Bonino was selected in the sixth round (173rd overall) by the San Jose Sharks in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He spent three seasons with Boston University before his rights were dealt to the Anaheim Ducks in March of 2009, where he spent the first five seasons of his NHL career.
After one season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2014-15, he was traded to Pittsburgh on July 28, 2015 in a deal that sent center Brandon Sutter the other way. Known as a "tough as nails" third-line center, Bonino provided the structure, responsible play, and grit that the Penguins needed in their bottom-six and on their third line.
He also became one cog of the famous "HBK Line" - which also included Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin - that helped lead Pittsburgh to its 2016 Stanley Cup championship. During that playoff line, Bonino registered four goals and 18 points in 24 games, and the HBK Line combined for 20 goals and 56 points in those 24 games en route to the Cup.
Nick Bonino has announced his retirement from professional hockey, and will join the Penguins staff as an assistant coach.
And in 2017, Bonino famously played through a large portion of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Nashville Predators on a broken tibia after blocking a shot by P.K. Subban. Although he missed the remainder of the back-to-back Cup-clinching series, he played a crucial role in helping the Penguins get there.
Bonino left as a UFA the following summer and joined the Predators for three seasons. He did see a brief second stint in Pittsburgh during the 2022-23 season, but he appeared in only three games before an injury ended his season.
Throughout the course of his NHL career, Bonino registered 159 goals and 358 points in 868 games, including 27 goals and 66 points across his two full seasons in Pittsburgh.
The Brisbane Heat have snapped up Shaheen Shah Afridi as the No. 1 pick in the Big Bash League overseas player draft, with six compatriots joining the Pakistan superstar in the 15th edition of the T20 tournament.
The Yankees finally snapped their scoreless streak after 30 innings on Wednesday in the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels, but still struggled at the plate with only three hits and extended their losing streak to six games.
With the game tied up at 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning, LA loaded the bases against Fernando Cruz and forced manager Aaron Boone to bring in Tim Hill to get the final two outs. Hill got the potential double-play ground ball, but Anthony Volpe misplayed it at short and then overthrew second base, allowing the go-ahead run to score.
After the 3-2 loss, Volpe discussed what happened on his costly error.
"I knew right off the bat I got to be aggressive, go get the ball, make the play," Volpe told reporters. "As far as that, that's all it is, it's the first read off the bat."
Boonenoted the team's lack of execution "on the little things" as of late and even said that when Volpe makes an error "you're a little bit surprised." The manager then went on to discuss the shortstop's at-bats, saying he's confident he can "work through" this recent cold stretch.
Volpe is hitting just .115 (3-for-26) over his last seven games, including an opportunity to tie the game in the ninth inning on Wednesday night. The 24-year-old struck out swinging to end the game and his 0-for-4 night.
"I got to take a look at it. I mean, I know I can do better," Volpe said. "Everyone holds themselves to really high standards and we know we're not getting the job done. We're going to keep, like I said, working and holding each other to that. And I'm going to hold myself to that. You know, just not performing and not doing those type of things. You can control a swing decision, so you gotta be better."
Boone mentioned he felt the team "pressed" a little bit in Tuesday's loss, but was much more pleased with their at-bats Wednesday despite the game's result. Volpe was asked his thoughts on if they're "pressing," instead saying the Yanks need to continue supporting each other and can start changing the course tomorrow.
"I mean, you don't feel pressing," Volpe said. "We're just going out there every day, playing like Opening Day and have each other's backs. I messed up and Timmy had my back. He got out of it and we had opportunities to come through and win.
"Every day is a new day and we're not going to let what happened today [affect us]. After it's done, you take what you can from it, the good and the bad. Then tomorrow's a new day. That's the best part of the game."
New York will look to snap their losing streak Thursday and avoid back-to-back sweeps when they take on the Angels at 1:05 p.m.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has been ruled out of the upcoming Women’s Big Bash League in a massive blow to reigning champions the Melbourne Renegades.
The Yankees finally snapped their dreadful scoreless streak, but Anthony Volpe's costly error in the eighth inning proved to be the difference in a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
New York had just three hits and extended their losing streak to six games.
Here are the takeaways...
-- New York's scoreless streak reached 30 innings after being sent down in order by 24-year-old righty Jack Kochanowicz in the bottom of the first inning. Thankfully, Jazz ChisholmJr. snapped the offensive nightmare in the bottom of the second inning with a solo home run into the right field stands, tying the game at 1-1.
-- Cody Bellinger gave the Yanks a 2-1 lead with a solo homer to right field of his own in the bottom of the fourth inning. It was NY's first lead in a game since they beat the Kansas City Royals 1-0 on Thursday, June 12 -- a total of 51 innings without a lead.
-- Making just his eighth start of the season, Ryan Yarbrough found himself in a quick hole. The left-hander let up a one-out, solo home run to Nolan Schanuel as the Angels took an early 1-0 lead. Yarbrough nearly made another mistake against Schanuel, but got some help from Aaron Judge against the right field wall to end the third inning and keep it a tie game.
The solo home run continued to be the theme of the night, as Yarbrough left a cutter over the plate for Jo Adell to crush a homer to center field and tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the fifth inning. He settled down to get a flyout and then Volpe came through with an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. Yarbrough came back out for the sixth inning and got Schanuel to ground out for his final hitter of the night.
Yarbrough's final line: two earned runs on two hits (both HRs) with eight strikeouts and three walks over 5.1 IP.
-- Ben Rice showed off his arm in the top of the second inning, throwing out Logan O'Hoppe trying to steal second base. It was Rice's first career start at catcher, having played a combined 7.2 innings at the position in six previous appearances. Rice went 0-for-1 at the plate and was pinch-hit for by Giancarlo Stanton in the bottom of the seventh inning (flyout) and replaced by J.C. Escarra behind the dish.
-- Reliever Yerry De los Santos lasted just 0.1 IP as Mark Leiter Jr. came in with two on base to get the third out of the sixth inning. He recorded another out in the seventh, but let up back-to-back singles and Fernando Cruz replaced him to get the next two outs. Cruz stayed in to pitch the eighth inning and recorded just one out, walking the bases loaded. Tim Hill came in to escape the jam, but Volpe misplayed Adell's hard grounder and threw it away, allowing the go-ahead run to score and make it a 3-2 game.
-- The Yanks had a scoring chance late as Jasson Domínguez walked and Austin Wells was hit by a pitch. However, the offensive issues persisted and Trent Grisham (popout), Judge (flyout), and Bellinger (popout) all failed to drive in the game-tying run. NY got one more opportunity in the ninth against Kenley Jansen after Paul Goldschmidt reached first on an error, but Chisholm (flyout), Escarra (lineout), and Volpe (strikeout) came up short.
Game MVP: Jo Adell
The former top prospect homered and drove in another run to bury the Yanks.
The Mets went quietly against Chris Sale and the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, losing 5-0.
Here are the takeaways...
-Making just his second start of the season, this time for the injured Kodai Senga, Paul Blackburn was greeted rudely by Ronald Acuña Jr. on the first pitch he threw, allowing a leadoff home run that gave the Braves a quick 1-0 lead. It was far from the end as Blackburn allowed a single and a walk before retiring his first batter of the game on a groundout that advanced the runners to second and third.
-Blackburn's battery mate, Luis Torrens -- in for Francisco Alvarez who did not have a good game defensively on Tuesday night -- made a costly mistake of his own in the first inning when he touched the ball with his mask after the ball got away from on a swing-and-a-miss which is not allowed. The fielding error resulted in the same thing as a balk which scored a run and moved the runner on second base to third base.
Marcell Ozuna drove in the third run of the strange inning with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0, Atlanta.
-To Blackburn's credit, after that tough start to the game and capped at around 70-75 pitches, he ended up going 3.2 innings and didn't allow another run, exiting with the Mets down 3-0. That is, until reliever Jose Butto entered the game and allowed the stranded runner to score on a wild pitch that should've been a passed ball on Torrens after the catcher just failed to reach for a ball inside.
Torrens made another mistake earlier in the game after he tried framing a pitch which resulted in him not catching the ball with a runner on third base. Fortunately, the runner didn't break for home plate, although he easily could've.
-Opposite Blackburn was Chris Sale who entered the game with a 1.14 ERA over his last seven starts. The left-hander continued his recent dominance, outmatching the Mets over 8.2 scoreless innings. Sale allowed four hits, all singles and two by Starling Marte, entering the ninth inning as he bid for a shutout. However, a Brandon Nimmo pop fly single over third base with two outs would be it for Sale who threw 116 pitches (85 strikes).
-Jeff McNeil extended his on-base streak to 20 games, the longest active streak in the majors, following his single in the fifth inning.
-New York's bullpen went 4.1 innings and allowed just one run, a Matt Olson moonshot off Ty Adcock in the seventh inning. It was the first run Adcock allowed as a Met this season in three innings.
Game MVP: Chris Sale
8.2 innings of shutout baseball is enough for the 36-year-old to get the honors.
Highlights
Luis Torrens touched the ball with his mask in the first inning, which allowed each runner to advance a base and the Braves to score their second run pic.twitter.com/yF1JK5g9Nf
Cody Bellinger is standing at his locker at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, the day after his manager made the relatively rare admission that his team’s offense was pressing.
Aaron Boone is not one to critique players at a postgame news conference, but he knows his guys, and he knows that their at-bats during Tuesday’s 4-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels -- the team’s third consecutive shutout -- were beneath their capabilities.
That game extended the Yankees’ scoreless streak to 29 innings (it hit 30 before Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s home run in the second inning Wednesday).
“Pressing” is a tricky concept. Even for non-athletes who watch baseball every day, it is difficult to diagnose. The best evidence we can usually find of it is when players chase pitches out of the strike zone. But there has to be more to it.
Bellinger is a thoughtful and seasoned hitter, so it seems worth asking him: What is pressing, anyway? What happens to a hitter when he is doing it, and how does he know?
Bellinger thinks for a beat, then says, “The crazy thing about this game is that there's so many variables. Your swing is feeling bad that day. The pitcher is making pitches on you. Did you swing at the wrong pitch -- or the right pitch, and then miss it?
“That's why it's hard to explain these things, why you're having success and why you're failing. Sometimes I go back [over a game and think], I felt good, why didn’t I get any hits? Well, I only got one pitch in the middle of the plate and I missed it and I missed it.”
Bellinger stops to shake his head.
“Like, it's insane,” he continues. “You did everything right and hit it right at them, right? There are just the variables in this game.”
“When,” I ask, “Do you know when you’re specifically pressing or trying to do too much, versus just dealing with one of those variables?”
“In the game, you don't know,” Bellinger says. “In the moment, you don't know. And then, maybe after a few games, you're like, ‘Okay, I'm doing too much. Let me calm down. Let me go back to the basics. Let me figure out, what am I gonna do today to help the team win?’ Sometimes you have to go back home and reflect.”
“When it’s all happening at game speed, you don’t have time to reflect on it?”
“Yeah,” Bellinger says. “You’re in the competition. It's more like you say to yourself later, ‘Yeah, I was probably getting out of myself a little bit just trying to do too much. My head's at first base. I'm trying to hit the ball into the fourth deck, when, in reality, I don't need to do that.”
“So it’s swinging too hard, trying to pull too much, things like that?”
“Potentially,” Bellinger says. “The crazy part is that it could also be mechanical issues. Am I late, you know what I mean? That's why the game is amazing, though, too. There's not another game like it, right?”
It can also be luck. We talk about a few well-hit balls in Boston that could have changed the entire narrative.
“You go back to the Boston series,” Bellinger says. “[Paul] Goldschmidt hit a ball that was foul by an inch, right? D.J. [LeMahieu] ’s ball was foul by an inch. He hit a 110 mile-per-hour ground balls -- two of them -- and they didn't find holes.”
We haven’t even mentioned the weather yet. I note that the Yankees lost at least two or three home runs to the conditions during the first two games of the Angels series. Austin Wells hit one at 101 mph to right field in the seventh inning Tuesday. On a hot summer night, wouldn’t that ball have gone over the wall?
“That’s right,” Bellinger says. “The wind's been blowing in, it’s a little misty, all that.”
He pauses again. “It's a weird game, right?” he says. “It’s the craziest sport of all -- for sure. Right?”
While we have this conversation, Bellinger is carrying a .125 batting average over his past seven games. A few hours later, he blasts his tenth homer of the season over the right field wall.
Dodgers owner and chairman Mark Walter has agreed to purchase a majority stake in the Lakers. (Jordan Strauss / invision/ap)
The Buss family's decision to sell its majority stake in the Lakers to Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter sent shockwaves through L.A. on Wednesday.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was among those surprised by the development. Speaking to reporters before his team's game against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium, Roberts shared his thoughts on what Walter could bring to the Lakers.
Question: What's your reaction to the deal?
“Obviously he’s had some kind of stake the last few years or whatever. He’s really committed to the city of Los Angeles in various ways. Sports is something that he’s very passionate about, and certainly Los Angeles sports. I think it’s a very exciting day for the Lakers, for the city of Los Angeles. And I think speaking from [the perspective of] a Dodger employee, he’s very competitive. He’s going to do everything he can to produce a championship-caliber team every single year and make sure the city feels proud of the Lakers and the legacy that they’ve already built with the Buss family.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts smiles before a game against the Texas Rangers in April. (Julio Cortez / Associated Press)
When did you learn that about him?
“I would say probably seven, eight, nine years ago, just having a conversation with him as far as how much he enjoyed spending time in Los Angeles, and a lot of low-hanging fruit in the sense of what this city could be, already is, and can be. He wanted to infuse kind of his intelligence, his resources. He just wanted more skin in the game. That’s just speaking for him. But he’s obviously a very smart person.”
How have you seen him be competitive
“I think he does everything he can to provide resources, support. He wants to win. He feels that the fans, the city, deserves that. I think that’s never lost. It’s more challenging us always to, how do we become better and not complacent or stagnant to continue to stay current with the market and the competition to win not only now but for as far as we can see out.”
“I think a good owner in my eyes is a person that lets the people that he hires do their jobs. He does a great job of letting Stan and Andrew and Gomer, all those guys, Lon, do their jobs right. But also kind of holding us all accountable, and also providing resources needed. In this case, players, to field a team that’s warranted of a championship-caliber team every year. Also, doing stuff for charity and appreciating not only the baseball side but just as important, the business side. He invests a lot of resources in that as well. I think that that’s kind of all-encompassing of what I’ve been fortunate to be around.”
Does this mean you’re sitting courtside?
“Yes. (Laughter). I’m sure a lot of people are hitting Mark up, but I might add myself to the list.”
Making his sixth rehab start and fourth with Triple-A Syracuse, right-hander Frankie Montas turned in another disappointing outing in what could possibly be his final start before re-joining the Mets.
Things started off well for Montas who went the first three innings without allowing a run before he was dinged for two in the fourth. He then went back out for the fifth with the game tied at 2-2 and gave up a three-run homer to Troy Johnston to put a crimp in his start.
Montas wasn't out of the woods yet after a double and wild pitch put a runner on third base with two outs. He retired the final batter of the inning to strand the runner at third, but the damage was already done.
The righty finished his night by going five innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out two. He threw 80 pitches (47 strikes).
It was the latest in a string of bad outings for the 32-year-old who entered the night with a 13.17 ERA (2.34 WHIP) in just 13.2 innings. After the start, Montas' ERA rose slightly to 13.19.
On the bright side, it was the longest start Montas was able to pitch during his rehab with his previous-long being four innings on June 3 when he also allowed five earned runs (on four home runs).
Manager Carlos Mendozasaid before Wednesday's game against the Atlanta Braves that the Mets will need to make a decision on Montas soon.
"Let’s see how he feels after the outing today," the skipper said. "We wanna see execution, obviously, and then we have a decision. We gotta talk to him, but we’re approaching the deadline where we gotta make a decision on him."
Keeping the playoff at its current 12-team format is a grim reality for some, but it’s a possibility, perhaps even a probability as negotiations creep closer to the Dec. 1 deadline.
Remember when Steve Ballmer bought the L.A. Clippers for $2 billion and everyone lost their minds?
Eleven years later, stay in town multiply it by five.
Minority owner Mark Walter has purchased a majority stake in the L.A. Lakers at a valuation of $10 billion. That's a record for any American sports franchise.
The late Dr. Jerry Buss bought the team in 1979 for $67.5 million.
The Buss family had owned 66 percent of the team. Jeannie Buss reportedly plans to continue to continue to serve as the team's governor, which will give her the power to vote on league matters at NBA ownership meetings.
Earlier this year, the Boston Celtics sold at a valuation of $6.1 billion. Last month, a minority stake in the 49ers was sold at a valuation of $8.6 billion.
It's safe to say that controlling interest in any NFL team would generate a valuation of more than $10 billion. Some teams (like the Cowboys) would approach or exceed $15 billion.
The fact that the Lakers were sold at a $10 billion valuation will only make that more likely.
