LAS VEGAS -- The Golden Knights scored more than two goals for just the second time in six games, but it wouldn't be enough as the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning secured a 6-3 win Thursday night.
Nikita Kucherov scored a pair of third-period goals and added an assist on a late empty-netter as the Bolts pulled away for the win.
Ivan Barbashev scored two goals for the Golden Knights (7-2-3), while Mitch Marner added his fourth of the season in the third period when his shot deflected off Victor Hedman and past Andrei Vasilevskiy to tie the game.
Brandon Hagel scored 35 seconds later and the Lightning (6-5-2) never looked back, and the Knights lost for the fourth time in six games.
Vegas rookie Carl Lindbom made 21 saves.
Gage Goncalves and Dominic James also scored for the Lightning while Hagel scored his second of the game with 45 seconds left in the game.
Vegas opened the game looking as if it might dominate, with Barbashev providing the two-goal lead and the Knights outshooting Tampa Bay, 15-3.
But the Bolts turned the tables in the second, outshooting Vegas, 15-4, including goals from Goncalves and James.
"All those things that went our way, in the second period they did the exact same thing," Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said.
KEY MOMENT: Less than one minute after Kucherov scored his first goal to give Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead, Marner tied the game. But Hagel's goal was the turning point when his backhand from in front of the net beat Lindbom glove side. The momentum and energy Marner provided just 45 seconds earlier were drained from T-Mobile Arena.
KEY STAT: The Golden Knights were 0 for 3 on the power play, and are now 2 for 23 with a man advantage since Oct. 20. Their 8.7% power-play conversion rate is the second lowest in that span, as they're one of just four teams that is less than 10%.
WHAT A KNIGHT: Both Barbashev and Marner turned in three-point nights, which ended being all for not, after Vegas squandered its two-goal lead and then failed to capitalize when tying the game and briefly seizing momentum.
"A team doesn't give up on anything ... they don't care what the score is," Marner said of the Lightning. "Momentum swing is a lot. It got weird ... I think we got too much into a track race.
There's gonna be ups and downs in a season. That's how a season goes. The thing that this team does really well is stay even-keeled."
UP NEXT: Vegas hosts the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday in a battle between the Pacific Division's top two teams. The Knights have won the last four meetings and will come into the clash on a 7-1 run against Anaheim when the teams meet at T-Mobile.
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The 27-year-old, who is in season three of an eight-year deal worth $8.125 million, only had four goals with four assists through 14 games this season and was a -8.
The Blues, who did notch a 3-0 shutout win over the Buffalo Sabres in Kyrou's absence, 5-8-2 on the season, just two points from the Western Conference floor.Â
Monty on scratching Kyrou: âMany players could have been scratched after last nightâs game and ultimately I decided on this group tonight.â #stlblues
Leading up to the 2025 NHL Draft, Kyrou's name appeared in many trade rumors primarily because his no-trade clause was set to kick in on July 1.Â
Per industry sources, the Blues had poked around on the New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson, and the asking price for the 25-year-old offensive-defenseman would have likely been Kyrou, a potential 1-for-1, if you will.Â
Whether the Blues were serious about moving Kyrou or just testing the waters to see what the value was, his being healthy-scratched this early in this season doesn't turn down the volume on those trade speculations.Â
It's been tough sledding for Kyrou this season for sure, but he reached the 70-point mark in 2024-25, which was the third time heâs done so in his seven-year NHL career. He recorded 36 goals, one short of his career high, and 34 assists in 82 games.
He is a top-six talent that many teams would love, but given his no-trade clause, Kyrou's future is in his own hands.Â
The New York Islanders should be all over Kyrou if he becomes truly available.Â
Many viewed this Islanders' season as a step back to take two steps forward, and that first-year general manager Mathieu Darche will be selling at this year's deadline, which comes on March 6.
But, with the emergence of Matthew Schaefer and what the immediate future now looks like, could the Islanders be buyers? Could they go out and get a player like Kyrou that will help them in the short term, in a bid to make the playoffs, and someone who fits the long-term game plan?
When Mathew Barzal went down with his season-ending injury last February, Kyrou seemed like a perfect acquisition to counteract the loss while making the Islanders faster and more dynamic once No. 13 returned.Â
Now, with Darche and Patrick Roy wanting to play that speedy transition game, Kyrou is even more of a fit than he was a few months ago.Â
As for fitting Kyrou in under the cap, the Islanders would have no issues. The Islanders could add Semyon Varlamov's $2.75 million on Long-Term Injured Reserve, joining Pierre Engvall's $3 million. That would leave the Islanders with $1.623 million left to clear, as they have $752,000 in cap space before those moves.Â
With the Islanders' rapid rise in the prospect pool world, they could part ways with one, along with picks and a rostered NHLer that makes more than league minimum -- Maxim Tsyplakov and his $2.25M AAV stand out just because he's not playing.Â
Could you imagine a top line of Barzal-Horvat-Kyrou?
Nothing is imminent on the trade front at this moment, but the Islanders should be keeping tabs on the Kyrou situation very closely.Â
As Wales prepare to face the Pumas, the only thing uniting anyone is a lack of trust in the WRU to sort the game out
Itâs a wet Wednesday afternoon and Wales are holding an open training session at the Principality Stadium. Admission is free, apart from the ÂŁ1 booking fee, and the 6,000 seats theyâve made available are filled with raucous kids and weary parents looking for something new to do during a rainy half-term day. The announcer keeps reminding everyone that tickets are still available for all four of Walesâ autumn internationals, against Argentina on Sunday, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. No one in the media seats can quite remember the last time there were spare tickets for a Test match against the All Blacks.
I join a couple of old boys loitering in the back rows. Theyâre Mervyn and Steve, down from Pontypridd. The previous Friday the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) had announced its grand plan to revitalise the sport, which included â almost an hour into the press conference â the revelation that it is going to scrap one of the four regional teams. Everyone agrees that the four regions are overstretched and underfunded. A Welsh team has not finished in the top seven of the United Rugby Championship (URC) since before the pandemic. The decision to make a cut was easy enough. The harder part is figuring out who, why and when, and the hardest is persuading everyone to go along with it.
The Boston Celtics currently sit 10th in the NBAâs Eastern Conference at 4-5 after an up-and-down start to the 2025-26 season. But if they defeat the Orlando Magic on Friday night, they can lay claim to first place in Group B of the 2025 NBA Cup.
The leagueâs third annual in-season tournament continues Friday with more group play action, as Celtics-Magic is one of 11 games around the league that will count toward the NBA Cup standings. The Câs â who are in Group B of the NBA Cup along with the Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets â are 1-0 in the group stage after edging the Sixers 109-108 last Friday in their NBA Cup opener.
That Celtics-Sixers game has been the only Group B game to date, as the Magic, Pistons and Nets have yet to begin their NBA Cup slates. All three teams are in action Friday, however â Detroit and Brooklyn play at 7:30 p.m. ET â so weâll see more movement in the standings by the end of the night.
As a reminder, point differential is a key tiebreaker in the NBA Cup, so expect both the Celtics and Magic to play hard until the final whistle, even if the game is already in hand for either side.
How will it all play out? Below is a brief refresher on the NBA Cup format, followed by the Celticsâ schedule and the Group B standings, which weâll update at the conclusion Fridayâs games.
How does the NBA Cup work?
The tournament begins with the group stage. All 30 teams will compete in group play, having been placed into six groups of five teams within their conference. Teams face each of their group opponents once for a total of four group play games (two at home and two on the road).
Eight teams advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds: the top team in each of the six groups and a wild card team in each conference thatâs awarded to the second-place finisher with the best overall record.
If two or more teams are tied within a group, the following tiebreakers are used:
Head-to-head record in group play
Point differential in group play
Total points scored in group play
Record from the 2024-25 NBA regular season
Random drawing
The knockout rounds begin with quarterfinal games on Dec. 9 and 10 hosted by the higher seed, and then the semifinals and finals, which will be held in Las Vegas.
All Group Stage games count toward teamsâ regular-season records. Teams enter the season with only 80 scheduled games, and the 22 teams that donât advance to the knockout round will play two regular-season games during tournament off nights on Dec. 11/12 and Dec. 14/15.
Celticsâ Group B schedule
The Celticsâ four Group Stage games will be played across a 27-day span from Halloween until the day before Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, Nov. 26: Pistons vs. Celtics, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Group B Standings
Each team in Group B will play each other once during Group Stage play. If two teams have the same record in group play, the first two tiebreakers are head-to-head record and point differential.
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For the first 20 minutes of their Thursday matchup - and first of the season - against the Washington Capitals, the way the Pittsburgh Penguins were dominating was quite similar to what they did to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the first 40 minutes of a heartbreaking 4-3 loss on Monday.
In that game, the Penguins were up, 3-0, heading into the third period, and they surrendered the lead within the first seven minutes. The Leafs won it in the back half of a dominant final 20 minutes that had the Penguins back on their heels for a lot of it.
Well, in this one, the Penguins went up, 3-0 early in the second period. The same thing couldn't possibly happen twice, could it?
As it turns out, it could. And it did.
It happened in the second period this time, but for the second consecutive game, the Penguins surrendered a 3-0 lead in a single period. But - contrary to what happened after Toronto tied the game Monday, the Penguins did not just give up and give in against the Capitals.
Instead, they kept fighting, and the result was different. Pittsburgh had the opportunity to respond in the third period, and with a much better response, they were able to come away with the 5-3 win.
"Credit to the guys,â head coach Dan Muse said. âWe were just in this situation three days ago. It would have been really easy for this group to cave. It would have been very easy for this group to play back on their heels, to play worried. I thought we came out in the third period and we did the things that we needed to do to win the game.
âWeâll continue to look at things, weâll continue to clean up things there. But, at the end of the day, the guys got the job done. They got the two points."
The Penguins started off strong, as they went to an early power play, and rookie Ben Kindel and veteran Sidney Crosby - new linemates at five-on-five, too - connected on a beautiful Kindel cross-ice seam pass to 87, who buried the one-timer for his 10th goal of the season.
Then, about eight minutes later, Capitalsâ forward Sonny Milano went to the box for hooking, and the power play was at it again. And so was Crosby. Erik Karlsson threw one at the net from the point, and on its way in, the puck was deflected by Bryan Rust. Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren made the initial save with his glove but couldnât hold onto it, and Crosby buried the rebound for his second of the game, league-leading sixth power play goal, and league-leading 11th goal.
The Penguins outshot the Caps, 16-7, in the opening period, and it was a pretty clinical performance from them once again. Anthony Mantha added another one to the board on a rebound early in the second period.
But, then, things started to get eerily reminiscent of Mondayâs game.
The Capitals began pushing hard and often after Manthaâs goal. The first domino to fall was Dylan Strome, who scored midway through the middle frame to cut the lead to 3-1. Then, about five minutes later, youngster Ryan Leonard appeared to make it 3-2, but an offside call reversed the goal.
But, no matter. Less than a minute later, Rasmus Sandin scored the Capsâ second goal, anyway, and Tom Wilson tied the game with just five seconds remaining in the second.
Once again, the Penguins found themselves in a precarious situation. Both teams traded a few chances in the first part of the third, and the Penguins took a pair of penalties within the first 10 minutes but managed to kill off that time. During the second penalty - a Delay of Game infraction by Kindel - Strome took an offensive zone penalty for cross-checking, and the teams played four-on-four for a little more than a minute before a brief power play opportunity for the Penguins.
And - for the third time on the evening - they didnât miss. Karlsson gave the puck away to John Carlsson at the offensive blue line, but he quickly recovered with the reverse on Carlsson. The puck found its way back into the attacking zone on the stick of Kindel, who sent it all the way around the boards to Evgeni Malkin on the wall at the left point.
From there, Malkin sent a beautiful cross-ice pass to the low slot, where Rust was skating in from the opposite direction. He put a gorgeous one-time redirection behind Lindgren, and the Penguins took back the lead, 4-3.
Connor Dewar - who played with high energy the entire game - was rewarded with an empty-net goal with just 2:04 left on the clock.
Obviously, the difference in response ended up being the actual difference in this one. But - no matter the result - the Penguins know there are a lot of defensive holes and lapses in their game right now and that they need to be much better for a full 60 minutes.
âObviously, you never want to give up three unanswered goals,â Kindel said. âLike I said [after the Toronto game], weâre learning a lot. Itâs still early in the season, and you donât want to have it happen all the time. So, just got to learn from it so it doesnât happen again.â
The Philliesâ outfield enters the winter with more uncertainty than any other position group.
In 2025, the results simply werenât there. Phillies outfielders combined for a .712 OPS (18th in MLB), a 7.8% walk rate (22nd), and 219 RBIs (24th). They stole 29 bases, tied for the fourth-fewest in baseball. The group struggled to generate impact at the plate and rarely changed games with speed.
The front office is expected to explore ways to add power, inject more athleticism and balance a lineup that leaned too heavily on its top-three hitters.
As of right now, who will return in 2026?
LF/CF Brandon Marsh
Credit: Bill Streicher â Imagn Images
Marsh was the most stable everyday outfielder the Phillies had.
He hit .280/.342/.443 with a .785 OPS, bouncing between left and center while offering better-than-average defense at both spots. He was at his best against right-handed pitching, where he hit .300 with a .838 OPS, nine home runs and 33 RBIs.
Marsh isnât going anywhere. His role may shift depending on what else changes around him, but his roster spot is secure.
RF Nick Castellanos
Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea â Imagn Images
Castellanos struggled in 2025.
He drove in 72 runs, but his .694 OPS and .294 on-base percentage led to an 88 OPS+, which is 12 percent lower than the average hitter. The defensive limitations became more pronounced, finishing in the 1st percentile in Outs Above Average, reflecting limited range at 33 years old.
With one year left on his five-year, $100 million contract, Castellanos is expected to remain in trade conversations throughout the offseason and thereâs a chance he gets designated for assignment.
UTIL/LF Otto Kemp
Credit: Bill Streicher â Imagn Images
Kempâs season played out in two chapters.
Called up in early June, the rookie hit .228 over his first 46 games before returning to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. When he came back in September, the adjustments showed. Over his final 16 games, he posted an .856 OPS with eight extra-base hits.
Phillies skipper Thomson sees real upside, saying, âI like him being an everyday player.â
An infielder by trade, Kemp got some run in left field â including a start in the NLDS â and showed his effectiveness against left-handed pitching, producing a .786 OPS in 74 at-bats. That platoon potential could pair with Marsh, though Alec Bohmâs future at third base could ultimately influence Kempâs role.
CF Johan Rojas
Credit: Brett Davis â Imagn Images
Rojas remains one of the easiest players on the roster to summarize.
His defense changes games and the speed is elite â 99th percentile sprint speed. The offense is still lacking. He hit .224/.280/.289 in 2025 and never established consistent timing at the plate.
His glove and range keep him in the picture as a likely candidate to make the roster, but his path to everyday at-bats will depend on how he fares offensively.
A pair of prospects on the horizon?
Justin Crawford
Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel â Imagn Images
Crawford keeps hitting, everywhere.
Heâs not a power hitter, but he controls at-bats, reaches base and pressures defenses with his legs. Few hitters in the organization offer that combination. If anyone can force an Opening Day outfield job internally, itâs Crawford.
At Triple-A in 2025, he hit .334 with a .411 OBP and stole 46 bases. Since entering pro ball, he owns a .322 average across 325 minor league games.
He can also hit to all fields. Per Prospect Savant, Crawford pulled the ball 29.2 percent of the time and went the other way 36.5 percent. That approach plays in the big leagues.
Gabriel Rincones Jr.
Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck â Imagn Images
Rincones provides the power counterpoint to Crawford.
At Triple-A, he hit a career-high 18 home runs, logged 41 extra-base hits, and drew 80 walks, finishing with a .370 OBP in his most complete pro season.
President Dave Dombrowski pointed out the 24-year-old as a prospect to keep an eye on, âI really like Gabriel Rincones, whoâs got a lot of pop in his bat and really hits right-handed pitching even better.â
A left-handed bat with power and patience will draw trade interest by default. Whether he fits the 2026 Phillies or becomes part of a larger transaction will depend on how aggressively the club looks to reshape the outfield.
An idea
Credit: Kyle Ross â USA TODAY Sports
Last summer, when the Phillies were exploring third-base help and checked in on Eugenio SuĂĄrez, one scenario gained traction: Bryce Harper moving back to right field.
It never happened â Harper stayed at first â but with Pete Alonso on the free-agent market and Houstonâs Christian Walker potentially available via trade, the idea could surface again if the Phillies want more lineup balance during this championship window.
Targets via trade or free agency
Harrison Bader remains a logical reunion candidate. Max Kepler, also a free agent, is unlikely to return. And the thought of external options comes to mind.
Steven Kwan â a four-time Gold Glove award winner and a two-time All-Star â would give the Phillies an established leadoff hitter and elite left field defense. But after hitting .272 with a .705 OPS in 2025 â down from .292 and .793 in 2024 â and with club control through 2028, the cost would be significant. If Philadelphia believes Crawford can supply similar contact skills, the fit may be less necessary than it once looked.
Credit: Ken Blaze â Imagn Images
The White Sox exercised Luis Robert Jr.âs $20 million option, but given where that organization is right now, he could still be a trade candidate. Injuries limited him in 2025, but in the final six weeks he hit .298/.352/.456 in 31 games â closer to the version that finished second in AL MVP voting in 2023.
A winter trade feels unlikely, but if Chicago leans into a reset, he fits better as a mid-season or deadline move than a November one.
Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski â Imagn Images
Philadelphia has also been linked to Jo Adell and Taylor Ward, two right-handed power bats. Randy Arozarena could fit that same mold if Seattle is open to moving him.
At the top of the free agent market, talented outfielders Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham all hit from the left side. If the Phillies bring back Kyle Schwarber, committing premium dollars to another left-handed hitter may limit the lineupâs flexibility.
The outlook
The Phillies donât have a set outfield for 2026.
Some answers could come from within. Others will likely require a trade or a meaningful free agent addition. However it unfolds, the 2026 outfield is unlikely to look â or perform â like the 2025 version.
As we enter MLB free agency and what should be a busy offseason, there are guaranteed to be some surprises. Baseball America threw out the first eyebrow-raising moment for Phillies fans today. The publication released its latest ranking of the top ten prospects for all 30 MLB teams, and there is a new player at the top of the list.
It is not starting pitcher Andrew Painter, as it was last year, and the year before that.
It is shortstop Aidan Miller, the teamâs 2023 1st-round draft pick, riding the wave of a strong 2025 season at the plate, and on the basepaths.
Baseball America writer Josh Norris was a guest on The Phillies Show podcast. He drew up the rankings, and this isnât a hot take. He does exhaustive research on the players and teams he covers, and interviews many people throughout front offices and developmental departments within MLB franchises.
The reason for the shake-up is largely because Painter was shelved following Tommy John surgery, and between his injury in 2022 and the start of 2025, he really only pitched 15 innings in the 2024 Arizona Fall League.
â[2025] certainly wasnât a bad year, it was a great year for a guy just coming off Tommy John surgery,â Norris said of Painter, who pitched to a 5-6 record and a 5.40 ERA in 22 starts for the AAA Iron Pigs.
Despite dropping Painter to No. 2, Norris remains high on the righty flame-thrower.
âIâm Andrew Painterâs number-1 fan, outside of the Painter household,â Norris joked. âI put it all out there and said the young man is gonna be a Hall of Famer based on what Iâve seen.â
âIâve seen a ton of pitching prospects in my life. I mean, Iâve seen just about all of them. He was up there. I remember leaving the park [after watching Painter pitch] saying Iâve only felt this way three times.â
The other two pitchers? Former Nationals All-Star Stephen Strasburg, who was among the best in the game before injuries curtailed his career, and the late Jose Fernandez, who won Rookie of the Year for the Marlins in 2013 and made two All-Star teams before tragically losing his life at 24.
As for Millerâs rise to the top? âThere were a lot of questions on whether he could stick at shortstop,â Norris said. âRight now, the only question on whether he could stick at shortstop [with the Phillies] is Trea Turner.â
âHeâs a shortstop. Heâs become more athletic, more explosive, his arm has gotten better, [baseball insiders] in and out of the organization, people say âthis is probably a really good, above-average major league shortstop right now.ââ
Miller played nearly all of 2025 at double-A Reading. He struggled through the first half of the season, and on July 31st was hitting .222 with a .696 OPS.
But he finished strong. Over his final 36 games â which included eight at triple-A Lehigh Valley â Miller hit .356 with an OPS of 1.099, more walks (31) than strikeouts (29), and 39 runs scored.
He also led the entire organization with 52 stolen bases, a number that belies his ârun tool gradeâ from scouts. MLB scouts grade players on a 20-to-80 scale, and gave Miller a 50 for his speed, slightly above average. These grades arenât etched in stone, but this can show a bit of the difference subjectivity plays in scouting, and perhaps, that Miller has base-running instincts that you canât get from a 60-yard dash time.
Here is Norrisâ full Top 10 list of Phillies prospects:
Dodgers catcher Will Smith greets a customer at a Raising Cane's promotional event on Wednesday morning. Smith hit .267 in the World Series and hit the game-winning home run in Game 7. (Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
A block away from the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday morning, a once-overlooked Dodgers star embraced his own newfound notoriety.
Four days after slugging the game-winning home run in Game 7 of the World Series, Will Smith was serenaded by hundreds of fans at a Raising Caneâs promotional event at the intersection of Sunset and Highland, taking a makeshift stage to chants of âWe want Will!â from a crowd of Dodgers faithful forever indebted to his championship-clinching swing.
âTo feel the love from all the fans, itâs just cool,â Smith said. âItâs fun celebrating with these people, to see what the Dodgers mean to them.â
For years, Smith has largely felt that love from the shadows of the Dodgersâ star-studded roster â a three-time All-Star, a generational talent at his position, but also an outshined member of the teamâs big-name core.
That officially changed this week, after he hit the first game-winning, extra-inning home run in the seventh game of a Fall Classic.
His name has now joined the realm of October legends. His place in Dodger history, elevated to virtually immortal status.
âThatâs crazy,â Smith said, when informed Wednesday of the history his 11th-inning swing made. âI never would have thought that [would happen]. But yeah, just glad I was able to get it done for the guys, and for the city ⊠The passion that these fans have, thatâs what motivates me most.â
That kind of answer, of course, exemplifies Smithâs default mode. Quiet and reserved by nature. Averse to the public spotlight. Happy to simply show up at the ballpark, handle his taxing job as the starting catcher on baseballâs best team, and sidestep the attention a player of his talent would typically command.
Dodgers fans wait to see catcher Will Smith at a Raising Cane's promotional event on Wednesday. (Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
Such had been the reality of Smithâs existence with these Dodgers. Sharing a clubhouse with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Clayton Kershaw, itâs been easy for him to blend into the background for much of his seven-year career.
But then, last Saturday night, Shane Bieber hung him a slider in a tied game with a World Series on the line. Smith put a thunderous swing on it, pleading for the ball to clear the fence. And once it did, his standing in the sport had instantly been altered. The Dodgers cemented a dynasty. He was the face of one of its most defining moments.
âYes and no,â Smith said when asked if it felt like his life had changed this week. âThatâs a moment that will always be special. A very positive memory. In the first couple [World Series], had some big hits and stuff. But the game-winner is cool. So hopefully next year, going for a three-peat, we do something similar.â
Nothing, of course, will be as transformational as this past week was for the 30-year-old backstop.
Had it not been for the heroic efforts of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Smith very easily could have won World Series MVP, having led the Dodgers with six RBIs, trailed only Ohtani with a .267 average, and caught all 74 innings of the marathon series in another Fall Classic record.
He wasnât coaxed into speaking at the teamâs championship parade, but still received some of the dayâs loudest ovations, the fan base recognizing the herculean contributions he provided both at and behind the plate.
âHe was the silent assassin,â Freeman said.
âHeâs an absolute animal,â third baseman Max Muncy echoed.
Smith did show some of his dry humor during a Tuesday night appearance on âJimmy Kimmel Live!â, reeling off a few laugh lines alongside manager Dave Roberts and a few other teammates.
Then, on Wednesday morning, he got his heroâs welcome at the Raising Caneâs event, with fans lining up along Sunset two hours before his appearance with signs and posters ready in hand.
âItâs felt like a dream,â Smith said.
One he wonât be waking up from anytime soon.
Moving forward, Smith figures to be at the center of the teamâs future success, having signed a 10-year, $140 million contract extension with the Dodgers in March 2024.
âThis is pretty much home now for us,â the Louisville native and father of two said. âWe love it here.â
From left, Dodgers outfielder Teoscar HernĂĄndez, Mark Walter, owner and chairman of the Dodgers and Lakers, Magic Johnson, former Lakers star and part-owner of the Dodgers, pitcher Tyler Glasnow, catcher Will Smith, pitcher Blake Snell, shortstop Mookie Betts, outfielder Alex Call and pitcher Evan Phillips are celebrated for their World Series championship at the Lakers game Wednesday night. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
As one of the younger members of the clubâs All-Star core, his importance to the lineup will also continue to grow, with Smith trying to build off a 2025 campaign in which he set full-season career-highs in batting average (.296) and OPS (.901) despite missing most of September, and the first week of the playoffs, with a broken hand.
âTo me, he kind of epitomizes a lot of the success that we've had looking back, in terms of our scouting process, our player development process, how well they work together, and then him coming through and having the impact he's had at the Major League level,â president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said of Smith, who was originally a first-round draft pick of the team in 2016.
âMake no mistake, there's going to be a lot of those moments for him,â Muncy added. âHeâs going to be here for a long time. Iâm exciting to see what heâs going to do for this organization.â
And to think, how disastrously different this week could have been if not for the other key play Smith made in Game 7, getting his toe back on home plate after it had popped off as he went to catch a throw from Miguel Rojas with the bases loaded in bottom of the ninth inning.
âI still donât like seeing it,â Smith joked as the video of that moment replayed on Kimmel. âThey were replaying it [in the stadium], and I was like, âOh crap, this is not good. Weâre gonna lose right here because I canât hold home plate with my foot.ââ
âThat,â Smith added as Kimmel pondered the alternative reality, âwouldâve stung.â
Instead, two innings later, Smith delivered a swing that will change his legacy forever â thrusting him onto a pedestal both overdue and long-warranted.
âFor me, Iâve always tried not to do too much,â he said. âJust happened to get it in the air, get it over the wall.â
Another modest answer, from a player unlikely to go overlooked again.
Rangers were kind of outclassed by Roma, which top end of the Serie A is to be expected, but I just felt they had a couple of gears to go.
This little period is difficult. I think getting through the game at the weekend, it gives them that international break.
I think the recruitment has been done. Danny Rohl has to make the best he can out of what they've got at the moment. And it's about getting to January in the best condition he can.
If Dundee can turn up [on Sunday], play their stuff on the big occasion like they have done when it's been on the telly before, then Rangers will be in for a game.
And it's not ideal for Rangers coming off the back of Thursday. I think Rangers will probably just have enough, but I would definitely have thought Celtic would have had enough.
Nearing the end of Steph Curryâs career, the Warriors have nothing but winning an NBA championship on their minds.
Getting there, of course, is the challenge. And while Golden State, which once dominated the West for several consecutive seasons, might not be seeking the No. 1 playoff seed the way it used to, Warriors coach Steve Kerr revealed the teamâs target seed it is chasing.
âI mean, unless youâre OKC, everybody in the West is thinking, âLetâs make sure weâre in the top six.â I told our team before the season, letâs finish in the top four,â Kerr said Thursday on 95.7 The Gameâs âWillard & Dibs.â âLetâs have our homecourt advantage in the first round. And so, top six is obviously where everybody wants to end up. Nobody wants to be in the Play-In. I think weâre good enough where we should be thinking top four. Home court. But we havenât gotten there yet.
âThe scheduleâs been tough. We havenât settled our rotation yet. We havenât allowed for guys to get comfortable yet in their roles because lineups have changed. Weâre a little scattered right now. But nothing we canât fix and get on track. Like I said, I canât be more excited about our team and talent level and ability to be good. But we have some work to do.â
Golden State currently holds a 5-4 record and is sitting seventh in the West in the early part of the 2025-26 NBA season.
The Warriors have the sixth-most difficult schedule remaining, per Tankathon, with four matchups against the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, three against the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets, respectively, and two against the red-hot Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons.
But experience is on Golden Stateâs side, even if the schedule isnât.
And the confidence level is high for the Warriors, especially after acquiring six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler, who is in the midst of his first full season with the team.
Now, as Kerr attested to, itâll be on the players to execute if they want to reach their lofty goals of homecourt advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Rangers have lost seven consecutive European games (including qualifiers) for the first time in their history. The Ibrox side have lost 10 European games in 2025, only the fourth time a team has ever done so in one year and one of the other three was Rangers in 2022 (10); the others are Sheriff Tiraspol in 2023 and Qarabag in 2024.
Rangers have lost their past five games in the Europa League, their longest losing streak in the competition (since at least 2005/2006).
Danny Rohl has become the first permanent Rangers boss to lose as many as three of his first five games in charge (W2).
Rangers have kept a clean sheet in just five of their 23 matches in all competitions, their lowest percentage (22%) of games with a shutout in a season since 1957-58 (11 in 54, 20%).
James Tavernier made his 61st Europa League appearance for Rangers, equalling the record for a single club (2009-10 onwards); he draws level with Andreas Ulmer's 61 games for RB Salzburg.
Rangers have failed to score in three of their four games, no team has failed to do so more often in the 2025-2026 Europa League.
Rangers have conceded the opening goal in five consecutive major European matches for the first time since doing so between September 1962 and October 1963.
