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From Bill Plaschke: The silent, somber Bronx suddenly was bathed in joyous dancing blue, a screaming scrum leaping and bouncing and hugging into history.
The Dodgers did it. They really did it.
The hallowed New York Yankees stood frozen in their dugout, stripped of their aura and bludgeoned at their essence, painfully demolished pinstripe by pinstripe.
The Dodgers did it. They really did it.
The team that chokes swallowed swords. The team that crumbles spit fire. The most teeth-grinding great team in baseball chomped through a legacy of frustration on the sort of October night that, while once forgettable, now will live forever.
The Dodgers won the World Series. They really won the World Series.
They didn’t just win it, they dominated it, they debilitated it, they freaking owned it, finishing a five-game beating of the disintegrating Yankees on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium with a five-run comeback and a 7-6 victory to clinch the title four games to one.
“It really doesn’t make sense to me right now,” reliever Blake Treinen said, looking dazed while standing on a field filled with gold streamers and thick-throated teammates. “What a cool moment. This is amazing.”
While it ended here with the Dodgers joyfully engaging in a group hug that transformed this weathered urban field into blue heaven on Earth, all hell was breaking loose on the other side of the country, the celebration of a connection that 2,792 miles could not fray.
Go ahead, Los Angeles, dance with your Dodgers. Hug your Koufax-jerseyed neighbor, scream up to Fernando and Scully and Lasorda, maybe even cry a little. It’s OK, you deserve it, you earned it. You weren’t here for the finish, but you were here for the journey, best fans in baseball, filling Chavez Ravine all summer, shaking the ancient stadium with your unconditional support, your lingering roars, your love.
Dodgers beat Yankees to win another World Series, cement ‘golden era’ of franchise dominance
Ready to celebrate? Dodgers’ World Series championship parade will be Friday
L.A. takes to the streets with fireworks, joy as Dodgers win World Series
New L.A. Times book ‘Best in Sho’ commemorates Dodgers’ World Series winning season
How one ‘crazy’ inning ignited Dodgers’ comeback in World Series clincher
Magic Johnson is all smiles over Dodgers’ transformation into a World Series power
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WORLD SERIES RESULTS
Dodgers vs. NY Yankees
at Dodgers 6, New York 3 (10) (box score)
at Dodgers 4, New York 2 (box score)
Dodgers 4, at New York 2 (box score)
at New York 11, Dodgers 4 (box score)
Dodgers 7, at New York 6 (box score)
LAKERS
From Dan Woike: LeBron James, like he has countless times in this arena on this floor, planted his foot on the court and exploded for a one-handed slam — his signature play in the city where he once brought a championship.
It was his first points of the game — a night where he’d be celebrated by Cavaliers fans not only for his return back to Northeast Ohio but because he came home with his son, Bronny, as a teammate.
But by the time he left the court, flipping the ball to the referee in frustration after his sixth turnover, the party was over. At least for the oldest James on the Lakers’ roster.
“We want Bronny” chants filled the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse at nearly every stoppage in the fourth quarter until JJ Redick relented and put the rookie guard into the game near his hometown.
It was all there was left to see Wednesday night, the Cavaliers (5-0) remaining unbeaten while handing James his worst loss in Cleveland, the Lakers (3-2) losing 134-110 in a game they were out of for nearly the entire 48 minutes.
CLIPPERS
From Broderick Turner: Four games into their season, and the Clippers only seem to know how to play close games.
It was tight against the Phoenix Suns in an opening loss and tight against the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors in back-to-back victories.
On Wednesday night, the Clippers found themselves in another game that came down to the wire at the Intuit Dome, a game they wereunable to pull out in losing 106-105 to the Portland Trail Blazers.
“All of our games are going to be close,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Eighty-two of them.”
CHARGERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: After Bradley Bozeman became the football field’s version of Batman — dispensing vigilante justice by pinning Saints defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd to the turf after a dangerous takedown of quarterback Justin Herbert — the Chargers center’s wife, Nikki Bozeman, drove home from SoFi Stadium on Sunday night hoping the reaction would simply stay in the family’s favor.
With a boost from the Chargers, it got even better.
After the Chargers used Bozeman’s viral moment of vigilante justice to share information about the Bradley and Nikki Bozeman Foundation on social media, more than 150 fans donated to the charity’s efforts to address food insecurity and combat bullying. With many chipping in $10 donations for No. 10 or $75 for No. 75, the foundation quickly collected more than $3,700.
“It really was something that was just a sports moment, and then it turned into something that’s been really cool to help our foundation,” Nikki said.
BREEDERS’ CUP
From John Cherwa: This Breeders’ Cup does not have the star power of past years. There is no Flightline. There is no Cody’s Wish.
Instead, there is a collection of very competitive races that will make the betting markets robust but leave the casual viewer with a bunch of horses they may never have heard of.
There are 14 races over Friday and Saturday worth more than $34 million. The big race is the Classic, which is now worth $7 million. All of Friday’s five Breeders’ Cup races are for 2-year-olds.
There are 169 horses entered with about 80 coming from outside the United States.
In order to prepare for the richest day in racing, here are four story lines:
KINGS
Anze Kopitar had a goal and two assists, including the 800th of his career as the Kings beat the Vegas Golden Knights 6-3 on Wednesday night.
Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala each had a goal and an assist, and Warren Foegele, Alex Laferriere and Joel Edmundson also scored for the Kings, who have won three of four. Brandt Clarke added three assists, Mikey Anderson had two assists and Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves.
Kopitar’s assist on Fiala’s power-play goal at 6:23 of the third period made him the fifth player born outside of North America to reach 800 assists, joining Jaromir Jagr (1,155), Evgeni Malkin (809), Nicklas Lidstrom (878) and Henrik Sedin (830). Kopitar also joins Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (1,013) and Malkin along with Detroit’s Patrick Kane (818) as active skaters to reach the milestone.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1950 — Earl Lloyd of the Washington Capitols becomes the first Black man to play in an NBA game. Washington loses 78-70 on the road to the Rochester Royals.
1969 — Lenny Wilkens, the NBA’s all-time winningest coach, gets his first coaching victory as the Seattle SuperSonics beats Cincinnati Royals 129-121.
1972 — Gaylord Perry wins the AL Cy Young Award.
1981 — Florida State freshman Greg Allen rushes for 322 yards in a 56-31 victory over Western Carolina.
1987 — Eric Dickerson, the NFL’s single-season rushing champion, signs a three-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts to complete a three-way trade that nets the Rams two running backs and six top draft choices over the next two years. The third part of the deal sends linebacker Cornelius Bennett to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for three of the draft picks that went to the Rams.
1987 — Jockey Chris Antley becomes the first rider to win nine races in a single day. He has four winners in six mounts at Aqueduct and five winners from eight tries during The Meadowlands’ evening program.
1988 — The first Monday Night NFL game was played in Indianapolis; Colts beat the Broncos 55-23.
1998 — Tee Martin of Tennessee sets NCAA records with 23 straight completions and 24 over two games in the No. 3 Volunteers’ 49-14 victory over South Carolina. Martin is 23-for-24, with a record completion percentage of 95.8, for 315 yards and four touchdowns.
1999 — Tim Couch completes a desperation 56-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Johnson with no time on the clock to give the expansion Cleveland Browns their first victory, a 21-16 win over New Orleans.
2004 — The New England Patriots lose for the first time in more than a year, falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-20. The Patriots had won 21 straight games, including the playoffs, and a league-record 18 in a row in the regular season.
2006 — Miami’s season-opening 108-66 loss to Chicago is the worst loss in NBA history for a defending champion on opening night.
2008 — The North Carolina Tar Heels are No. 1 in The Associated Press’ preseason Top 25, the first unanimous No. 1 since the preseason poll began in 1981-82.
2012 — Jamal Crawford scores 29 points in 30 minutes in his first official game with his new team, and the Clippers convert 21 turnovers into 29 points in a 101-92 victory that extends the Memphis Grizzlies’ NBA-record streak of opening-night losses to 12. The Grizzlies are 0-12 on opening night since the franchise shifted from Vancouver to Memphis in 2001.
2015 — Triple Crown champion American Pharoah wins the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic by 6 1/2 lengths in his final race before retirement.
2020 — England beats Italy 34-5 in Rome to win the 29th Six-Nations Rugby Championship.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.