SPORT

Twenty-two years later, same story. Australia picked up where they left off in their domination of the rugby league Ashes.

After a tense opening 20 minutes of the first series since 2003, the Kangaroos opened the scoring against England with their first flowing move of the contest.

Debutant Mark Nawaqanitawase shifted the ball left for rampaging full-back Reece Walsh to go over in style.

England were unhappy as scrum-half Mikey Lewis appeared to be tripped in the build-up, and there looked to be a forward pass too – but the try was given following a review by video referee Jack Smith.

Smith partly redeemed himself to the Wembley crowd by disallowing a second Australia try before the break as Dom Young was taken out by Josh Addo-Carr as he jumped to catch a high kick.

Shaun Wane’s side initially responded well to conceding and defence-splitting grubber kicks from George Williams and Tom Johnstone had the green and gold defence on their heels.

But Cleary added a penalty with the last action of the first half to put Australia 8-0 up – and they extended the lead straight after the interval.

After putting the hosts under constant pressure from the restart, Angus Crichton strode through to score with full-back Jack Welsby too deep and allowing him to go through far too easily.

Australia kept England at arm’s length thereafter, easing their way to victory in the first meeting between the sides since the 2017 World Cup final.

That success was secured with 15 minutes remaining as second row Crichton scythed through the defence again, and more gloss was added when a superb field-length move down the left was finished by the impressive Walsh.

Daryl Clark barged over in the final minutes for England, but it was no more than a consolation.

A downside for the visitors was that captain Issah Yeo was forced off in the first half after failing a head injury assessment following a clash with Young. He will also miss the second test next week at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool.

More to follow.

Hi and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Gee, the Dodgers haven’t lost a World Series game this badly since…. let’s see, do the archives go back that far? Oh yes, here it is: Since Game 4 of last year’s World Series, which they lost, 11-4.

Musings while Game 1 was happening:

Pre-game

—Pharrell Williams and the Voices of Fire provided the pregame entertainment. Apparently, Anne Murray was unavailable.

—Cito Gaston threw out the first pitch. Apparently Garth Iorg and Rance Mulliniks were unavailable.

—Joe Davis and John Smoltz are the game announcers. They are good. Coincidentally, the Dodgers’ announcer is also named Joe Davis. I wonder if they are related.

—Is it really necessary to have a long hype video for the World Series? I mean, we’re already tuned in and watching. Who is this for?

First inning

—The Toronto crowd is LOUD. Good for them.

—Toronto starter Trey Yesavage is the second-youngest World Series Game 1 starter ever, trailing only Ralph Branca. He doesn’t seem nervous.

—The Dodgers went down quietly in the top half. They need to do the same to Toronto in the bottom half to keep the crowd under control.

—Blake Snell doesn’t have the command he has had this postseason. Is it because of the long layoff? Just amped up?

—George Springer leads off. Is that a trash can I hear?

—And the Blue Jays did not go quietly, but at least they didn’t score.

—The Blue Jays are like the Dodgers in that they take a lot of pitches, which is bad for the Dodgers. It’s going to be a lot harder for the starters to pitch into the seventh, eighth or ninth inning, meaning more exposure for the weaker elements of the bullpen.

Second inning

—Can some scientists get together and study how Kiké Hernández becomes so much better in the postseason? Perhaps reduce it to a serum we can all take before pressure situations.

—Bases loaded and one out and the Dodgers don’t add any runs. That could come back to bite them.

—The Blue Jays are letting Snell lock in, unable to take advantage of his early shakiness.

—Where were the middle infielders when Freddie Freeman was looking to throw the ball there for a force? And Snell had great presence to whirl and throw to third. A lot of pitchers would have been upset they missed the bag at first.

Third inning

—Yesavage lost his fastball and suddenly seems a lot more nervous.

—A rare baseunning error by Freeman.

—The Dodgers have four hits and three walks but only two runs. That could be important later.

—Yasavage has thrown 71 pitches in three innings. That’s a lot.

—Davis Schneider looks like he should be working at Jiffy Lube.

Fourth inning

—The Dodgers chased pitches this inning, going away from what makes the so successful on offense. As a result, Yesavage felt no pressure and could even go one more inning.

—OK, maybe Snell wasn’t quite as locked in as I imagined. Daulton Varsho smoked that ball for a two-run homer.

—Do you know how many homers Snell had given up to a left-hander this season? Counting Varsho’s, one.

Fifth inning

—The Blue Jays take Yesavage out after four innings.

—Nature called and I missed Fluharty’s entire appearance!

—I once got an angry email from a ready who was upset the Joe Davis always says “We are halfway home” after the top of the fifth inning, because that’s not right, saying it was after the bottom of the fifth. The person was irate! But Davis is right.

—Why are ads featuring baseball players the most boring ads in the world? They haven’t had a good campaign since “Chicks Dig the Long Ball!” It’s as if all the people who come up with these ads hate baseball.

—Freeman is the best Dodgers first baseman at digging balls out of the dirt since Steve Garvey.

—The Capital One school career day ad with Derek Jeter and Karen Nyberg is great. I mean, it’s no Limu Emu (and Doug), but it’s great.

Sixth inning

—Seranthony Dominguez has the best first name in baseball.

—The split-screen ad during the game? Not a fan.

—Seranthony seemed a bit fired up out there.

—A walk to Bo Bichette. Snell is not long for this game. I’m surprised they wanted until now to have someone warm up. I would have had someone up when the inning started.

—Bases loaded, nobody out. Game changing moment. And Emmet Sheehan will be on the mound.

—And the wheels are coming off.

—I do believe the Dodgers are going to lose this game. Time to get in players who may not ever get a chance to play in a World Series again.

—I think the Dodgers postseason ERA is going to go up a bit.

Seventh inning

—Ohtani rounded the bases faster than Mickey Hatcher on that home run, almost as if he was saying “We’re still down by seven, let’s not get carried away here.”

—Justin Wrobleski is the answer!

Eighth inning

—Remember, the Dodgers lost Game 4 of last season’s World Series 11-4 and everything seemed to work out OK. They lost Game 1 of the 1959 World Series 11-0 and everything worked out OK there. Some athletes will tell you it’s easier to shake off a rout than it is losing a close game, because you can’t really say “If only I had done this….”

—For those of you who remember an earlier newsletter this postseason….. Mason and Hannah weren’t able to watch this game, so the loss is entirely their fault.

Ninth inning

—Is the game still going on? My mind is wandering, and it’s too little to be out by itself.

—The Dodgers had multiple chances to put more runs on the board early in the game and didn’t do it. You have to capitalize on almost every opportunity in the World Series.

—Being picked off first would have been an appropriate way to end that game.

—All you can do is shake this game off and come out strong tomorrow. It’s only one game. I have a feeling Yoshinobu Yamamoto is going to be very sharp in Game 2.

—My prediction remains, Dodgers in five.

—More importanly, we wish Alex Vesia and his wife the best as they go through a trying time.

In case you missed it

Plaschke: After Dodgers’ disastrous World Series Game 1 loss, doubt has crept in

‘Guys kind of felt the velocity a little bit more.’ Was rust a factor in Dodgers’ loss?

Dodgers will keep Alex Vesia off World Series roster: ‘So much bigger than baseball’

Meet Baby Shohei? These parents named their kids after Dodgers players

25 Dodgers food and drink specials for the World Series

Where to watch the World Series near Dodger Stadium

Hernández: MLB needs Shohei Ohtani as a two-way player. Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS was a reminder

And finally

“Highlights” from Game 1 of the World Series. Watch and listen here.

Until next time…

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Alana King takes a stunning 7-18 – a record at a Women’s World Cup – as Australia bowl South Africa out for 97, before chasing down their target with seven wickets in hand in Indore.

MATCH REPORT: King takes 7-18 as Australia thrash South Africa

Available to UK users only.

From Jack Harris: The Dodgers might be baseball’s version of an all-powerful Death Star.

But as Friday’s raucous World Series opener in Toronto showed, they too were built with a fatally exploitable weakness.

Behind a nine-run sixth inning that left Rogers Centre rocking and the previously invincible Dodgers rattled, the Blue Jays smashed open what had been a tied score in Game 1 of the World Series and rolled to an eventual 11-4 win.

They attacked the Dodgers’ one glaring weakness in the bullpen. They executed the kind of game script to which the defending champions have long seemed susceptible. And they watched in delight as their visitors were blown to bits, suffering an implosion of galactic proportions in what was the third-highest scoring inning in Fall Classic history.

“Honestly,” Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho said, “we just showed everybody what we can do as a lineup.”

Or, more to the point in this Fall Classic matchup, how they can get to the Dodgers’ rotation-reliant pitching staff.

Continue reading here

Plaschke: After Dodgers’ disastrous World Series Game 1 loss, doubt has crept in

‘Guys kind of felt the velocity a little bit more.’ Was rust a factor in Dodgers’ loss?

Dodgers will keep Alex Vesia off World Series roster: ‘So much bigger than baseball’

Dodgers box score

WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE, RESULTS

All times Pacific

Dodgers vs. Toronto
at Toronto 11, Dodgers 4 (box score)

Saturday at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio

Monday at Dodgers, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio

Tuesday at Dodgers, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio

*Wednesday at Dodgers, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio

*Friday, Oct. 31 at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio

*Saturday, Nov. 1 at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio

*-if necessary

LAKERS

From Broderick Turner: Luka Doncic is a savant.

He proved yet again to be distinguished in his field of expertise and the Lakers are reaping the rewards of Doncic’s brilliance.

Doncic was dynamic in scoring 49 points, coming up two assists short of a triple-double with 11 rebounds and eight assists in leading the Lakers past the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-110 Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Doncic became the first player in Lakers history to open the season with back-to-back 40-plus point games and fourth in NBA history to accomplish that feat, joining Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Anthony Davis.

Doncic has the most points in Lakers history in the first two games with 91 points, surpassing the 81 points Hall of Famer Jerry West scored in back-to-back games to open the 1969-70 season.

Doncic capped his show by drilling a three-pointer that gave the Lakers a 19-point lead, his showmanship including pursing of his lips while doing a shimmy to the adoring crowd. Then he bounced off the court when the reeling Timberwolves called a timeout with eight minutes and six seconds left in the game.

Continue reading here

‘These dudes are stupid’: Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal weigh in on NBA gambling scandal

4 wildest NBA gambling allegations: Cheating poker chip trays, card-reading glasses, X-rays and the mob

Lakers box score

NBA standings

CLIPPERS

James Harden scored 30 points, Kawhi Leonard added 27 and the Clippers routed the Phoenix Suns 129-102 Friday night in their home opener.

The Clippers bounced back after a season-opening, 21-point loss at Utah, where they trailed by 37 points.

Derrick Jones Jr. didn’t miss a shot in scoring 17 points, making five three-pointers and another field goal.

Continue reading here

Clippers box score

NBA standings

From Ben Bolch: Tim Skipper was just a redshirt freshman then, a speck of a middle linebacker at 5 feet 6.

His Fresno State Bulldogs went on the road and beat No. 18 Air Force on that October day in 1997, knocking off what had been the only 7-0 team in major college football.

“They were rolling,” Skipper, UCLA’s interim coach, said this week, “and we found a way to go get that thing done.”

It’s a memory that sticks with Skipper more than a quarter of a century later because it had been the only nationally ranked team he was part of taking down as a player or interim coach before his then-winless Bruins pulled off a stunner of far greater proportions this month when they upset then-No. 7 Penn State.

What Skipper’s team has a chance to do Saturday might relegate those wins to fine print in his memoir.

Here are five things to watch when the Bruins seek their first win over a team this highly ranked since beating No. 2 USC in 2006.

Continue reading here

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1947 — In front of a capacity crowd of 35,000 at Columbia’s Baker Field in New York, the Lions end Army’s 32-game unbeaten streak in a 21-20 upset. An interception in Army’s final drive seals the win, the first over an Army team that had not surrendered a point all season until the loss to Columbia.

1964 — Cotton Davidson of the Oakland Raiders passes for 427 yards and five touchdowns in a 40-7 rout of the Denver Broncos.

1980 — Mike Weaver knocks out Gerrie Coetzee in the 13th round to retain the WBA heavyweight title in Sun City, Bophuthatswana.

1990 — Evander Holyfield knocks out Buster Douglas in Las Vegas to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.

1998 — Jerry Rice sets an NFL record for receptions in consecutive games with his 12-yard catch from Steve Young on San Francisco’s first offensive play. Rice has caught passes in 184 straight games, breaking the mark set by Art Monk from 1980-95.

1998 — Denver’s Jason Elam kicks a 63-yard field goal, tying Tom Dempsey’s 28-year-old NFL record. Elam’s kick, which came at the end of the first half, matches the record Dempsey set for the New Orleans Saints against Detroit on Nov. 8, 1970.

2003 — Trainer Richard Mandella wins a record four races at the Breeders’ Cup, capping perhaps the greatest day in racing history when Pleasantly Perfect wins the $4 million Classic at Santa Anita. Mandella wins the $1 million Juvenile Fillies with Halfbridled, the $1.5 million Juvenile with long-shot Action This Day and the $2 million Turf with Johar, who dead-heats with High Chaparral.

2006 — Joe Sakic becomes the 11th player in NHL history to reach 1,500 career points with an assist during the first period of Colorado’s 5-3 loss to Washington.

2008 — Navy doesn’t attempt a pass in a 34-7 victory over Southern Methodist in a game played in a driving rain.

2008 — Raven’s Pass wins the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic in an upset, stunning defending champion Curlin on the new synthetic surface at Santa Anita. Raven’s Pass, ridden by Frankie Dettori and sent off at 13-1 odds, posts a 1 3/4-length victory in his first race on such a surface.

2014 — Trevone Boykin throws a school-record seven touchdown passes and No. 10 TCU scored the most points in its history in an 82-27 rout of Texas Tech.

2015 — Kirk Cousins throws three second-half touchdown passes, including the go-ahead score with 24 seconds left, to lead the Washington Redskins to the largest comeback in franchise history, a 31-30 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay was up 24-0 in the second quarter, before Cousins runs for an 8-yard TD to get Washington on the board.

Compiled by the Associated Press

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

2003 — Florida’s Josh Beckett throws a shutout to lead the Marlins to a 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees to win the World Series. Pitching on three days rest, Beckett allows five hits in Game 6 and captures MVP honors.

2017 — Houston’s George Springer hits a two-run drive in the 11th inning and the Astros win a thrilling home run derby at Dodger Stadium, beating Los Angeles 7-6 to tie the World Series at one game apiece. The teams combined for a Series record eight homers.

2024 — Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman hits 1st ‘walk-off’ grand slam in World Series history in 6-3 win over New York Yankees in 10 innings at Dodger Stadium.

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 [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Ruby Evans became the first Welsh gymnast to win an individual medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships as Great Britain finished second and third in the women’s floor competition.

Evans claimed silver in Jakarta, Indonesia, with Abigail Martin also making the podium to cap a remarkable 24 hours for the British team after Jake Jarman and Luke Whitehouse secured a British one-two in the men’s floor final on Friday.

The haul made Britain the leading nation in the world in the floor discipline and former World Championships medallist Beth Tweddle told BBC Sport: “It’s just incredible to see the journey that British gymnastics as a whole has been on.

“Coming from where we were 20 years ago to now – four out of the six floor medals at this championships have come home to Great Britain.”

Evans, 18, finished runner-up behind Japan’s Aiko Sugihara with a score of 13.666, while Martin came third in her first World Championships.

The 17-year-old’s mark of 13.466 was the same as Romanian gymnast Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, but she was awarded bronze because her execution score was higher.

TORONTO — Yes, blame the bullpen. Not gonna even try to persuade you otherwise.

But, for the Dodgers, the blame for the disaster that was Game 1 of the World Series should not all fall upon the bullpen.

A star-studded lineup that sputtered through the previous two rounds of the playoffs sputtered again here Friday, this time without the cover of outstanding starting pitching.

In their past nine games — the division series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the league championship series against the Milwaukee Brewers, and the World Series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays — the Dodgers are batting .219.

The Dodgers had seven hits in their NLCS opener, when Blake Snell threw eight shutout innings. He picked up the offense.

They had six hits in the World Series opener, when Snell gave up five runs in five-plus innings, and they could not pick him up.

The Blue Jays scored 11 runs. The Dodgers led the National League in runs during the regular season, but even then they have scored at least 11 runs just three times since the All-Star break. The Blue Jays have done it three times in this postseason alone.

“You can make it something if you want to make it something,” shortstop Mookie Betts said. “We’re more than capable of scoring 10, 11 in a game. It’s just hard to do in the postseason.

“Obviously, they just did it. They’ve been doing it the whole time, so it may not be hard for them. For us, we haven’t done it. But we’ll find out ways to win games.”

Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts reacts during an at-bat in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

They had better find it soon. The Blue Jays are averaging seven runs per game in the postseason. The Dodgers have not scored seven runs in any game in the NLDS, NLCS or World Series.

“You look back at the last couple of weeks, there’s some pivotal at-bats that can flip games,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “At times, I think that the offense looks great as far as building innings, but there’s some key at-bats that you got to win pitches and use the other side of the field, get a hit, take a walk, whatever it might be.

“I think that we can be better. We need to be better.”

The Dodgers had three hits in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position, which sounds pretty good until you realize all seven of those at-bats came in the second and third innings.

In the third inning, three of their final four batters hit with a runner in scoring position, and they scored once. But the second inning was worse: they had the bases loaded with one out for three successive batters, and again they scored once.

“We’ve got to cash in in that situation, especially against a team like that that’s swinging it really well,” Betts said. “I feel like that was a big point in the game that really changed things.

“That really changed the game.”

The Dodgers struck out 13 times, the Blue Jays four. The Jays ran their high-contact, low-strikeout offense to perfection Friday. The Dodgers led the NL in home runs this season, and they hit 50 more than Toronto, but they hit only one home run Friday: a two-run shot from Shohei Ohtani, with the team down by nine runs.

The Blue Jays’ starting pitcher for Game 2, Kevin Gausman, has a long memory. On Friday, he thought back to Oct. 14, 2021.

That was the day the Dodgers eliminated the 107-win San Francisco Giants in the NLDS. Gausman, working in relief, was the final pitcher for the Giants. Max Scherzer, also working in Toronto now, was the final pitcher for the Dodgers.

The final pitch of the game: a highly debated third strike to Wilmer Flores.

“I still think about the check swing on Wilmer Flores,” Gausman said. “I don’t think it was a swing, but, you know, that’s kind of water under the bridge.”

Four years later, Gausman hasn’t forgotten. Thing is, just because the Dodgers count on getting to the World Series every year does not mean they will. If the team with three Hall of Famers atop their lineup doesn’t get its bats rolling, the Dodgers might not forget this for years to come.

The NI squad she has returned to is markedly different to the one she was last included in a year and a half ago, given the influx of younger players.

That was necessitated by the retirements of Marissa Callaghan, Rachel Furness and Rachel Dugdale.

The only centurion in the current panel, McFadden knew her biggest selling point for getting back into the squad at this later stage of her career was the experience she has, and she hopes to pass on wisdom gained from over 20 years of playing to the younger generation.

“That is what I was saying when I was pleading my case to Tanya. I’ve always got that [experience], even if I’m not fit, I will always do the best for Northern Ireland and our group,” she added.

“I hope I’ve helped them this week, especially Abi Sweetlove. She’s at the start of her career, she’s unbelievable centre-half, she’s the future and hopefully I’ll be able to help her along because I have done it many a time and someone helped me along, so I want to help them.”

So, up next for McFadden and NI is building on a positive second-half display in Ballymena as they go to Reykjavik on Tuesday aiming to overturn the two-goal deficit.

The odds are against Oxtoby’s side given they failed to have a shot on target in the first leg, but McFadden still thinks they have an opportunity if they go there confident.

“We need a little bit more belief. We were able to get in their final third a bit more second half and with the belief, we have a chance.

“If we score early, they’re the big fish with the pressure on and hopefully we get a performance again.”

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Central League

Bernstein 28, Roybal 20

Contreras 55, Mendez 17

Hollywood 48, Belmont 0

Coliseum League

Dorsey 37, Washington 12

Crenshaw 6, King/Drew 2

Eastern League

Garfield 37, L.A. Roosevelt 30

Exposition League

Santee 61, Angelou 0

Marine League

Carson 50, Narbonne 0

San Pedro 49, Gardena 14

Metro League

Hawkins 38, Locke 6

Northern League

Eagle Rock 49, L.A. Wilson 7

Lincoln 35, L.A. Marshall 28

Southern League

Diego Rivera 33, West Adams 18

Valley Mission League

Granada Hills Kennedy 21, San Fernando 12

Sylmar 42, Reseda 0

Van Nuys 43, Panorama 36

West Valley League

Birmingham 23, Granada Hills 16

El Camino Real 45, Chatsworth 6

Taft 21, Cleveland 13

Western League

Fairfax 21, L.A. University 20

Palisades 46, LA Hamilton 30

Venice 21, Westchester 8

Nonleague

Fremont 30, Maywood CES 15

Los Angeles d. L.A. Jordan, forfeit

SOUTHERN SECTION

Almont League

Bell Gardens 43, Keppel 6

San Gabriel 27, Alhambra 20

Schurr 42, Montebello 7

Alpha League

San Clemente 28, Los Alamitos 9

Mission Viejo 37, Edison 20

Angelus League

Cathedral 28, St. Pius X-St. Matthias 14

Paraclete 42, St. Francis 35

St. Paul 41, Alemany 7

Baseline League

Chino Hills 27, Damien 19

Rancho Cucamonga 41, Etiwanda 7

Upland 37, Ayala 0

Bay League

Culver City 48, Lawndale 0

Leuzinger 27, Mira Costa 14

Palos Verdes 31. Inglewood 12

Big West Lower League

Corona Santiago 37, Corona 21

Great Oak 36, Temecula Valley 13

Murrieta Mesa 51, Riverside King 24

Big West Upper League

Vista Murrieta 42, Murrieta Valley 35

Bravo League

Corona del Mar 47, Tesoro 8

San Juan Hills 28, Villa Park 10

Yorba Linda 41, Newport Harbor 14

Channel League

Buena 28, Oxnard 26

Moorpark 42, Royal 6

Citrus Belt League

Beaumont 56, Citrus Valley 3

Cajon 67, Redlands 0

Redlands East Valley 43, Yucaipa 41

Conejo Coast League

Calabasas 42, Rio Mesa 14

Thousand Oaks 17, Newbury Park 7

Westlake 33, Santa Barbara 14

Cottonwood League

Silver Valley 36, Riverside Prep 33

Salesian 40, St. Anthony 0

Del Rio League

California 28, Santa Fe 23

La Serna 42, Whittier 8

Delta League

Trabuco Hills 28, Cypress 7

Desert Empire League

Palm Desert 35, Palm Springs 28

Desert Valley League

Coachella Valley 28, Twentynine Palms 0

Yucca Valley d. Indio, forfeit

Epsilon League

Crean Lutheran 31, Huntington Beach 28

Foothill 31, El Dorado 13

Foothill League

Golden Valley 43, West Ranch 28

Valencia 38, Hart 7

Foxtrot League

Aliso Niguel 17, Orange 10

Laguna Beach 49, Dana Hills 40

Gano League

Chaffey 63, Don Lugo 14

Rowland 44, Montclair 7

Gateway League

Downey 40, Warren 0

La Mirada 37, Paramount 16

Mayfair 42, Dominguez 18

Golden League

Knight 26, Littlerock 14

Palmdale 48, Eastside 10

Quartz Hill 41, Antelope Valley 7

Hacienda League

Chino 29, South Hills 22

Los Altos 49, Diamond Bar 35

Inland Valley League

Heritage 35, Citrus Hill 34

Perris 33, Canyon Springs 7

Iota League

Troy 21, Irvine 20

Ironwood League

Aquinas 46, Capistrano Valley Christian 7

Cerritos Valley Christian 35, Heritage Christian 25

Village Christian 62, Ontario Christian 14

Ivy League

Liberty 21, Rancho Verde 19

Orange Vista 52, Riverside North 14

Vista del Lago 55, Paloma Valley 54

Kappa League

Esperanza 27, Westminster 21

Segerstrom 14, Brea Olinda 7

Marina 14, La Palma Kennedy 7

Manzanita League

Anza Hamilton 31, California Military Institute 14

Vasquez 64, Desert Chapel 14

Marmonte League

Bishop Diego 35, St. Bonaventure 27

Oaks Christian 42, Camarillo 6

Oxnard Pacifica 42, Simi Valley 20

Mission League

Chaminade 52, Loyola 0

Gardena Serra 35, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 16

Sierra Canyon 40, Bishop Amat 0

Mission Valley League

El Monte 38, South El Monte 21

Gabrielino 61, Pasadena Marshall 0

Rosemead 21, Arroyo 13

Mojave River League

Hesperia 33, Sultana 28

Mountain Pass League

San Jacinto 63, West Valley 0

Mountain Valley League

Miller 14, Pacific 13

West Torrance 35, Compton Centennial 6

Pacific League

Burbank d. Glendale, forfeit

Pasadena 49, Arcadia 14

Pioneer League

North Torrance 48, South Torrance 14

Redondo Union 40, Peninsula 21

Torrance 49, Santa Monica 14

Rio Hondo League

Monrovia 35, San Marino 7

South Pasadena 48, Temple City 6

San Andreas League

Colton 56, Rim of the World 49

Kaiser 28, San Gorgonio 21

Skyline League

Arroyo Valley 38, Fontana 19

Bloomington 50, Riverside Notre Dame 18

Rialto 7, Carter 6

Sun Valley League

Banning 37, Cathedral City 6

Desert Hot Springs 35, Desert Mirage 20

Sunbelt League

Rancho Christian 7, Hillcrest 0

Riverside Poly 28, Valley View 10

Tango League

Loara 28, Garden Grove Santiago 27

Tri-County League

Agoura 25, San Marcos 6

Fillmore 24, Dos Pueblos 17

Santa Paula 27, Hueneme 16

Trinity League

Mater Dei 40, JSerra 7

Santa Margarita 28, Orange Lutheran 7

St. John Bosco 42, Servite 0

Valle Vista League

Alta Loma 21, Northview 20

Zeta League

Saddleback 42, Century 6

Nonleague

El Segundo 35, El Rancho 18

Desert Christian Academy 30, Viewpoint 6

INTERSECTIONAL

Rancho Dominguez 42, Verbum Dei 20

St. Monica 55, Franklin 21

8-MAN

SOUTHERN SECTION

Majestic League

Cornerstone Christian 43, Highland Entrepreneur 0

Tri-Valley League

Sage Hill 42, Cate 16

INTERSECTIONAL

Fresno Christian 84, Hesperia Christian 28

CSDR 70, Model School for the Deaf (Washington D.C.) 24

Former world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker says he is “focused and prepared” before Saturday’s fight against Fabio Wardley, who hopes to rely on his punching power to get through their bout at London’s O2 Arena.

READ MORE: ‘I watched Parker from the pub, now I’m fighting him’

Listen to Joseph Parker v Fabio Wardley on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website & app on Saturday, 25 October.

TORONTO — The Dodgers played 162 games in 193 days during the regular season. Then they played 10 more times in 18 days in the first three rounds of the playoffs.

It was a grind that gave way to a routine as comfortable as an old shoe.

That routine was upended when the Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, giving them a week off before the start of the World Series, the team’s longest break since February. And the Dodgers looked anything but rested and refreshed in Friday’s 11-4 shellacking by the Toronto Blue Jays, which left them trailing a postseason series for the first time since last fall’s NLDS.

“I’m pretty sure the guys kind of felt the velocity a little bit more,” said Miguel Rojas, one of just a handful of Dodgers who spoke to the media after the loss. “But there’s nothing that we can do. That’s not going to be an excuse for us to underperform.”

It may not be an excuse. But it could be an omen.

This World Series is the fifth in which a team that swept its best-of-seven LCS, as the Dodgers did, faced a team that needed to go seven games to win its series, as Toronto did. The team that swept and got the break lost each of the four previous World Series, winning just two of 18 games.

Dodger manager Dave Roberts dismissed that history Friday.

“I really don’t think the week layoff had anything to do with tonight,” he said. “We were rested. I thought we were in a good spot. We had a 2-0 lead. So I don’t think that had anything to do with it.”

Blake Snell, the pitcher who gave up that lead, brushed off the break as well.

“There’s no excuses. I need to be better,” said Snell, who went 10 days between starts, his longest break since coming off the injured list in August. “I don’t care if it’s a month off. Find a way to be ready.”

He wasn’t against the Blue Jays. After averaging 16 pitches an inning in 14 previous starts, he needed 29 to get through the first inning Friday. And after giving up two runs and six hits in 21 innings this postseason, he gave up five runs and eight hits in just five-plus innings in Toronto, with two of those runs coming on Dalton Varsho’s fourth-inning home run, the only homer Snell has conceded to a left-handed hitter this year.

Emmet Sheehan, who followed Snell to the mound, hadn’t pitched in two weeks. He had his worst outing of the year, facing four batters and watching three of them score.

“I felt good going into the game. I felt the same as I have been,” he said. “I thought I made some good pitches, and they made some really good swings.

“It’s not a good feeling.”

A prolonged break can affect pitchers more than hitters because after throwing with a slightly fatigued arm all season, they suddenly feel fresh and strong and their pitches lose some of their movement.

“You don’t want to feel too good. You feel too good, you try to throw too hard because you feel good. And it doesn’t go where you want it,” said Will Klein, who mopped up for the Dodgers, pitching a scoreless eighth inning. “[The ball] doesn’t go where you want it to because you’re used to pitching a little down, like 90 or 95%. You’re never really at 100.

‘There’s such a thing [as] too fresh.”

Klein’s last appearance in a big-league game was a month ago; since then he’s been working out at the Dodgers’ facility in Arizona. He said the team tried to keep the rest of their pitchers in their familiar routine with bullpen sessions or simulated games, but it’s not the same as throwing in high-leverage situations against opposing hitters in a World Series game before 44,353 fans, as Snell, Sheehan and Klein had to do Friday.

And the history shows the Dodgers aren’t the first team who have been broken by the break.

But they had less than 24 hours to wait for Game 2, which means they’re back into the comfortable — if exhausting — routine that got them to the World Series in the first place.

“There’s another one tomorrow,” Klein said. “We can’t go and unlose today, as much as we’d like to. Thinking about today isn’t going to help you win tomorrow.”

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Ouch, Canada.

The World Series wasn’t supposed to start like this. The Dodgers weren’t supposed to begin their inevitable championship march like this.

Even playing in their raucous Rogers Centre north of the border in the opener Friday, the cute little Toronto Blue Jays were supposed to be a far inferior team, eh?

Uhhhh…

For baseball’s burgeoning dynasty, there suddenly looms disaster. For the dominating Dodgers, this is now a World Serious.

The Blue Jays didn’t just win Game 1, they hammered the Dodgers into a maple-leafy pulp, 11-4, battering their ace and bruising their ego and sending a message.

It was delivered in the ninth inning, when the fans rained a chant down on Shohei Ohtani, who spurned the Blue Jays in his free agent sweepstakes two years ago and whose two-run homer meant nothing Friday night.

“We don’t need you… we don’t need you.”

When the game ended shortly and mercifully thereafter, another unspoken message had been sent.

You know where you can stick your broom…

Truly, the only thing getting swept in this series is the Dodgers’ aura of invincibility, as the Blue Jays did exactly what they needed to do by hitting them precisely where it hurts.

Welcome to the postseason, Dodger bullpen.

Now get lost.

Wearing down ace Blake Snell for 29 pitches in the first inning and 100 pitches by the sixth, the pesky Blue Jays hitter loaded the bases with none out when Snell left the game for the maligned and recently ignored Dodger relievers.

Rather predictably, all Hortons broke loose.

Emmet Sheehan lasted four hitters and allowed three baserunners. Ernie Clement singled in a run, Nathan Lukes walked to force in a run and Andrés Giménez singled in a run, and have you ever heard of any of those guys?

Enter Anthony Banda, and exit an Addison Barger fly ball into the right-field stands for the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. Add an ensuing single by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a home run from Alejandro Kirk and you pretty much get the picture.

The Dodgers gave up nine runs in the sixth inning, more than twice as many runs as they gave up in the entire four-game National League Championship Series win against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Worse yet, they allowed, for the first time this postseason, some doubt.

Did the seven days off since the NLCS sweep ruin their timing as brief October vacations have done to Dodger teams in the past? After all, this is the fifth time in World Series history a team coming off a sweep played a team that was stretched to seven games, and in the previous four times, the team that was stretched won the series.

The Dodgers will roll out another ace, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in Game 2 Saturday. He pitched a complete game in his last start, so maybe there’s no cause to worry.

Or maybe the Blue Jays just gave them 11 good reasons to worry.

After all, Toronto began the game as a heavy underdog, and for three good reasons, but none of their fears were realized.

They were starting Trey Yesavage, a rookie pitcher who began the season in the Class-A Florida State League pitching for the Dunedin Blue Jays in front of 328 fans against the Jupiter Hammerheads. The 22-year-old was the second-youngest starting pitcher in World Series opener history. He had made just six total major-league starts, and just last week was shelled for five runs in four innings by the Seattle Mariners in the ALCS.

”I don’t want to be out there on the mound thinking too much because for me, I’m at best when I’m just black dead out there and not thinking at all,” he said before the game.

He indeed seemed clueless, but he survived three walks and four hits in four innings by yielding just two runs.

Second, the Jays were starting Bo Bichette at second base even though he had not played the position in six years and never in the major league. The team’s standout shortstop, had also not played anywhere in 47 days since he was sidelined with a sprained knee.

“Yeah, it’s crazy,” said Bichette.

You know what’s crazier? He singled, walked, turned a double play, and made a great stop-and-throw on a grounder before being removed for a pinch-runner in the sixth

Third, the Blue Jays were also starting an outfield trio known only to family and close friends. Kudos to all those who had Myles Straw, Daulton Varsho and Davis Schneider on your bingo card.

Varsho homered. Enough said.

“I think that there’s a lot of firsts for a lot of these guys… I think that players are going to feel certain things that they haven’t felt before,” said Jays manager John Schneider beforehand.

Afterward, that applied to the suddenly shaken Dodgers.

When Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts was asked Friday afternoon about the pressure his team felt, he said, “None. None whatsoever.”

Check that.

West Ham’s miserable Premier League campaign continued with a defeat at Leeds on Friday which ensured their worst start to a season for 52 years.

The result was their third consecuitve defeat under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo, who remains winless since replacing Graham Potter in September.

The Hammers, who sit 19th in the table, have recorded just one win this season and ironically it arrived against Nottingham Forest, when Nuno was in charge at the City Ground.

A dismal return of just four points in total represents West Ham’s joint-worst at this stage of a league campaign, with the club replicating that tally in the second tier in 1932-33 and 1973-74, when they finished bottom.

Having been appointed with the task of making sure West Ham don’t suffer a relegation that would leave them outside the top flight for the first time since 2011-12, Nuno, who took a point in his first match against Everton, is struggling to find answers.

“There is many problems in our club unfortunately. It is not up to us to hide ourselves behind the problems. Everyone has to be alive and to do much more and be in the right position,” said the Portuguese.

“We were not dealing with our defensive situations and I felt like we needed a striker to hold the ball, so maybe that’s not the greatest from me.

“These kind of mistakes are unacceptable in the Premier League.”

Nuno, also the first West Ham boss to fail to record a win from any of his first four Premier League games since Manuel Pellegrini in September 2018, added: “There is quality there, there is time, but nothing will happen if we don’t change.

“We must change our attitude, we must change the way we approach things, we must commit ourselves better, prepare better, work harder.

“All the things – that is the reality. We don’t expect things to change by themselves. Realising we have time can be a mistake if we don’t change things around quickly.”

The Shohei-inspired sushi roll, available only during games, features spicy tuna inside — representing Ohtani’s Japanese heritage — and avocado on top, representing California. “That’s the whole idea: the mixing of the cultures,” said owner Don Tahara. Other World Series specials — available all day, even when the game’s not on — include chili cheese fries, cocktail specials and Canadian poutine in a nod to the Blue Jays.

Lando Norris said McLaren were “already a little bit behind” after Friday practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri are under pressure from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after a strong run of races for the Dutchman – and the four-time champion topped Friday practice at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Verstappen, 40 points off championship leader Piastri after a run of three wins and a second place in the past four races, set the pace, leading Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.153 seconds.

Norris was fourth fastest, while Piastri, 14 points ahead of the Briton, was down in 12th.

Norris, one of nine drivers to miss the first session while handing his car over to a rookie, said: “We’re in a reasonable place, for sure.

“I got up to speed quite quickly, I was quite surprised. I found the limit quickly… but I found the limit quite quickly, which is just holding us back a bit.

“Not that it was a bad day, but normally we’re very good on a Friday and then everyone catches up on Saturday.

“We are already a little bit behind so we have definitely some work to do tonight. The balance is a bit all over the place, same as the last few weeks. Single-lap stuff we’re struggling a bit at the minute.”

However, although Verstappen was quickest overall, he was also dissatisfied with his day, saying he was struggling for pace on the race-simulation runs later in the session.

“The short run on the soft (tyre) we managed to do a good lap,” said Verstappen, who has a new floor fitted to his Red Bull as the team chase every last bit of performance. “The rest, everything else was pretty bad.

“On the medium [tyre], the short run was not great and the big problem was the long run, where we seemed to struggle a lot. That is a big concern for the race.

“The balance wasn’t even off. There was just no grip. That is the bigger concern. So, as soon as you go into a sustainable run, the tyres are going hot, we were nowhere, so that is a tough one to sort out, but we’ll see.”

When it was pointed out to him that his consolation was that single-lap pace should put him in a good position for qualifying, Verstappen shot back: “Yeah, but you are not going to win the race like that.

“You can be fast over one lap and if you have zero pace in the race then it is going to be very tough. I prefer to be fast in the race and not so fast over one lap.”

Though the Dodgers are forever embedded in baseball history, some parents are making extra certain they also prevail in the future — by naming their children after the Boys in Blue.

“Bout 250 Mexican kids in 10 years gonna have to explain why they named Shohei Rodriguez,” one viral post on X quipped after Shohei Ohtani hit three home runs, pitched six shutout innings and struck out 10 Brewers in the NLCS-clinching game. The prediction may not be so far off: Nameberry, the world’s largest baby naming site, saw a 1,000% increase in searches on the name Shohei just this week.

From Shohei Ohtani to Clayton Kershaw to Freddie Freeman — all have inspired namesakes. And who knows? With the Dodgers on the verge of etching their legacy with a possible third title in six years, this baby boom of sorts may be in its infancy. Here, parents share their kids’ Dodgers-inspired names — and the stories behind them.

Freddie Berglund

Named after Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman

Freddie Freeman’s legendary walk-off grand slam for the Dodgers in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series was so powerful it prompted this fellow to make his debut into the world a couple of weeks early.

“After [Freeman] hit the grand slam, we probably had, like, a few minutes of celebration, and then my water broke,” said Jessica Berglund, Freddie’s mother

Freddie, legally named Frederick, was born after the legendary moment that helped the Dodgers to a 6-3 win over the New York Yankees.

Jessica and Erik Berglund, who live in Orange just around where Freeman grew up, are star-crossed lovers in MLB terms, with Jessica bleeding Dodgers blue and Erik cheering on the Angels. But the meaning behind Freddie’s name extends beyond field and rivalry.

“We really look up to Freddie [Freeman] as a person, not only as a baseball player,” Jessica said. “So it’s not only the love of the game and the team. It’s really the love for Freddie as a person.”

Baby Freddie turns 1 on Sunday, and at his baseball-themed birthday party he will be the family’s rookie of the year.

Alita Hyenee Yang

Named after Shohei Ohtani

At eight months pregnant, Emma Chiu couldn’t wait till the end of their infancy CPR class to let her husband, Daniel Yang, know that Shohei Ohtani was going to sign with the Dodgers. As soon as she shoved the phone on his face, Yang’s excitement overtook his emotions and he completely forgot he was in a class.

The couple, who live in San Diego, had been following the career of Ohtani since he played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the Japanese professional baseball league. When he signed with the Angels in 2018, Yang, an L.A. native, begrudgingly went to the games with his wife just to catch their favorite player on the diamond.

On the drive from the CPR class, they toyed with the idea of giving their soon-to-be-born daughter a middle named inspired by one of they Boys in Blue, while also honoring their cultural background of Korean and Taiwanese. What they did was take the last syllables of Ohtani’s first and last name to create Hyenee (pronounced Hey-Nee), which they used for their daughter’s middle name.

The name seemed to be a perfect fit. “This is like fate,” Yang said.

Jack

Named after Jackie Robinson

Growing up as a Dodgers fan in Modesto, an area typically designated for the San Francisco Giants, had its tough moments for Ryan C.

“I’ve had a couple of sodas chucked at me walking through parking lots because of my Dodgers gear,” he said.

Yet, when it came time to name his son, he knew he wanted to pay tribute to the team he grew up cheering for. At first, he leaned toward Clayton Kershaw, the left-handed two-time World Series champion pitcher, but decided against it after he read a Reddit post on the risks of naming a child after a living person. (“You don’t know where they’re going to go in their life,” Ryan explained.)

So instead, he decided to name his son Jack after Jackie Robinson. Any time Ryan starts to tell his NorCal friends the story of the Dodgers-inspired name, he hears groans. But the attitude changes as soon as they hear the name pays tribute to Robinson, the Hall of Famer who broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947.

Of Robinson, Ryan said, “Fundamentally, he’s always going to be a ballplayer, the most important ballplayer, the one whose number is universally retired. And the only one, in my opinion, whose number should ever be permanently retired in that way.”

Clayton Wasser

Named after Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw may be retiring, but his name lives on in history — and through 9-year-old Clayton Wasser.

The kid comes from “a big Kershaw house,” according to Clayton’s father, Jeremy, and they’ll all be cheering as the Dodgers take on the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series at the end of Kershaw’s final season.

Jeremy and his wife, Michelle, have long been in awe of Kershaw’s character and success, both on and off the field.

“He’s so impressive as an individual,” Jeremy said. “I mean, his achievements on the field speak for themselves. But then, you know, we’ve also followed his, his philanthropic career … and he’s always represented the city and the team with class and dignity.”

Clayton Wasser, whose older brother Harrison plays baseball, has taken more of a liking to playing soccer, but would still ask, “Am I pitching tonight?” on Dodgers game days, says his father.

Francesca Mookie Mancuso

Named after Mookie Betts

Sometimes a home run can be more than just a statistic. In the case of Giuseppe Mancuso, a dinger by Mookie Betts literally named his daughter.

In 2023, Mancuso started a conversation with Betts while he was on deck. It was the first time they ever exchanged words but the man from the stands promised the infielder he’d name his daughter Mookie if he hit a homer.

“I turned around and told him, ‘No, don’t do that, man,’” Betts said in his telling of the story in an X post. “Your wife wouldn’t like that.”

During his plate appearance against the then-Oakland A’s pitcher Hogan Harris, Betts turned on a pitch to hit a 436-foot home run. At the time, the long ball was his farthest hit as a Dodgers. After rounding the bases, Betts fist-bumped Mancuso, and that was that.

Weeks later, Betts came across a tweet that read: “Hey @Dodgers @mookiebetts @SportsNetLA a bet is a bet. Meet Francesca Mookie Mancuso” with a picture of the newborn and her birth certificate.

“Shout out to you, Giuseppe, I can’t wait to meet Francesca,” Betts said in his video.

Talk about taking a long shot.

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CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS

(Matches at 12:30 p.m. unless noted)

MONDAY’S SCHEDULE

First Round

DIVISION I
#1 LA Marshall, bye
#9 Cleveland at #8 Wilmington Banning
#12 LACES at #5 GALA
#4 Eagle Rock, bye
#3 North Hollywood, bye
#11 SOCES at #6 Van Nuys
#10 Taft at #7 San Pedro
#2 Chatsworth, bye

DIVISION II
#16 Fairfax at #1 Granada Hills Kennedy
#9 LA University at #8 New West
#12 Sylmar at #5 Franklin
#13 Verdugo Hills at #3 Bell
#14 LA Wilson at #3 Gardena
#11 Jefferson at #6 Downtown Magnet
#10 Legacy at #7 Grant
#15 Sun Valley Poly at #2 Carson

TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE

Semifinals

OPEN DIVISION
#4 El Camino Real at #1 Palisades
#3 Venice at #2 Granada Hills

Note: Division I-II Quarterfinals Oct. 29 at higher seeds; Open Division Finals Oct. 30 at 11 a.m. at Balboa Sports Center; Division I-II Semifinals Nov. 3 at higher seeds; Division II Finals Nov. 5 at 11 a.m. at Balboa Sports Center; Division I Finals Nov. 6 at 11 a.m. at Balboa Sports Center

Northampton Saints: Hendy, Freeman, Hutchinson, Dingwall (c), Todaro, Smith, Mitchell; Fischetti, Smith, Davison, Lockett, Van Der Mescht, Coles, Pearson, Pollock

Replacements: Wright, Iyogun, Green, Prowse, Chick, McParland, Belleau, Litchfield

Yellow card: Pearson (40)

Saracens: Malins, Caluori, Tompkins, Farrell, Bracken, Burke, Bracken; Mawi, Dan, Riccioni, Itoje, Tizard, Gonzalez, Onyeama-Christie, Willis

Replacements: Hadfield, Carre, Street, Isiekwe, McFarland, Earl, Simpson, Hall

Yellow card: Riccioni (54)

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe