Ireland’s 40-29 win in Chicago nine years ago was one of the apogees in the team’s history, while the intensity and stakes of the World Cup quarter-final extracted herculean efforts from both sides in what is widely considered the rivalry’s apex.
But Saturday’s entry did not resemble either of those games.
Neither team reached anywhere near their maximum, and with a raft of protracted stoppages for tackle reviews and injuries, it failed to deliver an interest-generating spectacle in a country which is hosting the World Cup in six years.
Ultimately, New Zealand will not care. For them, a long-awaited fifth Grand Slam of the northern hemisphere remains in play after a second-half surge that yielded three tries in 15 minutes.
Ireland, however, have much to stew on.
Last year, they opened their autumn campaign with a loss to the All Blacks. Their performance in Dublin that night was one of the flattest of the Farrell era and they were not much better here.
There were, at least, some positives. They responded strongly to Tadhg Beirne’s highly controversial early red card to lead 10-0 thanks to a Jack Crowley penalty and Tadhg Furlong’s first try since 2021.
Elsewhere, Stuart McCloskey, a surprise inclusion at inside centre, shone in his first appearance against the All Blacks before being forced off injured, while Ryan Baird staked his claim to be a regular fixture in the back row.
But while they led for 57 minutes, Ireland never seemed fully in control. Having lost a tenacious operator in Beirne, they were bested at the breakdown and missed crucial tackles, while a creaky lineout blunted their ability to create opportunities and ramp up scoreboard pressure.
After taking his normal round of infield grounders during the Dodgers’ off-day workout Sunday, Kiké Hernández jogged to center field and spent a noticeable amount of time fielding fly balls there.
After using the same nine players in their starting lineup in six straight games since the start of the National League Championship Series, the Dodgers have been considering a change for Monday — one that could drop struggling second-year slugger Andy Pages to the bench.
While the Dodgers’ overall offense has been inconsistent this postseason, Pages has endured the most glaring slump. He has collected just four hits in 43 at-bats, registering a .093 average. He has 11 strikeouts, no walks, and only one extra-base knock, providing little pop or spark from the No. 9 spot.
Manager Dave Roberts acknowledged before Game 2 that he was mulling whether to keep Pages in the lineup. And though the 24-year-old outfielder, who had 27 home runs and 86 RBIs in the regular season, had a hit and run scored on Saturday, Roberts reiterated Sunday that making a move with Pages was “still on the table” and “front of mind.”
“Just trying to figure out where he’s at mentally, physically,” Roberts said. “The performance hasn’t been there. So thinking of other options, yeah.”
One reason the Dodgers have stuck with Pages is because of their limited defensive alternatives — including, first and foremost, utilityman Tommy Edman being restricted to only second base this October because of a lingering ankle injury.
Edman, who split time last postseason between center field and shortstop, did say this weekend that his ankle was feeling better (even though he didn’t close the door on potentially needing surgery this offseason). But Roberts noted that Edman “hasn’t taken a fly ball out there in a month,” casting continued doubt over his ability to play anywhere else.
Without Edman, Hernández is the only other true center-field option for the Dodgers to use in their starting lineup, having also played there during the team’s World Series run last year. This postseason, Hernández has been a fixture in left (while also mixing in at third base). But if he were to slide to center field for Game 3, it could open left field for someone like Alex Call.
Call, a trade deadline acquisition who was a part-time player down the stretch in the regular season, does not represent as much of a power threat as Pages, but is a better contact hitter with more on-base ability.
Of course, the Dodgers’ offensive inconsistencies have gone beyond Pages.
They have not topped five runs in a game since the wild-card round. They have hit just .216 as a team since the start of the division series. Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman are still batting under .225 in the playoffs. Mookie Betts is batting .136 since the start of the NLCS.
During their Game 2 win, Roberts felt the club missed a lot of hittable pitches against Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman, before Will Smith and Max Muncy finally broke through with home runs in the seventh.
That, Roberts felt, was a sign his lineup was “a little bit in between” in its approach, squandering opportunities to do damage against fastballs over the plate while also trying to protect against breaking stuff out of the zone.
“They have made good pitches, but we have missed pitches as well,” Roberts said. “I do think that coming home, I feel that we’re back into a little bit of a rhythm offensively.”
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said Horner had “approached” the US-based team but added: “Nothing has gone any further. It is finished.”
Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen said the French team’s executive adviser and de facto boss Flavio Briatore was “old friends” with Horner.
Nielsen added: “I don’t know what they talk about. Everything I know is there are no plans for Christian to come to Alpine but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”
Williams team principal James Vowles said Horner had not approached them.
“We’re very happy with the structure we have and it’s working,” Vowles said. “I don’t see any reason to change from that.”
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid told reporters not to “make too much” of the sideline spat between him and star tight end Travis Kelce during the second quarter of the team’s 22-9 win over the New York Giants on “Sunday Night Football.”
NBC’s cameras caught the two men yelling at each other, with Reid at one point appearing to intentionally give Kelce’s shoulder a hard bump with his own shoulder. The Chiefs were up 6-0 at the time, but the offense had just failed to capitalize on a Giants turnover.
Going into halftime, as the confrontation with Kelce played on viewers’ screens, NBC’s Melissa Stark asked Reid what his message was to the team after seeing “a lot of frustration and emotion from your key players, star players on the sideline.”
“That’s OK, we need some juice,” said Reid, whose team had entered the game 0-2. “So that’s good.”
During his postgame news conference, Reid was asked what he had been trying to get across to Kelce during the exchange.
“I love Travis’ passion, and so I’m OK with that. We didn’t have enough of it,” Reid said. “That second quarter wasn’t where we needed to be. So within reason, you know, he knows — he knows when to back off the pedal, and knows when to push it too. So that’s part I love about him, the guy’s all in. Just sometimes I have to be the policeman.”
Reid added: “Listen, he’s an emotional guy. He’s Irish.”
Asked if the exchange was him telling Kelce to back off a bit, Reid answered: “Don’t make too much of it. He’s a passionate guy, and I love that part. So I’ve been through a lot of things with him, so that’s all part of it. I love that he loves to play the game. That’s what I love. And it’s an emotional game. So I’ll take it.”
Kelce wasn’t made available to speak to reporters after the game.
It’s not the first time the two men made contact during a sideline dispute. Early in the second quarter of Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 12, 2024, Kelce was seen yelling in his coach’s face, grabbing his arm and bumping into him, which appeared to cause Reid to stumble a bit.
After the Chiefs’ 25-22 overtime win in that game, Reid brushed off the incident, telling CBS that Kelce had hugged him and apologized after the incident.
“There’s nobody that I get better than I get him,” said Reid, who was 65 at the time. “He’s a competitive kid and he loves to play.”
“It’s definitely unacceptable,” he said, “and I immediately wished I could take it back.”
On the same podcast, Kelce said: “Unfortunately, sometimes my passion comes out where it looks like it’s negativity, but I’m grateful that [Reid] knows that it’s all because I wanna win this thing with him more than anything.”
The Chiefs hadn’t started 0-2 since 2014, which was Kelce’s first year as a starter and Reid’s second as the team’s coach. The team has since played in five Super Bowls and won three.
This season is off to a slow start also for Kelce, a 10-time Pro Bowl selection. He has 10 catches in 17 targets for 134 yards and one touchdown. During the Chiefs’ 20-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2, a pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes bounced out of Kelce’s arms at the goal line and resulted in a game-changing interception by the Eagles’ Patrick Mukuba.
Also during the Philadelphia game, Kelce appeared to point to his crotch as part of a crude gesture aimed toward the opposing sideline after making a 23-yard reception. He was later fined $14,491 by the NFL for unsportsmanlike conduct.
NEW YORK — If Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear vaults into national prominence as a Democratic leader, he may one day look back at Thursday as a key step in that direction.
SiriusXM announced that it was giving Beshear’s new podcast a national platform starting this month, along with featuring him in a regular call-in show on its Progress network.
President Trump’s appearances on podcasts were a pivotal media strategy in his successful 2024 Republican campaign. Moving forward, mastering a personal podcast could replace soft-focus biographies or wonky books as a way for politicians to increase their profiles.
Beshear said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” this summer that he will “take a look” at running for president in 2028. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, also in the circle of potential presidential nominees, started his own podcast earlier this year.
Speaking to the anxiety of Americans
In an interview, Beshear said a motivating factor in his own podcast was people who have come up to him, especially during the Trump administration, to talk about their anxieties.
“That’s how Americans feel,” he said. “They feel like the news hits them minute after minute after minute. And it can feel like chaos. It can feel like the world is out of control. With this podcast, we’re trying to help Americans process what we’re going through.”
He’s already done nearly two dozen podcasts, with his audience heavily weighted toward Kentucky residents. His guests have included some potential Democratic presidential rivals, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Entrepreneur Mark Cuban, former Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari and Kentucky-born actor and comic Steve Zahn have also appeared.
Beshear, the son of a former governor who’s been leading Kentucky since 2019, talks issues himself. Two of his friends, a Republican and a Democrat, are regular guests, and his 16-year-old son helps Dad navigate some youthful lingo.
Newsom attracted attention — some of it negative among Democrats — for interviewing conservative guests Steve Bannon, Michael Savage and Charlie Kirk on his podcast.
“I did disagree with him on certain guests because I don’t like to give oxygen to hate,” Beshear said. “But Gavin is out there really working to communicate with the American people, and he deserves to be commended for it.”
Newsom’s podcast started slowly in the marketplace but has caught fire in recent weeks, his regular audiences jumping from the tens of thousands to the hundreds of thousands, said Paul Riismandel, president of Signal Hill Insights, an audio-focused market research company.
The California governor’s increased visibility, particularly on social media, is likely a factor in the growing popularity of the podcast, Riismandel said. But it’s also a function of how podcasts often catch on: Many tend to be slow burns as audiences discover them, he said.
Learning to master the format of podcasts
Whether ambitious politicians start their own podcasts or not, they’re going to have to be familiar going forward with what makes people successful in the format.
“With a podcast, the audience expects a more unfiltered, authentic kind of conversation and presentation,” Riismandel said. If politicians come across as too controlled, looking for the sort of soundbites that will be broken out in a television appearance, it’s not likely to work, he said. They have to be willing to open up.
“That is something that is probably new for a lot of politicians,” he said, “and new for their handlers.”
Beshear’s first podcast for SiriusXM will feature an interview with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), conducted in the company’s New York studio and debuting Sept. 10. The Progress network will air Beshear’s podcasts regularly on Saturdays at 11 a.m. Eastern.
The first live call-in show will be next Tuesday at noon, with Beshear joined by Progress host John Fugelsang.
Beshear stressed that his work for SiriusXM is “not just aimed at a Democratic audience.”
“We’re aiming,” he said, “at an American audience.”
With his starting place no longer assured, left-back Robertson had chosen to stay on at Anfield before Jota’s death and explained he felt a strong responsibility to help others as an experienced member of the squad.
“It’s the toughest thing we’ll ever go through,” he added. “Losing one of your closest mates for me was hugely difficult and it’s something we’ll probably never get over but it’s just something that we have to carry with us.
“We have to carry the memories we’ve got with us and as long as we continue to do that, then it’ll always be in our thoughts. He will always be in our hearts.
“It didn’t influence my decision. The decision was already made before the tragedy but I knew in that moment that the club needed me.
“I know I am one of the leaders in the team and I have obviously been made vice-captain now.
“It’s going to take a lot this season. I know football was irrelevant but if you take the football out of it, even as lads in the changing room, we are all going to need help during the season.
“We’ve already had difficult moments in terms of the first time in front of fans, having to go to your team-mate’s funeral which is absolute madness to even say, and everything else that followed.
“I know the leaders in that changing room have got a big job to do in terms of trying to help everyone as a club and even Diogo’s family through this massively difficult moment.
“It won’t get easier but maybe we can numb the pain a little bit as time goes on. It’s up to as leaders to try and guide us guide us through that.”
SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Turns out, the marquee matchup Friday night between the Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs isn’t just a season-opening showdown between two premier quarterbacks and legitimate Super Bowl hopefuls.
It’s also a family feud — minus the bad blood.
Devin Woodhouse, head strength and conditioning coach for the Chargers, is the son-in-law of Chiefs coach Andy Reid, an under-the-radar connection that further hems these AFC West rivals.
“In our first game last year, I was a little anxious playing them,” Woodhouse told The Times. “It felt weird rooting against him at times.”
Reid understands, and he loves the fact that before bringing Woodhouse with him from the University of Michigan, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh called his Kansas City counterpart and asked him if that would be OK.
“I said, ‘Heck, yeah, I’m honored that he’s got an opportunity to work for you,’” Reid said. “I got the biggest kick out of that, that Jim would even think of that. … What a class act.”
Chargers strength and conditioning coach Devin Woodhouse instructs players during practice at The Bolt in El Segundo on Dec. 13, 2024.
(Los Angeles Chargers)
Woodhouse, modest and focused on his Chargers responsibilities, was initially reluctant to sit down for an interview. But Harbaugh and Reid nudged him to talk, as did his direct boss, Ben Herbert, executive director of player performance.
“I don’t want to dim that light on him,” Herbert said. “I want that light brighter.”
Woodhouse, 34, who grew up in Rancho Cucamonga, met his future wife, Drew Ann Reid, when they were members of the same ward of their church in Provo, Utah. They had mutual friends, an instant connection and were married in 2013.
The couple was further bonded by tragedy. Drew Ann’s older brother, Garrett, who struggled with drug abuse for years, died in 2012. The twin brother of Woodhouse, Chaz, who was confined to a wheelchair with cerebral palsy, died a year later.
“As our relationship was growing, her brother passed away,” Woodhouse said. “We grew even closer together.”
The two now have four children, two boys and two girls, all of whom refer to Reid as “Gramps.” Woodhouse doesn’t call his father-in-law anything but “Coach.”
“I would say he’s a better man than he is a coach, and he’s a pretty dang good coach,” Woodhouse said. “And [mother-in-law] Tammy is the head coach of the head coach, so that’s how good they both are. I just love them, and not just the people they are for my wife, but for my kids and their grandkids.
“One of the things I love most about Coach Reid is how much I feel people love to play for him. It’s a cool thing to witness and I respect it a lot.”
Woodhouse feels the same way about Harbaugh, for whom he and Herbert worked at the University of Michigan.
“Ben Herbert found Dev,” Harbaugh said. “When Herb recommends somebody, I already know it’s going to be good. He doesn’t bring in anybody who doesn’t have a tremendous work ethic. Devin came in, and Herb was right.”
Herbert is meticulous down to the smallest detail. For instance, each dumbbell at the Chargers facility is emblazoned with the club’s lightning-bolt logo. Not only is that wall of weights always precisely arranged, but every lightning bolt is arched in an identical way. To ensure there’s never a speck of dust on the floor, Herbert and his crew use electric leaf blowers each day to clean the massive space.
Helping oversee the physical well-being of so many elite athletes is a challenging assignment, particularly for a franchise that has an unfortunate history of losing key players to injuries — as the Chargers did in August with left tackle Rashawn Slater, who sustained a season-ending knee injury.
Chargers strength and conditioning coach Devin Woodhouse helps quarterback Justin Herbert with his jersey during training camp in El Segundo on July 21, 2025.
(Ty Nowell / Los Angeles Chargers)
The way Harbaugh sees it, no one is better equipped to train an NFL team than Herbert.
“We are the tip of the spear,” said Herbert, who is not related to Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. “Our job is to impact the mental and physical capability of the players. The physical part is much easier. The mental part — emotional stability, consistency — that’s the separator. And trust is everything.”
Woodhouse has a knack for building and maintaining those trusts.
“He has an ability to build relationships across a melting pot of personalities,” Herbert said. “He’s also versatile across range-of-motion, tissue and joint, strength, power and movement traits. So much so that with my 14-year-old, twice a week I want Coach Woodhouse to work with him.”
Woodhouse has a particularly keen eye when it comes to evaluating the tiniest aspects of a person in motion, helping players make subtle adjustments to the way they run in order to improve their speed.
Chargers strength and conditioning coach Devin Woodhouse works with Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey before a game at SoFi Stadium against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 15, 2024.
(Ty Nowell / Los Angeles Chargers)
“Dev’s someone who’s going to support you, but he’s going to tell it like it is,” Chargers receiver Ladd McConkey said. “I’ll be running a route, and Dev’s over there with his phone recording me. Then we’ll look at it in slo-mo and break it down.”
During games, Woodhouse is on the sideline as a “get-back” coach — a term he doesn’t particularly like — making sure players and coaches keep a sufficient distance from the field.
As for his own emotions, he figures he will have them in check, even with his father-in-law on the opposite sideline.
Britain’s Alfie Hewett began his bid for a third straight US Open wheelchair singles title with a commanding victory over American Charlie Cooper.
Second seed Hewett needed just 61 minutes to record a 6-0 6-2 win against the 17-year-old.
Wheelchair tennis is making its return in New York after conflicting schedules with the Paralympics meant the competition was not held last year.
Hewett, who won the title in 2022 and 2023, is chasing a second Grand Slam singles title this season after triumphing at the Australian Open in January.
His long-term doubles partner Gordon Reid won later on Wednesday, claiming a hard-fought 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-1 victory over Spain’s Daniel Caverzaschi after two hours and 33 minutes.
Fellow Britons Greg Slade and Andy Lapthorne also made it through to the second round of the quad singles.
Slade saved three match points before wrapping up a 6-3 4-6 7-6 (11-9) win against Brazil’s Leandro Pena, while Lapthorne – a two-time winner at the US Open – beat South African Donald Ramphadi 6-2 6-3.
In the women’s wheelchair singles, Lucy Shuker fell to a 6-3 6-0 defeat by Dutch 23-time Grand Slam champion Diede de Groot, who has yet to win a major title this season after making her comeback from hip and shoulder surgery.
The Dodgers continued their season-long celebration of last year’s World Series triumph by handing out championship rings Monday. The 49,702 people who bought tickets got replicas while Gavin Lux, who played for the Dodgers last season and is now with the Cincinnati Reds, got a real one.
If the team hopes to win more jewelry again this fall, the next five weeks will be key. Because after Monday’s 7-0 win over the Reds, the Dodgers lead San Diego by a game in the National League West with just 30 more left in the regular season for both teams.
However, if the Dodgers (75-57) continue to play as they did Monday, when Andy Pages homered twice, driving in four runs, and Emmet Sheehan threw a career-high seven scoreless innings, they’ll be tough to catch.
“The defense was just engaged, every single guy out there. The at-bats, one through nine, were great,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s probably one of the better games, complete games, that we’ve played in months. I’m really, really excited about the way we played.”
Excited, too, because what started as a marathon six months ago is now a different kind of race.
“We’re in a sprint now,” said Michael Conforto, who had two hits and made two outstanding plays in left field. “We’re in a race for the division.”
And they’re a step ahead in that race with the Padres, who, like the Dodgers, have 10 series remaining, five at home and five on the road. But San Diego has the easier schedule, based on the combined winning percentage of its opponents (.474) entering the week. The Dodgers have the fourth-easiest schedule.
For Roberts, his team’s narrow margin for error is something to be embraced since it has the potential to steel his team for the postseason, as opposed to simply coasting into the playoffs.
“Competition should bring out the best in you,” he said. “So where the margins are smaller and everything matters more versus you have a big lead and you’re not playing with urgency because you don’t need to, and then have to kind of flip the switch, that’s tough.”
The Dodgers also are rapidly adding reinforcements for their playoff push. Over the weekend, relievers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates returned from the injured list and utility player Kiké Hernández was activated Monday. Third baseman Max Muncy and infielder/outfielder Hyeseong Kim could be back by the next road trip, if not before. Utilityman Tommy Edman and pitcher Roki Sasaki likely aren’t far behind.
Then there’s Sheehan (5-2), who was brilliant Monday, pitching a career-best seven innings and matching a career high with 10 strikeouts to win his third straight decision. Sheehan gave up just two hits and walked one.
“I definitely have to build on it. Try to just keep the same progress we’ve been doing, keep that going for the next one,” Sheehan said. “It’s pretty fun. It’s a lot more fun than watching the ball go over the fence, for sure.”
For Roberts, it’s as if his team acquired a half-dozen new players.
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, left, celebrates with right fielder Teoscar Hernández after hitting a home run in the seventh inning against the Reds on Monday.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
“Those are kind of deadline trades in themselves,” he said. “I do appreciate the guys that have been here, kind of grinding through. But it’s nice looking out on the horizon, seeing the guys that we got coming.”
Pages put the Dodgers in front to stay in the third Monday, driving a 102-mph fastball from Hunter Greene into the bullpen in left field. He hit another in the fifth inning for his 23rd homer of the season, second-most on the team behind Shohei Ohtani’s 45.
In the sixth, a double by Freddie Freeman and walks to Will Smith and Teoscar Hernández loaded the bases for Pages, whose two-out grounder to short got under Elly De La Cruz for a two-run error. A Mookie Betts’ homer, his second hit of the game, with one out in the seventh and a Pages’ sacrifice fly in the eighth closed out the scoring.
Relievers Jack Dreyer and Anthony Banda followed Sheehan, pitching an inning each to complete the shutout, the team’s fourth in the last 23 games.
The Dodgers had only three shutouts in the first 109 games.
Now come the reinforcements, although Kiké Hernández said he almost didn’t make it. After going on the injured list July 6 with left elbow inflammation, he tried three injections and non-invasive rehab procedures, but nothing seemed to work.
“I got to a point where I didn’t know if it was going to happen. We were pretty close to it not happening,” he said of his return. “There are some procedures that I went through that didn’t do anything. I went through four shots in a month, and [the] first three didn’t do anything, and luckily the fourth one was the answer.
“After the last shot, I was pain free.”
Hernández said he expected to start in left field Tuesday. He joins the Dodgers just in time for their sprint to the finish.
“It’s playoff-atmosphere games from here on out,” he said. “Hopefully it brings out the best in people and also teaches the younger guys that when the time comes and we’re in October, the moment doesn’t get too big for them.”
Handy Andy – real name Andy Kane – was a hugely popular member of the Changing Rooms team with viewers. But what has he been up to since he left the show in 2004?
Changing Rooms aired on the BBC between 1996 and 2004(Image: BBC)
Popular 90s DIY show Changing Rooms was a firm favourite on our screens, but the cast look very different to nowadays.
Viewers of the BBC show tuned in weekly to see the team take on some major home transformations, making the stars of the show household names in the process.
Hosted by Carol Smillie, Changing Rooms drew in a whopping 10 million viewers at its peak on BBC One and created some iconic moments – who can forget when a £6,000 teapot collection was destroyed in one fell swoop by a floating shelf in series 8?
Designers Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Linda Barker, and Anna Ryder Richardson were the ones tasked with helping members of the public transform a room in someone else’s house – be it a friend, family member or neighbour. And then to help them make it a reality, the show’s handyman, Handy Andy (Andy Kane) swooped in.
‘Handy Andy’ with his co-star Carole Smillie(Image: BBC)
DIY expert Andy appeared on the show from 1996-2004 and was a key player in the transformation process. But what has he been up to in the years since?
After the show ended, Andy landed a role on the American version of the programme, named Trading Spaces, and he also presented three shows for UK Style, Room Rival , Garden Rivals and Streetcombers.
One of his biggest programmes was Increase Your House Price By Ten Grand, which saw Andy work with a team to increase a house’s value by £10,000 in just three days with a £1,000 budget.
Andy has also appeared on I’m Famous And Frightened, Cirque de Celebrite and The Adam And Joe Show, and he has hosted a number of BBC Primary Geography programmes since 2008. He is happily married to his wife Geraldine and together they have four children.
Disaster struck in series 8 when a floating shelf collapsed(Image: BBC)
Andy was a popular member of the team and the chatty Cockney proved to be a big hit with viewers too. While he frequently impressed with his DIY, it didn’t always go to plan, and he later spoke about his most major mishap – when the teapot collection was destroyed.
Designer Linda had commissioned a floating shelf to house them but weighed it down with heavy books, causing the shelf to collapse overnight.
Andy told the Metro: “It went wrong because they put too much weight on it. The shelf was obviously just for show and just the teapots on it would have been fine, but then they started loading up with books at the bottom.
“I did say at the time that books are very heavy but they carried on and you know, it’s one of them things. When it happened, it was really, really awful, everyone felt really bad, but now you just laugh about it. But it was good entertainment, wasn’t it?
“In other episodes of the show they’d mount chairs on the wall or hang chairs from ceilings and as a builder, you’re like ‘really?!’, but that’s interior design for you.”
EX-England footie ace Andy Carroll has revealed he is back with girlfriend Lou Teasdale after a stormy split — and vowed to cut down on booze to save their relationship.
Opening up about his feelings for stylist Lou in an exclusive interview with the Sun on Sunday, Andy said: “I love Lou and I love her family. We row like any couple.”
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Andy Carroll has revealed he is back with girlfriend Lou Teasdale after a stormy splitCredit: Ian Whittaker
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Footie star Andy and Lou in a holiday snap
The pair have been dating since his split last summer from ex-wife and former Towie star Billi Mucklow, 37. They are currently divorcing.
The 36-year-old former Premier League star said: “Things have been difficult for me and I’m going through a divorce.
“Some of our rows have been about alcohol, as Lou has been teetotal for 14 years and I have a beer or wine at dinner and a drink after the game, but it’s not a problem in my life.
“I’m a professional footballer and that’s not the case. I play sport every single day so my level of fitness is really good. I play football every day so I’m fit.”
But now he has told The Sun on Sunday that after a misunderstanding in Spain, he and Lou have patched things up.
Former Liverpool and Newcastle striker Andy, who now plays for non-league Dagenham & Redbridge FC, said: “We’re better off together and we’re trying to work through our difficulties.”
He was questioned about rows with her at a packed beachside restaurant and then at their hotel.
He was taken to the police station after the second incident.
Ex-England star Andy Carroll DUMPS Lou Teasdale after police quiz over boozy rows as he tells pals he’s ‘sick’ of her
Speaking about the restaurant incident now, Andy — pictured with Lou, above, as he signed for his new club last month — insisted: “There was no alcohol involved. We argued about me having three coffees in the morning. She was worried I was addicted to coffee and it went from there.”
A joint statement from them at the time said: “Whilst having a private dinner in a restaurant on a quiet holiday in Mykonos, we had a heated discussion of the sort that most couples have had on occasion.
“It quickly became apparent to the police that there was no reason for them to be there.”
It added: “As far as we are concerned, the situation has been blown out of all proportion by an interested member of the public.
“No one was arrested and no one was charged with anything.
“We are very happy, in love and looking forward to our future together and we are disappointed that a private disagreement has become a public matter.”
I don’t want to be with Lou anymore… she gives me ultimatums about everything
What Andy told us last week
Andy returned to England last month, having left French fourth-tier side Bordeaux to play for Dagenham & Redbridge and to be close to his children, who live in Essex.
He said: “I just want to focus on my kids. They’re more important than anything. I’m loving life back in England.
“Obviously when I was working in France, I was there alone, and I was out with the lads a lot. Now I’m back home with the kids and it’s just a different way of life.”
TV presenter Andy Crane rose to fame when he first appeared on CBBC children’s show The Broom Cupboard in 1986. Despite leaving TV, he is still enjoying a sucessful career in the public eye
14:51, 20 Jul 2025Updated 14:57, 20 Jul 2025
Andy Crane was a big hit on BBC’s the Broom Cupboard (Image: BBC)
Popular presenter Andy Crane is best known for his debut on children’s TV programme The Broom Cupboard which is 39 years old – but what is the TV personality doing now?
Andy, now 61, has been brightening up people’s days on Greatest Hits Radio since 2019 and he looks very different from his Broom Cupboard days.
He first appeared on TV in 1986, taking over from Phillip Schofield on BBC’s Broom. The show, which helped launch the careers of Andi Peters, Toby Anstis and Zoe Ball, featured stars in a control desk room as the presenters introduced the programs.
The 61-year-old, who was one of the most memorable presenters on show, was just 29 at the time and worked alongside puppet Gordon, who went on to join him on Going Live! the next year.
He continued with Broom until 1990 and then featured on major music show Top of the Pops. He was also the face of Bad Influence! and Violet Berlin in the 90s.
Andy Crane pictured with Lionel Blair and the Jive Bunny (Image: Mirrorpix)
But his impressive career didn’t stop there. Andy also presented children’s show, Motormouth, for ITV on Saturdays. He also featured on What’s Up Doc? and Challenge TV.
The star was also a news presenter for Channel M in Manchester. He is now residing in the picturesque location of Lake District, reports Rayo.
Before joining Greatest Hits Radio in 2019, Andy presented for Radio Manchester where he started off as a tea boy.
Andy now works for Greatest Hits Radio(Image: Getty Images)
Speaking about how he got the role, he said: “I wrote to Piccadilly Radio in Manchester when I was living in the USA – they wrote back! Started there as a tea boy in 1981 and did my first show in 1983 which means I’ve now been doing this for 35 years.”
Andy, who was born in the seaside town of Morecambe, Lancashire, presents three hours of the best songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s on Greatest Hits Radio, including The Top 10 at 10 and Midnight Music Marathon.
Andy can be heard weekly presenting the best of music from the 70s (Image: Supplied)
Luckily for his fans, he also appears on radiowaves on weekday afternoons – featuring the most groovy disco tunes for Greatest Hits Radio 70s. He says his listeners will hear: “Great music naturally and plenty of laughing.”
Earlier this year, the presenter revealed what he loves about his job the most: “Being invited into people’s homes, cars, bedrooms and bathrooms.”
British and Irish Lions: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Dan Sheehan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Joe McCarthy, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Jack Conan.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Bundee Aki.
Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Tom Lynagh, 9 Jake Gordon; 1 James Slipper, 2 Matt Faessler, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 4 Nick Frost, 5 Jeremy Williams, 6 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Harry Wilson (c).
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Tom Robertson, 19 Tom Hooper 20 Carlo Tizzano, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Andrew Kellaway.
Jac Morgan unlucky to not feature after a great tour and Will Skelton and Rob Valetini will be out for the first test through injury.
Alexander-Arnold and Robertson played together on 279 occasions – an average of 35 games a season in all competitions in their eight seasons together.
And each of them only played more games with Mohamed Salah.
Robertson joined from Hull City for £8m in 2017-18 with Alexander-Arnold, an academy product, having made his debut the season before.
They won 185 of those 279 games, losing 43 times.
The two full-backs played attacking roles in former boss Jurgen Klopp’s high-energy football – and had a hand in nearly unprecedented numbers of goals.
In isolation their assist hauls would be remarkable but the fact they were both doing it at the same time is even more amazing.
“We have got a competition between ourselves this season to see who gets more goals and assists. It’s a healthy competition.”
Only on 10 occasions in Premier League history has a defender created 10 or more goals in a Premier League season – and Alexander-Arnold and Robertson have each done it three times.
“Athletes across all sports have been discussing this for a long time, but it hasn’t really changed. Hopefully something can get done soon.”
Asked for his view – as both an ex-player and father-of-four – about what could be done to eradicate toxic abuse, Murray said: “If I’m being honest I don’t know. Me and my wife are trying to keep our children off social media until they are much older, because I think it can be pretty damaging.”
Murray’s eldest child is nine, while his youngest is four. Many social media apps have a minimum age of 13 for users.
Technology firms will have to do more to protect young people from harmful content under the Government’s Online Safety Act. It is being introduced in phases and social media platforms are now obliged to protect users from illegal or harmful content, while more child safety measures are being introduced next month.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC the government will also explore whether further protective measures can be put in place on social media platforms.
Figures provided by data science firm Signify, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) show that in 2024, about 8,000 abusive, violent or threatening messages were sent publicly to 458 tennis players through their social media accounts.
Following Boulter’s comments, fellow tennis players demanded more action, including calls for the introduction of identity verification.
Several of the England women’s football team also plan to give up social media for their forthcoming European Championship defence in Switzerland.
Murray said: “I don’t know whose responsibility it is, I don’t know if the government needs to do more to tackle it, or [X owner] Elon Musk and people like that can do more to stop these messages getting through to individuals.
“I don’t mean just athletes, but then you get into the whole debate around free speech and it’s a difficult one.”
Murray also said athletes could help themselves “by trying to avoid looking at the comments and going on our phones immediately after matches”, but the onus was not on them to solve the problem.
Former British tennis player Naomi Broady, 35, told BBC Radio 5 Live about her experiences of abuse on social media, saying: “I’ve seen the worst of trolling and after I had children, I don’t show their faces any more.”
Impressionist Josh Berry asks questions in the accents of Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal & John McEnroe to Queen’s stars including Carlos Alcaraz & Emma Raducanu.
British and Irish Lions: Marcus Smith; Tommy Freeman, Sione Tuipulotu, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Finlay Bealham, Maro Itoje (capt), Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jac Morgan, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Pierre Schoeman, Tadhg Furlong, Scott Cummings, Henry Pollock, Tomos Williams, Elliot Daly, Mack Hansen.
Argentina: Santiago Carreras; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Justo Piccardo, Ignacio Mendy; Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Garcia; Mayco Vivas, Julian Montoya (capt), Joel Sclavi, Franco Molina, Pedro Rubiolo, Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo
Replacements: Bautista Bernasconi, Boris Wenger, Francisco Coria Marchetti, Santiago Grondona, Joaquin Moro, Simon Benitez Cruz, Matias Moroni, Santiago Cordero
Sin-bin: Vivas 45
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) and Andrea Piardi (Italy)
From Jack Harris: Dave Roberts had made it only three steps out of the dugout when he got ejected Tuesday night.
So, before he went back, the Dodgers manager made sure to get his money’s worth.
On a contentious night that saw two superstars get hit by pitches, both dugouts receive umpire warnings, and the Dodgers eventually beat the San Diego Padres 8-6 at Dodger Stadium, tensions reached their boiling point in the bottom of the third inning.
And it was the usually even-keeled Roberts whose emotions burned hottest.
After Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch in the top of the third inning by Dodgers reliever Lou Trivino, reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani was hit in the leg with one out in the bottom half of the inning.
Unlike Tatis’ hit by pitch, which came with a runner in scoring position in an inning that saw the Padres score two runs, Ohtani’s plunking occurred amid more suspicious circumstances.
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NBA PLAYOFFS RESULTS
All Times Pacific
NBA FINALS
Oklahoma City vs. Indiana
Indiana 111, at Oklahoma City 110 (box score, story) at Oklahoma City 123, Indiana 107 (box score, story) at Indiana 116, Oklahoma City 107 (box score, story) Oklahoma City 111, at Indiana 104 (box score, story) at Oklahoma City 120, Indiana 109 (box score, story) Thursday at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABC Sunday at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABC*
*if necessary
ANGELS
Kyle Hendricks and three relievers combined on a four-hitter as the Angels beat the slumping New York Yankees 4-0 on Tuesday night to hand them their third straight shutout.
New York manager Aaron Boone tinkered with his lineup — batting rookie Jasson Domínguez first and dropping Paul Goldschmidt to sixth — but it didn’t yield results for the Yankees, who were 0 for 10 with runners on and got just three to second base.
Aaron Judge went 0 for4 with three strikeouts and heard boos following whiffs in the sixth and eighth. He is two for 19 with 12 strikeouts in his past five games.
For 12 years UCLA waited to return to Omaha and the College World Series. It waited 15 total hours to play the fourth inning of its game with Louisiana State. Now, the Bruins will have to wait several months to play again.
UCLA fell behind in the first inning for the second time on Tuesday and couldn’t complete an improbable comeback. The Bruins’ season ended at Charles Schwab Field in a 7-3 loss to Arkansas.
“I’m just so proud of our guys,” UCLA coach John Savage said. “Disappointing day for sure. Tough day. Tough circumstances. But at the end of the day, you know, you’ve got to give credit to LSU and, certainly, Arkansas.”
UCLA played from behind most of the game after returning starter Cody Delvecchio gave up a two-run homer in the first inning. He responded, yielding just one more run across four innings in his first appearance since March 28.
Coach Sean McVay on Tuesday reiterated his respect for the star cornerback who helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI, but for the first time he indicated that there might be too many “obstacles” to making a trade with the Miami Dolphins for the three-time All-Pro.
Ramsey is due to earn $24.3 million this season, and his salary-cap number will increase substantially over the next few seasons, according to Overthecap.com.
“Usually, those are scenarios and situations that you have to have plans in place prior to executing some of the decisions that have occurred,” McVay said, perhaps referencing the contract adjustment quarterback Matthew Stafford received and the signing of free-agent receiver Davante Adams. “Definitely don’t want to rule anything out… but there would be some obstacles that are real that are in the place of maybe preventing that from occurring.”
From Anthony De Leon: If one word sums up the Sparks’ season so far, it’s hardship. Injuries continue to mount, and Kelsey Plum, their primary scorer and star, has joined the growing list of sidelined players.
Plum’s absence was sorely felt as what began as a valiant effort by the Sparks — keeping pace with the visiting Storm through the first half — quickly unraveled into a 98-67 blowout loss Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
That’s a rhetorical question, of course. But it’s one that has a basis in fact because girl power is real.
From Joan of Arc to Cassidy Hutchinson, whenever men have proven too cautious, cowardly or complacent to act, women have had the courage to do the right thing. The latest example of this feminine fearlessness came last Saturday, after federal immigration agents launched a series of raids throughout the Southland targeting everyone from schoolchildren to elderly churchgoers.
Angel City FC players and staff wore shirts in support of immigrants before the team’s match on Saturday. The club gave away 10,000 of the shirts to fans.
Within hours of the first arrests, Angel City, a women’s soccer club, became the first local sports franchise to issue a statement, recognizing the “fear and uncertainty” the raids had provoked. A day later LAFC, Angel City’s roommate at BMO Stadium, released a statement of its own.
That was a week and a half ago. But Angel City didn’t stop there. While the collective silence from the Dodgers, the Galaxy, the Lakers, Kings and other teams has been deafening, Angel City has grown defiant, dressing its players and new coach Alexander Straus in T-shirts that renamed the team “Immigrant City Football Club.” On the back the slogan “Los Angeles Is For Everyone /Los Angeles Es Para Todos” was repeated six times.
The team parted ways with manager Simone Inzaghi, who led it to two European finals in three seasons, and replaced him with Cristian Chivu. It temporarily lost the services of forward Mehdi Taremi, who had returned to his native Iran earlier this month and became stranded there when Israeli attacks closed the airspace over much of the Mideast.
Then the rest of the second-best club in Europe traveled 6,000 miles from Milan to Los Angeles, where it opened the FIFA Club World Cup on Tuesday in a 1-1 draw with Mexican club Monterrey before an announced crowd of 40,311 at the Rose Bowl.
“We’re trying to focus. And it’s not easy every day, I’m not going to lie,” said forward Marcus Thuram, whose 18 goals in all competition was second on the team this season. “But it’s part of what we do, we love what we do and we’ll continue doing what we do.”
Stanley’s stay in South Florida is getting extended.
The Florida Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions by beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the Final on Tuesday night, becoming the NHL’s first back-to-back winners since Tampa Bay in 2020 and ’21 and the third team to do it this century.
Sam Reinhart scored four goals, becoming just the sixth player in league history and first since Maurice Richard in 1957 to get that many in a game in the Final. His third to complete the hat trick sent rats, along with hats, flying onto the ice. Matthew Tkachuk, one of the faces of the franchise, fittingly scored the Cup clincher.
More rats were part of the victory celebration when the clock hit zeroes. Panthers players mobbed in the corner, while the Oilers watched in dismay.
Edmonton vs. Florida at Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (OT) (summary, story) Florida 5, at Edmonton 4 (2 OT) (summary, story) at Florida 6, Edmonton 1 (summary, story) Edmonton 5, at Florida 4 (OT) (summary, story) Florida 5, at Edmonton 2 (summary, story) at Florida , Edmonton 1 (summary)
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1910 — Alex Smith wins the U.S. Open by beating John McDermont and Macdonald Smith in an 18-hole playoff at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Smith beats McDermont by four strokes and Macdonald Smith by six.
1921 — The University of Illinois wins the first NCAA track and field championships with 20¼ points. Notre Dame finishes second with 16¾ points.
1941 — Joe Louis knocks out Billy Conn in the 13th round at the Polo Grounds in New York to retain the world heavyweight title.
1960 — Arnold Palmer beats amateur Jack Nicklaus by two strokes to win the U.S. Open.
1967 — Jack Nicklaus shoots a record 275 to beat Arnold Palmer for the U.S. Open. Nicklaus breaks Ben Hogan’s 1948 record by one stroke.
1972 — Jack Nicklaus wins the U.S. Open by three strokes over Bruce Crampton and ties Bobby Jones’ record of 13 major titles.
1972 — UEFA European Championship Final, Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium: Gerd Müller scores a brace as West Germany beats Soviet Union, 3-0.
1975 — Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins wins the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman for the eighth consecutive year.
1984 — Fuzzy Zoeller shoots a 3-under 67 to beat Greg Norman by eight strokes in the 18-hole playoff at Winged Foot GC for the U.S. Open title.
1990 — Hale Irwin makes an 8-foot birdie putt on the 91st hole to beat Mike Donald in the first sudden-death playoff to decide the U.S. Open. It is the third U.S. Open title for the 45-year-old Irwin, the oldest winner in the tournament’s history.
1992 — Ottawa Senators make goalie Peter Sidorkiewicz their 1st draft pick.
1995 — Michael Johnson becomes the first national champion at 200 and 400 meters since 1899 as he captures both races at the USA-Mobil Championships.
1995 — FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden: Hege Riise & Marianne Pettersen score within 3 minutes of each other to give Norway a 2-0 win over Germany.
2000 — Tiger Woods turns the 100th U.S. Open into a one-man show, winning by 15 strokes over Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Woods’ 15-stroke margin shatters the Open mark of 11 set by Willie Smith in 1899 and is the largest in any major championship — surpassing the 13-stroke victory by Old Tom Morris in the 1862 British Open.
2006 — Phil Mickelson’s bid for a third consecutive major ends with a shocking collapse when he bungles his way to a double bogey on the final hole, giving the U.S. Open to Geoff Ogilvy.
2017 — Brooks Koepka breaks away from a tight pack with three straight birdies on the back nine at Erin Hills and closes with a 5-under 67 to win the U.S. Open for his first major championship.
2017 — Diana Taurasi scores 19 points to break the WNBA career scoring record in the Phoenix Mercury’s 90-59 loss to the Sparks. Taurasi finishes with 7,494 points, passing Tina Thompson’s mark of 7,488.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1938 — The Brooklyn Dodgers signed Babe Ruth to coach for the remainder of the season.
1947 — Cincinnati’s Ewell Blackwell tossed a 6-0 no-hitter against the Boston Braves.
1950 — In the nightcap of a doubleheader, the Cleveland Indians scored 14 runs in the first inning for an American League record as they trounced the Philadelphia A’s 21-2.
1953 — At Fenway Park, Dick Gernert’s home run highlighted the 17-run, 14-hit seventh inning as the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 23-3. The Red Sox were up 5-3 after 6 1/2 innings. The Red Sox scored the 17 runs on 14 hits and six walks and left the bases loaded. Gene Stephens collected three hits and Sammy White scored three runs and Tom Umphlett also reached base three times in the inning.
1960 — The San Francisco Giants fired Bill Rigney and selected Tom Sheehan as manager. At 66 years, 2 months and 18 days, Sheehan was the oldest man to debut as a manager of a major league team.
1967 — Houston Astro Don Wilson tossed the first of his two career no-hitters by blanking the Atlanta Braves 2-0, facing 30 batters and striking out 15.
1975 — Fred Lynn batted in 10 runs with three homers, a triple and a single in a 15-1 Boston Red Sox victory over the Detroit Tigers. Lynn’s 16 total bases tied an AL record.
1976 — Commissioner Bowie Kuhn voided the sale of Oakland Athletics stars Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers and Joe Rudi. Athletics owner Charlie Finley sold Blue to the New York Yankees for $1.5 million and Rudi and Fingers to the Boston Red Sox for $1 million each. Kuhn ordered the players to return to Oakland on grounds that they would upset the sport’s competitive balance.
1977 — New York Yankees outfielder Reggie Jackson and manager Billy Martin get into a dugout confrontation at Fenway Park that’s seen on national television. Martin removed his right fielder for loafing on a ball hit to the outfield. Jackson questioned Martin in the dugout and the two are eventually separated by coach Elston Howard.
1986 — Don Sutton pitched a three-hitter for his 300th victory as the Angels beat the Texas Rangers 5-1. The 41-year-old right-hander became the 19th pitcher in baseball history to win 300 games.
2002 — Luis Castillo of the Florida Marlins ties Rogers Hornsby’s 80-year-old record for the longest hitting streak by a second baseman, beating out a dribbler to the pitcher in the 6th inning to make it 33 games in a row. Florida beats the Cleveland Indians, 2-1.
2007 — Chone Figgins went 6-for-6 and drove in the game-winning run in the ninth inning to lift the Angels over Houston 10-9.
2011 — Connor Harrell hit the first College World Series home run in the new TD Ameritrade Park to break a sixth-inning tie and first-time qualifier Vanderbilt defeated North Carolina 7-3.
2012 — R.A. Dickey became the first major league pitcher in 24 years to throw consecutive one-hitters and Ike Davis hit a grand slam in the New York Mets’ 5-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. The previous pitcher to throw consecutive one-hitters was Dave Stieb for Toronto in September 1988.
2012 — Aaron Hill hit a solo homer in the seventh inning to become the fifth Arizona player to hit for the cycle, lifting the Diamondbacks to a 7-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
2014 — Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers throws the second no-hitter of the year, shutting out the Colorado Rockies, 8 – 0. It comes less than a month after his teammate Josh Beckett had pitched a no-hitter on May 26th. He strikes out 15 without giving up a walk, the only baserunner coming on a two-base error by SS Hanley Ramirez in the 8th.
2017 — Nolan Arenado completed the cycle with a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Colorado Rockies stunned the San Francisco Giants by rallying for a 7-5 victory.
2024 — Hall of Famer Willie Mays, in the conversation for the greatest player ever, passes away at 93.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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Dave Roberts had made it only three steps out of the dugout when he got ejected Tuesday night.
So, before he went back, the Dodgers manager made sure to get his money’s worth.
On a contentious night that saw two superstars get hit by pitches, both dugouts receive umpire warnings, and the Dodgers eventually beat the San Diego Padres 8-6 at Dodger Stadium, tensions reached their boiling point in the bottom of the third inning.
And it was the usually even-keeled Roberts who most visibly lost his cool.
After Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch in the top of the third inning by Dodgers reliever Lou Trivino, reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani was hit in the leg with one out in the bottom half of the inning.
Unlike Tatis’ hit by pitch, which came with a runner in scoring position in an inning that saw the Padres score two runs, Ohtani’s plunking occurred amid more suspicious circumstances.
With one out and nobody on base, Padres starter Randy Vásquez threw an inside, knee-high heater for ball one, brushing Ohtani back off the plate. With his next pitch, Vásquez fired it even more inside, pelting Ohtani’s right thigh with a 94 mph fastball.
Immediately, the umpires gathered for a meeting.
Some context: In the opening game of this week’s series on Monday night, tempers flared when Andy Pages was hit by a Dylan Cease pitch, and immediately stared at the Padres pitcher. Pages told reporters afterward he believed the throw was on purpose, perhaps because the Padres thought he had been relaying signs from second base a few innings before. Roberts, however, downplayed any potential intentionality. Rather than fan the flames of a recently intense division rival, he advocated for calm.
Things changed after the umpires finished talking on Tuesday.
Crew chief Marvin Hudson emerged from the huddle and issued warnings to both dugouts. Roberts immediately asked for an explanation, raising his arms in confusion as he started onto the field.
Hudson motioned to Roberts to stay put. But when he didn’t, third base umpire Tripp Gibson did the honors of ejecting him from the game.
Some more context: The Dodgers and Gibson have already had one run-in this season, when the umpire assessed a rarely seen obstruction call against third baseman Max Muncy in New York last month for stepping into a baserunner’s line of sight on a sacrifice fly play.
How much that bad blood carried over wasn’t immediately clear. But Roberts’ fury with Gibson for Tuesday’s ejection certainly was, with the manager angrily pointing at him multiple times during a two-minute argument on the field while Hudson tried to keep the two physically separated.
It was Roberts’ first ejection this season, and the 13th in his career as Dodgers manager.
And, on a strange night at Chavez Ravine, plenty more peculiarities would follow.
Pages took out whatever frustrations were lingering from Monday’s game with a monster four-hit night. He belted a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the second inning. He launched a tying shot in the fourth. Then, after Will Smith put the Dodgers in front with a two-run homer at the end of a 12-pitch at-bat, Pages added an RBI single in what became a five-run sixth-inning rally, catapulting the team to an 8-3 lead.
The Dodgers (45-29) almost gave the lead back in the seventh, in another inning that featured a couple of controversial umpire decisions.
First, Dodgers reliever Matt Sauer hit Padres shortstop Jose Iglesias with a pitch, but was not ejected — despite Manny Machado taking a couple steps out of the dugout to yell at the umpires, given their earlier warnings.
It ended up not mattering, with Trenton Brooks coming off the bench for a pinch-hit home run in the next at-bat.
Then, the Padres (39-33) caught a break when Tatis was initially called out on a fielder’s choice play at second base, only for home plate umpire Ryan Blakney to intervene.
Tatis had initially slid in safely when shortstop Mookie Betts dropped a flip throw from second baseman Tommy Edman, who made an impressive diving stop in the hole. As Betts retrieved the loose ball, however, Tatis stepped off the bag, apparently thinking time had been called. Betts quickly tagged him, and Hudson, the second base umpire, called him out. But moments before the tag, Blakney had called time from behind home plate, to the chagrin of Smith.
Tatis was allowed to stay on second, and eventually came around to score when Michael Kopech entered the game and stumbled on a throw with the bases loaded, resulting in a run-scoring balk.
Kopech, however, got Xander Bogaerts to ground out and retire the side. And from there, the Dodgers held on, with Anthony Banda stranding the bases loaded in the eighth and Tanner Scott (pitching a third-straight day for the first time this season) collecting his 14th save.
Now, the Dodgers have taken the first two games of a four-game series that has already included plenty of emotional fireworks. And two more nights of emotionally charged rivalry baseball are still left.
