game

Kyle Schwarber, 33, DH, 4.7, 19.9: Schwarber is a premier slugger with 187 home runs in four seasons with Philadelphia, where he also was an exceptional clubhouse leader. He is pretty much restricted to designated hitter and is approaching an age where offensive production might decline. He still merits a lucrative multi-year deal, although going longer than four years at a $30 million average annual value (AAV) might be inviting buyer’s remorse in 2030.

Kyle Tucker, 29, OF, 4.5, 27.3: Although his 2025 bWAR was lower than that of Bellinger and Schwarber, Tucker might have the highest sticker price in this free-agent class. The average of projections from 20 ESPN experts is 10 years and $391.5 million for a $38.8 million AAV. The Dodgers are considered a prime suitor because of their deep pockets and need for a productive corner outfielder.

Eugenio Suárez, 34, 3B, 3.6, 26.8: A drop of nearly one win above replacement from the top three free agents — Cody Bellinger, Schwarber and Tucker — still puts Suárez in an enviable position. Splitting the season between the Diamondbacks and Mariners, Suarez tied a career high with 49 home runs and drove in 118 runs.

Alex Bregman, 32, 3B, 3.5, 43.1: Even though Bregman’s bWAR was slightly lower than that of Suárez, he should command a larger deal because he’s younger and more well-rounded. Bregman missed 44 games because of injury in his single season in Boston but still put up solid numbers. His average bWAR over his 10-year career is 4.3.

Trent Grisham, 29, OF, 3.5, 14.6: Grisham is an enigma, a first-round draft pick who blossomed with the Padres only to crater and bat under .200 three years in a row. But in 2025 he rebounded, swatting a career-high 34 home runs with the Yankees in 2025. Grisham also has two Gold Gloves in center field. Still, he’s a bit of a gamble.

Bo Bichette, 28, SS, 3.4, 20.8: Bichette showed his toughness by playing effectively in the World Series despite a lingering knee injury. Bichette can flat-out hit, accumulating more than 175 hits in four of the last five seasons with above-average power. He also plays a premium position and will turn only 28 in March, meaning he could command a contract exceeded only by that of Tucker.

Toronto Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette hits a three-run home run during Game 7 of the World Series, Nov. 1, 2025, in Toronto.

(Ashley Landis/AP)

Pete Alonso, 31, 1B, 3.4, 23.3: Alonso was disappointed by the tepid interest in him as a free agent last offseason, re-signing with the Mets on a one-year, $30-million deal with a player option. He’s expected to test the market again after once again posting the glittering power numbers that have made him a fan favorite in New York for seven years.

Josh Naylor, 28, 1B, 3.1, 8.4: The 5-foot-10, 235-pound left-handed slugger produced well in 2025 while splitting the season between the Diamondbacks and Mariners, batting a career-high .295 and hitting precisely 20 home runs for the third time in five seasons.

Gleyber Torres, 29, 2B, 2.9, 18.7: Torres needed to restore his value after taking a one-year deal with the Tigers following a ho-hum 2024 season with the Yankees. He did so incrementally and should land a measured multi-year deal this time around.

J.T. Realmuto, 35, C, 2.6, 38.8: Realmuto is recognized as one of the top-hitting catchers in baseball, and he’s clearly the top free-agent backstop, proving in 2025 that he can still catch upward of 130 games while putting up solid offensive numbers. Still, he will be 35 on opening day and his .700 OPS was his lowest in a decade.

Jorge Polanco, 32, 2B, 2.6, 20.7: Polanco hit 26 home runs and posted an .821 OPS, the switch-hitter’s best season since 2021 when he hit 33 homers and drove in 98 runs. Chronic knee problems have put his shortstop days behind him and cut into his range at second or third base, but the bat still plays.

Mike Yastrzemski, 35, OF, 2.6, 16.8: Although the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski posted his best OPS (.839) since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he might be entertaining only contract offers of one year at $10 million or so.

Ryan O’Hearn, 31, 1B/DH, 2.4, 3.1: O’Hearn is an accomplished left-handed hitter coming off a season split between the Orioles and Padres. He can expect a large raise from the $3.5 million he made in 2025, perhaps tripling it.

Marcell Ozuna, 35, OF/DH, 1.6, 29.5: Ozuna is a proven power bat who has exceeded 20 home runs in nine seasons and led the NL with 18 homers and 56 RBIs in pandemic-shortened 2020. After tremendous 2023 and 2024 seasons in which he totaled 79 homers and 204 RBIs, Ozuna slipped in 2025, batting .232 with 21 home runs while battling hip pain.

Luis Arráez, 29, 1B, 1.3, 16.5: Arráez doesn’t get much love from bWAR or fWAR, but he sure can hit, leading all major leaguers with a .317 lifetime average. He led the NL with 181 hits in 2025, but because he doesn’t hit for power or walk much, his OPS was a pedestrian .719. The three-time batting champion should continue to be paid about $14 million a year, with the question becoming for how long.

Paul Goldschmidt, 38, 1B, 1.2, 63.8: Goldschmidt boasts the highest career bWAR of any free-agent hitter and he has made it clear that he is not ready to retire. His productivity, however, is trending downward, especially his power. With only 10 homers and 45 RBIs in 534 plate appearances with the Yankees last season, Goldschmidt is no longer an elite hitter.

Victor Caratini, 32, C, 0.9, 4.3: Catchers are at a premium in this free-agent class and Caratini is one of the few with a potent bat and ability to play more than 100 games in a season. He most recently delivered decently on a two-year, $12-million deal with the Astros and could land a similar contract because of the scarcity of backstops.

Cutter Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke each had a goal and an assist, goalie Lukas Dostal made 32 saves and the Ducks beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Sunday night.

Frank Vatrano and Chris Kreider also scored for the Ducks.

Jack Hughes scored New Jersey’s lone goal in the third period, and Devils goalie Jake Allen had 26 saves.

The Ducks have won three straight and five of their last six to move into a first-place tie with Las Vegas and Edmonton in the Pacific Division, an encouraging start for a team trying to snap a seven-season playoff drought. Their 15 points is the most through 11 games since 2014-2015.

The Ducks took advantage of their second straight game against a road-weary Eastern Conference club, outscoring the Detroit Red Wings and Devils by a combined 9-3.

Anaheim scored three goals within the game’s first 22 minutes and dominated the first two periods before New Jersey came to life in the third.

Moments after Allen stuffed Sennecke at the doorstep, Hughes took a pass from Dawson Mercer on a two-on-one break and one-timed a shot past a sprawling Dostal.

But Dostal and the Ducks held off a furious Devils rally in the final minutes, and Kreider scored on an empty netter with 1:54 left to seal the win.

Anaheim scored on its first shot of the game. Sennecke took a pass from Gauthier as he crossed the blue line, shielded New Jersey defenseman Dennis Cholowski with his body as he charged the net and slipped a lunging shot under Allen’s right armpit.

The Ducks made it 3-0 just 1:54 into the second period when Gauthier scored from an almost impossible angle, snapping a left-handed wrist shot from just inside the right goal line under Allen’s left pad for his team-leading seventh goal of the season.

Up next for the Ducks: vs. the Florida Panthers at Honda Center on Tuesday night.

NASHVILLE — The Chargers won the battle but lost the warrior.

They held off the Tennessee Titans 27-20, but saw their outstanding left tackle Joe Alt go down with the same injured ankle that sidelined him earlier this season.

It was a troubling and ominous blow Sunday to a franchise that’s in a constant state of reshuffling its offensive line and unable to sufficiently protect quarterback Justin Herbert. Before losing Alt, the Chargers lost right tackle Bobby Hart to what they called a groin injury (but looked to be a hurt leg).

On a cool and overcast day, the Chargers had enough to get past the one-win Titans — the Chargers (6-3) were favored by 9½ points — but will face far stiffer competition in the second half of the season. The Titans haven’t won at home since last Nov. 4.

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh helps offensive tackle Bobby Hart off the field in the first half.

(John Amis / Associated Press)

Herbert, who ran for 62 yards in the Week 8 win over Minnesota, again provided the bulk of the Chargers’ running game. He led all rushers with 57 yards in nine carries, including a one-yard touchdown.

The Titans fired coach Brian Callahan last month after the team got off to a 1-5 start, putting in place interim coach Mike McCoy, who was head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 2013 to 2016.

The Chargers absorbed a huge blow in the second quarter when Alt went down with an ankle injury, the same ankle that caused him to miss three games earlier this season. Alt, the best player on the offensive line, had returned for the Week 8 game against Minnesota and his presence was noticeable in both run blocking and protection of Herbert’s blind side.

Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston catches a touchdown pass next to Tennessee Titans cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis during the first half Sunday.

(John Amis / Associated Press)

But Sunday, he was felled by 285-pound Titans edge rusher Jihad Ward, who was blocked into the back of Alt’s legs. Alt sat on the turf for a few minutes, surrounded by Chargers medical staff, before a cart rolled onto the field to take him off.

It was the latest setback for an offensive line besieged by them this season, and an indication that Herbert will remain the most hit and harassed quarterback in the league this season.

Even though the Titans were without defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons, their best player, Herbert was still under near-constant pressure.

Herbert threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half, although his first throw was abysmal. It was straight into the arms of Tennessee linebacker Cody Barton, who turned the visitors’ second play from scrimmage into a 24-yard pick-six.

As he does virtually every week, Herbert picked up some big gains with his feet. He had a 39-yard scramble in the second quarter, and rolled out in the fourth and scored his first rushing touchdown of the season, sliding in from a yard out. That capped a 15-play, nine-minute, 99-yard drive in response to a goal-line stand.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is sacked by Tennessee Titans linebacker Jihad Ward during the second half Sunday.

(George Walker IV / Associated Press)

The Titans (1-8), who have had troubles moving the ball in the red zone, scored their second touchdown of the half on a 67-yard punt return by rookie Chimere Dike, who leads the NFL in all-purpose yards.

Those issues in the red zone were on display in the third quarter, when the Titans had four plays inside the 10 and couldn’t score, including third and fourth downs from the one.

Anchoring the middle of the Chargers’ defense was Daiyan Henley, playing two days after his older brother was shot and killed. After a sack in the first half, the third-year linebacker dropped to his knees and turned his palms to the sky and held out his hands in prayer.

Edge rusher Odafe Oweh had a pair of sacks, bringing his total to four in four games since being traded to the Chargers by Baltimore last month.

TORONTO — Shortly after the Dodgers won Game 6 of the World Series, Yoshinobu Yamamoto approached his longtime personal trainer.

Lowering his head, Yamamoto said to Osamu Yada, “Thank you for everything this year.”

Yamamoto figured his season was over. He’d thrown 96 pitches over six innings, and he half-joked in the postgame news conference that he wanted to cheer on his team rather than pitch again the next day. Manager Dave Roberts had the same thought, saying Yamamoto would be the only pitcher unavailable in Game 7.

The trainer had other ideas.

“Let’s see if you can throw in the bullpen tomorrow,” Yada said.

By just being in the bullpen, Yada said, Yamamoto could provide the Dodgers a psychological edge over the Toronto Blue Jays.

“That’s how I got tricked,” Yamamoto said in Japanese with a laugh.

Yada’s guiding hand transformed Yamamoto into a legend on Saturday night.

Pitching the final 2 ⅔ innings of an 11-inning, championship-clinching 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, Yamamoto won his third game of the World Series.

When he forced Alejando Kirk to ground into a game-ending double play, Yamamoto removed his cap and raised his arms toward the heavens. Catcher Will Smith rushed the mound and picked him up from the waist.

“I felt a joy I never felt before,” Yamamoto said.

Dodgers catcher Will Smith picks up Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto after the final out of a 5-4 win in 11 innings over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series on Saturday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Yamamoto pitched a complete game in Game 2. He pitched six more in Game 6. His contributions in Game 7 increased his series total to 17 ⅔ innings, over which he allowed only two runs.

The throwback performance earned him the series’ most valuable player award, as well as universal admiration.

“I really think he’s the No. 1 pitcher in the world,” Shohei Ohtani said in Japanese. “Everyone on the team thinks that, too.”

Freddie Freeman marveled at the workload shouldered by the 5-foot-10 Yamamoto, who was sidelined for three months last year with shoulder problems.

“I mean, he pitched last night, started,” Freeman said. “He threw the most innings out of our pitchers tonight.”

Freeman pointed out that in addition to pitching in three games, Yamamoto also warmed up to pitch in a fourth. Two days after his complete game in Game 2, he prepared in the bullpen to pitch a potential 19th inning in Game 3. The Dodgers won that game in the 18th inning.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Freeman said.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said of Yamamoto’s Game 7 performance, “For him to have the same stuff that he had the night before is really the greatest accomplishment I’ve ever seen on a major league baseball field.”

Did Friedman think any other pitcher could have done what Yamamoto did in this series?

“No, I don’t,” Friedman said. “In fact, yesterday morning I didn’t necessarily think Yama could either.”

Friedman said he didn’t think much of it when he was notified after Game 6 that Yamamoto was receiving treatment from Yada at the team hotel with the intention of perhaps pitching in Game 7. Friedman was told the next morning that Yamamoto received another round of treatment.

The possibility of Yamamoto pitching in Game 7 became real to Friedman after he performed his trademark javelin-throwing routine and played catch at Rogers Centre. Yamamoto still wasn’t convinced.

Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, left, celebrates with Shohei Ohtani and teammates after a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series at Rogers Centre on Saturday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“I didn’t think I would pitch,” Yamamoto said. “But I felt good when I practiced, and the next thing I knew, I was on the mound (in the game).”

Yamamoto’s interpreter, Yoshihiro Sonoda, was prepared.

The superstitious Sonoda wears the same pair of lucky underwear on days Yamamoto pitches. He wore the rabbit-themed boxers for Game 6. Sensing Yamamoto might pitch again, Sonoda wore the same boxers for Game 7.

“Just in case,” Sonoda admitted, “I didn’t wash them.”

Yamamoto had never pitched on consecutive days as a professional, in either the United States or Japan. When was called on to relieve Blake Snell in the ninth inning, he was uncertain of how he would perform.

Inheriting two baserunners from Snell with one out, Yamamoto loaded the bases by plunking Kirk. He forced Dalton Varsho to ground into a force out at home, only to throw a curveball to Ernie Clement that was driven to the wall in left field. Defensive replacement Andy Pages crashed into Kiké Hernández on the warning track but held on to the ball, preventing the Blue Jays from scoring the walk-off run.

Yamamoto pitched a 1-2-3 10th inning and went into the bottom of the 11th with a 5-4 lead, courtesy of a homer by Smith in the top of the inning.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. started the inning by pulling a 96.9-mph fastball for a double and advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Yamamoto walked Addison Barger to place runners on the corners, setting up the game-ending double play by Kirk.

“I really couldn’t believe it,” Yamamoto said. “I was so excited I couldn’t even recall what kind of pitch I threw at the end. When my teammates ran to me, I felt the greatest joy I’ve felt up to this point.”

Clayton Kershaw, whom Yamamoto wanted to send into retirement with another championship, embraced him harder than he’d ever embraced him. Roberts swallowed him an embrace.

Yamamoto was moved to tears.

Overwhelmed by the moment, Yamamoto didn’t sound as if he grasped the magnitude of what he’d just done. In time, he will.

On the night the Dodgers solidified their dynasty, Yamamoto made this World Series his.

When Dwayne Finley graduated from Van Nuys High in 1984, he had ideas of becoming a high school sports official.

For 35 years, he has been working as a football, basketball and baseball official for both the City Section and Southern Section.

He became such a good umpire that he has worked college baseball for 30 years.

Finley has always been known for keeping his cool and keeping games under control.

Coaches appreciate his ability to speak with them to clarify questions. And he’s nowhere near ready to retire.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Netflix fans do not have long left to wait for a brand new season of Squid Game: The Challenge.

Squid Game fans have just two days left until a brand new season of a high stakes reality game returns to Netflix screens.

Once again, 456 players will take on a series of brutal games in the hopes of winning a staggering $4.56 million cash prize for season two of Squid Game: The Challenge.

The hit Netflix reality show, based on the popular Korean thriller Squid Game, was a huge success when it first hit screens back in 2023. Another series was announced earlier this year, with it now being just days away.

Over three weeks, the players will go head to head in a number of gruelling games, both new and old, until there is only one contestant left.

Unlike the original phenomenon where players are killed if they lose, there will still be devastating impacts as contestant will miss out on winning the life-changing amount of money. Despite the full cast remaining under wraps, Netflix has already announced some huge names, including familiar faces from Selling Sunset and Big Brother.

Episode release schedule explained

Squid Game: The Challenge season 2 will return to screens on November 4. However, not all episodes will be released straight away.

Instead, fans will have to wait a week for different instalments for the three week run.

• On November 4, fans will be treated to four episodes as a group of brand new players are introduced to the game.
• November 11 will then see the next three episodes aired.
• But fans will have to wait until November 18 for the remaining episodes in the huge season finale.

Squid Game The Challenge games

With subtle nods to various games, executive producer Nicola Brown told Tudum: “Those little Easter eggs are important for both the viewers at home and the players.

“The first thing they do when they walk into the dorm is look at the walls and try to figure out what the new games might be.”

Here are some games fans can look forward to:

• The count – a brand new game that will determine how the competition continues
• Six-Legged Pentathlon – teams race head to head, with legs tied together with mini games thrown in
• Catch – a brand new game which games designer Ben Norman teases is not as simple as it sounds
• Mingle – players on a carousel must gather in groups consisting of a number called out and walk into an adjoining room
• Marbles – with the same rules as season 1 players again partner up and given a bag of marbles and 30 minutes
• Slides and Ladders – a new game that turns the familiar board game into something high stakes and “oversized”
• Circle of Trust – blindfolded at desks in a circle, the player who received a gift box must guess who gave it to them
• Finale game – Remains a mystery for now

Is there a season 3?

With season 2 just days away, Netflix has already geared up for another season of the hit reality show. Anyone wishing to take part can apply online for a chance to compete.

However, according to Tudum, there is another way to get on the show. Tudum hints: “Player recruitment for Season 3 is also now taking place through Squid Game: The Experience in both New York and London.

“Winners at the immersive, IRL experience will receive priority in the casting process, though this does not guarantee they will be selected to take part in Season 3.”

Squid Game: The Challenge season 2 premieres Tuesday, November 4 on Netflix.

TORONTO — It was a game that started on Saturday and ended on Sunday, a World Series contest so packed with the rare, the historic and the dramatic that it couldn’t possibly be confined to one day.

At 11 innings, it was the longest Game 7 this century, and it equaled the longest in more than a century. It was the first Game 7 that had a ninth-inning home run to tie the score and the first to feature two video reviews that prevented the go-ahead run from scoring.

“It’s one of the greatest games I’ve ever been a part of,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after his team outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 to win its second straight World Series and end the longest season in franchise history, one that began in Japan and ended in Canada.

The victory made the Dodgers the first team to win back-to-back titles in 25 years and with that championship, Roberts’ third, he passed Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda to become the second-most-decorated Dodger manager ever. He now trails only Walter Alston, another Hall of Famer, who won four World Series with the team.

Roberts, however, won his three titles over six seasons, something no Dodger skipper has ever done.

“It’s hard to reconcile that one,” said Roberts, whose jersey from Saturday’s game is on its way to Cooperstown, joining the cap the Hall of Fame requested after last year’s World Series win.

“I’m just really elated and really proud of our team, our guys, the way we fought. We’ve done something that hasn’t been done in decades. There was so many pressure points and how that game could have flipped, and we just kept fighting, and guys stepped up big.”

So did the manager.

Every move Roberts made worked, every button he pushed was the right one. Miguel Rojas, starting for the second time in nearly a month, saved the season with a game-tying home run in the top of the ninth while Andy Pages, inserted for defensive purposes during the bottom of the inning, ran down Ernie Clements’ drive at the wall with the bases loaded to end the threat.

In the 11^th he had Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitch around Addison Barger, putting the winning run on base. But that set up the game-ending double play three pitches later.

“Credit to him, man. Every single move he did this postseason was incredible,” said Tyler Glasnow, one of four starting pitchers Roberts used in relief Saturday. And he had a fifth, Clayton Kershaw, warming up when the game ended.

Added Dodgers co-owner Magic Johnson: “He did some coaching tonight. This was a great manager’s game from him. He’s proven how great a manager he is. He’s a Hall of Famer.”

Roberts asked Yamamoto, who pitched six innings Friday to win Game 6, to throw another 2 2/3 innings in Game 7. It worked; Yamamoto won that game too.

“What Yoshi did tonight is unprecedented in modern-day baseball,” said Roberts, who came into the postgame interview room wearing ski goggles and dripping of champagne. “It just goes down to just trusting your players. It’s nice when you can look down the roster and have 26 guys that you believe in and know that at some point in time their number’s going to be called.”

And Roberts needed all 26 guys. Although the Dodgers players wore t-shirts with the slogan “We Rule October” when they mounted a makeshift stage in the center of the Rogers Centre field to celebrate their victory early Sunday, October was only part of it. Their year started in Tokyo in March and ended in Toronto in November, making it the first major league season to begin and end outside the U.S.

“We really extended the season,” Max Muncy, whose eighth-inning homer started the Dodgers’ comeback, said with a grin after the team’s 179^th game in 226 days.

“Look back at the miles that we’ve logged this year,” Roberts said. “We never wavered. It’s a long season and we persevered, and we’re the last team standing.”

That, too, is a credit to Roberts, who has made the playoffs in each of his 10 seasons and went to the World Series five times, trailing only Alston among Dodger managers. His .621 regular-season winning percentage is best in franchise history among managers who worked more than three seasons. And he figures to keep padding those records.

“We’ve put together something pretty special,” said Roberts, who celebrated with his family on the field afterward. “I’m proud of the players for the fans, scouting, player development, all the stuff. To do what we’ve done in this span of time is pretty remarkable.

“I guess I’ll let the pundits and all the fans talk about if it’s a dynasty or not. But I’m pretty happy with where we’re at.”

On Sunday morning Glasnow, who missed the playoffs last season with an elbow injury, was pretty happy with where he was at as well.

“To be a part of the World Series is crazy,” he said, standing just off the infield as blue and gold confetti rained down. “You dream about it as a kid. To live it out, I feel so lucky. This group of guys, I’m so close to everyone. So many good people on this team. It’s just the perfect group of guys.”

The perfect manager, too.

Carson High, an 11-time City Section champion, has been seeded No. 1 for the City Section Open Division playoffs under first-year coach William Lowe.

Birmingham, which has a 54-game winning streak against City Section opponents, was seeded No. 2. San Pedro is No. 3 and unbeaten Palisades is No. 4.

Carson will host No. 8-seeded King/Drew on Nov. 14. Palisades is the home team against No. 5 Garfield, while San Pedro hosts No. 6 Crenshaw and Birmingham hosts No. 7 Kennedy.

There was no City Open Division champion last season after Narbonne had to vacate the title for rule violations.

Venice is seeded No. 1 in Division I. Cleveland is No. 1 in Division II and Santee is top seeded in Division III.

In girls’ flag football, San Pedro was given the No. 1 seed for the Open Division. Games begin on Friday, with San Pedro hosting No. 8 Verdugo Hills; No. 4 Marshall is at No. 5 Banning; No. 6 Wilson visits No. 3 Panorama; and No. 7 Narbonne travels to No. 2 Eagle Rock.

As a 12th-year pro, Davante Adams knows the value of rest during a bye week. So before the Rams played the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Oct. 19, Adams looked forward to days off that awaited.

Then Adams, flashing his three-time All-Pro form, caught three touchdown passes.

Was there any part of him that did not want a break?

“Oh, hell yeah,” Adams said this week, noting that he told coach Sean McVay, “‘I wish we could keep rolling at this point.’”

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Gary Klein breaks down what to expect from the Rams on Sunday when they face the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium.

So did McVay.

“He’s like, ‘Man, I don’t want to have a week off,’” McVay recalled. “I said, ‘Hey, just enjoy it.’”

Adams, rested and ready after spending part of last week in Mexico with family, intends to pick up where he left off two weeks ago when the Rams play host to the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium.

The game will mark the return of fellow star receiver Puka Nacua, who sat out against the Jaguars because of an ankle injury suffered Oct. 12 against the Baltimore Ravens.

But the Rams will be without speedy receiver Tutu Atwell, who will be sidelined for at least four games on injured reserve because of a hamstring injury.

McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford showed against the Jaguars that the Rams’ weapons go beyond Nacua and Adams. Four tight ends — Tyler Higbee, Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen and rookie Terrance Ferguson — were among the 10 players who caught passes in the 35-7 victory that improved the Rams record to 5-2.

“The more people we can get involved in the game, the better we are,” said Stafford, who has passed for 17 touchdowns, with only two interceptions. “We have a couple of extremely talented players, quite a few that are difference-makers in this league. When we can spread the ball around and make everybody defend all the guys, all the eligibles, every blade of grass, that’s when we’re at our best.”

The Rams signed Adams aiming to capitalize on his experience and playmaking, his elite separation skills and the threat he poses near the goal line.

Stafford, 37, and Adams, 32, combined for a few highlight-reel plays in the first six games. But they acknowledged in the week leading up to the game against the Jaguars that they were still working to get completely in sync.

They found their rhythm against the Jaguars.

Adams made dynamic catches from inside the two-yard line for all of his touchdowns.

Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said the Rams “absolutely” envisioned those kinds of plays when they pursued Adams, who has 109 career touchdown catches, the most among active players.

“There’s a reason he has over a hundred touchdowns,” LaFleur said, adding, “It’s not shocking.”

Did the Rams find something they can build on?

“Yeah, we’ll see what the red-zone targets look like this week and then we’ll be able to fully tell you,” Adams said, chuckling. “But definitely it’s not a secret that I’ve been able to make plays in the red zone.

“I think a lot of it was just getting on the same page, us feeling each other out and coming up with a good plan. The coaches did that and we were able to connect.

“I think the more you make plays, the more you build that confidence and then you stop straining and pressing to make plays and you just be yourself and go out there and be natural.”

Adams has 31 catches for 431 yards and six touchdowns.

With Stafford and Adams continuing to solidify their connection, the offense is poised to remain productive as the Rams drive toward a playoff spot.

“Me being who I am and Matthew being who he is and just having the team that we do, my expectations are really high and standards are really high for what I should bring and what this team should be able to do,” Adams said. “I’m definitely not satisfied with what we’ve done, but happy with where we are.”

Tre’ Harris watched as Oronde Gadsden II burst by him, the 6-foot-5 tight end chugging over the turf at Golden West College’s football field.

Months before Harris and Gadsden suited up as Chargers rookies, the duo were catching passes from Jaxson Dart — now the starting quarterback for the New York Giants — during pre-NFL Scouting Combine training sessions at the Huntington Beach community college as the trio took advantage of sunny weather in Southern California.

“I saw his talents immediately,” Dart said of Gadsden. “Skill set-wise, I thought he was a very unique athlete, being, you know, the stature that he is. I thought his footwork was some of the best that I’ve seen.”

Over the past two weeks, the footwork that Harris said separates Gadsden from the rest of the NFL, has been on display.

Gadsden, 22, ranks fifth in NFL tight end receiving yards this season (385) despite not playing in the first two games. Two weeks ago, against the Colts, the son of former NFL wide receiver Oronde Gadsden emerged for 164 receiving yards and a touchdown. Against the Vikings last week, the former Syracuse standout, who set the program record for receptions in a season with 73 catches, recorded another 77 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Those accomplishments — which he credits to studying the likes of Chargers teammates Keenan Allen and Will Dissly — earned Gadsden earned NFL Rookie of the Week honors in Week 7, the first Charger to claim the award since Asante Samuel Jr. did it twice in 2021.

“It’s been good, getting in passes with Justin [Herbert], whether it’s a practice, and then following up in the game,” Gadsden said. “It feels good to see all the hard work that I’ve been doing, all the hard work that the whole team has been doing, come forward and translate into the game.”

Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II (86) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 23.

(Gregory Bull / Associated Press)

Jim Harbaugh can’t help but smile when talking about Gadsden. Asked about the Chargers’ rookies — and the efforts they’ve put in to keep the team afloat amid a rash of injuries — the usually stoic Chargers coach remarked about how wide his grin was before slamming his hands down onto the podium in front of him.

“I mean, Oronde Gadsden,” he said, “of course, has been great.”

Herbert added: “It was only a matter of time until he put together two games like he has back-to-back, and he’s gonna make a ton of plays for us. He’s gonna have a super long career.”

Gadsden had his first opportunity to relax during the mini bye week in the 10-day gap between the Chargers’ win over the Vikings and their game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. He said it’s been non-stop football for him since the beginning of his senior year at Syracuse; from the college season to pre-draft training, rookie mini camp, and now the NFL season.

Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II tries to fight off Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks during a Chargers’ win on Oct.12.

(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)

For the first time since those training sessions at Golden West, Gadsden decided to visit Disneyland. It was a rare break for Gadsden since his daily pre-draft days working alongside trainer T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the former Pro Bowl wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals.

What makes Gadsden a special player, Harris said, is his never-stop attitude. During minicamp, Gadsden would arrive at the facility at 5 a.m. — using his East Coast-wired clock to his advantage to get extra work in.

“I’m not gonna say I knew he was gonna do this,” Harris said of Gadsden’s recent success, before pausing. “There’s not a lot of tight ends that can move like he does. And, you know, I’ve seen it firsthand.”

TORONTO — Tyler Glasnow threw seven, maybe eight, pitches in the bullpen. There was no more time to wait. The red emergency light was flashing.

For 14 years, Glasnow has made a nice living as a pitcher. He has thrown hard, if not always durably or effectively.

There is one thing he had not done. In 320 games, from the minors to the majors, from the Arizona Fall League to the World Series, he never had earned a save.

Until Friday, that is, and only after the Dodgers presented him with this opportunity out of equal parts confidence and desperation: Please save us. The winning run is at the plate with no one out. If you fail, we lose the World Series.

No pressure, kid.

He is not one of the more intense personalities on the roster, which makes him a good fit in a situation in which someone else might think twice, or more, at the magnitude of the moment.

“I honestly didn’t have time to think about it,” Glasnow said.

In Game 6 on Friday, the Dodgers in order used a starter to start, a reliever to relieve, the closer of the moment, and then Glasnow to close. In Game 7 on Saturday, the Dodgers plan to start Shohei Ohtani, likely followed by a parade of starters.

Glasnow, who said he could not recall ever pitching on back-to-back days, could be one of them.

“I threw three pitches,” he said. “I’m ready to go.”

The Dodgers had asked him to be ready to go in relief on Friday, so he moseyed on down to the bullpen in the second inning. He didn’t really believe he would pitch. After all, Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto had thrown consecutive complete games. If Yamamoto could not throw another, Glasnow did not believe he would be the first guy called.

He was not. Justin Wrobleski was, protecting a 3-1 lead, and he delivered a scoreless seventh inning. Closer Roki Sasaki was next, and the Dodgers planned for him to work the eighth and ninth.

Glasnow said bullpen coach Josh Bard warned him to be on alert. Sasaki walked two in the eighth but escaped. He hit a batter and gave up a double to lead off the ninth, and the Dodgers rushed in Glasnow.

“I warmed up very little, got out there,” Glasnow said. “It was like no thinking at all.”

The Dodgers’ scouting reports gave Glasnow and catcher Will Smith reason to believe Ernie Clement would try to jump on the first pitch, so Glasnow said he threw a two-seam fastball that he seldom throws to right-handed batters. Clement popped up.

The next batter, Andrés Giménez, hit a sinking fly ball to left fielder Kiké Hernández. Off the bat, Glasnow said he feared a hit.

If the ball falls in, Giménez has a single and the Dodgers’ lead shrinks to one run. If the ball skips past Hernández, the Blue Jays tie the score.

Glasnow said he had three brief thoughts, in order:

1: “Please don’t be a hit.”

Hernández charged hard and made the running catch.

2: “Sweet, it’s not a hit.”

Hernández threw to second base for the game-ending double play.

3: “Nice, a double play.”

Wrobleski tipped his cap to his new bullpen mate.

“He’s a beast, man,” Wrobleski said. “To be able to come in in that spot, it takes a lot of mental strength and toughness. He did it. I didn’t expect anything less out of him, but it was awesome.”

Wrobleski was pretty good himself. The Dodgers optioned him the maximum five times last year and four times this year. He did not pitch in the first three rounds of the playoffs, and his previous two World Series appearances came in a mop-up role and during an 18-inning game.

Dodgers reliever Justin Wrobleski reacts after striking out Toronto’s Andrés Giménez to end the seventh inning in Game 6 of the World Series on Friday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

On Friday, they entrusted him with helping to keep their season alive. They got three critical outs from Wrobleski, who is not even making $1 million this season, and three more from Glasnow, who is making $30 million.

“We got a lot of guys that aren’t making what everybody thinks they’re making, especially down in that bullpen,” Wrobleski said. ”We were talking about it the other day. There’s a spot for everybody. If you keep grinding, you can wedge yourself in.”

He did. He was recruited by Clemson out of high school, then basically cut from the team.

“They told me to leave,” he said.

Did a new coach come in?

“No, I was just bad,” he said. “I had like a 10.3 ERA.”

Glasnow signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Hart High in Santa Clarita. In the majors, the Pirates tried him in relief without offering him a chance to close. Did they fail to recognize a budding bullpen star? “I never threw strikes,” he said. “I just wasn’t that good.”

We’ve all heard stories about the kid who goes into his backyard with a wiffle ball, taking a swing and pretending to be the batter who hits the home run in the World Series.

Glasnow doesn’t hit.

“I’ve had all sorts of daydreams about every pitching thing possible as a kid — relieving, closing out a game, starting in the World Series,” he said. “I thought about it all the time. So it’s pretty wild. I haven’t really processed it, either. I think going out to be able to get a save in the World Series is pretty wild.”

The game-ending double play was reviewed by instant replay, so Glasnow missed out on the trademark closer experience: the last out, immediately followed by the handshake line. Instead, everyone looked to the giant video board and waited.

Eventually, an informal line formed.

“I got some dap-ups,” he said. He smiled broadly, then walked out into the Toronto night, the proud owner of his first professional save. For his team, and for Los Angeles, he had kept the hope of a parade alive.

Mater Dei trailed 24-3. The Trinity League title appeared destined to belong to St. John Bosco, another win to cap an undefeated for the consensus No. 1 team in the nation.

Until Chris Henry Jr. emerged for two touchdowns and 214 yards on five receptions.

“He could be a track star,” said Mater Dei coach Raul Lara, referencing Henry’s 70-yard touchdown catch near the end of the second quarter.

Until Kayden Dixon-Wyatt took over alongside his teammate — both Ohio State commits — and turned on the burners for three second-half scores.

“I wish I could be the quarterback,” Lara joked about his senior wide receivers.

Testing the wide receiver corps of Mater Dei — who outpowered the Braves’ impressive trio of Division I-committed receivers — left St. John Bosco hapless on Friday night in Bellflower. Mater Dei (7-2, 4-1) finished on a 33-7 run, Ryan Hopkins tossing five touchdowns in that span to help the Monarchs defeat St. John Bosco 36-31 in comeback fashion.

Mater Dei High’s CJ Lavender Jr. leaps high to make an interception during the game against St. John Bosco on Friday night.

(Craig Weston)

Hopkins finished 13-of-21 passing for 295 yards and the five touchdowns.

All of the doubts over the Monarchs’ regular-season campaign could be close to washed away as the second-half domination confirmed another year when Mater Dei at least owns a share of the Trinity League title.

Since Santa Margarita (7-3, 4-1) also won Friday — defeating JSerra 41-14 — the Eagles, along with Mater Dei and St. John Bosco (9-1, 4-1) earned a share of the Trinity League crown.

Defensive stands set up plays such as Henry’s 70-yard touchdown grab to cut the Braves’ lead to seven with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter. Mater Dei defensive back CJ Lavender Jr. forced and recovered a fumble in the first quarter to set up the Monarchs’ first points: a field goal.

Lavender then intercepted St. John Bosco sophomore quarterback Koa Malau’ulu twice more.

One pick created a silver-platter touchdown for Dixon-Wyatt, who finished with four receptions for 46 yards and three touchdowns, while the other turnover allowed Mater Dei to seal the game on fourth and 10 from its own 10-yard line.

“Anything he threw, I was going to go get it,” said Lavender, who now has a team-high seven interceptions on the season.

Mater Dei receiver Chris Henry Jr. hauls in a pass over his shoulder ahead of two St. John Bosco defenders on Friday night.

(Craig Weston)

Before the final interception — which came with 1:34 remaining in the game — St. John Bosco was driving. An unsportsmanlike penalty even provided the Braves at first and inches from the goal line.

But a bad snap to Malau’ulu pushed the Braves backward to the seven-yard line. A run for a loss brought St. John Bosco to the 10-yard line that then led to an interception.

Henry, who hadn’t played since Oct. 10 against Orange Lutheran, said he was itching to get back out on the field to play St. John Bosco.

“It was really difficult,” Henry said of his time off the field. “But I was ready for a game like this.”

Henry will have plenty more opportunities upcoming in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, starting next week.

The trio of Trinity League teams likely will see Sierra Canyon (10-0) — which finished its Mission League-winning campaign with a 52-3 victory over Loyola — among the teams they could face off against in the playoffs.

TORONTO — The Dodgers have forced a Game 7 in the World Series.

And Shohei Ohtani is expected to be their starting pitcher.

In what will be just four days removed from his six-plus-inning, 93-pitch start in Game 4 of this World Series, Ohtani will likely serve as the team’s opener in Saturday’s winner-take-all contest, according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.

While Ohtani almost certainly won’t make a full-length start, he should be able to get through at least two or three innings (depending on how laborious his outing is). Four or five innings might not be out of the question, either, even in what will be only his second career MLB outing pitching on three days’ rest.

The only time Ohtani did so was in 2023, when he followed a rain-shortened two-inning start at Fenway Park against the Red Sox with a seven-inning outing four days later.

Saturday, of course, will come under entirely different circumstances, in what will be the first seventh game in a World Series since 2019.

By starting Ohtani, the Dodgers would ensure they wouldn’t lose his bat for the rest of the game, thanks to MLB’s two-way rules. If he were to enter in relief during the game, the only way he could stay in afterward is if he shifted to the outfield (since MLB’s rules stipulate that a team would lose the DH spot under such circumstances). Starting him also eliminates any complications that would come with trying to find him time to warm up if his spot in the batting order arose the inning prior — something that would have made it potentially more difficult for him to be able to close out the game.

Ohtani has completed six innings in each of his three previous pitching appearances this postseason, with a 3.50 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 18 innings.

The Dodgers should have options behind Ohtani. Tyler Glasnow will likely be available after needing just three pitches to get the save in Friday’s wild finish. Blake Snell also said he would be available after his Game 5 start on Wednesday.

In the bullpen, Roki Sasaki figures to be at manager Dave Roberts’ disposal, as well, despite throwing 33 pitches in one-plus inning of work on Friday.

Roberts said everyone short of Game 6 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto would be available.

Los Angeles Dodgers send the World Series to a decisive seventh game after defeating Toronto Blue Jays in Canada.

The Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive on Friday their hopes of becoming Major League Baseball’s (MLB) first repeat champion in 25 years, with a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays that pushed the World Series to a decisive seventh game.

With their backs against the wall and facing elimination for the first time this postseason, a Dodgers team that had no room for error got six solid innings from starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto while Mookie Betts and Will Smith provided the offence.

Toronto thought they tied the game on an inside-the-park homerun in the ninth on a bizarre play, when the ball was lodged at the bottom of the outfield fence where Dodgers outfielder Justin Dean immediately raised his hands to rule the play dead.

A video review went the Dodgers’ way and determined it was a ground rule double, which left Toronto with runners on second and third with not outs.

Ernie Clement then hit an infield pop and Andres Gimenez lined out to left before Kike Hernandez turned the double play when he fired the ball to second base to get Addison Barger out and end the game.

The Dodgers victory put on hold, for one day at least, a coast-to-coast party in Canada, where fans of the lone MLB club are desperate to celebrate the Blue Jays’ first World Series triumph in 32 years.

Dodgers’ season on the line in Game 6

As they were at the start of the season, the Dodgers came into the World Series as an overwhelming favourite and with few expecting the Blue Jays to produce much of a challenge and even fewer calling for it to go the distance.

With their season on the line, Los Angeles opened the scoring in the third on a run-scoring double by Smith, before Betts singled in a pair of runs to put Los Angeles ahead 3-0.

Barger led off the bottom half of the third with a double before scoring on a George Springer single to get the Blue Jays within two.

The Dodgers’ starting rotation had been the team’s strength this postseason, but the Blue Jays picked it apart en route to grabbing a 3-2 lead in the World Series before Yamamoto once again took matters into his own hands.

The Japanese ace, who threw complete-game gems in his previous two starts, struck out six batters and allowed one run on five hits across six innings before the Dodgers turned to a bullpen that has been their weak link all season.

The Blue Jays threatened in the eighth when they got runners on first and second with one out before Roki Sasaki retired Bo Bichette and Daulton Varsho grounded out to end the inning, before once again getting close in the ninth.

Play was temporarily disrupted in the sixth inning when a spectator scaled the outfield wall and stormed the field with a United States flag before he was promptly taken down by security guards and escorted away.

Game 7 will be played on Saturday in Toronto.

The Blue Jays will feel aggrieved after a controversial umpiring call prevented them from levelling the score in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk was hit by a pitch from reliever Roki Sasaki and replaced by speedy pinch-runner Myles Straw, before Addison Barger’s line drive wedged under the wall in left centre field.

But instead of allowing Straw and Barger to score, the play was ruled to be a ground rule double,, external putting the runners on second and third.

A ground rule double is typically signalled when a ball hit fair is deemed to be impossible to field in the layout of a particular stadium, such as when it becomes trapped under a tarpaulin, and runners are allowed to advance by two bases.

The hosts challenged the call, arguing that a fielder could easily have retrieved the ball, but the on-field decision was upheld by video review.

And with the tying run in scoring position, Andres Gimenez drove into a double play to end the game.

Earlier, the Dodgers drew first blood on Halloween night as Tommy Edman doubled, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked, and Smith’s double to left field sent Edman home.

Freddie Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Betts’ two-run single gave the visitors what proved to be a decisive lead to force a decider.

Game seven takes place on Saturday evening, again at the Rogers Centre.

The Dodgers, it turns out, chose the perfect costume in which to parade on this scariest of Halloween nights.

They were dressed as the Dodgers.

The Yoshinobu-Yamamoto-firing Dodgers. The Mookie-Betts-blasting Dodgers. The energetic-and-inspired Dodgers.

The listless team of the previous two games was gone. The inspired team of the previous month was back.

Earlier this week fans were asking, who are those guys? On Friday they emphatically answered that question by finally, forcefully, being themselves.

Faced with elimination in Game 6 of the World Series, the Dodgers rose from the presumed dead to haunt the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre with a 3-1 victory to knot the duel at three games apiece.

And they did with the most unlikely of saves, a game-ending double play on a lineout that Kiké Hernández caught in left field and threw to Miguel Rojas at second base.

How do the Blue Jays come back from that? How can the Dodgers not gain all the momentum from that?

The quest to become the first team in 25 years to win consecutive World Series championships lives.

Game 7, Saturday night in Toronto, awaits.

And Shohei Ohtani Pitching Somewhere is up.

The stage is set for all sorts of dramatics after a night when the Dodgers took an early three-run lead on the back of slump-busting Betts and then cruised to victory on the back of another brilliant pitching performance by Yamamoto and a surprising three-inning shutdown from the Dodger bullpen.

It didn’t end smoothly, but it ended splendidly, after reliever Roki Sasaki began the ninth by hitting Alejandro Kirk in the hand with a two-strike pitch, then Addison Barger hit a ball to center field that lodged under the outfield tarp for a ground-rule double.

With runners on second and third and no out, Tyler Glasnow made an emergency appearance and recorded that memorable save, retiring Ernie Clement on a first pitch popout and ending the game by inducing Andrés Giménez into a lineout that Hernandez perfectly threw to Rojas.

The Dodgers have been here before. It was just last year, in fact, when they needed consecutive wins against the San Diego Padres in the division series to save their season.

They calmly won both and rolled to a championship. A similar path could end in a similar destination this weekend after the Dodgers rebounded from two lifeless losses at Dodger Stadium to weather the loud Game 6 storm with calm and cohesion.

“Yeah, I mean, we all know that everything has to go perfect for us to be able to pull this off,” said Teoscar Hernández before the game.

So far, so good, beginning Friday with the much-maligned Betts, who smacked a two-out, two-run single in the third inning to give the Dodgers a lead they never lost. Next up, Yamamoto, who followed consecutive complete games by giving up one run on five hits in six innings.

Enter the bullpen, which had given up nine runs in the Dodgers three losses in this series. But the sense of dread lightened when Justin Wrobleski worked around a two-out double by Clement to end the seventh with a strikeout of Giménez.

On came Sasaki, who immediately found trouble in the eighth inning by yielding a single to George Springer and walking Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But the rookie remained calm, and retired Bo Bichette on a foul popout and Daulton Varsho on a grounder.

This set up the breathtaking ninth, the inspired Dodger tone actually set by manager Dave Roberts a day earlier. Roberts did his best Tommy Lasorda imitation by literally leaving it all on the field during Thursday’s day off when he challenged speedster Hyeseong Kim to a race around the bases. Roberts gave himself a generous head start, but as Kim was passing him up around second base, Roberts tripped and fell flat on his face.

The moment was caught on a video that quickly spread over social media and actually led the FOX broadcast before Friday’s game.

Roberts looked silly. But Roberts also looked brilliant, as his pratfall injected some necessary lightness into the darkening team mood.

“I clearly wasn’t thinking,” said Roberts. “I was trying to add a little levity, that’s for sure. I wasn’t trying to do a face-plant at shortstop, and yeah, the legs just gave way. That will be the last full sprint I ever do in my life.”

He lost, but he won.

“Of course it makes you smile and it makes you have a good time,” said Rojas. “When the head of the group is…loose like that, and he’s willing to do anything, that’s what it tells everybody, that he will do anything for the team.”

The spark was lit in the third inning Friday after Blue Jay starter Kevin Gausman had struck out six of the first seven batters.

Tommy Edman, one of last fall’s postseason heroes, ripped a one-out double down the right-field line. One out later, after Ohtani had been intentionally walked, Will Smith ripped an RBI double off the left-field wall.

It was the Dodgers first hit with runners in scoring position since the fifth inning of Game 3, but the surprise was just beginning.

After Freddie Freeman walked, the bases were loaded for Betts, who was the biggest villain of the Dodgers hitting drought with a .130 World Series average while stranding 25 consecutive baserunners. He had been dropped to third in the batting order in Game 5, and then dropped again to fourth for Game 6, and it finally worked, as he knocked a two-strike fastball into left field to drive in two runs and give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

The Blue Jays came back with an heroic run in the bottom of the third when, after Addison Barger doubled down the left-field line, wincing George Springer fought off a painful side injury to drive a ball into right-center field to score Barger.

Now it’s down to one game.

The Dodgers are back. Advantage, Dodgers.

Long Beach Poly, a 12-time Southern Section football champion, announced on Friday it will not participate in this season’s football playoffs despite finishing second in the Moore League. The school earlier this season had six transfer students declared ineligible for providing false information on paperwork to the Southern Section, a violation of CIF bylaw 202.

Here’s the statement from the Long Beach Unified School District:

“Long Beach Poly High School acknowledges the recent CIF ruling related to violations of CIF Bylaw 202 within its football program. In accordance with that ruling, and as part of an ongoing internal investigation, Poly will withdraw from postseason play.

“The school is fully cooperating with CIF and the District, as a thorough review of our processes and systems is conducted to ensure full compliance with CIF rules and District policy. While student and employee matters are confidential, our commitment remains to support our students while upholding the integrity of our athletic programs.”

San Juan Hills became the latest school to announce forfeits on Friday for using ineligible players. Two transfer students had been in the transfer portal listed as “under review.” The school will forfeit nine games and is now 1-9. Both players were held out of a game on Thursday.

Norco earlier this week forfeited six games, dropping to 1-9 after a win on Thursday.

This crackdown by the Southern Section against students providing false information started during the summer when schools began submitting transfer paperwork. The Southern Section is using new technological tools to verify information. Bishop Montgomery received the harshest punishment, with 24 players declared ineligible, forcing the school to cancel its football season.

Other schools found to have ineligible players this season include Long Beach Millikan, Compton, Bellflower, Victor Valley and Orange Lutheran.

Southern Section commissioner Mike West said last month, “We’ve had a real influx of fraudulent paperwork. It’s been significant and very disheartening.”

If you’re not on social media, good for you. If you are, you know that any good start by Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is immediately followed by a flood of venom aimed at former major league outfielder Josh Reddick.

No sooner had Yamamoto thrown his World Series complete game last week than Reddick got 3 million views for one of his tweets from two years ago.

Many of those viewers were happy to tell him he was a moron.

In 2023, the Dodgers signed Yamamoto, the winner of Japan’s version of the Cy Young award for three years running, for $325 million.

Reddick’s tweet: “How do you give a guy $325 million without ever throwing a pitch in MLB”

On Friday, the Dodgers will turn to Yamamoto to keep their season alive and force a Game 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays. He could — and this sounds insane in modern baseball — throw his third consecutive complete game.

Two weeks ago, after Yamamoto had thrown a complete game in the National League Championship Series, Reddick appeared on the “Crush City Territory” podcast.

“If Paul Skenes did not exist, Yoshinobu Yamamoto would be winning the Cy Young, going away,” podcast host Chandler Rome said.

Then Rome asked Reddick to answer for his tweet.

“I don’t think I would say I regret it,” Reddick said. “I’d probably say that tomorrow if they gave it [that money] to somebody else. That’s just my opinion, and I’m allowed to have it because it’s social media …

“That was my opinion, and obviously it was wrong. This guy has been phenomenal, and very, very, very, very, very, very good to come over here and do what he’s done. I’ll admit I was wrong on that one.”

Reddick said he regularly hears about it from Dodgers fans.

“They enjoy it,” he said. “I just love how much I live in Dodgers fans’ heads every day, and how they just look forward to making it feel like they’re upsetting me by sending these tweets and just completely ruining my day.

“If you’re a Dodger fan: It doesn’t bother me. So you do you for your two seconds of fame, and go back to work.”

At the time of the podcast, Reddick’s tweet had 9 million views. Now it has 12 million.

“It’s like wrestling, man,” he said. “You’ve got to be the good guy or the bad guy. As long as you’re a guy who’s getting noticed, you’re doing something right.

“I’m just playing the heel for the Dodgers for the rest of my life.”

TORONTO — As soon as Blake Treinen entered for the ninth inning of Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night, Clayton Kershaw dropped his guard and began to look around.

For the previous three hours, the future Hall of Fame pitcher had been locked in on the game, mentally preparing for a potential relief appearance from out in the bullpen.

But when that didn’t come, the 37-year-old Kershaw then let himself relax, took in the scene of an October night at Chavez Ravine, and soaked up the final moments of what was his final game ever at Dodger Stadium.

“It’s a weird thought, of like, ‘This is your last game ever there,’” said Kershaw, who announced last month he will retire at the end of this season. “And not a sad thought. Honestly, just a grateful thought. Just like, ‘Man, we spent a lot of great times here.’”

Win or lose in Games 6 and 7 of this World Series, Kershaw’s overall career will end this weekend at Rogers Centre in Toronto. But on Wednesday night, he closed the book on the ballpark he has called home for all 18 seasons of his illustrious MLB career.

Dodger Stadium is where Kershaw first made his big-league debut back in May 2008, as a highly anticipated left-handed prospect with a big curveball and quiet demeanor. It was the stage for his rise to stardom over the nearly two decades that followed, as he went on to capture three Cy Young Awards, 2014 National League MVP honors and a career 2.53 ERA that ranks as the best among pitchers with 1,000 innings in the live ball era.

It is where he experienced some of the most defining moments of his career, including a no-hitter in 2014 and his 3,000th strikeout earlier this year. It’s also where he suffered repeated October disappointments, none bigger than the back-to-back home runs he gave up in Game 5 of the 2019 National League Division Series.

In other words, it was always home for Kershaw, the place he would return to day after day, year after year, season after season — no matter the highs or lows, aches and pains, successes or failures.

“I just started thinking about it when the game ended,” said Kershaw, who elected to traverse the field to get back to the clubhouse after Wednesday’s game instead of the connected bullpen tunnel. “I was like, ‘Man, I might as well walk across this thing one more time.’”

About an hour later, Kershaw would linger on the field a little longer, joined for an impromptu gathering by his wife, Ellen; their four children; and other family and friends in attendance for his last home game.

“Ellen just texted after and was like, ‘Hey, we got a big crew,’” Kershaw said. “So I was, ‘Well, just go to the field. I’ll try to shower fast so we can hang out.’”

Television cameras caught Kershaw laughing as his kids ran the bases, tried to throw baseballs at a hovering drone and enjoyed a diamond that had become their own personal childhood playground over the years.

At one point, Kershaw posed with the Dodger Stadium grounds crew for a picture — standing on a mound they had manicured for all of his 228 career starts in the stadium.

“Honestly, it was awesome,” Kershaw said. “It was the perfect way to do it. Just have everybody out there, running around … It was unplanned, unprompted, but a great memory.”

Kershaw, of course, is hoping to add one more Dodger Stadium memory next week. If the team can reverse its three-games-to-two deficit in the World Series this weekend in Toronto, it would return to Chavez Ravine for a championship celebration.

If not, though, he’ll have a couple parting moments to cherish, from Wednesday’s postgame scene down on the field, to his final career Dodger Stadium outing back in Game 4 in which he stranded the bases loaded in the 12th for one of the biggest outs in his entire career.

“I’m super grateful with how that went, as opposed to the last time before that,” he quipped, having given up five runs in his only other Dodger Stadium appearance this postseason. “You can’t plan any of that stuff. Who knows if it ever works out. But yeah, to get that one last out was pretty cool.”

So, too, was his one last night Wednesday.

The “expansion of European club competitions” has led to there being just one game on 26 December in the English top flight, says the Premier League.

Boxing Day fixtures have been a long-standing tradition in English football but this year the only Premier League game will be Manchester United’s home match with Newcastle United (20:00 GMT).

While confirming the schedule for this year’s festive fixtures, the league’s communications manager George Haberman said: “The Premier League would like to acknowledge the circumstances that have led to a reduced number of matches on Boxing Day this season – impacting an important tradition in English football.

“There are now several challenges to Premier League fixture scheduling rooted in the expansion of European club competitions – which led to a revision of our domestic calendar ahead of last season, including changes to the FA Cup.

“This ultimately left the Premier League as a 33-weekend competition – fewer than previous seasons, despite being a 380-match competition since 1995.”

More to follow.