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For the first time since 1982, the Milwaukee Brewers have won a World Series game.

The Brew Crew took Game 1 of the Fall Classic over the Tampa Bay Rays in a sweaty 3-2 ballgame.

Down two, the Rays loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but Liam Hicks grounded into what initially was ruled a game-ending double play. However, replay showed shortstop Cooper Pratt came off second base, instead making it a 3-2 game with runners on second and third and two outs.

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The Brewers had already ignited their fireworks, creating a chaotic, fog-filled scene, before Johnny DeLuca came to the plate and struck out to end the game.

2026 WORLD SERIES: HOW TO WATCH BREWERS AND RAYS AFTER SMALL BALL CARRIES THEM TO FALL CLASSIC

The city of Milwaukee waited 46 years to see its team in the Fall Classic, and this year's Brewers wanted to stop wasting time. An RBI triple by Christian Yelich, followed by a William Contreras single, put the Brewers up 2-0 in the first inning. However, that was all they'd get for a while, as Nick Martinez settled down to get through five innings of work.

The Milwaukee pitching, though, was just as good. Soon-to-be Cy Young Award winner Jacob Misiorowski held the Rays to just one run in his five innings, but certainly not without the help of some Rays baserunning blunders.

Tampa Bay had runners on first and second with one out in the first, but Junior Caminero lined out, and Jonathan Aranda was doubled off at second to end the threat. In the fifth, Victor Mesa Jr. was caught stealing at third for the final out of the inning, a big baseball no-no.

The Brewers matched that mistake with one of their own almost immediately, as nine-hitter David Hamilton made the first out at third in the bottom half of the frame trying to stretch a double into a triple.

But they got a huge insurance run after some more typical Brewers small ball. In the seventh, Hamilton got a productive second out to get a runner into scoring position, and Jackson Chourio drove him in with an opposite-field, ground-ball single to make it 3-1. No team in the league went oppo and hit grounders at a higher rate than the Brewers in the regular season.

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Milwaukee will have Logan Henderson on the bump on Saturday night, while Drew Rasmussen will toe the slab for Tampa Bay.

Dallas Mavericks star Cooper Flagg exited Friday night's game against the Indiana Pacers with an apparent shoulder injury after taking a hard foul while attempting a layup.

In the final minute of the second quarter, Flagg made a great defensive play to intercept a pass and broke down the court for what was looking like a very easy layup for the second-year pro out of Duke.

What he may not have anticipated was Pacer Aaron Nesmith hustling behind him and fouling him as he approached the basket.

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Flagg went down hard under the basket and stayed down on the floor for some time.

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The Mavericks weren't big on that one for obvious reasons. You've always got to stick up for your stars.

Nesmith was dealt a flagrant foul, but not before some pushing and shoving broke out.

And shout-out to Pacers assistant coach Jenny Boucek, who dove straight into the fray to retrieve Nesmith.

As for Flagg, he unfortunately left the game and did not return.

That was a turning point in the game, considering Dallas was up by 33 points at the time of Nesmith's foul on Flagg. However, this one ended up being way closer than you'd think, given the margin at the half.

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The Mavericks held on to win by a score of 121-108, and while they undoubtedly will be fired up about the win, it might be overshadowed by concern for Flagg.

For the second race this season, NASCAR great Tony Stewart hopped into a Craftsman Truck Series truck, but fans unfortunately didn’t get much time to see Smoke doing his thing at Talladega Superspeedway.

Back in February, Stewart made his return to NASCAR competition when he drove the No. 25 Ram 1500 for Kaulig Racing.

That ended with a crash 39 laps into the race, so Stewart was surely hoping — and fans certainly were too — that he would make it the full race distance.

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Unfortunately, his time on track was even shorter.

The race got off to a good start for Stewart. He qualified 29th, but was able to gain 11 positions in the first 15 laps.

But on lap 17, Stewart Friesen lost control of his No. 52 Toyota Tundra on the backstretch, which caused a big, nine-car wreck.

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That was it for Stewart, which is a real shame for a few reasons. First of all, it sure seems like that truck of his had some potential, given how many positions he picked up early. Secondly, fans didn't get to see as much of the NASCAR Hall of Famer back on track.

Welp. You got 17 laps.

Hey, that is the reality of superspeedway racing. You need a good helping of luck to go along with that quick truck.

"Yeah, it’s just a racing deal," Stewart said, per the Associated Press. "That’s part of it. Stewart (Friesen) couldn’t go anywhere. He had an issue, and he’s stuck in the middle. So he was doing the best he could to hang onto it, and just everybody around him got caught up in it."

Well, maybe we'll get to see Stewart back in the Truck Series at some point next season. There aren't any concrete plans, but he's certainly due for some good luck.

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The race win ended up going to Spire Motorsports' Sammy Smith, who managed to take the checkered flag in overtime. It was Smith's first career Truck Series win and came the same day that it was announced that he will compete full-time for Tricon Garage next season.

While the NTT IndyCar Series regularly heads north of the border to race in the Toronto area, it’s been a minute since the series went abroad. That changes next season when it heads to Spain, the homeland of defending five-time series champion Alex Palou.

IndyCar released the second phase of its 2027 season schedule — every race of which will be broadcast on Fox for the third straight year — and the big addition was a race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on July 18.

It's a big deal because it marks the first time that IndyCar has left North America since 2013, and the first time it has held a race since 2007, which predates the Champ Car Indy Racing League merger that formed today's IndyCar Series.

ALEX PALOU CLINCHES FOURTH STRAIGHT INDYCAR TITLE AND FIFTH OVERALL IN DOUBLEHEADER AT MILWAUKEE MILE

This is a big deal, and it's great to see the series taking advantage of a generationally talented driver like Palou to help expand the series abroad.

Just imagine the scenes if he crosses the stripe first on Spanish soil (and it's not hard to imagine because he usually is at the very least in the picture for a win in just about every race).

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The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has been a fixture on the F1 calendar and is often used for preseason testing, though it will begin hosting races every other year. It’s also part of the MotoGP schedule.

The track should produce a solid race. In recent years in F1, it's been criticized for a lack of on-track overtaking. It flows from corner to corner, and there aren't many heavy braking zones, which are helpful for overtaking. Ironically, that is what makes it a good fit for MotoGP.

But IndyCars are not F1 cars. They're better when it comes to on-track overtakes, and I think we'll get to see some great racing all around the track.

Unfortunately, to add this race, some had to come off the schedule, and one casualty was a trip to the Nashville Superspeedway.

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The Freedom 250 Grand Prix — which was always marketed as a one-off event — will not take place in 2027. Of course, it was announced later than the rest of the schedule. The overwhelming success of this summer’s race should have everyone itching to return to D.C., but at the moment, it’s not happening.

Team USA's two Olympic heroes are now NHL teammates.

Goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who stopped 41 of 42 shots against Canada in the gold medal game, was traded to the New Jersey Devils, where he will now team up with Jack Hughes, who netted the golden goal in overtime.

Hellebuyck and Hughes were the stars who helped the United States bring home its first gold medal in Olympic hockey since the Miracle on Ice in 1980.

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He becomes the latest high-profile American Team USA star to leave a Canadian NHL team for one in the United States. In June, the Ottawa Senators dealt captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers, where he joined his brother, Matthew. In December, the Vancouver Canucks traded star defenseman Quinn Hughes, a brother of Jack and teammate Luke, to the Minnesota Wild. There has long been speculation that Quinn, who scored an overtime winner against Sweden in the quarterfinals, wants to join his brothers in New Jersey.

The process to trade Hellebuyck became messy, especially after the goalie went public with his request to leave the Winnipeg Jets in September. The Jets suspended the goalie for failing to report for camp in a disciplinary move that extended into the season with Hellebuyck not getting paid.

The Devils sent center Dawson Mercer, goalie Nico Daws, prospect Alexander Command, forward Nick Bjugstad, a 2029 second-round pick and a 2027 seventh-rounder to Winnipeg for Hellebuyck.

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When training camp opened, new Devils general manager Sunny Mehta said he was very comfortable with the team’s goaltending situation. Since then, Daws and Jake Allen have combined for an .880 save percentage, which ranks 23rd among 32 teams.

Hellebuyck is a three-time Vezina Trophy winner and was named the NHL's MVP of the 2024-25 season.

Following their gold medal victory, Hellebuyck and Hughes were among the members of the team who attended the State of the Union address days later where President Donald Trump announced that Hellebuyck would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Hellebuyck also was Team USA's goalie during the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025.

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With a 345-208-55 regular-season record, Hellebuyck ranks 27th in career wins on the NHL list, and fifth among U.S.-born players. Among U.S.-born goalies with 300 or more career starts, his .916 save percentage ranks fourth and 2.58 goals-against average ranks sixth.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

It may be starting to get redundant but, "Yes," the NFL game between the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers remains on track, a league spokesman told OutKick and Fox News Digital on Friday.

The question came up – again – because the most successful soccer team in France on Friday announced it has postponed its match on Sunday in Paris under police orders.

Paris-Saint Germain issued a statement that said it has "taken note" of the order from the Paris Police Prefecture prohibiting the organization of the Paris Saint-Germain-Olympique Lyonnais match.

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"Accordingly, we inform you that the match between the two clubs, originally scheduled for this Sunday, October 25, has been postponed to Monday, October 26, at 8:30 p.m. at the Parc des Princes," the club said in a statement.

The Paris police requested the change because police and security resources are stretched thin due to mass protests, ongoing civil unrest, and France's first NFL game happening in the region, per multiple reports.

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That NFL game remains as scheduled on Sunday starting at 9:30 a.m. in the United States.

The NFL said so in reply to an email from OutKick and Fox News Digital asking whether and how its decision to play on Sunday is impacted by the decision by PSG.

It's not.

And that is quite clear considering NFL elites and the French government expect the game to go on. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Saints owner Gayle Benson and Steelers owner Art Rooney II met with French President Emmanuel Macron for a luncheon meeting Friday at the Élysée Palace in Paris.

According to a league source, the topics discussed at the two-hour gathering included security for the game, the readiness of the Stade de France, where the game is to be played, and the growth of flag football in France.

The fact the French President met with the highest representatives from both squads and there has been no change in the status of the game suggests this thing is going to happen come heck or high rioting.

And on that front, it seems Saturday is a key day because protests which may or may not evolve into wider civil unrest are planned for that day.

Organizers of the Paris protest told the Associated Press that an administrative court overturned a protest ban issued by police after they challenged it. The Paris prefecture previously said the ban was necessary, given the risk of street violence after groups of masked youth clashed with officers, looted shops and torched cars over the weekend.

The organizers signed a police document stating that the protest would remain stationary due to the risk of violence.

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More bans were expected in the coming days. Macron previously said ban measures aim to protect city centers, businesses and public buildings.

Macron said after a special security meeting at the Elysée Palace that the strategy adopted for the coming days is to ban protests requested by "individuals or groups with no legitimate authority."

"The rules are simple, and I think they’re just common sense. The general recommendation is that there should be no demonstrations in the coming days," he said. "For those who still want to protest, if they are trade unions, prefects will propose alternative routes."

Macron blamed last weekend's violence on "actions led by radical far-left groups who aimed to bring the Republic down," in addition to criminals who came to loot.

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The Standard takes a look at the leading contenders on betting sites to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or

Game 1 of the World Series is here, and we have the Tampa Bay Rays taking on the Milwaukee Brewers. Hard Rock Bet is bringing new users $500 in No Sweat Bets to wager on tonight’s game. 

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Rays vs Brewers, Friday, Oct 23, 2026 at 8:00 pm ET | Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI | FOX

We’ve seen these teams both put together excellent regular seasons, and now great postseason runs. The Rays won 98 games in the regular season, then beat the Yankees in three games and the Guardians in six. The Brewers were able to win 103 games, the most in baseball, and then beat the Padres in four games before sweeping the Dodgers. 

Let’s take a look at the likely starting lineups for each team. 

Tampa Bay Rays: 

1. Yandy Diaz, DH
2. Jonathan Aranda, 1B
3. Liam Hicks, C
4. Junior Caminero, 3B
5. Chandler Simpson, LF
6. Victor Mesa Jr., RF
7. Jonny DeLuca, CF
8. Richie Palacios, 2B
9. Taylor Walls, SS

Milwaukee Brewers: 

1. Jackson Chourio, LF
2. Bryce Turang, 2B
3. William Contreras, C
4. Jake Bauers, 1B
5. Christian Yelich, DH
6. Garrett Mitchell, CF
7. Cooper Pratt, SS
8. Sam Frelick, RF
9. David Hamilton, 3B

The pitching matchup tonight features two of the best pitchers in the league. The Rays have Nick Martinez, more of a finesse pitcher, while the Brewers have Jacob Misiorowski, a power pitcher who will try to overpower hitters.

Which team will come out on top? New users are being offered $500 in No Sweat Bets on Hard Rock Bet after a $5 wager. You bet $5 on a -500 or longer wager and receive ten No Sweat Bet tokens, one each day for ten days. If those bonus bets lose, you’ll receive $50 bonus bet tokens. 

Rays vs Brewers Odds

Odds are subject to change

Tonight is the first game of the World Series, with the Rays heading into Milwaukee to take on the Brewers. BetMGM is offering new users a chance to have their first World Series bet, up to $1,500, covered if it loses when using promo code FOXNEWS. 

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Rays vs Brewers, Friday, Oct 23, 2026 at 8:00 pm ET | Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI | FOX

The Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers only played three games during the regular season, so these teams aren’t overly familiar with each other. The two teams haven’t played since the last week of March, so things have changed. Let’s take a quick look at the three games from the season and how they went. 

In game 1 of the regular season series, the Rays won 3-2. That game started with Yandy Diaz hitting a home run to give the Brewers a lead. William Contreras hit a two-run homer in the sixth to give the Brewers a lead. Then, in the top of the seventh, the Rays tied the game before getting to closer Trevor Megill in the ninth. 

Game 2 saw the Brewers win with a 6-2 victory. This wasn’t as much of a back-and-forth game. The game started with another homer for the Rays and another run in the fifth, but that was all they could muster. In the bottom of the 5th, the Brewers got three runs. In the bottom of the sixth, they added another two and an insurance run in the eighth. 

The final game of the series went to the Brewers with an 8-2 win. For the third straight game, the Rays scored first, and they did it via a home run. A two-run homer from Yandy Diaz was all they could muster on offense. In the bottom of the 3rd, the Brewers tied it with a two-run bomb of their own off Bryce Turang’s bat. The Rays bullpen fell apart in the eighth inning as the Brewers scored six runs. 

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Rays vs Brewers Odds

Odds are subject to change

The World Series starts on Friday with Game 1 between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers. FanDuel is offering new users a chance to wager $5 and earn $350 in bonus bets. Wager $5 on tonight’s game and receive a $50 bonus bet token. Repeat that process for seven days to earn the full $350.

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Rays vs Brewers, Friday, Oct 23, 2026 at 8:00 pm ET | Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI | FOX

Any time a team wins the championship, it is a historical moment. The team goes down in history as the best team from that series. They get to hoist a banner into the rafters, and they also get a ring to commemorate the achievement. Forever, they will be noted in the history books, and they will be the answer to trivia questions. 

This season, two teams will make franchise history, as neither has won a World Series before this season. One of them will eliminate that note from their history books. The Rays have existed since 1998, and this is the third time they have made it to the World Series. Tampa has lost each of their first two appearances. 

The Milwaukee Brewers are in their 58th season, with 57 being in Milwaukee. They have never won the World Series, and this is just the second time they have gone to the World Series. The last time they appeared in the World Series was in 1982, when they lost 4-3 to the St. Louis Cardinals. 

One of these teams needs just four wins to get their franchise’s first World Series title. Both have been excellent this season with strong pitching and consistent hitting. Game 1 starts tonight and will give one team a big advantage in the series. 

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Rays vs Brewers Odds

Odds are subject to change

We are just moments away from the first pitch of the 2026 World Series between the Rays and Brewers. Underdog is getting new users in on the game with an offer to bet $10 and receive $50 in bonuses.

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Rays vs Brewers, Friday, Oct 23, 2026 at 8:00 pm ET | Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI | FOX

Every pitch matters more when the postseason starts, and both teams have dynamic pitching staffs that have provided great innings this season. We’ve seen strong starting pitching, and we’ve seen both bullpens dominate their opponents. Let’s take a look at how the two teams stacked up in pitching in the regular season:

Tampa Bay Rays

• 3.70 ERA, seventh in baseball
• 201 homers allowed, eighth most in the sport
• 409 walks allowed, fewest in baseball
• 1,322 strikeouts, 19th in the Majors
• Best WHIP in baseball at 1.14
• Opponents are hitting just .224 against the Rays, fourth in baseball

Milwaukee Brewers

• 3.51 ERA, best in the National League, second in baseball
• 10th fewest home runs allowed at 171
• 518 walks issued, 11th in the Majors
• Second most strikeouts thrown at 1,544
• Fourth-best WHIP at 1.18
• Second in the Majors with a .221 opponent batting average

Both teams clearly have a strong pitching staff that goes deeper than just the rotation. The Brewers have a Cy Young winner starting, and the Rays have a deep rotation. Which one will prevail in this series? 

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Rays vs Brewers Pitching Matchup

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Rays vs Brewers, Friday, Oct 23, 2026 at 8:00 pm ET | Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI | FOX

The Tampa Bay Rays head to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers in Game 1 of the World Series. Let’s take a look at how these two teams stacked up during the regular season. 

Tampa Bay Rays

• 98 Wins - first in the American League
• 736 runs scored, 13th in baseball
• 1405 hits - first in the American League, second in baseball
• 169 home runs, 22nd overall
• 164 stolen bases, second in baseball, first in the American League
• .258 batting average, tied for best in baseball
• 5th in baseball with a .326 OBP
• .402 slugging percentage 15th in the majors

Milwaukee Brewers

• 103 wins, best in baseball
• 832 runs scored, second in baseball
• 1422 hits, tops in all of baseball
• 154 home runs, 22nd in baseball, second to last in the Majors
• 5th in baseball with 162 stolen bases
• Tied with Rays for best team batting average in baseball at .258
• Top OBP in the Majors at .341
• 11th best slugging percentage in baseball

Both of these teams are having great seasons and are near the top in every major statistical category outside of home runs. You have to wonder which team will get the hit when it matters most. 

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Rays vs Brewers Odds

Odds are subject to change

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Rays vs Brewers, Friday, Oct 23, 2026 at 8:00 pm ET | Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI | FOX

The two best teams in baseball — at least in terms of record for both leagues — square off in the World Series. Tampa Bay locked up the top spot in the American League, while the Brewers had the best record overall in baseball. 

Getting here was a bit more of a challenge for the Rays than it was for the Brewers. They started their postseason against the New York Yankees, but made quick work of them, winning in three games. In the American League Championship Series, they had to take on the Guardians. They were able to win the series 4-2, even after going down 1-0 and 2-1 in the series. 

The Brewers are one of those teams that feel like it could be destiny. The team won 103 games this season and has home-field advantage in this series. They faced the Padres in the first series of the postseason and won 3-1. In the National League Championship Series, they destroyed the Dodgers. Last year, they were swept by Los Angeles out of the postseason, and this year, they returned the favor. 

Which of these two teams will achieve their ultimate goal of winning a World Series? The Rays have to find a way to deal with the tough pitching. The Brewers need to figure out how to navigate a potent lineup. 

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Rays vs Brewers Odds

Odds are subject to change

The NBA is just a few days old and we've already seen two teams blow 20-point leads. That happens more often than you'd probably imagine, and this year I'm making a point to live bet on the team that is losing big. Last night the 76ers looked awful, but they came back in the second half of the game and covered the short spread. I'm sure it will happen somewhere today as well. There are a ton of great games to choose from, but I've got my eye on the Hawks and Hornets game.

The Atlanta Hawks are one of the teams that have a bit of excitement behind them coming into this year. They revamped their roster quite a bit over the past few years, but now it seems like they have decided to build their team around Jalen Johnson. It also helps that they have two really good defenders - Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels. The team moved on from Trae Young last year, who was a facilitator and scorer for them, but also a parking cone on defense, and it never seemed like the team worked with him.

This team is now a little more athletic and younger, but still grounded with a couple of key veterans like CJ McCollum. In their opening game against the Magic, I was most impressed with their shot selection. As a team, they shot 50% from the field and 40% from deep. You really can't expect that to happen consistently, but they did create the good shots. Defensively, they really weren't impressive. They still gave up 125 points to the Magic, which is a lot for an Orlando team that isn't known for being offensively efficient.

The Charlotte Hornets remain one of those teams that I really can't understand. They have been terrible for years, and the one time they sniffed success, they decided it was time to trade away their (arguably) best player. They sent LaMelo Ball over to the Timberwolves, but that's probably because they have Coby White, and they seem to want to invest in Kon Knueppel. Unfortunately for them, Knueppel is out with an injury right now, so the team is missing a major player.

In their first game, they unveiled their new-look roster and beat the Brooklyn Nets on the road. This team is comprised of multiple role players, but right now, their biggest semblance of a star is Brandon Miller. No offense to Miller, but if he is responsible for leading the team for multiple games, you're probably asking for trouble. I do think the Hornets are going to be hovering around the play-in positioning for the postseason, but I really don't think they've improved from last year.

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I really don't enjoy taking favorites on the road in the NBA. Role players don't play as well on the road as they do at home, but in this one, I'm willing to make an exception. The Hawks are the better team, have a better offense, and I think they should win this one. They do play at home tomorrow, against a tougher opponent, so this could be a trap spot, but I'm going to take them on the moneyline at -135. I do think they know how to win, and I think the Hornets are trying to figure things out.

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It feels like just yesterday that I was betting on Paul Skenes to light up the Mets and keep them from scoring on Opening Day of the baseball season. I was dead wrong about that one because Skenes didn’t even last two innings in the game. Since then, it has been a pretty strong baseball season overall, but I’ve struggled a bit in the postseason. Game 1 of the World Series is tonight, and I’m looking forward to getting a win in this one.

The Tampa Bay Rays have been better at home than on the road this season, but in the playoffs they’ve gone 3-1. They were the best team in the American League and beat the Yankees, a divisional foe, in three games in the American League Division Series. It was a bit harder for them in the American League Championship Series as the Guardians took the Rays to six games. Ultimately, the Rays stopped the Cleveland offense, and that made the difference for the club in the series.

Tonight, they are sending out Nick Martinez to the hill. For the season, Martinez was 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He only has 109 strikeouts for the season; he isn’t really a power pitcher. He finds ways to get guys out, and that’s really what matters. In the postseason, he has allowed three earned runs over nine innings with just six strikeouts and three walks. He did not face the Brewers at all this season, but they are hitting .246 against him over 122 at-bats.

The Milwaukee Brewers were the best team in baseball this season, and they’ve looked like the best team in baseball in the postseason. The Brewers went 103-59 this season and were almost 30 games above .500 in Milwaukee. In the postseason, they’ve looked absolutely dominant, getting rid of the Padres in just four games. If you watched the Padres-Brewers series, you might have said the Padres could’ve won it. You’d be right. There were some odd games, but the Brewers never said die. That was the same result in the Dodgers series. Every time the Brewers went down, they came back and ultimately won the game.

It won’t be an easy night with Martinez on the mound, but they have their own elite starter going. Jacob Misiorowski takes the ball and brings a great campaign with him. He went 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP. He is a power pitcher and could throw one at 110 mph with all the adrenaline that will be going in this game. I only somewhat joke about that. He was elite in Milwaukee this season, posting a 1.52 ERA. In the postseason, he has looked a bit shaky. He has made two starts, gone 8.1 innings, and allowed three earned runs. He has allowed nine hits and four walks as well, which gives me a bit of concern. He faced the Rays earlier in the year and allowed two earned runs on four hits over six innings while striking out seven hitters.

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The Rays are a team that struggles against power pitching. Something feels different about the Brewers this season, like they are destined to win this year. I actually think Martinez starting is a terrible look for the Rays. It feels a bit like they will lose to Misiorowski, and they know it. I'm going to take the Brewers on the run line at +129. Pitching advantage, home field, and this lineup has the edge in this one and I don't think it will be close.

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Well, this might be the most insane piece of "advice" you'll ever hear directed at a Major League Baseball team.

The Los Angeles Dodgers failed to reach the World Series for the third consecutive season, getting swept by the unrelenting Milwaukee Brewers superteam. For most Dodgers fans, it was disappointing, sure, but the success of the previous two years, the big postseason moments from superstar players, and the parades through Los Angeles dampened the blow relative to other seasons.

But local sports media have spent the past week searching for the explanation for LA's "failure." The actual reason the Dodgers lost, that the postseason in baseball is little more than a coin flip and small sample sizes flatten out any talent advantage, is boring and uninteresting. For example, in game four, the Brewers' expected batting average was .237, while LA's was .296. Milwaukee scored six runs, though the Dodgers scored just four – which is how we get to this week's article from Bill Plaschke at the Los Angeles Times.

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His postmortem of the Dodgers' season places much of the blame on, uh, Shohei Ohtani.

There's a kernel of truth to it; Ohtani was clearly limited by several injuries down the stretch, with a lengthy slump accompanying an increase in chase rate and swing and miss. There's no way to tell how those injuries happened. Yes, Ohtani had returned to pitching full time in 2026, but LA's famously careful with Ohtani on the mound, and there's no indication that it was directly responsible for him getting hurt.

But the whole team struggled offensively in October, with a .195/.267/.323 batting line and a remarkable .116 batting average with runners in scoring position. Going 5-43 with runners in scoring position isn't going to cut it, and it's a far bigger problem than just one player.

The big debate though, that Plaschke references, is whether Ohtani should continue pitching, being a two-way player, in 2027 and beyond. Ohtani and the team have already said he intends to do both next year, but Plashcke believes he knows better.

"...He's changing. His body is changing. His skills are changing. He's 32, with 13 seasons of professional baseball burdening his lumbering 6-foot-4 frame, and part of his game is slowly disintegrating under the weight."

"Lumbering" is an odd way to describe a player who stole 50 bases two seasons ago, but don't worry, it gets worse.

"The problem is his pitching," Plaschke continues, saying that it's "distracting him" and "exhausting him" and that "enough is enough."

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That's debatable, sure, but again, there's logic to it. Ohtani is such a valuable hitter that there's a case to be made for him to focus exclusively on being a DH. But what he says next has well, no logic or reason behind it whatsoever.

"They need to pull him off the pitching mound permanently. And if he insists on continuing this detrimental charade, they need to seriously consider trading him."

Alright, well now we've officially left the world of rationality and gone into some sort of bizarre performance art trolling act. Or something. Hopefully.

Trading Shohei Ohtani is somewhere beyond insane. Even if he hurt his arm and required surgery to miss nine months and permanently put pitching behind him, trading him would be insane. Even if he only pitches 50-70 innings a year, that's immensely valuable combined with his hitting prowess. For context, top end relievers are making $20+ million a season to throw 60-70 innings. Ohtani's offense is worth $50-60 million a year, and even in limited usage, his pitching is worth at least the additional $20 million if not much more. With the upside of even greater value.

Then there's the fact that with Ohtani pitching in 2025, the Dodgers won the World Series. Including game three, when Ohtani hit two homers to help get the game to extra innings. Then there was game four of the 2025 NLCS, when he had arguably the single greatest performance in baseball history. Going six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and hitting three home runs, including one that literally left Dodger Stadium.

But that's the baseball side of it.

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Ohtani is such a transcendent star that he's worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year to Los Angeles in advertising, marketing, and promotions. His contract, even at a heavily deferred $70 million per season, is one of the biggest bargains in the sport. The extra revenue he brings in has allowed the Dodgers to go from being a top three or four spending team to being number one. The rush from the other 29 teams to acquire him would be quite literally hilarious, because trading Ohtani would be an act of financial suicide for LA and a massive windfall for a new team.

Plashcke is frequently not a serious person, but this is enough to warrant serious questioning of his ability to continue writing about baseball for a "legitimate" newspaper. The LA Times should ask him to focus on his one true love; left-wing politics. Clearly, his attempt to try to do both is hurting both himself, and the paper, and should lead to some very serious conversations between the two sides.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are canceling events left in right in France even as plans for Sunday's regular-season game against the New Orleans Saints remains on track.

The Steelers arrived in the country on Friday morning after a Thursday evening flight from Western Pennsylvania.

The plan was for the team to go from the airport to a practice, but that never happened. Practice was instead canceled.

STEELERS CANCEL PARIS FAN EVENT OVER FEARS OF UNREST WHILE NFL PUSHES AHEAD WITH ITS OWN EVENT

And, no, it wasn't because of the civil unrest that has been in the news for a couple of weeks. It was that darn French wind.

"We had two plans coming in," Steelers coach Mike McCarthy told reporters on Friday. "Just really wanted to activate the players after the long flight, just based off the communication with the weather, and just in reality of the timing too.

"We had to make the decision before we landed just to put it together. So, but frankly, driving by it, I wish we would have stopped. But this is part of our plan, so we thought it'd be definitely activating."

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Winds in the area were reported at a steady 20 mph so one might understand the team's decision not to trek over to practice. And no civil unrest has been reported in the area regardless of that being a problem in past days. It's a problem McCarthy says is on his mind.

"Oh, definitely," he said. "It's my responsibility to always be aware of anything that surrounds our football team, so definitely in tune. I think the NFL, the local government and everybody involved have done an excellent job communicating.

"We're very confident in our experience here is going to be very positive."

The Steelers on Thursday canceled their Fan House event for fans in Paris because of the events of past days.

The team released a statement to OutKick about that cancellation.

"We are honored to play in the first-ever regular season NFL game in France.

"The NFL, as they do for every game, including international games, is working closely with local authorities and partners on all operational and security matters. As stated by the NFL, there have been no disruptions or impacts at League sites.

"As a precautionary measure, the Steelers designated bar that had been planned in Bastille – an area that has experienced recent disruptions – will not proceed.

EXCLUSIVE: SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO GIVES NFL COMMISSIONER ASSURANCES THAT GAME IN FRANCE 'WILL BE FINE'

"We continue to look forward to the game versus the Saints this Sunday at the Stade de France."

The Saints have so far experienced no operational setbacks that have been reported. And the Steelers hope they can also get on track and on schedule after Friday.

"We just arrived, so we're right on schedule so far," McCarthy said with a laugh.

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What an amazing night of football we got Thursday night, huh?

The Bears beat the Patriots in a thriller in Chicago, and we had two overtime games down in the college ranks. Appalachian State upset JMU, 34-31, in Boone, while East Carolina blew a double-digit lead in Memphis en route to a 41-34 loss.

Those are the nights we dream about during the dog days of summer, folks. When you're sitting through another insufferable WNBA game in July, just a reminder that you're GRINDING away for fall nights like we got on Thursday.

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They're the best, and they don't stick around for long. We get maybe a dozen of them a year if we're a lucky. Last night was one of them. I hope you all took advantage.

Now, you know one fanbase who did not take advantage of last night's glorious fall night of football? The so-called "fans" of the Memphis Tigers, who apparently forgot the fellas were scheduled to play on Thursday this week.

Take a look:

Gonna need better effort next time around

Goodness gracious. The "official" box score lists last night's attendance at over 27,000. Surely it filled in a bit after kickoff, but I don't see how they got to 27K. Seems ambitious to me.

It's a bad look. There's no way around it, and no reason to sugarcoat it. It's just a bad look for Memphis and its fans.

"But Zach, it was a Thursday night!"

So? What does that mean? Are the kids not allowed to go to Thursday night games? Is there a rule in Memphis that says fans and students can only attend Saturday games?

"But Zach, it was East Carolina!"

OK. And? The Tigers are a 5-2 team and still very much alive for a playoff spot. I know they lost last week to Tulane, which certainly dealt them a blow, but it's the G6. Anything can happen down there.

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You'd like to think a 5-2 Division I college football team would draw a bigger crowd than the local Moose Lodge for the Sunday brunch buffet.

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"Stop picking on us, Zach. There were a bunch of games last night. Surely we weren't the only no-shows!"

Actually ...

Different worlds, folks.

Choose your fighter(s).

Chicks dig the ... small ball?

Bunting, situational hitting, and productive outs had seemed to become a lost art in today's baseball. But the two teams in this year's World Series brought it all back.

The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays were each the top seed in the National and American Leagues, respectively, and throughout this postseason, they've shown why.

Now, one of those franchises will be crowned World Series champions for the first time, and all the action will be on FOX.

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The Brewers had the second-lowest payroll in all of baseball, while the Rays had the eighth-smallest. Those payrolls have led to a heavy emphasis on analytics. But their analytics have zigged when the rest of the league's have zagged.

It is no secret, despite how much people want to deny it, that home runs win (more on that later). That has been the case in the regular season as well as the postseason since stickball. Yet the Brewers and Rays ranked 29th and 22nd in total home runs this season.

Their success, instead, has come at the hands of good old batting average - they both hit .258, good for the top two spots in the league. Both teams also had the highest batting averages with runners in scoring position (Rays were .284, Brewers were .276).

Tampa Bay also ranked first in sacrifice bunts with 45, and Milwaukee's 37 were the fifth-most. That's not to say that bunting means you will win - the Los Angeles Dodgers had 23 combined sac bunts in 2024 and 2025, both seasons that ended in titles.

But it works for the Rays and Brewers.

The Rays (49) and Brewers (32) also ranked first and second in bunt hits. They also were tied for second in infield hits, behind only the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In the days where exit velo has taken over (hitting the ball hard has always mattered, by the way), the Rays had the highest soft-hit percentage and second-worst hard-hit percentage. The Brewers ranked 12th and 18th in those categories and ranked sixth in medium-hit percentage.

Nobody pulls the ball less often than the Brewers, and nobody goes up the middle and oppo more than they do, as well. The Brewers even hit ground balls at a higher rate than anybody and fly balls at the lowest (the Rays are fifth in grounders and 25th in fly balls). All of that is a tremendous shy-away from modern-day data taking over.

Strikeouts have become more acceptable in baseball, but not in Florida. The Rays had the lowest strikeout percentage this season. Milwaukee, though, actually struck out at a higher percentage than most teams - they ranked 14th throughout the season, and they're actually striking out a ton this October.

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The Brewers have actually strayed away from their brand of baseball this October. In the National League Championship Series, they had the largest three-true-outcome percentage (home run, walk, strikeout) out of any LCS team since 1969. They were outhit in two games and struck out more than the Dodgers in each game. The walks shouldn't surprise anybody, as they had the highest walk rate in the regular season.

But they out-homered the Dodgers in each game (the Dodgers went homerless in three of the games), and all season long, Milwaukee hit home runs that hurt badly.

Despite hitting the second-fewest in the league, they actually had the ninth-most home runs with a runner on base and the highest percentage of multi-run homers in the league.

The Rays also used the long ball throughout their American League Division Series against the New York Yankees and to clinch the pennant against the Cleveland Guardians.

In all of this, the pitching cannot be dismissed. The Brewers have maybe the best pitcher in the sport in Jacob Misiorowski, and it feels like the Rays can pick up anyone reading this and turn them into a weapon on the bump.

Brewers pitchers own a 2.03 ERA this postseason, while the Rays' staff sits at 2.59. Opponents are hitting just .183 and .201 off them, respectively, and they are allowing fewer than one homer per game.

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Small ball and elite pitching undeniably got these small-market juggernauts to the big dance, but what they've proven this October is they can beat you in multiple ways - even by going the apparently dreaded "boom or bust." Now, all that is to be seen is which style while bring it home.

All the action begins Friday in Milwaukee at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.