Sports
Dodgers’ magic number down to single digits
4:34 AM UTC
LOS ANGELES — Start the countdown and put the bubbly on ice. The Dodgers are getting closer to winning the National League West for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons.
Given their dominant stretch over the last two months, it’s been a matter of when, not if, the Dodgers will win the NL West. It hasn’t quite happened yet, but it’s all getting real following a 9-4 win over the Padres on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
Because the Dodgers locked up the season series against the Padres with their 10th win of the head-to-head matchup, Los Angeles’ magic number to win the division dropped from 12 to nine with the victory. The earliest they can clinch a postseason spot is Friday.
“I didn’t realize it was nine,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “It was just a good series. Obviously, those guys are playing with a lot of urgency. It’s good to see us play well tonight, win a series. Still a lot of baseball, but I’m just encouraged.”
Not only did the Dodgers move closer to reclaiming the NL West, but they did it in emphatic fashion. After dropping the first game of the series on Friday, the Dodgers made quite the statement to wrap up the three-game set. Over the last two games, the Dodgers outscored the Padres by 16 runs (21-5).
Of course, the Dodgers’ dominance this season hasn’t been exclusive to the Padres. Los Angeles leads the Majors with 716 runs, 50 more than the Braves. Even with a plethora of injuries, the Dodgers’ pitching staff has been just as dominant, limiting opponents to 422 runs, 16 fewer than the Astros.
Sunday’s game was a prime example of what has made the Dodgers so good this season. Bulk pitcher Ryan Pepiot struggled with his command and forced the bullpen to throw more innings than Roberts would’ve liked. Evan Phillips, their best reliever this season, even looked a bit shaky, allowing his first earned run since July 21.
But on a night when the pitching didn’t show its best, the Dodgers’ offense picked up the slack. Will Smith got the Dodgers on the board, smashing his 21st homer of the season in the fourth inning.
Mookie Betts continued to be a one-man wrecking crew with two more doubles, further improving his case to be in the NL MVP discussion. Trea Turner and Justin Turner also chipped in with run-scoring hits.
However, it was Trayce Thompson who delivered the dagger, smacking a three-run homer off left-hander Adrian Morejon. Since being acquired to hit left-handers, Thompson has been significantly better against right-handers, coming into Sunday’s game with a 1.101 OPS against righties as opposed to .539 against southpaws.
With Cody Bellinger and Joey Gallo struggling at the plate, the Dodgers are going to need Thompson to start hitting lefties. Figuring out the outfield rotation is one of the things the Dodgers will need to address over the next month. Hitting a 424-foot moonshot certainly helps Thompson’s cause.
“He’s been huge, man,” Betts said of Thompson. “Playing great defense, timely hitting. He’s been hitting all year, so it’s not luck. He’s a really good player.”
After falling short against the Giants in 2021, the Dodgers learned just how difficult the road in the postseason is when you don’t win your division. It was the first time in nearly a decade they had to navigate through a Wild Card Game. By the time they met the Braves in the NLCS, the Dodgers were gassed.
Coming into this season, the Dodgers’ ultimate goal is to win the World Series. In order to get there, however, winning the division comes first. At 92-41, the Dodgers have positioned themselves better than anybody in the game.
In fact, they are on pace to break the franchise record of 106 wins. If they get really hot, they could come close to the 2001 Mariners’ record (116). Whether the Dodgers set records remains to be seen, but another division title is a certainty. And the countdown has officially commenced.
“You definitely want to win the division. It gives you a little bit of an easier road in the postseason,” Smith said. “But we just take it one game at a time and not try to look too far away. Just try to win today and tomorrow be back at it.”
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury in U.S. District Court ordered the NFL to pay nearly $4.8 billion in damages Thursday after ruling that the league violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.
The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion.
The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV. The lawsuit claimed the league broke antitrust laws by selling its package of Sunday games at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.
The NFL said it would appeal the verdict. That appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then possibly the Supreme Court.
Should the NFL end up paying damages, it could cost each of the 32 teams approximately $449.6 million.
“We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit,” the league said in a statement. “We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment.
“We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit.”
The trial lasted three weeks and featured testimony from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
“Justice was done. The verdict upholds protection for the consumers in our class. It was a great day for consumers,” plaintiffs attorney Bill Carmody said.
During his closing remarks, Carmody showed an April, 2017, NFL memo that showed the league was exploring a world without “Sunday Ticket” in 2017, where cable channels would air Sunday afternoon out-of-market games not shown on Fox or CBS.
The jury of five men and three women deliberated for nearly five hours before reaching its decision.
Judge Philip S. Gutierrez is scheduled to hear post-trial motions on July 31, including the NFL’s request to have him rule in favor of the league because the judge determined the plaintiffs did not prove their case.
Payment of damages, any changes to the “Sunday Ticket” package and/or the ways the NFL carries its Sunday afternoon games would be stayed until all appeals have been concluded.
The league maintained it had the right to sell “Sunday Ticket” under its antitrust exemption for broadcasting. The plaintiffs said that only covers over-the-air broadcasts and not pay TV.
Other professional sports leagues were also keeping an eye on this case since they also offer out-of-market packages. A major difference though is that MLB, the NBA and the NHL market their packages on multiple distributors and share in the revenue per subscriber instead of receiving an outright rights fee.
DirecTV had “Sunday Ticket” from its inception in 1994 through 2022. The league signed a seven-year deal with Google’s YouTube TV that began with the 2023 season.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 by the Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco but was dismissed in 2017. Two years later, the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over California and eight other states, reinstated the case. Gutierrez ruled last year the case could proceed as a class action.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Olympic team is one of a handful that will supply air conditioners for their athletes at the Paris Games in a move that undercuts organizers’ plans to cut carbon emissions.
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland said Friday that while the U.S. team appreciates efforts aimed at sustainability, the federation would be supplying AC units for what is typically the largest contingent of athletes at the Summer Games.
“As you can imagine, this is a period of time in which consistency and predictability is critical for Team USA’s performance,” Hirshland said. “In our conversations with athletes, this was a very high priority and something that the athletes felt was a critical component in their performance capability.”
The Washington Post reported earlier this month that Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada and Britain were among the other countries with plans to bring air conditioners to France.
Olympic organizers have touted plans to cool rooms in the Athletes Village, which will house more than 15,000 Olympians and sports officials over the course of the games, using a system of cooling pipes underneath the floors.
The average high in Paris on Aug. 1 is 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit). The objective is to keep the rooms between 23-26 degrees (73-79 degrees Fahrenheit). The rooms will also be equipped with fans.
“I want the Paris Games to be exemplary from an environmental point of view,” Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has said about the plans for the Olympics.
According to the International Energy Agency, fewer than 1 in 10 households in Europe has air conditioning, and the numbers in Paris are lower than that. The study said that of the 1.6 billion AC units in use across the globe in 2016, more than half were in China (570 million) and the United States (375 million). The entire European Union had around 100 million.
The Olympics mark the most important stop on the athletic careers of the 10,500-plus athletes who will descend on Paris, which has led some high-profile countries to undercut environmental efforts for the sake of comfort.
“It’s a high-performance environment,” Australian Olympic Committee spokesman Strath Gordon explained to The Post.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers seemed determined to keep playing. And playing. And playing.
The teams opened their Eastern Conference final playoff series with Florida’s 3-2 victory in four overtimes early Friday, with the game ranking as the sixth-longest game in NHL history.
Matthew Tkachuk’s goal came at the 19:47 mark of the fourth OT to end this one, which marked the 15th four-overtime game in NHL history and the longest game in franchise history for each team.
The longest game in NHL history came on March 24, 1936, when the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Maroons 1-0 in the sixth overtime on Mud Bruneteau’s goal at 116 minutes, 30 seconds of extra play.
Florida’s previous record for longest game was 104:31 in Game 4 of the 1996 Stanley Cup final against Colorado. Carolina’s previous record was 114:47 for Game 3 of the 2002 Stanley Cup final.
The only good news for the teams is they had an extended break before this series began. Carolina closed out New Jersey exactly a week earlier, while Florida eliminated Toronto a day later.
But this game ended roughly six hours after Thursday night’s puck drop, and the teams have a Game 2 in less than 48 hours.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
