(NEW YORK) — The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in the 2024 World Series on Wednesday.
Dodgers clinched their second World Series title in the last five years by beating the Yankees 7-6 during Game 5 at Yankee Stadium.
After a historic season, including setting a home run record, Freddie Freeman was named the series’ Most Valuable Player.
While dealing with an ankle injury from the National League Championship Series in September, Freeman hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history during Game 1, in the bottom of the 10th inning at Dodgers Stadium.
After rounding the bases following his grand slam, Freeman ran to his father, “He’s been throwing me batting practice since I can remember. My swing is because of him. My approach is because of him. I am who I am because of him,” Freeman said in his post-game interview.
“If he didn’t throw me batting practice, if he didn’t love the game of baseball, I wouldn’t be here playing this game,” he said. “So that’s Fred Freeman’s moment right there.”
Adding to the list of records that were broken during the Fall Classic, the Dodgers became the first team to secure a World Series win after coming back from five or more runs.
Mookie Betts, Freeman and Teoscar Hernández managed to rally from the Yankees’ five-run lead, tying the score in the fifth inning.
Wednesday’s win marked the Dodgers’ eighth title in franchise history, the first since the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and the first full-season win since 1988.
(NEW YORK) — Tennis star Naomi Osaka is reacting to her early exit from the U.S. Open with a message focusing on pride and motherhood.
Osaka suffered a loss in the second round of the U.S. Open in two straight sets to Czech Karolína Muchová on Thursday.
“Honestly I had typed out a whole caption about how I’m disappointed with myself etc but I’ve been sitting here playing with my daughter and I realized that I couldn’t be more proud of myself,” Osaka wrote on Saturday.
“I gave birth to such an amazing human and I played the US Open? A win is a win,” she continued. “Sure it didn’t work out this time but I have faith it will eventually. Thank you NY 🖤 see you next time.”
Osaka shared photos from the tournament featuring white bows on her outfit along with a video of singer Rihanna saying, “I remember thinking, she can beat me but she can not beat my outfit.”
In a press conference after the match, Osaka opined on her loss saying, “Honestly, if I get past the disappointment, I feel pretty proud of myself to have gotten that many opportunities while still feeling like I could have played much better.”
Prior to Thursday’s loss, the tennis star earned her first top-10 win in four years, beating former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday, advancing to the second round.
Osaka first announced her pregnancy in January of last year, before sharing the arrival of her child in an Instagram post in July of last year.
Naomi Osaka says ‘I don’t feel like I’m in my body’ in candid post after Cincinnati Open loss
In January, Osaka opened up about her postpartum journey in an interview with Glamour.
“Having a baby completely destroys your pelvic floor,” she said. “I was shocked, because I couldn’t get up out of my bed.”
(NEW YORK) — Ahead of an exciting opening night for the 144th U.S. Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York, on Monday, the last American man to win the singles title on that court, Andy Roddick, received a special honor from the USTA Foundation for all of his work as a philanthropist and role model.
“It’s kind of humbling to get an award for philanthropy in the house of Arthur Ashe, in the tennis center of Billie Jean King,” Roddick told ABC News’ Good Morning America on Tuesday after accepting the Serving Up Dreams Award. “I have always said I don’t think tennis gets enough credit for its absolute icons — the people on [its] Mount Rushmore speaking out for social change, doing something bigger than themselves.”
Roddick founded his eponymous foundation in 2000 at just 17 years old with a mission of improving the lives of children and families, to keep kids learning so they can succeed, especially during times when statistics show they’re typically most at risk and falling behind.
“When your heroes do stuff, you fall in line, and all of a sudden you’re doing tennis clinics when you’re young just because Andre Agassi does it, and he set the precedent,” the 41-year-old Grand Slam winner said. “Out of school time matters in a huge way — summer learning loss in lower socioeconomic areas is a big, big deal. So, a parent not having to decide to leave work early to go pick up their kids for their own safety is a big, big deal.”
The Austin, Texas-based tennis stalwart added, “The award is great, I’m happy for our team, but I’m most happy for our kids.”
Tennis legend Andy Roddick shares US Open predictions
Roddick, who won the US Open in 2003, also reflected on the dynamic pool of next-generation American talent who are taking the court over the next two weeks in Flushing with big names like Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Sebastian Korda and Tommy Paul.
“Specifically with the American men, as we currently stand, we have 25% of the Top 20 men [in the world rankings]. That’s a big deal,” he said. “Five in the Top 20 on the men’s side, five in the Top 20 on the women’s side.”
“It seems like they have kind of this healthy jealousy where they all get along, they all respect each other, they all support each other. But also, I feel there’s a little bit of FOMO if someone makes a run to the semis,” he said of the aforementioned singles stars. “I hope someone breaks out in a big way.”
Andy Roddick weighs in on Jannik Sinner doping case
Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner was not suspended from the US Open, despite twice testing positive for steroids, which has drummed up lots of opinions from current and former players, including Roddick.
“There’s a little known Italian player, Marco Bortolotti, who went through the exact same thing two months ago,” he began. “The most recent precedent with the similar circumstances — they found no fault, no negligence. That’s just the way it goes.”
He continued, “People are talking about it’s unfair. It would have been unfair had he gotten a different ruling than someone who was 350 in the World and 110 in the World in Doubles. I don’t think he would put everything at risk for something that didn’t benefit him. It was one billionth of a gram. He’s either the dumbest person on Earth or we should believe him on merit.”
‘Served with Andy Roddick’ takes show live on the road
Roddick also hosts the podcast “Served with Andy Roddick,” breaking down all things tennis with a fresh spin and proceeds going to the Andy Roddick Foundation.
During the US Open, the podcast, presented by Chase, is popping up at the rooftop of Pier 17 for live shows open to Sapphire Reserve members, which is slated to include tennis super fan Seal as a guest on Wednesday.
“He’s a massive, massive tennis fan, and he’s like my energy guru,” Roddick said. “Tennis is largely ignored outside of the live events, so [it’s] just a friendly place to get content on a normal Tuesday.”
For local fans who want to get in on the action, there are also opportunities to book a rooftop tennis clinic with Roddick through Chase experiences.
