The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 7-6 in Game 5 on Wednesday to win the World Series four matches to one. Los Angeles trailed behind 5-0 before delivering five runs in the fifth inning. This all came after three fielding mistakes by New York. The Yankees regained the lead in the sixth inning, but two sacrifice flies from the Dodgers in the top of the eighth put them ahead.  “We just took advantage of every mistake that they made that inning,” Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández said of the fifth. “We put some good at-bats together. We put the ball in play. A lot of people say ‘when you put the ball in play, things might happen.’ It happened to us in that inning, and we scored five runs.”  Freddie Freeman won the title of World Series MVP. He hit four home runs and delivering 12 runs across the five matches. Freeman struck a home run once each in the first four matches of the series.  “Every spring training this is our goal,” Freeman said after the win. “For it to come true with this group of guys, I couldn’t ask for a better year. Holy cow.”  Los Angeles has won two World Series in the past five years. They won in the 2020 season that was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. The last title after a full year was in 1988. They dominated the batter’s box and on the mound during their postseason run.  They defeated the New York Mets in six matches in the National League championship series. The Dodgers outscored them by a shared 37-3 in the four victories.  Against the New York Yankees, the Dodgers’ pitching squad kept stifling a power-packed lineup, as they held New York. The Yankees finished third place in MLB with 815 runs in the regular season to only seven runs in the first three matches of the series.  Many of the players who graced this year’s Dodgers squad also featured in the World Series in 2020, including Max Muncy, Walker Buehler, Kiké Hernández, and Mookie Betts. Freeman won the title when he was still with the Atlanta Braves in 2021.  Wednesday’s game was the third championship for Dave Roberts, who managed Los Angeles in 2020 and once won as a player in 2004 with the Boston Red Sox. “This team has zero quit in it,” Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen said postgame. “If we don’t have the outcome that we want, there are always guys out there picking each other up and challenging ourselves to be better. That’s why we won tonight.”

Before the World Series began, Fernando Valenzuela dying was news that rocked the MLB and Mexican baseball. His death hit the Los Angeles Dodgers the hardest, as that was where Valenzuela became a star in the 1980s. Freddie Freeman was crowned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Fall Classic. The Dodgers baseman delivered 12 of the team’s 25 runs in the final and hit four homers, including one in the first match to leave the New York Yankees on the field.  After his award, Freeman talked about Fernando Valenzuela, who would have turned 64 on November 1st.  “It’s hard to put into words. My stepmother is from Los Angeles, she grew up watching Fernando… what Fernando means in the city of Los Angeles and not only in Los Angeles, but for baseball fans around the world. “I wish he was here. I’m glad he’s up there probably with my mom jumping up and down right now, so I’m glad we were able to bring it home. A little bittersweet, but I’m glad we were able to do it for Fernando and his family,” Freeman said.

The top candidate for NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson has been absent for the second day in a row of practice. Jackson did not show up for Thursday’s session due to back and knee injury. Todd Monken confirmed this.  “I mean, it is what it is,” Monken told reporters. “Josh (Johnson) can use the work. That’s what you do. You get prepared for it, like any other position.” Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh trivialized the issue on Wednesday, saying Jackson was taking a rest day.  “He’s been playing great, and we have a lot of football in front of us,” Harbaugh said. “We have a game, a quick game and another big game coming up, so that was warranted today.” After losing 29-24 to the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore began a weeklong schedule between matches. But, after their game with the Denver Broncos, they’ll host division rivals Cincinnati Bengals. This means they will play two matches in five days.  If Jackson is in pain, then the Ravens know that the best thing to do would be to give him enough time to recover. There is no reason to bring him out to the practice field when he is most useful on matchday.  Additionally, if Jackson cannot play in the match, journeyman Johnson is on standby as a substitute. 

The Detroit Red Wings traded Olli Maatta to the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday in place of a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Maatta does not have a point in seven matches this year. But, in 2023-24, he had 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) and a plus-14 rating in 72 matches in 2023-24.  “I think with what we acquired in [Maatta], he’s a two-time Stanley Cup winner,” Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said Wednesday. “He gives a lot of stability to the defence, and that’s what we need. One of the big things that we’re trying to do is cut our goals against, and he’s going to help add in that stability on the back side.” Olli is in the last season of a two-year, $6 million contract ($3 million average annual value) he signed with Detroit on February 16, 2023.  The Pittsburgh Penguins chose Maatta in the first round (No. 22) of the 2012 NHL Draft. He recorded 177 points (40 goals, 137 assists) in 681 regular-season matches with the Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings and Red Wings. Maata also has 27 points (five goals, 22 assists) in 85 Stanley Cup Playoff matches.  “For us to add another Stanley Cup winner to that [locker room], that’s huge for us,” Armstrong said. “One of the things you see with the club, I mean, I talk about this a lot, but I’ll say it again. I think we’re the second youngest team in the League. So, you know, you see games that we had the other night. We’ve got to calm that down and make sure that we have a good veteran presence that’s going to allow us to walk out with the win.” The Hockey Club have lost six of their last seven matches after a 3-0-0 start. It has permitted up to four goals in six of its 10 matches this campaign.  “[He’s] probably one of the hardest working, best players in the game,” Armstrong said. “I’ve known him back from the days when I watched him play for the London Knights (of the Ontario Hockey League). His work ethic is incredible, it’s contagious inside the locker room. He’s a great person. He comes every day as a pro’s pro and tries to get better and tries to make the club better.” Maatta could play for the first time, during Utah Hockey Club vs Calgary Flames on Wednesday, 30th October 2024.  “We’re hungry. We’ve built a lot of assets for these moments where we can help the club out and improve the club and we’re going to look to always improve this club,” Armstrong said. “We talk about the process to go through. There’s some young players going on the ice. We can’t make those players any older. They’ve got to go through the process. But if we can look to add around them and make them better by adding players that have some age and some ability to enhance them, we’re always going to do that. And we’ve got the assets to do that. So every morning we get up, we’re looking to improve the club.”