Pinstripes and Dodgers blues as MLB heads back to its roots
The Sporting Tribune's Doug Padilla previews the classic battle this weekend between the Dodgers and Yankees in New York.
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1. Pinstripes and Dodgers blues as MLB heads back to its roots
The Sporting Tribune's Doug Padilla previews the classic battle this weekend between the Dodgers and Yankees in New York.
Forever the younger brother in baseball’s royal family, the Dodgers will head back to their roots this weekend to face the past and take stock of their immediate future.
The Dodgers and Yankees will meet starting Friday where the animosity for one another all began, in New York for a three-game series.
Said Yankees manager Aaron Boone to reporters Thursday: “I think it’s going to be an amazing atmosphere,”
Long considered rivals, even as matchups have been relatively infrequent in the 83 years since they first met, this weekend will mark the first time the Dodgers and Yankees have played each other in consecutive seasons since the 1977 and 1978 World Series.
And in a sign of how big brother has long been the tormentor, the Yankees won both of those World Series. The teams have met for the title 11 times in history and the Yankees have won eight of them.
The Dodgers have had their day, though. The last time the teams met for the title, the Dodgers won it all in 1981. And the only team to pull off a four-game sweep in a World Series matchup between the teams was the Dodgers in 1963.
2. Can the Dodgers solve their RISP problem?
The Sporting Tribune's Arash Markazi wonders how far the Dodgers can go if they continue to strand runners on base.
It’s still June but it felt like the last couple of Octobers for the Dodgers during their mostly forgettable trip to Pittsburgh.
It was yet another reminder that as good as the Dodgers have looked this season – and they have looked historically good at times – it could all come crashing down early in the NL Division Series if the Dodgers go up against a team with great pitching and they fail to hit with runners in scoring position.
It’s an issue that has plagued the Dodgers stretching back to 2021 against the San Francisco Giants. Despite beating the Giants in a grueling five-game NLDS, the Dodgers left 32 men on base and hit just .200 with runners in scoring position against the Giants before batting .250 with RISP in losing to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS.
They were bounced by the San Diego Padres in the 2022 NLDS in four games after hitting 5 for 34 with RISP and going 0 for 17 with RISP in Games 2 and 3. Their struggles continued last season when they were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 NLDS, going 2 for 12 with RISP through the first two games at home.
It’s a staggering and frustrating stretch for a team that became the first in MLB history to win at least 100 games in four straight non-shortened seasons. The problem is when you get past the regular season and are in a five-game series, anything can happen when you face stellar pitching and can’t bring runners home.
3. Sparks face Wings for second time in Los Angeles
The Sparks face the Dallas Wings for the second time in Los Angeles after losing to the Wings, 84-83, on May 26 in Crypto.com Arena, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Rey Moralde.
The second opponent in the Sparks’ three-game home stand is a familiar opponent.
The Dallas Wings are back in Crypto.com Arena to face the Los Angeles Sparks. The last time they faced each other was on May 26th when the Wings scraped by the Sparks with a one-point win.
But the Wings have not really done well since. Dallas has lost three straight games after that victory in L.A. Their record is now down to 3-5.
The Sparks are right below them at 2-7 and they are in a three-game skid themselves. So one of these teams will get to snap that slide on Friday night. This will also be part of the Commissioner’s Cup, where the Sparks are currently 0-2.
In that May 26th contest, Cameron Brink scored a career-best 21 points. She did get in foul trouble in the third quarter but Brink managed to play through it in the second half.
“That’s just something I need to continue to adjust with,” Brink said after the game. “Coaches and my teammates are giving me grace so I’m just going to work through it.
“There were a lot of fouls that didn’t go our way. I think there was one foul where I was just completely tackled, blindsided out of nowhere. So that led to a frustration foul on my end so that’s where maturity comes in.”
4. Lakers target UConn’s Hurley to be next coach
The Lakers reportedly are ready to offer their coaching job to Dan Hurley, who has led Connecticut to back-to-back NCAA titles.
This was quite a massive twist.
All signs seemed to point to JJ Redick as the next coach for the Lakers. But early Thursday morning, the Lakers reportedly are ready to offer the job to Dan Hurley, who has coached the Connecticut Huskies to back-to-back NCAA championships.
According to ESPN, the Lakers and Hurley have made preliminary contact and both sides are planning to have more conversations about the job. It has also been said that Hurley had been in the forefront of the Lakers’ search since the beginning of the process.
If there was ever any doubt to Hurley’s prowess, LeBron James himself posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) about him as a reply to a podcast interview with Redick.
5. Trick Williams discusses his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
WWE NXT champion Trick Williams speaks with The Sporting Tribune's Fredo Cervantes as he gets ready for NXT Battleground in Las Vegas on Sunday.
The WWE NXT Champion Trick Williams is rising through the ranks, marking the beginning of a promising career.
At NXT Spring Breakin, Williams defeated Ilja Dragunov to become the new NXT Champion. Williams is prepared to defend his title at NXT Battleground this upcoming Sunday in Las Vegas. However, the WWE has not yet announced his opponent.
6. One-on-one with Sparks guard Kia Nurse
Kia Nurse has scored 20 points twice this season so far. She's averaging 12.2 points per game this season. The Sporting Tribune’s Rey Moralde caught up with her this week.
Kia Nurse is quite an inspiration.
In the 2021 WNBA Finals, she suffered an ACL injury that put her out for the 2022 season. Nurse returned to the league for the 2023 season with Seattle, where she played all 40 games.
Nurse came over to the Los Angeles Sparks via trade by Seattle (which also included the #4 pick, who turned out to be Rickea Jackson). She is currently second on the Sparks in scoring as she is averaging 12.2 points per game. She’s already scored over 20 points twice this season. It’s safe to say that she’s completely back from that devastating setback.
We caught up with the former UConn Huskie at Sparks practice on Thursday. We talked about Los Angeles, Canada, how the team is doing, her health, and other things.
7. Video of the Day
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8. Ticket Time
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game Friday:
6:38 p.m. – Astros at Angels – $13
7:00 p.m. – Wings at Sparks – $6
7:00 p.m. – Storm at Aces – $29
9. On the Air
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today:
4:05 p.m. – Dodgers at Yankees – Apple TV
6:38 p.m. – Astros at Angels – Bally Sports West
7:00 p.m. – Wings at Sparks – ION
7:00 p.m. – Storm at Aces – ION
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher. You can also watch every Friday on BLEAV on FuboTV.
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That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!