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Kiké Hernández trying to ‘stay level’ after slow start with Dodgers, live interview error

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Kiké Hernández trying to ‘stay level’ after slow start with Dodgers, live interview error

The silence on the broadcast was deafening.

In a campaign already full of frustration and inconsistency, Kiké Hernández suffered another exasperating low Friday night.

During a choppy in-game interview between Hernández and the Apple TV broadcast duo of Wayne Randazzo and Dontrelle Willis on Friday — a second-inning chat in which the mic’d up Hernández struggled to hear the broadcasters through an on-field earpiece — a ball was hit to the third baseman right as Willis asked him a question.

“You guys are a close-knit ballclub,” Willis said, just as Gleyber Torres sent a two-hopper Hernández’s way. “Where does that come from?”

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Hernández didn’t have time to answer.

The ball took a big hop, hit him in the midsection, and resulted in his second error of the year. As Torres pulled into first, neither Hernández nor the broadcasters said anything.

The awkward silence lasted close to 30 seconds.

“What was the previous question, before I made that error?” Hernández finally said, after the broadcasters analyzed the grounder — which Hernández said took a “funky” sideways hop — in his ear.

“I don’t want to ask it again, because I don’t want you to boot the ball again,” Willis joked, trying to infuse the moment with some humor. “I’ll take that E for you, big dog.”

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In a split-screen camera shot on the broadcast, a stoic Hernández simply looked forward, focused on the next play.

The entire scene, in hindsight, was a reflection of Hernández’s season so far, one in which the 11-year veteran and Dodgers fan favorite has tried to find the light amid much on-field dismay.

In 50 games to this point, the super-utilityman is batting just .207, second worst on the Dodgers’ active roster ahead of only Chris Taylor.

He also has 31 strikeouts. His OPS is under .600. And he has spent considerable time trying to refine his once-productive swing, recording near-daily observations in a notebook in his locker amid a tedious process of trial and error.

“I feel like I’m, little by little, making progress,” Hernández said. “But you don’t just get rid of bad habits from one day to the next.”

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Especially bad habits, Hernández believes, that were multiple years in the making.

After his initial six-season stint with the Dodgers ended following their 2020 World Series championship, Hernández spent three years with the Boston Red Sox, where he signed as a free agent.

The first went well, when he hit 20 home runs to help Boston reach the American League Championship Series. The latter two, however, were clunkers, caused in part by a pair of sports hernia injuries that hampered his swing.

“I was hurt for two years,” Hernández said. “And when you’re playing hurt, you compensate in many ways.”

Hernández did finish last season decently, batting .262 after being traded back to the Dodgers at the midseason deadline. Before re-signing in L.A. on a one-year deal this offseason, Hernández also underwent surgery to repair his hernias, allowing him to enter this season back at full health.

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“He looks great,” manager Dave Roberts said in spring training. “He’s moving like Kiké of old.”

Swinging like the Kiké of old, though, has proved a taller task over the first couple months.

Mental cues and mechanical thoughts Hernández once relied upon have taken little effect (a problem Taylor also cited after a couple injury-plagued seasons). And while Hernández’s body is no longer ailing, he said, the bad habits he developed have been slow to fully dissipate.

“Bad habits for a couple weeks are hard to get rid of. For a couple months, even harder,” Hernández said. “[For me], it was years. It’s a lot. So just trying to put in the work and understand, maybe there are things that click here or there, but for it to become consistent it’s gonna take some time.”

With a deep breath, he added, “I’ve been giving grace to myself every once in a while … It’s about riding the roller coaster and figuring out a way to stay level, stay present in the moment.”

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Friday’s mid-broadcast error presented his latest test.

While Hernández didn’t blame the error on his in-game interview — “I think that ball would have hit my [midsection] regardless of whether I was wearing a mic or not,” he quipped — the veteran did acknowledge the awkward nature of the moment.

“You get exposed and then everybody talks about, ‘You made an error because you had a mic on,’ ” he said, later adding: “You can say it’s embarrassing, because you’re in the spotlight. You’re talking as the play is happening.”

Hernández also clarified a pithy quote he gave to the Associated Press in the postgame clubhouse that night, when he was asked if he would reconsider doing future in-game interviews — for which players are paid $10,000 for their participation.

“No, because we’re getting paid,” he told the AP. “I like money.”

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Two days later, he said that the comment was meant to be sarcastic.

“I gave a very ‘me’ answer,” said Hernández, who has long been the Dodgers’ equivalent of a class clown in the clubhouse. “[The AP story] took it literally.”

Roberts didn’t initially realize Hernández was being interviewed at the time of his error, but brushed the whole situation aside with reporters on Saturday.

While Roberts noted he probably wouldn’t have done in-game interviews in his playing days, he understood why some current players like Hernández (who has done in-game interviews “four or five” times in his MLB career, he said) agree to them regularly.

“It’s part of sports now,” Roberts said. “Unfortunately, Kiké made an error. It’s not the only error he’s ever made.”

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Asked if he spoke to Hernández about the play afterward, Roberts said there was no need.

“He prepares,” Roberts said. “I know he likes the limelight. He’s into the social media thing. He still plays hard, practices hard, but he still likes to build his brand. So I get it. I’m OK with it. He plays his butt off.”

For all the ways Hernández’s season has gone awry so far, Roberts seemed intent on making that latter message clear.

The Dodgers, after all, still trust Hernández with regular playing time, especially lately with Max Muncy sidelined by an oblique injury.

They’ve praised his defensive improvements from last year, when his 18 errors were fifth most in the majors.

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And they remain optimistic in his potential at the plate, hopeful Hernández’s four-game hitting steak to end last week’s trip to Pittsburgh and New York (including a tie-breaking home run Saturday night at Yankee Stadium) can help erase the frustration that has accompanied his slow start.

“He wants to perform, like all players do, but he sometimes tries to get four hits in one at-bat,” Roberts said, preaching patience amid Hernández’s early-season struggles. “[Lately], he’s not swinging as much at balls off the plate. And he’s using the whole field. So, for me, the at-bat quality is better. That’s what I’m looking for, for him, regardless of results right now.”

Clayton Kershaw update

Clayton Kershaw could be close to a minor league rehab assignment, after pitching two simulated innings with the Dodgers’ low-A Rancho Cucamonga affiliate Friday.

According to Roberts, Kershaw touched 90 mph with his fastball during the session — a mark he struggled to reach late last season, when he was dogged by a shoulder injury that eventually required offseason surgery.

Kershaw, who is hopeful of returning to a big league mound by July or August, will throw three simulated innings this coming week. After that, the team will decide whether he is ready for a rehab assignment (the last precursor to his long-awaited return).

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Bobby Miller not yet ready

Right-handed starting pitcher Bobby Miller will likely make at least one more outing in his current rehab assignment, Roberts said, as the 25-year-old continues to work his way back from a shoulder injury.

While Roberts was initially hopeful of getting Miller back this week — the club’s 2023 rookie star hasn’t pitched since early April — he said Sunday that the team is now leaning toward continuing Miller’s rehab assignment another week.

Miller has made three rehab starts with Rancho Cucamonga and triple-A Oklahoma City, working into the fifth inning of a one-run, two-strikeout outing last Friday.

Short hops

Miguel Rojas has been battling “overall soreness” in his leg the last couple weeks, Roberts said, leading the manager to “pick my spots” with Rojas’ playing time “to try and keep him as fresh as possible.” Despite his .283 batting average this season, Rojas has started back-to-back games just once in the last month. … Injured pitchers Dustin May (elbow surgery) and Brusdar Graterol (shoulder) have both been throwing bullpen sessions at the club’s Arizona complex lately, Robert said. May reportedly eclipsed the 90-mph mark … Muncy has been taking dry swings in recent days, but is still on a “slow program,” Roberts said, with his timeline to return remaining unclear.

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Packers’ head-coaching situation thrust into spotlight after playoff loss

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Packers’ head-coaching situation thrust into spotlight after playoff loss

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The Green Bay Packers’ playoff exit on Saturday immediately put added focus on what the organization will do with head coach Matt LaFleur.

The NFL coaching cycle has been the wildest in recent memory, with veteran coaches like John Harbaugh and Pete Carroll being shown the door. Packers fans seemingly put LaFleur on the hot seat following their crushing defeat to the Chicago Bears.

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur reacts during the wild-card playoff game against the Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Sunday that the Packers will have a major decision to make.

“The Green Bay Packers and their new president, Ed Policy, have a significant decision to make here in the coming days – and that is whether to extend Matt LaFleur’s contract. He’s currently got one year remaining, or to move on from him,” Schefter said. “If they moved on from him, he would automatically go near the top of coaches available and shakeup this current head-coaching cycle yet again.”

Schefter added that Harbaugh could be one of the names that would interest the Packers’ organization.

BEARS’ BEN JOHNSON GIVES FIERY MESSAGE TO TEAM AFTER PLAYOFF WIN: ‘F— THE PACKERS!’

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur talks after the playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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“Notice how we said this belongs to the Packers’ president, Ed Policy. Well, the Packers’ former president from the back in the day was a man by the name of Bob Harlan,” Schefter explained. “Bob Harlan’s son, Brian Harlan, represents John Harbaugh. John Harbaugh is a Midwestern guy, who has a home in the Upper Peninsula, and a lot of people around the league have been wondering if the Packers decide to go in a different direction, if all of a sudden the Green Bay Packers might fall to the top of John Harbaugh’s list as the top available choice for him.

“This has been a wild, crazy coaching cycle, and we may be just scratching the surface.”

Green Bay Packers’ Matthew Golden celebrates his touchdown against the Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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Green Bay finished 9-7-1 this season. LaFleur is 76-40-1 as the Packers’ head coach with a 3-6 record in the playoffs.

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Crossroads students begin push to make pickleball a varsity sport

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Crossroads students begin push to make pickleball a varsity sport

For brothers Boone and Ford Casady, pickleball is more than just a game, it is a passion. The 16-year-old twins are among the top junior players on the planet, but more important to them than trophies and medals is a desire to spread the fastest-growing sport in America to high schools and colleges.

Their vision, combined with the persistence of fellow Crossroads sophomores Samantha Leeds and Hannah Carey, has birthed the L.A. High School Pickleball League, the first of its kind in California. The first match will be Jan. 24 at the Santa Monica Pickleball Center.

Teams from Crossroads, Brentwood, Windward, Palisades, Notre Dame and Santa Monica Pacifica Christian will participate, and possibly several more.

Matches will be biweekly with all schools competing at the same shared location. The match format is loosely based on high school tennis with three doubles lines, one singles line and “friendlies” — ensuring that beginners, alternates and developing players all get playing time. The season culminates with semifinals and a league championship.

“My brother and I grew up playing competitive tennis and baseball,” Boone said. “We’d been playing tennis since we were about 3 and in eighth grade we moved to Barcelona to train at the Emilio Sánchez Academy for tennis. We were first introduced to pickleball earlier while we were in Mexico playing with friends and we immediately fell in love with it. We entered our first tournament in Palm Springs and realized we’d found something special.

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“We noticed that so many juniors were training and competing individually but there wasn’t a school-based structure like you have in other varsity sports. We decided to change that. We wanted girls to be involved from the start — it was important to us that the league be coed and inclusive to reflect how competitive girls pickleball already is. We’re also co-founders of the Crossroads Pickleball Club along with Samantha and Hannah and we’re working to grow participation on campus and across L.A.”

The four founders of the L.A. High School Pickleball League play mixed doubles.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Unlike most youth sports initiatives, the league was not created by adults or administrators, it was built entirely by students. Over the last two years they have coordinated with the Southern Section for recognition and guidance, worked with Crossroads administrators to establish pickleball as a school-sanctioned varsity sport, organized early intramural and inter-school tournaments, built communication networks among local high schools and helped other schools begin turning their club teams into varsity programs.

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“In high school sports, students usually join a system that already exists,” Leeds said. “With pickleball, we had to build the system ourselves.”

Boone defeated Ford to earn the No. 1 seed at the 2024 Junior PPA National Championships, but they met again for the gold medal and this time Ford won. They also took the gold in doubles and finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the country in the 14s division.

At the 2025 Junior PPA National Championships, the brothers took silver and bronze in the Boys U16 singles and partnered for silver in doubles. They were also presented the Community Assist Award to acknowledge their initiative in starting the Los Angeles High School Pickleball League. They are straight-A students and play shortstop and third base on the varsity baseball team.

So far, their toughest competition in pickleball has been each other.

“Boone and I practice together all the time and we play against each other constantly,” Ford said. “Boone knows the part of my game to attack and I know what to do against him so we always have great matches. No matter who wins, we hug it out at the end.”

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The siblings played in their first pro event of the year Saturday — the Masters Tournament in Palm Springs.

Leeds and Carey were introduced to pickleball in eighth grade.

“I remember leaving PE after playing pickleball, heading to soccer practice and honestly feeling kind of bored,” Leeds recalled. “All I wanted to do was keep playing pickleball.”

“Samantha and I got randomly paired to do pickleball in PE,” said Carey, who lost her home in the Palisades fire. “Most kids would sit out, look bored, or try to skip but as the pickleball nets went up our peers were engaged, exhilarated and connecting over their love of pickleball. So Samantha and I started making petitions to create a league.”

The girls, then 13, had a meeting with Anthony Locke, head of school at Crossroads, and made a pitch deck. Using her skills as a filmmaker Leeds created a short sizzle video to help show what pickleball could look like as a real school sport.

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“We were told that forming school-based teams and leagues is a necessary first step towards eventual CIF recognition,” she said. “I created a Varsity Team Starter Kit, outlining the steps we used to establish pickleball as a school-sanctioned varsity sport. Leaders at other schools are actively using it to establish their own teams.”

Added Carey: “We connected with Boone and Ford, which was such an honor considering their talent and passion for the sport. We decided to join forces and use our resources together to further our process of creating a league.”

The inaugural season runs from January to March but beginning in the 2026-27 school year the plan is to move to the traditional winter sports window, November through January.

“Pickleball has the potential to become a true varsity sport at both the high school and college levels,” Boone said. “We’re so excited to help push it forward.”

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US figure skating power couple makes history with record breaking seventh national championship

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US figure skating power couple makes history with record breaking seventh national championship

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U.S. figure skating stars Madison Chock and Evan Bates made history on Saturday with their record-setting seventh U.S. Figure Skating title in their final competition before the Milan Cortina Olympics.

The three-time reigning world champions, performing a flamenco-style dance to a version of the Rolling Stones hit “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi Western show “Westworld,” produced a season-best free skate and finished with 228.87 points.

“The feeling that we got from the audience today was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before,” Chock said.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of United States perform during ISU World Figure Skating Championships – Boston, at TD Garden,  on March 28, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts.  (Jurij Kodrun – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)

They’ll be the heavy favorites to win gold next month in Italy.

“I felt so much love and joy,” Chock continued, “and I’m so grateful for this moment.”

U.S. Figure Skating will announce its selections on Sunday.

Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik were second with 213.65 points and Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were third with 206.95, making those two pairs the likely choices to join Chock and Bates on the American squad for the upcoming Winter Games.

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The men’s medals also were to be decided on Saturday, though two-time world champion Ilia Malinin had built such a lead after his short program that the self-styled “Quad God” would have to stumble mightily to miss out on a fourth consecutive title.

The U.S. also has qualified the maximum of three men’s spots for the Winter Games, and competition is tight between second-place Tomoko Hiwatashi, fan favorite Jason Brown, Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov to round out the nationals podium.

The last time Chock and Bates competed in the Olympics in 2022 in Beijing, they watched their gold initially go to an opponent who was later disqualified for doping violations.

Chock and Bates initially had to settle for team silver with their American teammates on the podium at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Team Russia and Kamila Valieva, who was 15 at the time, stood above them with their gold medals. 

It wasn’t until the end of January 2024, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Valieva guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, when Chock, Bates and the U.S. were declared the rightful 2022 gold medalists. 

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UN URGES COUNTRIES TO HONOR TRUCE DURING WINTER OLYMPICS, NOT DENY VISAS TO ANY NATION’S ATHLETES

Madison Chock and Evan Bates compete in championship ice dance at the U.S. figure skating championships Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio.  (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance, during an anti-doping test at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in December 2021. She was suspended for four years and stripped of all competitive results since that date.

Chock and Bates spoke about what their message to Valieva would be today during an interview at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee media summit in October. 

“It’s hard to, I think, imagine what a 15-year-old has gone through and under that kind of situation,” Bates said. “And I know how stressful it is, being an elite athlete as an adult, as a 36-year-old. And I think that grace should be given to humans across the board. And we can never really know the full situation, at least from our point of view. … I genuinely don’t know what I would say to her.”

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Chock added, “I would just wish her well like as I would. I think life is short. And, at the end of the day, we’re all human just going through our own human experience together. And regardless of what someone has or hasn’t done and how it has affected you, I think it’s important to remember we’re humans as a collective, and we’re all here for this, our one moment on earth, at the same time. And I just wish people to have healthy, happy lives, full of people that love them.”

Chock and Bates had to wait more than two years after the initial Olympics to get their rightful gold medals, and they were finally presented with them during a ceremony at the Paris Olympics last summer.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA perform in the Gala Exhibition during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Nagoya at IG Arena on December 07, 2025 in Nagoya, Japan.  (Atsushi Tomura – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)

Chock, Bates and teammates Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou were given a specialized gold medal ceremony to receive the medals in front of more than 13,000 fans. 

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Chock and Bates became the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world championships in nearly three decades in March when they defeated Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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