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Benches clear between Yankees and Orioles after batter gets hit in head with 96 mph pitch

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Benches clear between Yankees and Orioles after batter gets hit in head with 96 mph pitch

An old AL East rivalry was reheated Friday night as the benches cleared between the Yankees and Orioles in the bottom of the ninth.

Yankees closer Clay Holmes hit Heston Kjerstad in the head with a 96.8 mph sinker, which didn’t do much sinking, on an 0-2 pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Kjerstad was quickly tended to by trainers and his manager, Brandon Hyde, but, given the frightening situation, Hyde was red-hot and had some words with Holmes and catcher Austin Wells.

Benches clear after Heston Kjerstad #13 of the Baltimore Orioles is hit by a pitch in the ninth inning during a baseball game against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 12, 2024, in Baltimore, Maryland.   (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

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Third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera and an umpire held Holmes back before anything could happen, but only temporarily.

After Kjerstad reached first (he was pinch-ran for), Hyde walked back toward the field and was yelling in the direction of the Yankees dugout — it appeared he was yelling at third base coach Luis Rojas, who was snapping right back.

Wells did his best to hold Hyde back, but he couldn’t do much, as both teams met right near home plate, and the bullpens came sprinting from the outfield.

Heston Kjerstad #13 of the Baltimore Orioles is on the ground after getting hit by a pitch in the ninth inning during a baseball game against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 12, 2024, in Baltimore, Maryland.   (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

There was some light pushing and shoving that ensued, but no player was ejected (other than Hyde), and no punches were thrown — so, it wasn’t quite their brawl from 1998.

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Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he understood why Hyde was upset, noting that Hyde should have his players’ backs — Hyde, though, said the Yankees bench was “waving” and “yelling” at him, which he “didn’t appreciate.”

Hyde said he “heard some stuff” when he was walking back to the dugout, which led to his reaction.

He added Hjerstad was getting tested. “We’re hoping for the best,” he said.

This has been brewing for quite a bit, though — the Yankees have hit Orioles batters 10 times this season, while the O’s have done so just three times.

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The Yankees, who own MLB’s worst record since June 13, held on to the much-needed 4-1 win, cutting their deficit for the division lead to just two games — the O’s are now 3-5 against the Yanks this season.

Reigning Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole had his best start of this season as he tossed six strong innings of one-run, five-hit, seven-strikeout ball.

Catcher Austin Wells #28 of the New York Yankees holds back Brandon Hyde #18 of the Baltimore Orioles after a bench clearing in the ninth inning during a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles at the Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 12, 2024, in Baltimore, Maryland. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

The division race seems to be between these two teams for the rest of the season, and judging by Friday night, it’s going to be fun the rest of the way.

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They’ll be back in action at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

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Rams withstand Caleb Williams’ heroic touchdown to stun Bears in overtime, move on to NFC title game

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Rams withstand Caleb Williams’ heroic touchdown to stun Bears in overtime, move on to NFC title game

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The Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears gave it all they had in the NFC Divisional Round on Sunday night and they delivered an epic matchup that NFL fans will remember for a while.

Rams rookie kicker Harrison Mevis nailed the game-winning field goal to send Los Angeles home happy, 20-17. The Rams will meet the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship.

Los Angeles running back Kyren Williams punched the go-ahead score into the end zone and the defense stymied the Chicago Bears at the goal line in what appeared to be the last stand.

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Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker reacts after collecting a sack against Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford during the first half of an NFL football divisional playoff game Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Williams’ 5-yard touchdown run ended a 14-play, 91-yard drive with 8:50 left in the game. It was Williams’ second touchdown of the game and it was exactly what Los Angeles needed to win the game as scoring was extremely difficult to come by in the second half.

The Bears failing to get into the end zone after a 12-play, 61-yard drive was the closest Chicago got in the second half. The Bears punted three times and Caleb Williams threw a crucial interception in the third quarter on their previous second-half drives.

But Williams had one trick up his sleeve.

With their backs against the wall, the Bears star  mustered up the last bit of magic he could. He took the snap on 4th-and-4 from the Rams’ 14-yard line. He felt the pressure and ran about 25 yards backward before he decided to fire the ball into the end zone with three Rams defenders in his face.

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Somehow, Williams found tight end Cole Kmet in the end zone for the touchdown. Kmet broke free from Rams cornerback Cobie Durant and secured the catch. Cairo Santos hit the game-tying extra point and the game was sent into overtime.

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Chicago Bears defensive end Dominique Robinson (90) sacks Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford during the second half of an NFL football divisional playoff game Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Williams made a similar play in the NFC Wild Card Round matchup against the Green Bay Packers. The play saved their season – as did the one on Sunday night.

In the overtime period, Williams put the game on his shoulder. He made a long run on third down to keep the drive alive early in the series. On 4th-and-1, the Bears didn’t flinch and went for a first down. Again, Williams’ number was called and he got the yardage needed to extend the drive. Just when it appeared that the Bears had everything going their way, Williams threw his third pick of the night to Kam Curl.

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Matthew Stafford then locked in and led the Rams on the game-winning drive that ended with the Mevis field goal.

Stafford was 20-of-42 with 258 passing yards. He was sacked four times. Williams led the Rams with 87 rushing yards on 21 carries. Colby Parkinson had three catches for 56 yards.

Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams (23) celebrates his touchdown run with center Coleman Shelton (65) during the first half of an NFL football divisional playoff game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Williams was 23-of-42 with 257 passing yards, two touchdown passes and three picks. D’Andre Swift had 76 rushing yards on 19 carries. Bears tight end Colston Loveland led the team with four catches for 56 yards.

The Rams are back in the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 2021 season. In that year, Los Angeles topped the San Francisco 49ers and then defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

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It will be the third conference title game appearance in the Sean McVay era. The Rams defeated the New Orleans Saints in the controversial NFC Championship in the 2018 season. But Los Angeles lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, right, looks to pass as teammate guard Steve Avila, center, blocks Chicago Bears defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. (99) during the first half of an NFL football divisional playoff game Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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Los Angeles will take on the Seahawks for the right to play in Super Bowl LX. The winner will either face the Denver Broncos or New England Patriots.

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Deandre Ayton has big night as Lakers run past the Raptors

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Deandre Ayton has big night as Lakers run past the Raptors

The Lakers were as whole as they have been in a while Sunday, giving Coach JJ Redick more weapons at his disposal at a time when their schedule has picked up the pace.

They got Luka Doncic (left groin soreness), center Deandre Ayton (left knee soreness) and backup center Jaxson Hayes (left hamstring tendinopathy) back in the fold for Sunday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena. Only Austin Reaves (left calf strain) remained sidelined.

More so, it was a back-to-back game that even LeBron James played in a night after the Lakers lost in Portland.

Simply put, the Lakers are a sound basketball team when healthy and they are really good when Doncic, James and Ayton all score at least 20 points in a game like they did in a 110-93 victory in which they held the Raptors to a season-low in points.

The Lakers entered the game having lost five of their last six games and had surrendered over 130 points in their last two losses.

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“This is a very tough time of year for everybody in the NBA right now,” said Redick after his team improved to 25-16 at the halfway mark of their 82-game schedule. “…There are a number of teams that have rotation players, starter-level players, all-star level players like us that are out of the lineup or in and out of the lineup.

“It can make an already difficult stretch of the season even more difficult, and the guys have done a great job of just getting through the stretch fighting. And really, we’re starting to get healthy and hopefully we get AR (Austin Reaves) back soon.”

Ayton was on top of his game, producing a double-double with 25 points and 13 rebounds. He also was 10 for 10 from the field and five for six from the free-throw line.

And the big 7-foot center made history in the process. He became just the third player in Lakers history to shoot 100% from the field on 10 attempts with at least 10 rebounds, joining Wilt Chamberlain (March 11, 1969) and Mitch Kupchak (Nov. 10, 1981).

Ayton also became the first player in the NBA this season to record a 20-point game on perfect shooting with at least 10 field-goal attempts and he was the 34th player in league history to accomplish the feat.

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“I definitely give it up to my teammates,” Ayton said. “They find me in the easiest spots ever and I got some easy ones tonight, for sure.”

Doncic registered 25 points and seven assists and James had 24 points and seven assists.

Rui Hachimura came off the bench to score 10 points for a Lakers team that entered the game having lost five of their last six games.

Doncic and Ayton made their presence felt in the first half.

Despite picking up three fouls in the half and getting hit with a technical foul in the first quarter, Doncic had 18 points and five assists in the first 24 minutes. His three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left in the second quarter gave the Lakers a 55-54 lead.

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Ayton was active from the start, running the court, catching lob passes and scoring in the post, which allowed him to finish the first half with 12 points on six-for-six shooting and seven rebounds.

The Lakers will begin what’s known as the “Grammys Trip” on Tuesday, an eight-game affair that will have them on the road for about two and a half weeks.

They will start at Denver and go to the Clippers, Dallas, Chicago, Cleveland, Washington, the Knicks and the Nets.

This trip will come off the Lakers playing five games in seven days, of which there were two sets of back-to-back games.

We finished five games in eight nights and started five games in seven nights, and tonight’s the culmination of that,” Redick said before Sunday’s game. “So it’s been a difficult stretch, particularly with injuries and certain games.”

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The plan for the game against the Raptors was to play 10 players, Redick said, a change from the usual nine-man rotation.

All 10 of the players Redick played when the game mattered the most and all of them played a role in keeping the team fresh and energized.

Something the Lakers will need going forward.

“Again, I’m not blaming anything, but this in-season tournament cup with that break has just created a very imbalanced cadence of games,” said Redick, referring to the NBA Cup tournament. “And outside of All-Star break, I think our next two-day break between games is like the end of March, or something like that. So, you kind of have no choice but to prioritize the rest and recovery.”

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Miami’s Carson Beck turns heads with stunning admission about attending classes as college athlete

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Miami’s Carson Beck turns heads with stunning admission about attending classes as college athlete

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Carson Beck is one win away from being a college national champion, and he didn’t even have to juggle classes to get this far.

Beck has led the Miami Hurricanes all the way to the College Football Playoff title game after transferring to the South Florida school. Beck, by his own admission, has not had many distractions off the field.

 

Carson Beck of the Miami Hurricanes scores a touchdown against the Ole Miss Rebels during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on Jan 8, 2026, in Glendale, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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When asked if he attended class earlier in the week ahead of Monday night’s title game, he laughed off the question.

“No class. I graduated two years ago,” Beck said.

Beck, who attended Georgia before transferring, added that he is “working toward other degrees now that I’ve gotten to Miami, but these programs take a little longer than just a year to finish.”

“Obviously, I’m not enrolling again next semester. I’ll be done after this season,” Beck continued.

Carson Beck of the Miami Hurricanes smiles after leading his team to victory over the Ole Miss Rebels in the College Football Playoff Semifinal on Jan. 8, 2026. (David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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That response turned heads on social media.

“College football is dead,” wrote one user.

“Bro turned ‘College Athlete’ into a full time career,” added another.

“Playing college football but not attending class for two years is crazy,” said one more.

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Beck doubled down on his commitment to the football program.

“I live in the facility. That’s about it. If I’m not at the facility, I’m at home, and I just kind of bounce back and forth. It’s been that way for about the past month,” Beck added.

Miami quarterback Carson Beck aims a pass during the Florida game, Sept. 20, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Beck’s touchdown with 18 seconds left last week propelled the 10th-seeded Hurricanes to a 31-27 win over No. 6 Ole Miss. They will try to stop No. 1 Indiana from a 16-0 season on Monday night as underdogs, but they will be playing in their home stadium.

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