Sports
Column: Is Shohei Ohtani ready for his first pennant race with the Dodgers?
October came early this year for Dave Roberts.
With the Dodgers dropping six of their final seven games before the All-Star break, the annual scapegoating of Roberts started three months ahead of schedule.
The postgame talk show on the team’s flagship station always fields complaints about the manager when the Dodgers lose, but the volume of such calls increased last week. Other fans vented on social media.
This was news to Shohei Ohtani, who described his relationship with Roberts as “wonderful.”
“I think he’s a manager who has a lot of conversations with players individually,” Ohtani said in Japanese earlier this week. “I myself, there are many areas with which he’s helped me.”
Ohtani applauded his manager’s consistent professionalism.
“As one of the top commanders on the team, I think the manager approaches every game with focus,” he said.
Ohtani is almost certain to be asked about Roberts again.
And again.
And again.
Ohtani has probably figured this out by now, considering the observations he’s made about the Dodgers and their fans.
He’s about to experience his first major-league pennant race, for the No. 1 sports franchise in this country’s second-largest market, no less. The first-place Dodgers resume play on Friday night when they host the Boston Red Sox.
“Including the fans, I think it’s a passionate team,” he said.
Ohtani described an environment in which prolonged satisfaction is never derived from regular-season victories, with attention immediately shifting to the next game.
He’s embraced the expectations that produce that mindset. He accepts that if the Dodgers don’t win the World Series this year, they will have failed.
“Of course, only one team wins every year,” he said. “I think every other team thinks they failed. On that point, I think it’s no different for the teams that advanced to the playoffs and the teams that didn’t.”
In recent weeks, Ohtani has referenced the number of players the Dodgers have on the injured list, basically saying this was a period the team had to endure as it waited for them to return.
The Dodgers assembled a rotation consisting of one major health risk after another. The result has been an injury-ravaged staff that has forced Roberts to rely on a disproportionate number of bullpen games and emergency starts from minor leaguers.
No. 1 and 2 starters Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are hurt, with Yamamoto on the 60-day injured list and unlikely to return until rosters expand in September. Clayton Kershaw’s recovery from an offseason shoulder operation has been delayed once already. Walker Buehler aborted his intial comeback from an elbow reconstruction and is now working with private coaches on the other side of the country.
Hard-throwing Bobby Miller, the second-year right-hander whom the Dodgers hoped would emerged as a frontline starter, was demoted to triple A.
The Dodgers are also without one of the best offensive players, All-Star Mookie Betts, who is sidelined with a broken hand.
Still, they hold a seven-game advantage over the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres in the National League West, and Ohtani was upbeat his team could reverse its current downward trend.
“Using this All-Star break, I would like us to restart with new feelings,” he said. “Also, people who are injured will return. Together with players like that, I’d like to do my best in the second half.”
Ohtani will return from the midseason intermission as a triple-crown candidate, as he ranks first in the NL in home runs (29), second in average (.316) and third in runs batted in (69).
Now in this seventh major-league season, the 30-year-old Ohtani said he’s gained confidence in his ability to work his way out of slumps.
“As the years stack up, when I’m not doing well, I think I’m better able to more or less understand the reasons,” he said. “New things come up, of course, but I think there are more cases where I know that if I do certain things, things will move in a good direction. In that sense, as the number of years pile up, I think there will be fewer ups and downs.”
The Dodgers are counting on that.
That shouldn’t be a problem for Ohtani, who said the responsibility to get the team back on the track belonged to the players.
“We have to do our best each and every game to respond to the expectations of the fans and the manager,” he said.
Sixty-five games remain in the regular season. Ohtani’s long-awaited October moment is near.
Sports
LIV Golf stars commit to staying put after Brooks Koepka’s departure, return to PGA Tour
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Brooks Koepka may have returned to the PGA Tour following a stint at LIV Golf, but do not expect the Saudi-backed league’s other biggest stars to join in.
Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith all committed to staying put when speaking to reporters on Tuesday at a preseason press conference.
“I had no idea, no idea that that would happen.” DeChambeau said. “No idea what the penalties would even be. Right now, I’ve got a contract. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do at LIV Golf this year.”
Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm walk to the eighth green during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 2, 2022. (Adam Cairns/The Columbus Dispatch)
“I made a decision to come out here and spend more time at home, and I’m not giving that away. I’ll be on LIV for years to come,” added Smith, who won the 2022 Open Championship shortly before officially committing to LIV.
DeChambeau and Smith each left in 2022, but Rahm was perhaps the biggest surprise. Once very outspoken against LIV, he joined the league in December 2023.
In August 2024, he shut down rumors of buyer’s remorse to Fox News Digital, and that still appears to be the case.
“I’m not planning on going anywhere. Very similar answer to what Bryson gave. I wish Brooks the best. As far as I’m concerned, I’m focused on the league and my team this year, and hopefully we can repeat as champions again,” Rahm said.
Koepka’s decision came weeks after he revealed he would be leaving the rival series.
“I want to thank my family and my team for their continued support throughout every step of my professional career,” he wrote on social media. “When I was a child, I always dreamed about competing on the @PGATOUR, and I am just as excited today to announce that I am returning to the PGA TOUR. Being closer to home and spending more time with my family makes this opportunity especially meaningful to me.
Brooks Koepka, of the United States, acknowledges the crowd on the 5th green during the first round of the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, July 17, 2025. (Peter Morrison, File/AP Photo)
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“I believe in where the PGA TOUR is headed with new leadership, new investors, and an equity program that gives players a meaningful ownership stake,” he continued. “I also understand there are financial penalties associated with this decision, and I accept those.”
Koepka said he planned to be at the Farmers Insurance Open and the Waste Management Phoenix Open in the coming weeks.
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said Koepka’s return sparked the Returning Member Program for those who left the company and may decide to follow in Koepka’s footsteps.
Rolapp said Koepka agreed to a few conditions upon his return to the PGA Tour. It included a “five-year forfeiture of potential equity in the PGA Tour’s Player Equity Program, representing one of the largest financial repercussions in professional sports history, with estimations that he could miss out on approximately $50–85 million in potential earnings, depending on his competitive performance and the growth of the Tour,” according to Rolapp. Koepka will also make a $5 million charitable donation to an organization yet to be determined.
Brooks Koepka during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Quail Hollow. (Aaron Doster/Imagn Images)
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Koepka became the first person to return to the PGA Tour after defecting for LIV.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Sports
Luka Doncic plays and scores 27 points as the Lakers rout the Hawks
Luka Doncic and LeBron James were listed as questionable for the Lakers’ back-to-back game Tuesday night against the Atlanta Hawks. Doncic because of left groin soreness, James because of left foot joint arthritis and right sciatica.
Also, checking the stat sheet before the game, the Lakers were listed as one of the worst three-point shooting teams and one of the worst defensive shooting percentage teams in the league.
Well, Luka played and LeBron played and the Lakers shot lights-out from three-point range and were solid across the board on defense while i rolling over the Hawks 141-116 at Crypto.com Arena.
Doncic felt soreness in his groin when the Lakers played at Sacramento on Monday night and was unsure about playing Tuesday. But he played and delivered 27 points, 12 assists and five rebounds.
James didn’t play in the second game of a back-to-back game last week at New Orleans and San Antonio and said he will be listed as TBD, to be determined, in such scenarios. But James played against the Hawks and nearly produced a triple-double with 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
Coming into the game, opponents were shooting 48.8% from the field and 37.4% from three against the Lakers, ranking them 28th and 26th, respectively, in the NBA.
The Hawks began the game ranked fourth in three-point shooting, making 37.4%, and they were ranked eighth in field-goal percentage, making 43.6%.
All of the above made for a bad recipe for the Lakers entering the game.
But when the game started, none of that mattered to the Lakers, who held the Hawks to 45% shooting and 28.3% from three-point range.
The Lakers shot 55.9% (19 for 34) from three-point range.
The Lakers’ big lead was sliced to 11 points in the fourth.
But back-to-back three-pointers by James and Marcus Smart, both off passes from Doncic, and a Doncic basket gave them a 19-point lead, and they never looked back.
The Lakers scored 81 points in the first half, a season-high for points in a half, a half in which they opened a 23-point lead and had the Hawks reeling from the beginning.
Doncic missed just one of his six three-pointers in the first half. Gabe Vincent came off the bench and missed just one of his four three-pointers in the first half.
Rui Hachimura had missed the previous seven games with a right calf strain but was back in action against the Hawks. He had seven points and two rebounds in 18 minutes.
ETC: The Lakers signed guard Kobe Bufkin to a 10-day contract Tuesday. The 6-foot-5 Bufkin played in seven games for the South Bay Lakers, the Lakers’ G League team, where he averaged 28.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists over seven games. He has appeared in 27 career NBA games over two seasons with the Hawks. “You know, during the stretch, we’ll have opportunities during this 10-day,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said…. Backup center Jaxson Hayes didn’t play against the Hawks because of left hamstring soreness. Redick said Hayes got some “imaging” Tuesday on his injury and that the Lakers will have “more information” going forward.
Sports
Mike Tomlin stepping down as Steelers head coach: reports
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Mike Tomlin is stepping down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to multiple reports.
Tomlin’s decision on Tuesday came after a blowout loss against the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card Round of the playoffs. It marked the Steelers’ seventh straight postseason defeat.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
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