Sports
Shaikin: Joe Davis reveals the influence Vin Scully had on his Freddie Freeman World Series call
Joe Davis awoke Saturday morning, still fretting.
He is a perfectionist. He had provided a pretty perfect call of a pretty perfect moment the night before. In six words, he had delivered a magical homage to the best broadcaster in baseball history and the most dramatic moment in Dodgers history.
Were they just the right words? At just the right time?
He second-guessed himself long enough for his wife to tell him to knock it off.
“People really liked it, right?” his wife, Libby, said. “Would you stop?”
Davis drew local and national acclaim for his call of Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday: “She is gone! Gibby, meet Freddie!”
Fans cheer as Freddie Freeman drops his bat after hitting a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“She is gone” was Vin Scully’s trademark home run call. Scully used it, of course, in calling Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Gibson was hobbled by knee and hamstring injuries; Freeman was hampered by an ankle injury.
Scully told you what happened and let you soak it all in, through the pictures and the crowd noise. He said “She is gone!” and then waited 68 seconds before coming back with one of the greatest lines of his incomparable career: “In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened!”
Perhaps, Davis said, he ought to have let some time pass between “She is gone!” and “Gibby, meet Freddie!”
Said Davis: “I felt like maybe I was talking over the crowd a little too much, even though it was only another two seconds or so.”
He had thought about a moment like that in advance. How could you not, with the parallels of Game 1 and a hobbled star?
As Scully had said in 1988: “And look who’s coming up?”
“We’ve seen that same exact home run a million times and heard Vin’s call of it. I think it kind of sparked that in my head when I had that context sitting there.”
— Joe Davis
But the exact words, waiting to be uttered at the exact moment?
“I’m not smart enough to have the perfect caption come to my mind as the moment happens,” Davis said. “I think that’s my job: to caption and capture these moments for history.
“But I also never want to script anything, because I don’t think it’s possible to have a call scripted and have it not sound scripted.”
And then, well, the ball soared toward right field, and Gibson’s ball had a similar arc and …
“The flight of that ball, we’ve all seen a million times,” Davis said. “We’ve seen that same exact home run a million times and heard Vin’s call of it. I think it kind of sparked that in my head when I had that context sitting there.”
Freddie Freeman celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a walk-off home run in the 10th inning against the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
When the Dodgers hired Davis to replace Scully, the two men had several conversations. Scully shared the advice that Red Barber had given him: Don’t try to be me, or anyone else. Be yourself.
Davis has done just that, which made the “She is gone!” line so beautiful in the moment. Baseball binds generations like no other sport, and now Davis is as tied to Scully as Freeman is to Gibson.
On Saturday, Davis thought about another bit of advice Scully had shared. Davis had about finding the right words and managing your emotions in the biggest of moments.
“You have to think of it like your house is burning down,” Scully told Davis, “and you’ve got to get everybody out safely. If you’re freaking out, you’re probably not going to get the kids and the dog out safely. If you’re calm and cool, you’re probably going to escape that fire just fine.
“I had a chuckle when he said it then, but I’ve thought about it many times since.”
Generations of Southern Californians have associated Scully with the most dramatic home run in the history of an iconic franchise. Generations of Southern Californians, now and forever, will associate Davis with this thrill of October.
“That’s really special,” Davis said. “That’s not why you get into the business. But, once you’re in it, and if you’re lucky enough to have those moments happen in front of you, it’s a really gratifying thing when you hope you did it justice. That’s your job: to do it justice.
“The moment happens, and if you’re lucky enough to be the person in that chair, that’s your responsibility. It’s not just to say, ‘Home run, Dodgers win,’ but to caption that moment and capture it for history.”
Davis shook hands and said he had to get back to work. In another few hours, it would again be time for Dodger baseball.
Sports
Conor McGregor’s long-awaited Octagon return cut short by apparent knee injury seconds into UFC 329
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Nearly five years after his last walk to the Octagon, Conor McGregor made his long-awaited UFC return Saturday night against fellow MMA star Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329 in Las Vegas.
McGregor opened aggressively, attempting a running kick before throwing a head kick moments later. He appeared to slip on both tries. Holloway quickly capitalized after the second, taking top position and landing a right hand before McGregor was able to work his way back to his feet.
Moments later, McGregor hit the canvas again after trying to throw a kick with his right leg, which appeared to buckle underneath him.
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Conor McGregor of Ireland participates in the walkout before facing Max Holloway of the United States in their welterweight bout during UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)
The official inside the Octagon waved off the fight moments later, giving Holloway a TKO victory.
During the broadcast, UFC CEO Dana White pointed to a first-round replay that appeared to show the moment McGregor suffered the injury. The apparent injury was not to the same leg McGregor broke during his 2021 fight against Dustin Poirier, which led to a lengthy absence from the Octagon.
The loss extended McGregor’s long winless drought, with his last UFC victory coming by first-round TKO against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in January 2020.
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McGregor earned a unanimous decision over Holloway in a featherweight clash in 2013, when neither was an MMA megastar. In the blink of an eye, McGregor’s star rose.
Conor McGregor and Max Holloway face off during the UFC 329 ceremonial weigh-in at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 10, 2026. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
On Wednesday, he admitted he got caught up in his own stardom after winning UFC belts in two weight classes and becoming one of the biggest names in combat sports.
“I launched an Irish whiskey,” McGregor said. “I didn’t drink heavily, if at all, at that time of my life. I was an athlete at the top of my game. Next thing you know, thousands upon thousands of bottles (are) in my garage.
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“‘Sell this, Conor.’ OK, I’d leave my property with two bottles under my arm, and that was it. I was caught. And I wasn’t used to it. And that’s it. God gave me these lessons. That’s it. I was trapped and caught, and it is what it is.”
Conor McGregor jumps into the air for a kick as he fights Max Holloway in a welterweight bout at UFC 329 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (John Locher/AP)
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Easier said than done, perhaps, as the controversial former champion has been embroiled in multiple controversies and legal issues over the past several years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
LAS VEGAS — The door opened for Arthur Kaluma to show his worth for the Lakers in the NBA Summer League on Saturday night.
He did so in a big way.
Kaluma had 34 points and five rebounds during the Lakers’ 91-70 win over the Dallas Mavericks at the Thomas & Mack Center.
He was 11 for 16 from the field and six for 10 from three-point range.
With Lakers rookie guard Cameron Carr unable to play because of a right thumb contusion, Kaluma took over the scoring role. Carr, the 24th pick in the NBA draft, is averaging 17 points per game.
“Cam doesn’t play tonight, so he gets a little bit more minutes, gets a couple more touches,” said Lakers Summer League coach Ty Abbott about Kaluma. “But he’s done a really good job of making the most of it when he doesn’t have actions run for him. So the way that he’s been able to stay ready, find windows for himself has kept him in a rhythm. So, on a night like tonight, when we can run some actions for him, he knocks them down and just plays out of his mind. It was great.”
Kaluma said he was “a little nervous” but his three-point shooting said otherwise.
“When [teammate] Jon Elmore came down and he pitched it back to me for a three … I just knew when it came off my hand it was cash,” Kaluma said. “So I said, ‘Yeah, I’m hot.’ It went on from there.”
Late in the fourth quarter, Kaluma lined up a three-pointer, setting his feet and scoring from 29 feet out. He flashed three fingers and smiled. His teammates on the bench stood and cheered, as did the fans.
“We have such a great group of guys this year at Summer League and going through this it’s hard to get that camaraderie with a group,” Kaluma said. “But I feel like everybody wants to see everybody succeed and I felt that tonight. I’m not going to lie to you. They tell me to shoot the ball. I passed up a couple of shots and they were mad at me the other day.”
Kaluma played for the South Bay Lakers in the G League last season. He averaged 14.6 points per game, 4.9 rebounds and shot 55% from the field, 37% from three-point range.
“The G can get grimey, you know what I’m saying? It’s a time where everybody is trying to fight for a position and there is a certain hunger that you have to have in order to be successful in the G,” Kaluma said. “And I feel like that drive that I had my first year in it pushed me into this summer to really get better and work on my game and come here and have the opportunity to perform.”
Kaluma wasn’t alone in helping the Lakers improve to 2-0 in Summer League play.
Adou Thiero ran the court, took a lob pass from Chris Mañon and threw down a two-handed dunk. He had another solid outing with 15 points and four rebounds. He shot just four for 12 from the field, but was a plus-15.
But the night belonged to Kaluma.
“I pride myself on the defensive end,” he said. “I know I got hot offensively, but the shot was just falling today, you know what I’m saying? My game is three-and-D. I lock-up on defense and I know I can hit open shots. I just got hot today and I’m not going to try to let it get to my head.”
Sports
Golf star records lowest round in LPGA major history with astounding performance at Evian Championship
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There are good days on the golf course, and then there is what Haeran Ryu just did on Saturday.
Ryu, 25, recorded the lowest round in LPGA major history on Saturday with an 11-under 60 at the Evian Championship. With the South Korean golfer’s historic round, she holds a three-stroke lead.
Ryu’s round comes just two weeks after winning her first major at the Women’s PGA Championship. On the 18th hole, Ryu left a 30-foot eagle putt a few inches short, and instead settled for a birdie.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea reacts on the 18th green after the third round of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on July 11, 2026. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
She said after the round that she had no idea what she had done until she counted up her scorecard.
“But after the putt and I counted my score with my caddie,” she said. “Oh my God, it’s 11-under par today. It was so amazing. My caddie says, ‘Yep.’ I’m so happy right now.”
If Ryu had made the eagle putt on the 18th hole, she would have been just the second player to shoot a 59 in LPGA history.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea celebrates a birdie on the 15th green during the third round of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 11, 2026, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Her 60 broke the record for the lowest round in an LPGA major by one shot. Leona Maguire and Jeungeun Lee6 in 2021, and Hyo Joo Kim in 2014, each shot 61 at the Evian Championship, which was designated as an LPGA major in 2013.
The lowest round in a men’s major is 62, which is shared by four players — Branden Grace at Royal Birkdale in the 2017 British Open, Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler in the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, and Schauffele and Shane Lowry in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea and Lottie Woad of England interact after their round on the 18th green during the third round of the Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on July 11, 2026. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Ryu hopes her historic third round can help propel her to a second major win in three weeks.
“That is amazing, amazing dream,” Ryu said. “So I just want that one to come true, but we have one more day.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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