Sports
Bryan Cranston tries to get Dave Roberts to reveal Dodgers' Roki Sasaki plans: 'Don’t get me in trouble'
Bryan Cranston is such a huge Dodgers fan that he got goosebumps in a Los Angeles studio six years ago while narrating an MLB Network documentary on the team’s 1988 season, which culminated with one of the most dramatic home runs in World Series history, Kirk Gibson’s Game 1, pinch-hit, walk-off shot off Dennis Eckersley.
The 68-year-old actor of “Breaking Bad” and “Your Honor” fame was in Chavez Ravine in late-October for another stunning World Series homer, Freddie Freeman’s Game 1, 10th-inning walk-off grand slam that lifted the Dodgers to a 6-3 comeback victory over the New York Yankees and propelled them toward their eighth World Series title.
“That was the most exciting game I’ve ever been to,” said Cranston, a lifelong fan who was 5 years old when his father took him to his first Dodgers game in the Coliseum in 1961. “Complete strangers were hugging each other.”
Cranston was back in a Los Angeles studio on Thursday, this time to conduct a SiriusXM Town Hall interview with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, but before the four-time Emmy Award winner sat down to grill the two-time World Series-winning skipper, he artfully dodged a difficult question directed at him:
Will Freeman’s delirium-inducing drive in 2024 supplant Gibson’s lightning bolt in 1988 as the most dramatic postseason home run in Dodgers history?
“Can’t they live side by side?” Cranston said after a long pause.
“Good answer,” Roberts said, impressed with the actor’s diplomacy.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, left, and actor Bryan Cranston.
(Los Angeles Dodgers)
Cranston and Roberts then spent an hour discussing a season that began with a $1.2-billion splurge on two-way star Shohei Ohtani and pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow and ended with the Dodgers erasing a 5-0 fifth-inning deficit in a World Series Game-5 clinching win over the Yankees.
The interview, which was held before a small live audience, will air on MLB Network Radio on Friday (1 p.m., 5 p.m., 8 p.m. PST) and again on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Among the highlights:
Roberts on the dizzying array of pitching injuries that forced the Dodgers to use 17 different starters and 40 total pitchers: “Our organization does such a good job of scouting, developing, trading for guys and having depth, but there were a lot of guys, to be honest, who were on our roster who I had never heard of. I know you guys here today better than I knew some of these players who pitched for me this year.”
Roberts on the rare team meeting he called before a Sept. 15 game at Atlanta, the day after the Dodgers learned Glasnow suffered a season-ending elbow injury and a 10-1 loss to the Braves reduced their division lead over San Diego to 3½ games:
“The crux of the meeting was, ‘I believe in each one of you guys, but it doesn’t matter, if you guys don’t believe in each other, that we have enough talent in this room to win 11 games in October.”
Roberts on the conversation he had that same afternoon with Walker Buehler, who took a 1-5 record and 5.95 ERA into a Sept. 15 start in which the right-hander, who returned from a second Tommy John surgery, gave up one earned run and three hits in six innings of a 9-2, season-turning win over the Braves.
“Walker was scuffling, but I told him, ‘You’ve pitched some of the most meaningful games in Dodgers history and succeeded. We need you to step up tonight and go on a heater, because if we don’t have you, we’re not gonna win the World Series.’ It was a challenge to raise the bar for all of us, and he answered the bell.”
Dave Roberts walks in the dugout before Game 5 of the World Series against the New York Yankees on Oct. 30.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Roberts on a testy 10-2 National League Division Series Game 2 loss to the Padres, in which pitcher Jack Flaherty and San Diego slugger Manny Machado jawed at each other several times and Machado drew the ire of the Dodgers when he flung a ball toward Roberts in the third-base dugout between innings:
“They wanted a street fight — I think we needed to turn into street fighters and kind of play their game. We needed to do something to balance out the playing field, and I felt that it sort of flipped after that.”
“It certainly did,” Cranston said. “The last two games [of the NLDS], your pitching staff allowed zero runs.”
Roberts on Freeman’s World Series grand slam: “That was the biggest moment for me that I’ve ever witnessed in person in sports. We celebrated after that hit like we had just won Game 7. I felt like we had won the World Series, and when you look back, that might have been when we won the World Series.”
Cranston then steered the interview toward 2025, asking Roberts how the Dodgers can improve next season.
“The biggest thing we’ve done so far is sign Blake Snell,” Roberts said of the veteran left-hander who signed a five-year, $182-million deal in late-November. “We have Glasnow coming back, we’ve got Yoshinobu coming back …
“Sasaki,” Cranston interjected, referring to highly coveted 23-year-old right-hander Roki Sasaki, who was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines in November and is expected to sign with a major league team in January. “Sasaki.”
“Right,” Roberts said, “I can’t say anything about that.”
“Sasaki,” Cranston persisted.
“Don’t get me in trouble, Bryan,” Roberts said with a laugh.
The Dodgers are among the teams trying to sign Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki.
(Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press)
Roberts thinks the Dodgers, who hope to re-sign free-agent slugger Teoscar Hernández and add another impact reliever, “should be better” in 2025 than they were in 2024,” but he acknowledged that “it’s hard to ultimately be better than winning a world championship.”
If the Dodgers are to become the first team to repeat as champions since the Yankees won three straight titles from 1998-2000, they will need the proper mindset and motivation, a subject Roberts discussed this week with Dodgers partial owner Magic Johnson, the star point guard who led the Lakers to five NBA titles from 1980-88.
“I really feel that the carrot, the incentive for our club, in 2025, is now you’re getting into legacy territory,” Roberts said. “I talked to Magic about legacy and [former Lakers coach] Pat Riley and what he instilled in those guys, the mindset. That’s something I’m going to try to [instill] in our guys because now we’re trying to do something that will last forever.”
The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
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