Sports
Dodger blue, Ohtani Days and World Series mania in Shohei Ohtani's hometown
It was moments before Game 3 was set to begin, and the city where Shohei Ohtani was born breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“I almost cried when I saw the injury,” 50-year-old resident Ayako Oyama said, referring to a partial shoulder dislocation the Dodgers superstar had suffered on a base-stealing attempt two days earlier.
Despite fears that the designated hitter would be out for the rest of this series, he had bounced back, and Oyama, dressed in a blue Ohtani jersey, had come to the local auditorium where the city was holding a World Series watching party.
Her employer — the city of Oshu — had given her the morning off to attend. (Oshu is 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles.) She had gotten up early to mark her place in the long line that wrapped around the building with around 200 other residents and Mayor Jun Kuranari, who earlier this month traveled to California to sign a friendship city agreement with his counterpart in Torrance. A camera team from Fox was livestreaming the scene to U.S. audiences.
As part of a rice art festival, growers used different varieties of rice to create a portrait of Shohei Ohtani and his dog, Decoy, in a paddy in Oshu, Japan, the Dodger star’s hometown.
(Hidenori Nagai / Associated Press)
“I’ve never seen Oshu at the center of attention like this,” Oyama said, clutching two blue bambams.
Ohtani is, of course, a national hero in all of Japan, his image plastered over billboards, green tea advertisements and newspaper pages.
But there is something else to Oshu’s love for its native son. He is more than just a celebrity from their city, or a rare baseball talent, but someone truly one of their own.
“The people in this region are known for having a serious, diligent and persevering character,” Tomonori Toriumi, an official in Oshu’s sports promotion department, said.
“That is Ohtani. Even when he is under such pressure, he doesn’t show it.”
A colleague from the “Shohei Ohtani Hometown Cheering Team,” the city’s fan club that Toriumi leads, took the stage to rehearse several chants with the crowd: “Let’s go Shohei!”
The first inning started out strong: The Yankees walked Ohtani. Freddie Freeman followed up with a homer and drove him home.
The crowd whooped, furiously slapping together their bambams.
::
Jun Kuranari, mayor of Oshu, Japan, watches a livestream with about 200 others before the start of Game 3 of the World Series.
(Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press)
Oshu, a semi-rural city of around 114,000, is not exactly a tourist hot spot.
The handful of hotels in the city are more likely to be booked up by businesspeople from Taiwan and South Korea visiting the nearby semiconductor factories. The streets are dead quiet and pitch dark by 10 p.m.
Among the leading local attractions is the Cattle Museum, a nod to the region’s high-quality beef. Other local specialties include a form of traditional ironware known as Nambu Tekki, and apples.
“Very few people come here,” Hidetoshi Watanabe, a 68-year-old taxi driver, said.
“For every 100 outsiders you see, maybe one or two are tourists.”
Like many of the longtime locals, Watanabe affectionately remembers a time when Ohtani was just one of the neighborhood kids: the skinny freshman who joined the baseball team at nearby Hanamaki High School, where Watanabe’s son was a senior outfielder.
A person photographs a banner supporting Shohei Ohtani near Mizusawa train station in Oshu, northeastern Japan, on Tuesday.
(Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press)
“My son looked after Ohtani a lot,” Watanabe said.
Even then, Ohtani was already famous as a “yakyu baka”: a boy obsessed with baseball.
“I knew he was destined to become big,” Watanabe said. “You could tell he had a much sharper sense for baseball. Everybody knew Ohtani was different.”
In the years since he left home — and went on to become who many say is the most talented baseball player of all time — Ohtani’s local presence has only grown.
Arrive at the bullet train station near the area where Ohtani grew up and you are greeted by metal wind chimes engraved with messages of support and a small glass-enclosed exhibit featuring signed memorabilia.
Local elementary schools serve their students Ohtani-themed lunches, including menu items like toast with “Dodgers 17” scribbled in blueberry jam. The city has designated the 17th of each month as Ohtani Day, meaning bank workers, taxi drivers and civil servants go to work in their Dodgers garb. (Los Angeles followed suit, declaring May 17 an annual Ohtani day.)
One of Oshu’s most popular events is an annual festival featuring rice art, made from growing five different varieties of rice to form vast images on the paddies. This year’s offering: Ohtani in his Dodgers uniform, tossing aside his bat after one of his 54 regular-season home runs.
Meanwhile, nearly every trace of Ohtani’s former team has been mercilessly scrubbed from the city. There is no Angels red in Oshu.
The Ohtani posters reading “The Pride of Oshu City” — plastered across the city, in bars, train stations, government offices — are now all blue.
In the lobby of Oshu City Hall is an iron replica of Ohtani’s hand, cast while he was playing in a Japanese league earlier in his career. Visitors come in to shake the hand.
(Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press)
“Well, we support Ohtani first and foremost, not the Angels,” Toshihide Oikawa, an official at the Oshu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said with a sheepish laugh.
Though Oshu, a three-hour train ride from Tokyo, isn’t exactly drawing hordes, city officials like Toriumi still field continuous email inquiries from foreign and Japanese fans alike looking to make an Ohtani pilgrimage.
“Nobody can speak English very well so it’s difficult to properly respond to them,” Toriumi said apologetically.
Some find their way regardless.
In the lobby of Oshu City Hall is an iron replica of Ohtani’s hand, cast while he was playing for the Japanese league’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, his team before the Angels.
“Around 20 to 30 people from overseas have come in the last month,” Miyoko Ishikawa, whose seat at the information desk directly faces the outstretched appendage.
“They come as a family, couple or friends — they come to shake the hand.”
::
By the time the ninth inning came around, it was apparent that Game 3 would be another win. Oyama, the civil servant, hurried off to go to lunch before she had to return to work.
The projector screen displayed Yankees star Juan Soto looking defeated.
Ohtani had had a quiet outing, but the slightly thinned-out crowd belted out one last chant for his final at-bat, groaning loudly when the ball glanced off his left toe, leading to a walk. The Japanese broadcasters had filled the lack of action by sampling a Wagyu burger from Yankee Stadium.
But Oshu doesn’t care if Ohtani wins or loses, whether he is slumping or the clutch-time hero.
“The Dodgers winning the World Series would of course be an amazing thing because we want to see Ohtani’s dreams come true,” Toriumi said.
“But even if Ohtani doesn’t win a World Series, Oshu will always love him.”
Special correspondent Momo Nagayama contributed to this report.
Sports
Conor McGregor’s long-awaited Octagon return cut short by apparent knee injury seconds into UFC 329
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
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.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
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.
JAKE PAUL’S BUSINESS PARTNER GIVES TIMELINE ON RETURN TO RING AFTER CAREER-THREATENING INJURY
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.
RONDA ROUSEY REVEALS WHAT INSPIRED HER TO END NINE-YEAR MMA HIATUS FOR ONE FINAL FIGHT
“‘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)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
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
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
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.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
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.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
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.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
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.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
-
Michigan2 minutes agoSturgis closure may be ‘first of more’ for Michigan rural hospitals
-
Massachusetts5 minutes agoCommentary: Massachusetts needs a journalist shield law
-
Minnesota10 minutes agoMinnesota was center of immigration enforcement. Here’s how its playing out legally.
-
Mississippi17 minutes agoMississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for July 11, 2026
-
Missouri20 minutes agoRecovery efforts continue after deadly Missouri flash flooding | Latest Weather Clips | FOX Weather
-
Montana25 minutes agoMissoula and Western Montana neighbors: Obituaries for July 12
-
Nebraska32 minutes agoMLB Draft: Cubs select Nebraska RHP Carson Jasa in the 3rd round
-
Nevada35 minutes agoNevada joins western coalition that aiming to strengthen regional power grid
