Sports
Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw intends to return for 2025 season: 'Mentally, I feel great'
Clayton Kershaw is out for the rest of this postseason because of a toe injury. But he appears to have no plans this offseason to call it a career.
Before Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, Kershaw told the Fox Sports pregame show that he is planning to play in 2025, when he can exercise a player option to stay with the Dodgers or (in a much more unlikely scenario) opt out of his deal and test free agency for a third straight winter.
“Mentally, I feel great,” Kershaw said. “I had shoulder surgery last offseason, and my shoulder and elbow, everything, my arm, feels great.
“Obviously, I had some tough luck with my foot this year. But I want to make use of this surgery. I don’t want to have surgery and shut it down. So I’m gonna come back next year and give it a go and see how it goes.”
The 36-year-old Kershaw, who would be entering his 18th MLB season in 2025, pitched in only seven games this year after missing the first four months of the regular season recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
Though Kershaw’s fastball averaged less than 90 mph, he was 2-2 with a 3.72 ERA in his first six starts, and he was in line for a possible postseason rotation spot on the Dodgers’ injury-plagued pitching staff.
But then, on Aug. 30, the injury bug bit Kershaw.
In a start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, a bone spur on Kershaw’s right big toe flared up so bad he was forced to leave the game in the second inning. He went on the injured list the following day.
Despite trying to continue to throw over the final month of the regular season, in hopes of making a return in time for the playoffs, Kershaw’s toe failed to cooperate. Ahead of the NLDS, manager Dave Roberts ruled him out for the rest of the postseason.
It’s unclear if Kershaw, who is just 32 strikeouts away from 3,000 in his career, will be ready for the start of the 2025 season.
He acknowledged earlier this month that surgery on his toe is “in the conversation” for this offseason.
Kershaw also developed other physical issues while injured that he said resulted from trying to compensate from his toe injury in throwing exercises. One affected area, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, was Kershaw’s oblique.
Despite all that, the Dodgers could still use the three-time Cy Young Award winner and former MVP in their 2025 rotation — which will likely be hampered by limited workloads from Shohei Ohtani, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin as they return from elbow surgeries.
“Obviously I don’t want to get hurt all the time,” Kershaw said recently, having gone on the IL at least once in every season since 2016. “Like, it’s not fun to do that.”
“But,” he added, “I also really love to pitch, too.”
Roberts silences the critics
There was elation and exhaustion, pride and vindication, but the overwhelming emotion that Roberts felt after a grueling five-game National League Division Series win over the San Diego Padres was “relief.”
Not just because the Dodgers vanquished their pesky division rivals to advance to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets, but because Roberts silenced a large segment of the team’s fan base that would have called for his head if the Dodgers suffered a third straight first-round playoff exit.
“Unfortunately, the reality is, that’s the nature of this business,” Roberts said. “I could argue that we’ve won a lot in my tenure here, but when you’re in this market, it’s still about winning championships.
“People don’t want to hear about the uncertainty of [October] baseball, how you can’t predict who the World Series champion is gonna be. I don’t do any of the social media, but to be honest, you can kind of feel [the pressure] around you.”
Roberts has the best winning percentage (.627) of any manager with at least 1,300 games, having guided the Dodgers to an 851-506 record, eight division titles, nine playoff appearances and three World Series — winning in 2020 — in nine seasons. But every October, it seems Roberts is managing to save his job, and frankly, he is tired of it.
“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous considering the body of work that I’ve been a part of, the stuff that I do on the business side and the community relations side, my history with the Dodgers,” Roberts said. “But it is what it is.”
Roberts has made his share of regrettable October decisions, but he redeemed himself in the eyes of critics with his deft bullpen management against the Padres, steering eight relievers through an 8-0 Game 4 win and four through four hitless innings in a 2-0 Game 5 win.
“I thought he was surgical in Game 4 and 5,” said Andrew Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations. “I thought he had the pulse and the right feel for when to make a move and who to go to.”
Roberts also kept the team together through his “most challenging season,” one that featured a slew of pitching injuries and the loss of Mookie Betts for two months and Max Muncy for three months.
“The number of injuries we withstood was a little deflating to the clubhouse,” Friedman said. “They’re out there battling, doing everything they can to accomplish our goal of winning the division, and things keep happening. Doc’s relentless optimism helped keep things positive and moving forward.”
Hip check
Gavin Lux tweaked his right-hip flexor breaking out of the box on his fourth-inning bunt Sunday night and was pulled from the game in the seventh inning. Lux was not in the lineup for Game 2 but was available to pinch-hit.
Even if the left-handed-hitting Lux were healthy, he probably wouldn’t have started against Mets left-hander Sean Manaea in Game 2. With rest and Tuesday’s off-day, “it will give me a little extra time to recover,” Lux said. “It’s just wear and tear. I’ll be fine.”
No pressure
Rookie reliever Ben Casparius had no idea when he took the mound in the ninth inning Sunday night that the Dodgers were on the verge of tying the 1966 Baltimore Orioles for the longest consecutive scoreless innings streak in playoff history at 33.
“I found out after the game,” Casparius, who retired the side in order in his first career playoff appearance, said before Game 2 on Monday. “I’m honestly glad it was after the game and not before it.”
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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Lakers’ Arthur Kaluma erupts for 34 points in breakout Summer League performance
