Sports
Luis Cruz, newest member of Dodgers Spanish-language broadcast team, remains fan favorite
Twelve years later, the chants hadn’t changed.
Back in 2012, Luis Cruz became a cult hero around Dodger Stadium. He arrived as an under-the-radar journeyman, a Mexican-born utility player signed to a minor league contract in the 2011 offseason. Then he emerged as an unexpected fan favorite on the Dodgers’ second-place 2012 team, batting .297 with 20 doubles, 40 RBIs and a signature reception from the crowd whenever he came to the plate.
“Cruuuuuz!”
Three months ago, Cruz heard those chants again.
Though he never replicated the highs of his 2012 season, and was out of both the Dodgers organization and the major leagues entirely by the end of 2013, Cruz has remained a beloved figure at Chavez Ravine over the decade since.
So much so that, when he was one of several dozen former Dodgers welcomed back for the club’s player alumni weekend in August, it was the 40-year-old who played just 123 total games for the team that received one of the louder ovations, with pockets of the crowd chanting “Cruuuuz!” as if he’d never left.
“I was like, ‘Wow, this is unbelievable,’” Cruz said. “Because they still remembered. I played there in 2012. It’s been 12 years. But they made me feel welcome. The true Dodger fans, they remember everything.”
This week, the Dodgers officially welcomed Cruz back as a member of the organization, hiring him as a color analyst for the team’s Spanish-language radio broadcasts alongside Pepe Yñiguez and José Mota.
“The level of excitement these couple days have been really, really high,” Cruz said in a phone interview Thursday from Mexico, where he was finishing his playing career in his native country’s winter baseball league. “Like in 2012, [the Dodgers have] embraced me and made me feel welcome. As soon as they announced it, the first call I got was Pepe and José welcoming me to the team.”
The social media response blew Cruz away, too.
“My Instagram was crazy,” Cruz said with a laugh. “A lot of fans saying ‘Cruuuz, welcome back!’ It was so many messages that I’m like, ‘Wow, it’s been 12 years.’ But those are true fans.”
Cruz’s arrival with the Dodgers as a player in 2012 was memorable, setting the stage for the best run of Cruz’s extended professional career (which included a four-season stint in Japan from 2014 to 2017, then seven seasons in Mexico’s winter league since).
After being called up in early July that season, Cruz quickly became the Dodgers’ everyday third baseman. In 73 starts, he collected two or more hits 23 times. On a team that remained in the playoff hunt until the season’s final weeks, only Matt Kemp posted a higher batting average.
“For me, it was like a dream come true,” Cruz said. “Being Mexican, and going to the States, and making it to the big leagues and getting to the Dodgers, it’s a big deal … When I got the chance to play in Los Angeles, that’s when I really felt like I was in the big leagues. It was my shot.”
One of Cruz’s most important mentors that year: late Dodgers pitching great, and then Spanish-language broadcaster, Fernando Valenzuela.
Long before Cruz got to Los Angeles, he had family connections with the Dodgers icon. Cruz is from Navojoa, Mexico, where Valenzuela first began his professional career in the late ‘70s. Cruz’s father played with Valenzuela back in those days, becoming such good friends with the left-handed pitcher that Valenzuela would occasionally join the Cruz family for meals at their home. Cruz himself had been double-A teammates with Valenzuela’s son in the San Diego Padres system in 2006.
So, when Cruz showed up in the Dodgers clubhouse in 2012, Valenzuela became one of his biggest backers, offering him daily doses of encouragement and support.
“He was a big part for me in 2012,” Cruz said. “We always talked about: ‘Hey, stay concentrated. Just pretend like you’re playing in Navojoa. Pretend like you’re playing in the backyard. Just relax.’”
Cruz will try to take the same mindset into the beginning of his broadcasting career, joining a Spanish-language booth still reeling from Valenzuela’s death last month.
“Fernando was Fernando, and I’m not trying to take anybody’s place,” Cruz said. “He’s always gonna be remembered as one of the greatest pitchers for the Dodgers. And for me, I’m just trying to do my job and learn … I know it’s big shoes to fill. But I’m just looking for an opportunity for me to do my best.”
In Los Angeles, he’ll do so with a fan base that never forgot Cruz’s 2012 contributions, welcoming him back to the Dodgers with open arms and throwback chants.
“Maybe they were little kids [back in 2012], or maybe they were young guys and now they’re older like me,” Cruz said. “And they just — I don’t know — made me feel really good, welcoming me that way.”
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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