Sports

Plaschke: Dodgers fans lose their cool and Dodgers lose their edge

Published

2 years ago

October 7, 2024

Plaschke: Dodgers fans lose their cool and Dodgers lose their edge

Two baseballs flew down toward the San Diego Padres’ Jurickson Profar from the left-field corner stands, the gutless moves of two cowards.

Numerous water bottles flew down toward the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. from the right-field corner stands, the gutless moves of many cowards.

More than a game was lost Sunday night when the Padres equaled the National League Division Series at one game apiece with a 10-2 victory over the Dodgers.

An already tattered image was further damaged. An historically bad reputation was further stained. Anyone out there walking around town wearing a Dodger jersey today should be embarrassed.

On a national stage, a few bad actors among the largest Dodger Stadium crowd of the season only furthered the harmful narrative that Chavez Ravine is a place stocked with punks.

In a startling display for a game of this magnitude, a pack of sorry spectators caused the game to be stopped for nearly 10 minutes before the bottom of the seventh inning while balls and bottles rained down on the field.

“I’ve seen over a thousand games here, well over a thousand games in this ballpark, and I’ve never seen anything like that,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So obviously there’s a lot of emotions and things like that. But that’s something that should never happen.”

The Dodger fans had once again let the taunting, preening Padres get under their skin.

“Dodger fans, they were just not happy,” Tatis said. “They’re losing the game, obviously, and just a lot of back and forth. What can I say? I wish they could control it a little bit more, their emotions.”

To make matters worse, the Dodgers also let the Padres get under their skin, wilting under a barrage of Padres aggressiveness on a night when the visitors danced all over Dodger Stadium with six home runs, a stolen home run, and all sorts of celebrations to accompany it all.

“That’s one of those that you just kind of want to wash away and get to the next day,” Roberts said.

The Padres were tacky, but that was no excuse for Dodgers fans to be idiots. Their actions impossibly turned the Padres bad actors into the good guys.

“It was a bunch of dudes that showed up in front of a big, hostile crowd with stuff being thrown at them and said, ‘We’re going to talk with our play; we’re not going to back down; we’re going to elevate our game; we’re going to be together; and we’re going to take care of business,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said.

The Padres were on the attack, but that was no excuse for the Dodgers to retreat behind spotty pitching from Jack Flaherty and impatient hitting against aging Padres starter Yu Darvish. They turned a reeling Padres team into winners.

“It was ugly,” said Roberts. “It was ugly.”

The best-of-five series now moves to San Diego’s Petco Park, where, thanks to Sunday’s disturbance, the rowdy Padre fans will now be poised to retaliate. They don’t like the Dodgers down there. Now they’re going to like them a lot less.

“I know we’re about to go back to San Diego with a very, very loud, raucous, aggressive, hungry crowd that’s going to be super excited and going to be getting after it,” said Shildt. “But I know also that we’ll stay classy, San Diego.”

The Dodgers will not only be clunking down the 5 Freeway on the flattened tires of lousy starting pitching, but they could also be without Freddie Freeman, whose badly sprained ankle led him to leave Sunday’s game in the sixth inning.

Winning two out of three against a surging Padres team that suddenly has home-field advantage was already going to be a tough chore. What happened Sunday is going to make it tougher.

After the security stoppage in the seventh inning, Manny Machado led the Padres in what appeared to be an emotional impromptu team meeting in their dugout. They were holding a 4-1 lead at the time. In the final three innings they outscored the Dodgers 6-1.

“Just regroup, resettle,” said Tatis of the meeting. “The game was on our side. We know what we’re capable of. And, man, it was just a reminder who we really are as a group and just how crazy we can turn a place to go nuts. That’s all it was about.”

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado shouts at Dodgers players in the dugout during Sunday's game.

When recounting Game 2, it’s important not to cast Padres as unblemished heroes. In fact, they started it all.

In the first inning, Profar lunged into the left-field corner stands to steal a home run from Mookie Betts. Ironically, in one moment where it would have been good for Dodger fans to be aggressive, they got tentative by allowing Profar to make the catch. Profar then taunted those fans by facing the stands and dancing in their faces.

In the fourth inning, it got worse after Tatis made a lunging catch of a Freeman drive in right field. He then proceeded to sarcastically lead the profane chants of fans in the right-field pavilion.

The bad blood reached a boiling point in the sixth inning when Flaherty hit Tatis in the side, leading to a stare from the tempestuous right fielder and words from Profar.

Moments later, with Tatis and Profar on first and second, Machado struck out, after which Flaherty appeared to shout a profane taunt at him that led to shouts from both dugouts.

Flaherty was removed from the game after the strikeout, but that didn’t quell the jawing, as Flaherty stood on the fringes of the dugout and continued to verbally spar with Machado throughout the bottom of the sixth.

One inning later, after the seventh-inning stretch, the chaos broke loose as both Profar and Tatis were surrounded by security guards while public address announcer Todd Leitz pleaded for order.

The rest of the game was completed without incident.

But, in a series in which Roberts urged his team to throw the first punch, the Padres have punched back, and the Dodger fans have punched badly, and this dance is just getting started.

Sports

Napoleon Solo wins 151st Preakness Stakes

Published

5 hours ago

May 17, 2026

Press Room

Napoleon Solo wins 151st Preakness Stakes

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Napoleon Solo took home the 2026 Preakness Stakes on Saturday, the 151st running of the race.

The favorite in Taj Mahal, the 1 horse, was in the lead from the start until the final turn until Napoleon Solo made his move on the outside and took the lead at the top of the stretch. As Taj Mahal fell off, Iron Honor, the 9 horse, snuck up, but the effort ultimately was not enough.

Napoleon Solo opened at 8-1 and closed at 7-1. Iron Honor, at 8-1, finished second, with Chip Honcho fishing third after closing at 11-1. Ocelli, one of just three horses to run both the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and Saturday’s Preakness, finished fourth at 8-1.

A Preakness branded starting gate is seen on track prior to the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16, 2026 in Laurel, Maryland. For the first and only time, Laurel Park is hosting the Preakness Stakes which is the second race of the Triple Crown jewel due to the traditional home of the race of the Pimlico Race Course undergoing complete renovations. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

A $1 exacta paid out $53.60, while a $1 trifecta brought in $597.10. But someone out there is very lucky, as a $1 superhighfive – picking the top-five finishers in order – paid out $12,015.70.

Even moreso, a 20-cent Pick 6 – picking the winners of the six consecutive races, with the final being the Preakness, paid out $33,842.34.

The race was run without the Kentucky Derby winner for the second year in a row. After Sovereignty did not run the Preakness last year – and wound up winning the Belmont Stakes – the training team of Golden Tempo opted to skip the Maryland race.

From 1960 to 2018, only three Derby winners did not run in the Preakness. Three Derby winners have skipped the Preakness in the last five years, and for the sixth time in eight years, for various reasons, the Triple Crown had already been impossible to accomplish by the time the Preakness even rolled around.

“I understand that fans of the sport or fans of the Triple Crown are disappointed, but the horse is not a machine,” Golden Tempo’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, told Fox News Digital earlier this week.

Paco Lopez, right, atop Napoleon Solo, edges out Iron Honor, ridden by Flavien Prat, to win the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

CHERIE DEVAUX REFLECTS ON MAKING KENTUCKY DERBY HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE TRAINER TO WIN THE RACE

Only three horses from two weeks ago – Ocelli, Robusta, and Incredibolt, were back at the Preakness. Corona de Oro, the 11 horse on Saturday, was scratched well ahead of the Derby, and Great White, who reared up and fell on his back after becoming startled shortly before entering the Derby gate, took the 13 post on Saturday.

The Preakness went off roughly 24 hours after a horse died following the completion of his very first race.

Hit Zero, trained by Brittany Russell, came into the race as the favorite. However, he finished last in the race, which was won by another one of Russell’s horses, Bold Fact — and upon crossing the finish line, Hit Zero reportedly began coughing, dropped to his knees, then put his head down and died.

The Preakness took place at Laurel Park as Pimlico undergoes renovations. It was the first time ever that Pimlico did not host the race, moving roughly 20 miles south.

Paco Lopez, atop Napoleon Solo, wins the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The Belmont Stakes, the final Triple Crown race, will take place on June 6. The race will return to Saratoga for a third year in a row as Belmont Park continues to be renovated.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Sports

High school boys volleyball: City Section Saturday finals

Published

5 hours ago

May 17, 2026

Press Room

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS VOLLEYBALL

CITY SECTION FINALS

FRIDAY

At Birmingham

DIVISION I

#1 Taft d. #3 Cleveland, 25-23, 25-14, 25-21

DIVISION IV

#7 Maywood CES d. #4 Math & Science College Prep, 25-17, 25-17, 25-23

At Venice

DIVISION II

#4 Marquez d. #6 Narbonne, 23-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-16

DIVISION III

#13 Birmingham d. #2 Legacy, 25-20, 17-25, 31-33, 25-21, 15-10

SATURDAY

At Birmingham

OPEN DIVISION

#3 Chatsworth d. #1 Granada Hills, 24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18

DIVISION V

314 Franklin d. #13 Rancho Dominguez, 25-18, 25-19, 25-16

SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS

THURSDAY

At Home Sites

DIVISION 9

Vasquez d. Tarbut V’ Torah, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-10

FRIDAY

At Cerritos College

DIVISION 1

#1 Mira Costa d. #3 Loyola, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22

DIVISION 4

Sunny Hills d. Royal, 24-26, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23

At Home Sites

DIVISION 5

Bishop Diego d. St. Anthony, 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23

DIVISION 8

Temescal Canyon d. West Valley, 24-26, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23

SATURDAY

At Cerritos College

DIVISION 2

Orange Lutheran d. Edison, 3-1

DIVISION 3

Windward d. St, John Bosco, 24-26, 25–21, 25-22, 25-20

DIVISION 6

Culver City d. Garden Grove, 27-25, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25, 15-9

Sports

It’s Game 7, and we have a bet locked in as the Cavaliers and legacies are on the line against the Pistons

Published

17 hours ago

May 16, 2026

Press Room

It’s Game 7, and we have a bet locked in as the Cavaliers and legacies are on the line against the Pistons

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The NBA takes a lot of flak for having meaningless games, and I can definitely understand it, watching on a random Wednesday in January. However, the playoffs have delivered over and over to viewers and rewarded us for putting up with garbage regular-season games.

This will be the fourth Game 7 of the playoffs. Three series have been sweeps, and the other three have been six games. That shows competitive hoops. Now, how do we bet this Game 7 in the Eastern Conference?

The Cleveland Cavaliers blew it. After not winning a road game all postseason, they took Game 5 in surprising fashion. It looked like they were going to win in six games. After all, they hadn’t lost a game at home in the postseason.

Instead, Detroit came out and blitzed the Cavs, never giving them a chance to get their footing. They lost in an ugly fashion and now have to figure out a way to win a game on the road.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden drives to the basket against the Detroit Pistons during the second half of Game 5 in the second-round NBA playoffs in Detroit on May 13, 2026. (Duane Burleson/AP)

It isn’t just the Cavs’ fate that rests in this game. It is also the legacy of James Harden and, to a lesser extent, Donovan Mitchell.

We know that Mitchell is a very good player, but he isn’t regarded as one of the best players ever. Harden is. Unfortunately, Harden has struggled in Game 7s. He’s averaged 19.1 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. That’s not terrible, but looking at his shooting percentages, he is at 35.3% and 22.2% in those games. He actually is 4-4 overall in the games, but in his past three, he has scored a combined 34 points over 113 minutes.

The Detroit Pistons seem to like playing with their backs against the wall. They are a gritty team, so I suppose it makes sense.

Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren reacts after allowing a pass to go out of bounds in the second half of Game 4 of the second-round NBA playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on May 11, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)

Cade Cunningham continues to deliver for the team, and he finally got some help in Game 6 from Jalen Duren. This was never going to be an easy series for Duren, but it feels like he is taking more time to mature than others. He definitely improved this year, but the consistency they need from him just isn’t there yet.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Now as the team goes home they will need Duren to be a beast on the glass. If he can keep the Pistons in the rebounding battle, they should win this game with ease. They won Game 6 by just three rebounds, but that takes away a big dimension of what Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley do for the Cavs. It isn’t everything, though, as the Pistons won the rebounding battle in both losses in Cleveland.

I don’t see this being a runaway game for the Pistons. Mitchell and Cunningham likely will cancel each other out with scoring. Harden needs to establish himself as the third-best player on the floor. I haven’t seen him do that in the postseason, yet.

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden talk during Game 2 in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs vs. the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio. (David Dermer/Imagn Images)

This is the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both of the clubs, so it isn’t like either will be caught off guard about what this entails.

If I look at it objectively, I think the Cavs have the better players. However, the Pistons have looked significantly better this season, and definitely in the playoffs overall. Both are prone to issues and slipping. The Cavs shouldn’t be as they are a veteran team.

This game has to be won by Cleveland, though. There is too much riding on the franchise and legacies of guys for them to not prepare properly for it. Maybe that’s weak analysis, but I’m taking the Cavs with the points and I do think they win outright. I expect a monster game from Mitchell, and Harden should get 10+ assists.

Either way, whoever wins will lose to the New York Knicks.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024