Sports
Shaikin: Blue Jays waited too long to walk Shohei Ohtani. Will it cost them a title?
For all the times the Toronto Blue Jays walked Shohei Ohtani, they lost Game 3 of the World Series because of the one time they did not walk him.
They learned their lesson, four times over.
Here’s another Babe Ruth comparison: Ruth played in 41 World Series games. He was intentionally walked twice.
On Monday, in one World Series game, Ohtani was intentionally walked four times.
The situation called for it — no, begged for it — in the seventh inning. The Blue Jays led, 5-4, with one out and the bases empty. Ohtani already had batted three times, with two doubles and a home run.
On a night they would eventually use four pinch-runners, they already had removed two of their four most potent bats in George Springer and Bo Bichette. They needed to win in regulation, and they were eight outs away. As Ohtani stepped to the mound, the Jays held a conference on the mound.
There really wasn’t much to discuss. Their pitcher, Seranthony Domínguez, had held right-handers to a .132 batting average and .451 OPS this season — and left-handers to a .277 average and .816 OPS.
Mookie Betts, who bats right-handed, was on deck. Freddie Freeman, who bats left-handed, would have followed Betts, but he did not have three extra-base hits already.
The Blue Jays did not issue the obvious intentional walk to Ohtani.
“We’re trying to pitch around him,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “You trust Seranthony to make pitches to do that. Sometimes for pitchers it’s hard to do that when you’re kind of trying to throw a ball and didn’t put it where you want to put it.”
To recap: We’re not trying to throw him a strike, but we’re not going to walk him intentionally.
Sure, he might chase a pitch and strike out or make weak contact. But, if you pitch to Ohtani, you might miss your pitch and, if he’s swinging, he might hit a home run.
Domínguez missed, right down the middle. Ohtani’s home run tied the score 5-5.
“After that,” Schneider said, “you just kind of take the bat out of his hands.”
The Blue Jays intentionally walked Ohtani in each of his next four plate appearances, three times with the bases empty and once with a runner on third base.
Shohei Ohtani looks at home plate umpire Mark Wegner as he is intentionally walked in the 13th inning of Game 3 of the World Series against the Blue Jays on Monday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Too late. The Blue Jays and their increasingly patchwork lineup played another 11 innings, without scoring. The Dodgers won in 18 innings, 6-5, and they can close within one victory of the World Series championship on Tuesday.
In all, Ohtani reached base nine times, setting a postseason record. He became the first player in postseason history with multiple home runs, doubles and walks in the same game. And not since Frank Isbell of the 1906 Chicago White Sox had a player put up four extra-base hits in a World Series game.
Ruth had Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig batting behind him, but the two guys batting behind Ohtani could wind up Hall of Famers too: eight-time All-Star Mookie Betts and nine-time All-Star Freddie Freeman, each a former most valuable player.
“There’s certain times where I feel like, you feel like, you feel better about someone else beating you,” Schneider said. “If that someone else is Mookie Betts or Freddie Freeman, it still stings.”
Freeman hit the walk-off home run. Schneider said he would continue to walk Ohtani.
He has no choice. Balls fly in warm weather at Dodger Stadium. The marine layer knocked down several potential home runs Monday, but a heat advisory has been issued for Southern California on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the game-time temperature predicted at 87 degrees Tuesday and potentially a little warmer Wednesday.
“I get it,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s the best player on the planet, and he was on the heels of a huge offensive night, and John smelled that and wasn’t going to let Shohei beat him at all, obviously, and even when nobody’s on base and putting him on to make the other guys beat him.”
Highlights from the Dodgers’ 6-5 win in 18 innings over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.
Technically, one of the other guys beat the Blue Jays on Monday. But Freeman would not have had the opportunity to beat them in the 18th inning had the Blue Jays won in nine innings, which they would have had Ohtani not hit that home run in the seventh.
Only after that did the walk-a-thon commence.
“When you’re that hot and you’re hitting balls right-center, left-center like Shohei was tonight, you just knew he was feeling good. So that’s the right move,” Freeman said. “You don’t want Shohei to beat you, and you let other guys try and beat you after his first four at-bats. It took a lot longer, but we finally did it.”
The Angels adopted that strategy in the 2002 World Series. They walked Barry Bonds 13 times in the seven-game series, including three intentional walks in the first five innings of Game 4.
Is Ohtani in line for the full Bonds treatment?
“I think it’s all relative,” said Roberts, a teammate of Bonds with the San Francisco Giants.
“Barry’s the greatest hitter I’ve ever seen, but in this day and age there’s just him or maybe (Aaron) Judge. We’re just fortunate we have Mookie and Freddie behind him. But you just don’t see that type of behavior from opposing managers, and that’s just the ultimate sign of respect.”
Benito Santiago, a five-time All-Star, batted behind Bonds in 2002. No disrespect intended, but Betts and Freeman are more complete offensive threats.
Monday marked the 23rd anniversary of the Angels’ lone World Series championship, won in some measure because they did not let Bonds beat them. The Blue Jays have decided they won’t let Ohtani beat them, but that decision might have come too late.
Sports
ESPN star rips iconic college basketball team with $22M roster for disappointing season
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The Kentucky Wildcats basketball team may still make the NCAA Tournament, but Dick Vitale thinks this iconic program should be much better than their 19-12 record this season considering their whopping $22 million roster.
The legendary ESPN college basketball analyst didn’t hold back his feelings about the Wildcats as they played Florida during Saturday’s prime SEC matchup. After the Gators hit some free throws to extend their first-half lead to 26-19, Vitale started to lay into the Wildcats.
Head coach Mark Pope of the Kentucky Wildcats in a game between the Florida Gators and the Kentucky Wildcats on March 7, 2026, at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY. (Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire)
“I’m going to say this right here, I’ve done several Kentucky games, win or lose, $22 million this team [which has been reported] in terms of the NIL for their players,” he said, per Awful Announcing. “I think in $22 million, they could have put together a better roster than they did. I really do.”
The Wildcats ended up losing by a score of 84-77, and Vitale continued about Kentucky near the end of their 12th loss of the season.
“I’ll tell you one thing, you don’t want to walk out of here thinking you got a moral victory,” Vitale said, referencing a hard-fought game against the No. 5-ranked Florida team. “Moral victories don’t count at this level of basketball. And you hear some of the people, ‘We played them close. We played them tough.’
“The bottom line is you’re Kentucky. You’re Kentucky. And you’ve got to leave here with a win, especially at home. There are no moral victories. Come on. I don’t want to hear that.”
Collin Chandler and Jasper Johnson of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrate in the first half against the Ole Miss Rebels at Rupp Arena on Jan. 24, 2026 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
The Wildcats were once the top program in the country under former Coach John Calipari, who left for Arkansas after being unable to make a long March Madness run in recent seasons, including a shocking first round upset to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats have been coached by Mark Pope since, and they made the Sweet 16 in last year’s tournament before losing to Tennessee.
Kentucky Jasper Johnson in action vs Michigan State at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY on Nov. 18, 2025. (Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated )
But this year, Kentucky is 10-8 in SEC play, and now face the No. 9 seed in the upcoming tournament this week. The winner of each conference earns a tournament berth, but the Wildcats know good seeding in the NCAA Tournament requires a strong run heading into Selection Sunday this upcoming weekend.
The Wildcats will start their SEC Tournament play on Wednesday against No. 16 LSU.
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Sports
Chargers agree to deal with former Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold
The Chargers bolstered their efforts to protect quarterback Justin Herbert all while diversifying their offense by agreeing to a multiyear deal with veteran fullback Alec Ingold on Sunday, the team announced.
Ingold’s deal with the Chargers reportedly is for two years and $7.5 million.
Ingold will be no stranger to the Chargers’ plans on offense. He played the past four seasons in Miami under coach Mike McDaniel, the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator. Last year he caught eight passes for 52 yards and ran the ball twice in 17 games.
Ingold caught 47 passes for 372 yards and rushed for 34 yards in 20 carries in four seasons with the Dolphins. He also had two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown.
Before his time in Miami, Ingold played three seasons with the Raiders.
The deal comes two days after the Chargers signed veteran center Tyler Biadasz to take over for the retiring Bradley Bozeman. They agreed to terms on a one-year deal with edge rusher Khalil Mack on Saturday.
With the free agency negotiation period set to begin Monday at 9 a.m. PDT, the Chargers remain in strong position to be significant players in the free-agent market. They rank among the top-five teams in salary cap space, per Overthecap.com.
Sports
Cowboys star, fiancée end relationship month before wedding: report
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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and his fiancée, Sarah Jane Ramos, reportedly broke up with their wedding around the corner.
Prescott and Ramos’ relationship had been “rocky” in the weeks leading up to the breakup and things exploded between the two at their joint bachelor and bachelorette parties, TMZ Sports reported on Saturday.
Dak Prescott and Sarah Jane Ramos attend the Farrah Fawcett Foundation Tex-Mex Fiesta on Oct. 30, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. (Omar Vega/Getty Images for Farrah Fawcett Foundation)
Ramos shared pictures of her trip with her friends on Instagram on Friday.
“I truly believe you can get through anything in life as long as you have really great friends. I love these girls so much,” Ramos captioned the collage of snaps.
Prescott was not pictured in any of the 16 photos and videos posted to her social media account.
Sarah Jane Ramos and Dak Prescott pose for a photo before Dak Prescott’s Faith Fight Finish Foundation Gala on May 17, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images for Faith Fight Finish Foundation)
Ramos also posted photos of her bridal shower back on Feb. 23. There were no photos of Prescott in the carousel either.
“The most intimate and beautiful bridal shower of my dreams,” she added on Instagram. “So grateful for my aunts who hosted it and my girlfriends and family that came to celebrate. I love you all so much and can’t wait to marry the love of my life with all of you by my side.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Prescott’s representative for comment.
Prescott posted a series of photos on his Instagram of Ramos and his family on July 20, 2025. There’s only a September advertisement posted on his account since.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Sarah Jane Ramos pose on the NFL Honors Red Carpet before Super Bowl LX at Palace of Fine Arts on Feb. 5, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
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The NFL star and Ramos announced they were engaged on Oct. 18, 2024. The couple have two children together.
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