The New York Yankees gave away a 5-0 run advantage to lose the World Series, 7-6, to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5. After a Game 4 blowout that gave Jazz Chisholm hope the Yankees can still win the title despite overwhelming odds, the Dodgers finally shut the door on them with an improbable comeback victory. With this crushing loss, fans are now asking whether the team will fire Yankees manager Aaron Boone for this defeat. After all, Boone put in Nestor Cortes that led to Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1 that set the tone for the rest of the series.
“World Series did nothing to change it,” reported Yankees writer Andy Martino on X, formerly Twitter. “Aaron Boone expected back in 2025, per sources.”
Are the Yankees making a good decision to retain Aaron Boone’s services after his performance in the World Series against the Dodgers, encapsulated by a heartbreaking choke job in Game 5?
The team brass seems to believe so, even after the Game 1 loss. For one, the team executives “did not view Boone’s call for Cortes as a blunder, but as a close decision that could have gone either way,” Marino added in his report for SNY linked on his post.
Moreover, the team would still have kept Boone around, “even if the Yankees had been swept.” Still, it’s probably a sound decision to give the benefit of the doubt to the manager who led the Yankees to their first World Series since 2009.
However, they now have to make sure Juan Soto stays with the Yankees in the offseason. Several contenders would like to steal Soto away, reportedly even the Dodgers, hoping he could also push them over the hump like he did the Yankees.
Moreover, they also might have to address their best hitter Aaron Judge’s disappearance in the World Series, whose batting average dropped to .083 in the title round.
In the earlier rounds, Giancarlo Stanton saved the Yankees with his heroics, but it’s hard to win a championship against one of the best teams in baseball if your best hitter isn’t performing up to snuff.
Either way, the Yankees will face a long offseason, with loads of questions to answer.
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Since winning the World Series in 2019, the Washington Nationals have been one of the laughing stocks of MLB. The franchise has failed to make the postseason in each of the last five seasons, and at 41-61, that trend doesn't appear to be ending this year. The Nats are considered sellers with the July 31 trade deadline quickly approaching, and starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore is their most coveted asset. The fourth-year starter was a key return in the blockbuster trade that sent Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres in 2022. After two productive seasons that saw him steadily improve, Gore earned his first All-Star nod in 2025. With the Nationals heading nowhere again, though, it seems as though the franchise may capitalize on the 26-year-old's career-best trade value. He has a 3.52 ERA and 144 strikeouts across 117.2 innings in 21 starts. Gore has two more years of arbitration before hitting unrestricted free agency in 2028, so it won't be easy for rival teams to coax the talented lefty out of Washington. But with so many playoff hopefuls struggling with injuries in their rotations, one franchise is bound to pay up. Detroit Tigers After blazing through the first half of the season, the Detroit Tigers have struggled to just one win in their last 12 contests. While the team's ice-cold offense certainly hasn't helped, Detroit's rotation behind Tarik Skubal has left plenty to be desired. The Tigers boast one of baseball's premier farm systems, but with championship aspirations looming, it may be time to cash in on some of their most sought-after prospects. Gore would immediately bolster the Tigers' title hopes while giving them a legitimate second star in their rotation behind the AL Cy Young favorite. Boston Red Sox Another American League team with playoff aspirations, the Boston Red Sox didn't tear through the first half of the regular season in the same manner Detroit did. However, the team found new life after dealing Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants and is in the thick of the AL wild-card race. Pitching has been a strength for the Red Sox this season, but they, too, could use another All-Star arm behind their ace. Garrett Crochet has been a dominant force, while Brayan Bello has experienced a bit of a breakout in recent weeks. With the back end of their rotation struggling to find any semblance of consistency, Gore would be a sensible addition for the Sox. Chicago Cubs A championship contender with a lineup that strikes fear into their opponents every night, the Chicago Cubs' Achilles' heel could be their starting pitching. If they fail to mend the issue, that is. Matthew Boyd has been an unforeseen redemption story with the Cubs. Shota Imanaga has also held his own in his second full season, consistently pitching deep into games. However, the rest of the team's rotation is riddled with injury and inexperience. Cade Horton and Colin Rea are solid back-end starters, but neither inspires confidence for a potential playoff series. Gore has the potential to be a magnificent fit with Chicago and would create a formidable starting trio with Boyd and Imanaga. If there's one National League team to keep an eye on in trade talks for Gore, it's the Cubs.
It was the Lakers who, eight years ago, gave center Thomas Bryant his first crack at the NBA, putting him into the lineup after acquiring him in a draft trade with the Jazz. Bryant's Lakers career did not last that long--he was gone after one season--but he came back to L.A. in the summer of 2022 after a successful stint with the Wizards. That go-round with the Lakers did not go much better than the first, as Bryant averaged 12.3 points but was traded away in a massive deal at the 2023 deadline that saw the Lakers add Mo Bamba and Davon Reed. The Lakers had two cracks at Bryant but were not able to get his best from him. Bryant has since moved on to Denver, Miami and most recently, Indiana, where he has not been a big-time scorer, but has filled a role nicely in each of his stops. But, unable to drum up a new NBA contract, it looks like Bryant's next role will come overseas. That's according to a report from Telesport, which noted that the Greek team Panathinaikos is in direct contact about getting Bryant signed. From Sportando, which points out that Jonas Valanciunas agreed to, then backed out of a contract with the team: "The American center, born in 1997, played last season with the Indiana Pacers. He has appeared in 333 NBA games throughout his career. It would be a high-level addition for Panathinaikos, who, after the breakdown of negotiations with Valanciunas, are looking for a center to further raise the quality of their frontcourt."
The New York Rangers are adding to their forward depth ahead of their upcoming training camp. The Rangers are entering a new chapter of their organization under new head coach Mike Sullivan. After missing the postseason last year, the organization is trying to rebound and respond accordingly in 2025 and 2026. Former Stanley Cup champion forward Conor Sheary is the latest player to join the new-look Rangers. The veteran forward agreed to a professional tryout agreement (PTO) with the club and will look to earn an NHL deal with his performance in training camp and the preseason. Sheary is a veteran of 593 NHL games. Originally an undrafted free agent, he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins after completing his collegiate career. Following a year with the Penguins' AHL affiliate, he forced his way onto the NHL squad after posting 36 points in his first 30 games of the 2015-2016 season at the AHL level. His debut NHL season went better than ever expected, and he was a key part of the Penguins' lineup that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. Sheary's coach at the time, both at the AHL and NHL levels, was Mike Sullivan. Now, he'll get the chance to reunite with the coach under whom he won two championships. In addition to playing for the Penguins, Sheary has played for three other NHL franchises. The Pens dealt him to the Buffalo Sabres before the 2018-2019 campaign, but he would return to Pittsburgh the following season at the trade deadline. After his second stint with the Penguins, he joined the Washington Capitals. He played three seasons in Washington, D.C. before landing with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he spent the past two years. Over his 593 career games, he's compiled 124 goals and 143 assists for 267 points. His best NHL season came during the 2016-2017 campaign, his second in the league. He scored 23 goals and added 30 assists for 53 points in 61 regular-season games.
The first set of practices are in the books, and the next time the Pittsburgh Steelers are on the field, it will be in pads. But before we look ahead, let's look back at what we learned from Week 1 of 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers training camp... Rookie Class Impresses Let's start at the top. By all accounts, first-rounder Derrick Harmon was a walking TFL through the weekend. Obviously, things are different when the pads come on, but some of the plays he was making will carry over against any and every lineman he faces: But it didn't stop there. Kaleb Johnson made plays in the run and pass game. Jack Sawyer had some great reps agaginst Troy Fautanu. Yahya Black batted multiple passes at the line of scrimmage on Sunday and by the end of the weekend, Will Howard was taking reps with the ones in 7on7. So far, so good with the rookies. Defensive Domination Defense will always have the upper hand to start camp. Add in a new quarterback, first time left tackle, and new WR#1 and they should definitely be winners more than losers. But after the first weekend, the league's highest-paid defense has looked like it. Whether it's been the Steelers' patented 7 Shots period, 11v11, or even 7v7, the defense has been suffocating and multiple. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith have rotated more. Jalen Ramsey has played every position in the secondary, and the DTs have been nightmares in the backfield. It could be a bad omen for the offense, but I think it's more of a look into how special this defense can be. Offensive line off to a slow start Typically, you want to reserve judgment for offensive line units after the first week of pads. The reason why the unit has been a bit of a concern isn't that they have been getting beaten like a drum, however. Instead, it's that Broderick Jones, who needs all the reps he can get, is now day-to-day with a soft tissue injury after Sunday. It's that Zach Frazier had two bad snaps in back-to-back days leading to him being pulled from the lineup. The same thing happened to Troy Fautanu on Sunday after he had a false start. So we'll reserve the actual judgment for this time next week, and chalk it up to rust for the unit, but they need to show they can protect Aaron Rodgers and not have so many mental errors.
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