*Oh, to be a sports fan in Los Angeles this past weekend. There was truly something for everyone: the East LA Classic between Garfield and Roosevelt High Schools, USC Trojans football, the Rams, Chargers, Lakers, Clippers, Kings, and Galaxy were all in action, but the biggest thing going, and the hottest, and priciest ticket in town was the Dodgers versus the Yankees in Games 1 and 2 of the World Series.
High School and College Football
The 89th East LA Classic football game between Garfield High School (East LA) and Roosevelt High School (Boyle Heights) was played on Friday, October 25, at SoFi Stadium, home of the Rams and Chargers, in front of a crowd of 15,000. Garfield won 38-28.
The game included a half-time performance by Boyle Heights native, Will.I.Am.
The USC Trojans also played on Friday and beat Rutgers, 42-20 to level their record this season at 4-4.
Rams and Chargers Football
Although they played on Thursday, October 24, I must mention the Rams’ impressive win over the Minnesota Vikings, 30-20, where Matthew Stafford threw four touchdowns and was 25/34 for 279 yards, Puka Nacua had 106 receiving yards, and Kyren Williams rushed for 97 yards.
The Chargers played on Sunday and beat the struggling New Orleans Saints 26-8. Justin Herbert was 20/32 with 279 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Lakers and Clippers Basketball
The Lakers overcame a 22-point deficit to beat the Phoenix Suns 123-116 on Friday, and then turned around on Saturday to blow a 15-point lead and had to come back from a deficit to beat the Sacramento Kings 131-127. LeBron James, the oldest player in the league, had a triple-double, with 32 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Anthony Davis added 31 points and nine rebounds. The Lakers have started the season 3-0, a record they have not had since the Phil Jackson era.
The Clippers did not have as much drama on Saturday, with a 109-104 win over the Denver Nuggets. James Harden dished out 16 assists while throwing in 23 points, and Norman Powell had 37 points. Ivica Zubac grabbed 15 rebounds.
The Clippers in back-to-back games, on Sunday got past the Golden State Warriors, 112-104. Ivica Zubac and James Harden both scored 23 points, Zubac pulled down 18 rebounds and Harden passed for 11 assists.
Kings (Hockey) and Galaxy (Soccer)
On Saturday, the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Utah Hockey Club 3-2, while the LA Galaxy beat the Houston Rapids 5-0, in the first leg of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
World Series Baseball: Los Angeles Dodgers versus New York Yankees
East versus West, Broadway versus Hollywood, Soto, Judge and Stanton versus Ohtani, Betts and Freeman.
On Friday night, the Dodgers and Yankees played Game 1 of the World Series. Before the game, Dodger great Fernando Valenzuela, who recently passed away, was honored with Number 34 being displayed on the pitcher’s mound, and former Fernando teammates Orel Hershiser and Steve Yeager placing the ball on the mound, as opposed to throwing the ceremonial first pitch. Fernando’s wife and four children were in attendance.
The game was an instant classic and had some of everything: good pitching (only two walks given up by the Yankees, and 13 strikeouts by the Dodgers), good hitting (homers, triples, and the Dodgers only struck out four times), base stealing, an error, and even fan interference. Both teams left guys in scoring position (i.e., runners on second and/or third base). The Dodgers were down 1-2 in the 8th inning, when Mookie Betts hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game, 2-2.
The Yankees went ahead again, 3-2, in the top of the 10th inning, when Jazz Chisolm scored on an Anthony Volpe hit fielder’s choice. The Dodgers were down to their last out in the bottom of the 10th inning, when Freddie Freeman hit the first walk-off grand slam in the World Series’ 120-year history, to give the Dodgers a 6-3 win. Most of Dodger Stadium was still there to see it; talk about pandemonium and a flashback to Kirk Gibson and Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
Let’s do it again on Saturday in Game 2! On the Game 2 pregame show, former Yankees turned broadcast analysts, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter picked the Yankees to win Game 2, while former Red Sox, David Ortiz, picked the Dodgers. Two of them were wrong!
Ice Cube was the hype man assigned to get the Dodger Stadium crowd riled up and ready to go, which he did in good fashion, performing “Bow Down” and “It was a Good Day,” making the words Yankees and baseball specific. Dodgers Manager, Dave Roberts, Magic Johnson, and even one of the Yankees were moving and grooving to Ice Cube, who said we were going to win the game for Fernando. The Dodgers understood the assignment.
The Dodgers got a solo home run from Tommy Edman in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Juan Soto tied the game with a solo homer in the top of the 3rd inning, and the Dodgers came right back in the bottom of the 3rd with a two-run homer by Teoscar Hernandez and a solo shot by Freddie Freeman, to make the score 4-1; a score that held up until the top of the 9th inning.
By the top of the 9th inning, I was thinking Game 2 was not as exciting as Game 1, but that was until the Yankees scored a second run and then loaded the bases.
The Dodgers finally ended the inning, and the game, without allowing any more runs. The final score was 4-2 but talk about stress.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto started Game 2 for the Dodgers and allowed one hit, a home run to Juan Soto, through 6 2/3 innings. When he left the game, with a 4-1 lead, the crowd gave him a thunderous ovation. Unfortunately, Shohei Otani, the Dodger’s other Japanese sensation and $700 million man, injured his shoulder attempting to steal second base. A complete hush fell over Dodger Stadium. Word has it that Shohei will play in Game 3. We’ll have to wait and see.
The World Series now moves to New York for Games 3, 4, and 5, beginning today, Monday, October 28. New York native, Fat Joe will be the hype man for Game 3.
Yep, Ice Cube said it was a good day, but I say it was a good weekend … in LA and SoCal.
Marilyn Smith is a Los Angeles-based writer/reviewer. Contact her via [email protected]
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