Day: September 30, 2025

NEW YORK — As Freddie Freeman held the World Series trophy high, he knew what it meant to his team. It was a championship that started with a walk-off home run, then continued through a series of rallies and finished off by a pair of defensive gems. It was a championship that, at one point, had the Yankees chasing it.

The game was tied at 1-1 in the ninth inning, and the Dodgers were in danger of blowing a five-run lead with one more bad inning. So, the Dodgers summoned their last-minute relief chips. Right-hander Brusdar Graterol got through the top of the Yankee order, but then Giancarlo Stanton struck again. His 412-foot, two-run, game-tying sacrifice fly stood up to a review and restored the Yankees’ slim, 3-2 lead.

The World Series is a postseason play-off series between the champions of Major League Baseball’s American League (AL) and National League (NL). The first World Series was played in 1903, following the cessation of hostilities between the NL and AL, and was originally a best-of-nine series until 1905 when it became a seven-game format. The Series has been played annually since 1905, except for 1994 when a players’ strike canceled it. It has produced some of baseball’s most legendary moments.

The US Open is the final Grand Slam tournament of the season and offers fans the chance to witness some of the best players in action on hard courts. The event is held at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York and features retractable roofs on Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium. The tournament is played over two weeks with women’s matches best-of-three sets and men’s matches best-of-five, including a first-to-10 tiebreaker at 6-all in the third set.

The 2025 US Open begins on Aug. 24 and runs through Sept. 7. Ticket prices for matches inside Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium can be steep, especially during finals weekend. But you can cut costs by buying a grounds pass and watching matches on the big screens outside. The expanded 15-day schedule also allows for more matches than in previous years, which can lead to better value for tickets.

Jannik Sinner, the defending champion, is listed as a +250 favorite to win the singles trophy this year, while Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz are also expected to contend. They are joined by rising American players such as Taylor Fritz, 2024 runner-up Frances Tiafoe and recent semifinalist Coco Gauff.

This year’s US Open introduces a revamped mixed doubles competition. The top-seeded team will split a $1 million prize purse, up from last year’s $700,000, which has enticed some of the sport’s biggest doubles specialists to compete.