AI-assisted summary
• Current and former NBA players and members of four New York Mafia families face charges in two major investigations.
• The schemes allegedly involved rigged high-stakes poker games using high-tech cheating devices and insider sports betting in the NBA.
• A years-long investigation by multiple agencies used evidence like text messages, bank records, and surveillance footage.

One investigation spanned nine states, with illegal poker games allegedly taking place in glamorous locations like the Hamptons, Las Vegas, Miami, and Manhattan. A second looked at alleged betting based on insider information and faked injuries involving stars of the NBA.

There were high-tech machines to rig poker games, prosecutors say, in a move straight out of Hollywood. X-ray tables. Special sunglasses and contact lenses. A card dealing machine that gave away the hands of other players. 

Then there were the high-profile names. Current and former NBA players and four of the five infamous New York Mafia families. 

The criminal charges over alleged illegal betting and gambling that rocked the NBA in late October arose out of a years-long investigation involving multiple federal and local agencies that pulled together phone and bank records, surveillance footage, and witness testimony.

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers player Damon Jones were charged with playing a role in a ‘brazen’ scheme of insider sports betting. Jones and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups were charged with helping to fleece victims of rigged illegal poker games. Members of four New York Mafia crime families were also charged with assisting in the rigged games.

‘The fraud is mind boggling,’ FBI Director Kash Patel said at news conference in October. ‘We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery across a multi-year investigation.’

Investigators within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security uncovered the alleged poker scheme more than four years ago, according to Ricky J. Patel, the special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New York. He said in a statement that his Homeland Security chapter worked with a Newark, New Jersey chapter, the FBI, the New York Waterfront Commission, and the New York Police Department to expose crimes that defrauded victims out of at least $7 million.

Some of the alleged co-conspirators in the scheme were previously charged, according to New York federal prosecutor Joseph Nocella Jr., who spoke at an Oct. 23 news conference. That includes former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, who pleaded guilty in July of 2024 to wire fraud conspiracy and was subsequently banned from the NBA for life. His sentencing is scheduled for December.

Those prior charges now appear to be part of the wider cases that investigators were continuing to build.

‘This complex scheme was so far reaching that it included members from four of the organized crime families,’ said New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch at the Oct. 23 news conference.

As early as 2019, multiple defendants engaged in a series of schemes to use cheating technology – including rigged shuffling machines and X-ray readers – to rig illegal poker games, according to law enforcement. By December 2022, defendants were allegedly also using non-public information about upcoming NBA games to place fraudulent sports bets and launder the proceeds.

Law enforcement has made no promises that its investigations will end here.

‘We will continue following the money to ensure gambling operations of all kinds stay within the law and bring to justice those who take advantage of innocent victims,’ the FBI director said in a statement.

In a statement to USA TODAY, Rozier’s lawyer, Jim Trusty, said his legal team has represented the Miami Heat player for over a year, telling prosecutors there should be ‘an open line of communication.’ Yet FBI agents suddenly arrested him, rather than letting him self surrender, Trusty said.

‘They appear to be taking the word of spectacularly in-credible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing,’ Trusty said. ‘Terry was cleared by the NBA and these prosecutors revived that non-case. Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight.

Billups’ lawyer, Chris Heywood, said in a statement that anyone who knows his client ‘knows he is a man of integrity; men of integrity do not cheat and defraud others.’

‘Chauncey Billups has never backed down. He does not plan to do so now. He will fight these allegations with the same tenacity that marked his 28-year career. We look forward to our day in court,’ Heywood said.

USA TODAY wasn’t able to reach Jones for comment.

Here’s a look at investigative techniques law enforcement used and the types of evidence it pulled together:

Images obtained from phones

While a legitimate poker game can involve machines used to shuffle cards randomly before they’re dealt, the alleged rigged games used altered shuffling machines with hidden technology to read all the cards in a deck. Because cards were dealt to the players at the table in a specific order for each hand, the machines could determine which player had the winning hand, according to the allegations.

An offsite member of the poker conspiracy would get the information transmitted from the machines, and then send the information to the cell phone of a player at the table, who then secretly signaled the information to other co-conspirators playing the game. Victims would sometimes lose tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time, authorities say.

Co-conspirators also used a poker chip tray that read cards using hidden cameras, an X-ray table that could read cards that were face down, and special contact lenses or eyeglasses that could read pre-marked cards.

Investigators obtained images of at least some of the alleged cheating technology, which they could one day seek to show to a jury, according to court documents. The images were obtained from multiple defendants’ iCloud accounts. The images include a photo of a card shuffler that had been taken apart.

The images also include a photo of the computer program that allegedly used information transmitted by a rigged shuffling machine, and investigators also obtained an image of an X-ray poker table reading cards that were placed down.

At a trial, prosecutors have the burden to prove every part of their case, including that various defendants in the rigged poker games case conspired to commit fraud. Evidence of rigging technology could go a long way to proving the games were fraudulent.

Text messages

Investigators have also amassed an array of text messages that they say help to show the criminal schemes they’ve alleged in the indictments. In one message from 2023, for instance, former NBA player Damon Jones was allegedly asking another defendant for a $10,000 advance payment for a rigged poker game in East Hampton, New York.

The other defendant allegedly sent Jones $2,500 that same day over Zelle, a digital payment service.

Another phone record that investigators said they got from a defendant’s iCloud account allegedly shows a member of the poker conspiracy confirming that his game was backed by the Gambino crime family:

In one text message, a defendant who is charged with conspiring to engage in wire fraud, money laundering and extortion allegedly admitted to punching an unnamed poker player for not paying a gambling debt. ‘I punched somebody in the face the other day, (sh**) unraveling quick,’ he allegedly admitted in a text sent Nov. 9. 2022:

Other phone records allegedly helped investigators show how multiple defendants extorted another man to get him to pay a $10,000 poker debt. The records include text messages referring to giving the man ‘a little nudge’ through a ‘small but big threat,’ and a text message allegedly suggesting one defendant invoke his connections with organized crime to secure the payment, according to the records.

In the indictment charging people with illegal sports betting activity, Damon Jones allegedly shared non-public information that a Lakers player was injured and his performance at a Jan. 15, 2024 game would likely be limited. When that player ended up performing well after all, Jones allegedly reaffirmed to another defendant through a text message that he had gotten credible, non-public information before the game, the records show.

Phone voice recording

The government also looked into phone voice recordings, according to details in a court filing that recommends a defendant in the poker game case not be released on bail. The filing points to an alleged June 18, 2022 voice note recording in which the defendant, Ammar Awawdeh, says he sent someone else a picture of him holding his gun along with the message that he was going to shoot the person in the kneecaps.

‘This threat raises a substantial concern that AWAWDEH has access to firearms and would be a danger to the community and attempt to obstruct justice if released on bail,’ the government told the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Surveillance by May 2023

Law enforcement also appear to have surveilled members of the alleged rigged poker scheme. One court filing shows photographs law enforcement took of men who allegedly provided security for illegal poker games on May 31, 2023 and Aug. 16, 2023 at 147 Lexington Ave. in New York, one of the alleged locations for rigged poker games.

Surveillance video from outside the building also allegedly shows an unnamed extortion victim arriving on Oct. 18. 2023 in a black Range Rover and handing something to a woman outside the location. That’s the same day a check from the victim was dated, in which he allegedly paid half his poker debt, according to the court records.

Pole camera footage and license plate reader data

Investigators also accuse five defendants of plotting to steal a rigged shuffling machine. Part of the case they built for the allegation involves text messages, but they also turned to pole camera footage and information obtained with a license plate reader.

According to the allegations, the robbery took place on Sept. 7, 2023, in New York, when an unnamed victim was in a car with two defendants. Two additional people who were recruited by a third defendant approached the car, brandished a gun, and demanded the ‘box’ from the victim, who turned it over.

The license plate reader information showed that cars registered to two defendants participated in the robbery, according to court filings. Pole camera footage from the early morning hours of that day allegedly shows a defendant’s car arriving near a gaming location, just as two other defendants texted each other about the arrival.

Bank records

Investigators also say they have obtained bank records that help prove defendants engaged in money laundering. For example, bank records allegedly show a defendant on Aug. 4, 2023 sending $100,000 to another defendant’s front company in exchange for cash. The front company holder allegedly indicated in text messages that the sender would get $97,000 in cash from an intermediary, the court records show.

Witness testimony

The court filings from the Justice Department aren’t explicit about what kind of witness accounts investigators have already obtained. But they make clear that witness testimony is part of how investigators put together their case. In an Oct. 23, 2025 court filing, they say testimony along with electronic evidence and records shows ‘the weight of the evidence against each defendant is extremely strong.’

It’s possible law enforcement obtained testimony from several alleged victims across the two cases. In the Oct. 23 court filing, prosecutors refer to seven individuals – including alleged victims of robbery and extortion – as ‘John Does.’

It’s unclear if law enforcement has obtained cooperation from people who may have contributed to the alleged criminal schemes. In the indictment dealing with alleged illegal sports betting, the grand jury listed nine unnamed co-conspirators, including an alleged relative of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and a former player and current NBA coach.

Kiké Hernández and the Los Angeles Dodgers forced Game 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series.

The Dodgers took the lead in the third inning, scoring three runs — their only runs of the game — and then held on.

The Blue Jays did have an opportunity to potentially win the game and the series, with runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Andrés Giménez hit a ball to left field, where it was caught by Hernández, who managed to quickly deliver the ball to Miguel Rojas at second base. Rojas caught the ball to double off Addison Barger, securing the double play and the 3-1 victory in Game 6 on Friday night.

When is World Series Game 7?

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays will play in Game 7 of the World Series on Saturday, Nov. 1 at the Rogers Centre. The game will be played at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).

Anthony Davis will not play in the Dallas Mavericks’ next two games, including Saturday night’s contest against the Detroit Pistons in Mexico City, the team announced in a statement Friday, Oct. 31.

The 10-time All-Star has a ‘low grade left calf strain,’ the Mavericks said, suffered during their previous game.

Davis played just 7 minutes in Dallas’ win against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, Oct. 29, exiting early after experiencing ‘left lower leg soreness.’ He was seen grabbing the back of his left leg near the heal before heading to the locker room.

In their statement Friday, the Mavericks said he was held out ‘for precautionary reasons.’ Davis had entered Wednesday’s game on the injury report, listed as having ‘bilateral Achilles tendinopathy.’

In addition to Saturday night’s contest in Mexico, Davis will miss Monday’s game at Houston. The Mavericks said he will be ‘re-evaluated after the road trip’ is completed. Their next game in Dallas is Nov. 5.

This is the latest injury setback for Davis, who has suited up for just 14 regular-season games for the Mavericks since he was traded to Dallas in February’s shocking deal that sent Luka Dončić to Los Angeles.

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AI-assisted summary
• Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis addressed the Colorado Buffaloes football team at the invitation of coach Deion Sanders.
• Lewis criticized the team for a perceived lack of brotherhood and camaraderie during their 3-5 season.
• He challenged players on their commitment to studying film and preparing for games.

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders introduced another special guest to his team this week – a fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer who told Colorado players in a team meeting that he saw “no brotherhood” among them as they started the season with a 3-5 record.

The guest was Ray Lewis, the former Baltimore Ravens linebacker who said he was making his first visit to the Boulder campus since 1993, when he was a freshman on a Miami Hurricanes team that beat Colorado 35-29.

“Buffaloes, if you watch it on film, there’s no camaraderie,” Lewis said, as shown Friday, Oct. 31, on the YouTube channel of Sanders’ son Deion Jr. “There’s no brotherhood. You putting on the same uniform, but you walking out with different spirits.”

Ray Lewis asked for a show of hands

Lewis’s speech was part sermon, part critique and part pep talk as the Buffaloes prepare to face Arizona Saturday in a 7 p.m. ET game Saturday at home. At one point Lewis asked for a show of hands from those who silence and put away their phones when they get home so they can “dial in for about two or three hours” to study and prepare themselves as players.

Only three appeared to raise their hands.

“And we say we’re trying to win – how?” Lewis asked. “How do you win? You win by giving up what you think is pleasurable.”

As a player, Lewis said he put his own phone away when he got home every day so he could study the likes of legendary former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning. He gave a colorful example of how no detail was too small to learn.

“And I’m not leaving for six or seven hours, because I want to know what Peyton Manning’s going to do if he got to go (urinate),” Lewis said. “I want to know how bad he got to go (urinate). That’s how much information you got to want to know to be great.”

‘Let’s fix it,’ Ray Lewis tells Colorado players

Lewis is among several football and celebrity quests that Sanders has invited to address his team over the years, including actor Denzel Washington and former NFL receiver Randy Moss.

“Learn your craft and stop letting Colorado Buffaloes be represented off a bunch of individuals,” Lewis told them. “Let’s become a team. Let’s talk more, and let’s find out who hurting in their silent cries. Let’s fix it. Get on the football field and deliver the package that that man (Sanders) expects from each and every one of you.”

Lewis’ visit impressed the Buffs, especially linebacker Martavius French, who couldn’t seem to believe that Lewis shook his hand. French said in a video on Instagram that he might cut off his hand to “frame it” after touching Lewis.

“I’m saving this video, too, and gonna remember this day,” French said.

Colorado needs to win three of its four remaining regular-season games in order to become eligible for a postseason bowl game. The Buffs are 16-17 in three seasons under Sanders after suffering the worst loss of Sanders’ college coaching career last week at Utah.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

TORONTO – One of the greatest postseasons by a pitcher in modern baseball history saved the Los Angeles Dodgers’ season. And one of the wildest game-ending plays in World Series history – a fly ball to shallow left field, a catch and heady throw to double an aggressive young player off second base – stunned the Toronto Blue Jays, who will stagger into a winner-takes-all match trying to forget that the trophy could already be theirs.

The Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays will play for the World Series championship in Game 7, this Fall Classic knotted at three games apiece after the Dodgers’ 3-1 victory in Game 6.

That’s the extremely simplified version.

The deeper cut: The Blue Jays had the tying runs in scoring position and the winning run at the plate with nobody out, 44,710 fans at the Rogers Centre suddenly perked up after Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto lulled to sleep.

And suddenly: Despair.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled rookie closer Rōki Sasaki from the game after Addison Barger’s double – scorched so hard, at 105.5 mph, it wedged into the wall in left center field – put the tying runs at second and third.

The next man up? Tyler Glasnow, expected to start Game 7 but now needed to save the day. He elicited an infield pop-up from Ernie Clement, and then Andrés Giménez looped a fly ball into shallow left field. Dodgers playoff veteran Kiké Hernández closed on the ball and made a decent catch.

And Barger, still amped from his double and itching to score the tying run, wandered too far off second. Hernández fired to second baseman Miguel Rojas. Double play. Game over. Come back tomorrow.

Technically, Mookie Betts provided the decisive advantage, as the slumping superstar’s two-run single to cap a three-run third inning stood up, keeping alive the Dodgers’ chance to become the first team to repeat as World Series champions since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees.

Yet for the second time in a week, it was Yamamoto who carried the Dodgers to victory, continuing a postseason for the ages.

Coming off consecutive complete games – unheard of in this era’s postseason, and impressive enough in any – Yamamoto gave them six innings of five-hit ball, striking out six and walking one.

His totals for this World Series: Two starts, two victories, two runs given up in 15 innings – a 1.20 ERA – and 14 strikeouts to just one walk.

His totals for this postseason: Five starts, four victories, five earned runs given up in 35 2/3 innings – a 1.26 ERA – and 32 strikeouts to just five walks.

It is a definitive autumnal run, putting Yamamoto up there with the likes of Cole Hamels, Madison Bumgarner, Nathan Eovaldi and Stephen Strasburg as aces navigating the modern game’s endless rounds of playoffs – yet performing like an ace all the way through.

And now, Game 7, and another round of intrigue.

When will the Dodgers deploy the great two-way star, Shohei Ohtani, on the mound? Can Max Scherzer – who started Game 7 in the Washington Nationals’ 2019 championship, the last time baseball’s ultimate game was contested –  find one more star turn in his 41-year-old bones?

Back-to-back, or the Commissioner’s Trophy, back in Toronto?

Delicious questions to ponder. And we have Yamamoto to thank for it.

— Gabe Lacques

Here’s how Friday’s game unfolded:

Rōki Sasaki works out of jam in eighth: Dodgers 3, Blue Jays 1

Rōki Sasaki came in to pitch the eighth for the Dodgers and gave up a leadoff single to George Springer and walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with one out. After a mound visit, the rookie Sasaki got Bo Bichette to pop out and Daulton Varsho to ground out and strand the tying runs.

Dodgers’ Justin Wrobleski sends Game 6 to the eighth

TORONTO – In a perfect world, the Dodgers would have handed the ball from Yoshinobu Yamamoto to Rōki Sasaki in World Series Game 6, and tell the Blue Jays, ‘See you tomorrow night!’

Well, perfection is pretty hard to find in baseball, yet Justin Wrobleski made sure to replicate the Dodgers’ dream scenario. 

Wrobleski provided a gutsy seventh inning of work at Rogers Centre, striking out Alejandro Kirk and Andrés Giménez to ensure Ernie Clement’s double couldn’t hurt them. And now the Dodgers are six outs from Game 7 as they hold a 3-1 lead in the eighth inning. 

Wrobleski capped the inning by winning an eight-pitch battle with Giménez, blowing a 97 mph fastball by him and then screaming in exultation to leave the tying run at the plate. 

Who will pitch Game 7 for Dodgers?

Dave Roberts suggested that Shohei Ohtani will be in the team’s pitching plans if the Fall Classic goes the distance.

‘Win this game tonight, then we can kind of circle up and have that conversation for tomorrow,’ Roberts told reporters before Game 6.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto escapes sixth-inning jam: Dodgers 3, Blue Jays 1

TORONTO – If that was the last pitch Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw this October, it was appropriately effective. 

With his pitch count nearing 100 and the tying runs on base, the Dodgers ace buried a split-finger pitch in the dirt that Daulton Varsho could not resist, striking out the lefty to maintain the Dodgers’ 3-1 lead heading into the top of the seventh at Rogers Centre. 

Yamamoto was cruising with two outs and nobody on before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lofted a double down the let field line, prompting a mound visit from pitching coach Mark Prior. 

And as Bo Bichette worked a seven-pitch walk, lefty Justin Wrobleski loosened up in the Dodgers bullpen. But the Dodgers stuck with their guy and on his 96th pitch, uncorked a nasty splitter that Varsho whiffed on. 

With a fully rested Rōki Sasaki lurking in the bullpen, the Dodgers are nine outs from forcing Game 7. 

Who would pitch Game 7 for Blue Jays?

The Blue Jays are expected to start 41-year-old Max Scherzer in a Game 7

Yoshinobu Yamamoto cruises through five: Dodgers 3, Blue Jays 1

TORONTO – The Dodgers are more than halfway to forcing a World Series Game 7. And the way Yoshinobu Yamamoto is pitching, that gulf to clear doesn’t look so wide. 

Yamamoto has faced just three batters over the minimum as the Dodgers take a 3-1 lead over the Blue Jays into the top of the sixth. 

Coming off consecutive complete games – a playoff feat unheard of in this era – Yamomoto is keeping  himself in the conversation for a trifecta. His only blemish came in the third inning, when George Springer cashed in Addison Barger with an RBI single to trim the Dodgers’ lead. 

In the top of the first, Max Muncy booted a grounder for an error – and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. immediately grounded into a double play. 

In the fourth, Bo Bichette’s one-out single preceded Daulton Varsho’s inning-ending double play. And in the fifth, Mookie Betts booted another grounder that was ruled a hit. No matter. Yamomoto got a fly to center from Andrés Giménez to end the inning.

And that’s done plenty to silence a stuffed Rogers Centre fixing to celebrate a championship. Alas, Yamamoto has not issued a walk while striking out five, keeping his pitch count an economical 75. 

When is Game 7 of the World Series?

If necessary, Game 7 of the World Series would be played on Saturday, Nov. 1 in Toronto.

George Springer pulls one back: Dodgers 3, Blue Jays 1

Addison Barger led off the bottom of the third with a double off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who then retired Eenie Clement and Andres Gimenez. With two outs, George Springer had the green light on a 3-0 pitch and laced an RBI single to center field, cutting Toronto’s deficit to 3-1.

Will Smith, Mookie Betts put Dodgers in front: LA 3, Toronto 0

TORONTO – The Shohei Ohtani intentional walk has returned. And finally, Mookie Betts and the Dodgers made the Blue Jays pay. 

Will Smith ended a string of offensive futility in the third inning of World Series Game 6 by lining an RBI double down the left field line off Kevin Gausman ,and two batters after an Ohtani intentional walk, Mookie Betts lined a two-run single to left field, giving the Dodgers a 3-0 lead heading to the bottom of the third.

Ohtani famously reached base all nine times in the Dodgers’ 18-inning Game 3 victory and the thinking was he might never see another pitch to hit. 

Yet the Blue Jays navigated around Ohtani in winning Games 3 and 4, largely due to a lineup wholly ineffectual around him. In Game 6, Tommy Edman broke up Gausman’s seven-up, seven-down start with a double to the right field corner. Toronto manager John Schneider opted for a two-out intentional walk to Ohtani, and Will Smith punished him for it with an RBI single to left. 

A Freddie Freeman walk loaded the bases for Betts, whose 3-for-23 World Series performance prompted a drop from second to third and finally fourth in the lineup. 

Yet with one swing, Betts ended that schneid and one more: The Dodgers were 0-for-13 with the bases loaded before that swing. 

Kevin Gausman looks untouchable, scoreless through two

TORONTO – The Dodgers had one week to prepare for a second look at Kevin Gausman. Knew the diet would largely be split-finger fastballs. That it would behoove them to lay off the pitch. 

And they just can’t help themselves in Game 6 of the World Series. 

Gausman struck out five of the first six batters he faced – finishing all of them off with the trusty splitty – as the Blue Jays and Dodgers are locked in a scoreless tie.  Gausman served immediate notice, punching out Shohei Ohtani, getting swings and misses on three split-fingers, two out of the zone. Through two innings, he’s elicited 11 swings and misses on 15 splitters. 

This is a game the Dodgers have to win. Gausman’s early showing will only heighten the pressure on their own ace, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who also posted a pair of spotless innings. 

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. double play ends Blue Jays’ first

Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a one-out single to Nathan Lukes – that should have been scored an error on third baseman Max Muncy – but got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to ground into an inning-ending double play to send the game to the second inning scoreless.

Kevin Gausman strikes out the side to start Game 6

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman struck out Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and Freddie Freeman in a perfect first inning.

Gausman threw 16 pitches in the frame, 11 for strikes.

George Springer injury update

TORONTO — George Springer will not miss the Toronto Blue Jays’ chance to win their first World Series since 1993. Springer, who exited World Series Game 3 wrenching his right side on a swing, is back atop Toronto’s lineup in Game 6.

The Blue Jays came back from a 2-1 deficit to take a 3-2 World Series lead without him. Yet Springer’s playoff exploits – an .884 OPS and four home runs, including a go-ahead three-run shot in ALCS Game 7 – have not been forgotten by his teammates.

“What he’s already done for this team during the playoffs has been so big for us,’ infielder Bo Bichette said before Game 6. ‘I think having him in the lineup probably calms us all down a bit.”

Dodgers, Dave Roberts know 2025 will be failure with no ring

TORONTO — Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts knows the significance and consequences of Friday’s World Series game.

They win Friday night (8 p.m. ET on FOX) against the Toronto Blue Jays, and they extend their season, forcing a Game 7 at the Rogers Centre.

They lose, and their season is abruptly over. And, fair or not, it will be considered a failure.

This is the way it works when you have one of the highest payrolls, the most talent in the game, and are heavy favorites to repeat as World Series champions. – Bob Nightengale

World Series TV ratings looking good

TORONTO – One of the game’s top two iconic franchises, loaded with international superstars, battling Canada’s only Major League Baseball club has produced audience metrics that range from pleasantly surprising to universally bountiful.

For Major League Baseball, this Los Angeles Dodgers-Toronto Blue Jays matchup has been a global smash, what with historic performances from the incomparable Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the presence of the Blue Jays, who have captivated Toronto and all of Canada like never before.

Game 1 averaged 32.6 million viewers across the USA, Canada and Japan, most since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. And its combined Game 1-2 audience of 19.8 million in USA and Canada was up 24% from last season, also the highest since that historic 2016 Cubs-Cleveland battle. — Gabe Lacques

Yoshinobu Yamamoto stats

TORONTO — It’s only that the Dodgers’ biggest pitching star of all, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, will be the one starting Friday to save their season, trying to become only the fourth pitcher in history to throw three complete games in a single postseason.

If he pitches anything like he did in Game 2, when he threw a four-hit complete game, retiring the final 20 batters of the game for the first time in a World Series game since Don Larsen’s perfect game in 1956, you can book a Game 7.

“Man, hopefully he’s a little tired,’ Blue Jays manager John Schneider said, “throwing that many innings. He’s unique because he’s got what seems like six or seven pitches, and can kind of morph into different pitchers as the game kind of goes on.’ — Bob Nightengale

Dodgers lineup today

1. Shohei Ohtani (L) DH
2. Will Smith (R) C
3. Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
4. Mookie Betts (R) SS
5. Teoscar Hernández (R) RF
6. Max Muncy (L) 3B
7. Enrique Hernández (R) LF
8. Tommy Edman (S) CF
9. Miguel Rojas (R) 2B

Blue Jays lineup today

1. George Springer (R) DH
2. Nathan Lukes (L) LF
3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
4. Bo Bichette (R) 2B
5. Daulton Varsho (L) CF
6. Alejandro Kirk (R) C
7. Addison Barger (L) RF
8. Ernie Clement (R) 3B
9. Andrés Giménez (L) SS

Dodgers vs Blue Jays predictions for World Series Game 6

Bob Nightengale: Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 2

There’s no stopping the Jays now. They are treating opposing starters as if they’re wearing Colorado Rockies uniforms. They’ll be celebrating deep into the hockey season after this night. Expert MLB daily picks: Unique MLB betting insights only at USA TODAY

Gabe Lacques: Blue Jays 4, Dodgers 2

This series has exposed anyone tempted to be a prisoner of the moment. And Yoshinobu Yamamoto will give the Dodgers a very fighting chance to stave off elimination. But in Games 3-5 in Los Angeles, the Blue Jays outscored the Dodgers 8-1 in the seventh through ninth innings. Yamamoto won’t throw a complete game this time. And that Dodgers bullpen isn’t getting any better. 

Steve Gardner: Dodgers 3, Blue Jays 2 (10 innings)

The pitching matchup should be a great one, especially now that the bullpens have had time to reset. It’s going to be tough to manufacture runs so look for the longball to decide it, possibly off the bat of Shohei Ohtani in the late innings.

Jesse Yomtov: Dodgers 7, Blue Jays 3

Dodgers will get a couple of home runs and live to fight another day, giving us the first seven-game World Series since 2019.

World Series announcers

• Joe Davis, play-by-play
• John Smoltz, color commentary
• Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci, dugout reporters

World Series MVP odds

(As of 8:15 p.m. ET Friday)

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. -200
• Shohei Ohtani +220
• Yoshinobu Yamamoto +1100
• Alejandro Kirk +2000
• Addison Barger +3000
• Trey Yesavage +3000

Who is pitching for the Blue Jays tonight? Kevin Gausman stats

Veteran right-hander Kevin Gausman takes the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

Gausman went 10-11 with a 3.59 ERA in the regular season and has made five playoff appearances this year, posting a 2.55 ERA in 24 ⅔ innings.

Have the Blue Jays ever won a World Series?

The Toronto Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993, the only championships in franchise history.

World Series schedule 2025

• Game 1: Blue Jays 11, Dodgers 4
• Game 2: Dodgers 5, Blue Jays 1
• Game 3: Dodgers 6, Blue Jays 5 (18 innings)
• Game 4: Blue Jays 6, Dodgers 2
• Game 5: Blue Jays 6, Dodgers 1
• Game 6: Oct. 31 in Toronto – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PDT
• Game 7: (if necessary): Nov. 1 in Toronto – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PDT

Dodgers World Series roster 2025

Pitchers (12): LHP Anthony Banda, LHP Jack Dreyer, RHP Tyler Glasnow, RHP Edgardo Henriquez, LHP Clayton Kershaw, RHP Will Klein, RHP Roki Sasaki, RHP Emmet Sheehan, LHP Blake Snell, RHP Blake Treinen, LHP Justin Wrobleski, RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Position, two-way players (14): SS Mookie Betts, OF Alex Call, OF Justin Dean, INF/OF Tommy Edman, 1B Freddie Freeman, INF/OF Kiké Hernández, OF Teoscar Hernández, INF/OF Hyeseong Kim, 3B Max Muncy, DH/P Shohei Ohtani, OF Andy Pages, INF Miguel Rojas, C Ben Rortvedt, C Will Smith.

Blue Jays World Series roster

Pitchers (12): RHP Chris Bassitt, RHP Shane Bieber, RHP Seranthony Dominguez, RHP Braydon Fisher, LHP Mason Fluharty, RHP Kevin Gausman, RHP Jeff Hoffman, LHP Eric Lauer, LHP Brendon Little, RHP Max Scherzer, RHP Louis Varland, RHP Trey Yesavage.

Position players (14): C Tyler Heineman, C Alejandro Kirk, INF/OF Addison Barger, INF Bo Bichette, INF Ernie Clement, INF Ty France, INF Andrés Giménez, INF Vladimir Guerrero Jr., INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa, OF Nathan Lukes, OF Davis Schneider, OF George Springer, OF Myles Straw, OF Daulton Varsho.

World Series winners by year

• 2024: Dodgers
• 2023: Rangers
• 2022: Astros
• 2021: Braves
• 2020: Dodgers
• 2019: Nationals
• 2018: Red Sox
• 2017: Astros
• 2016: Cubs
• 2015: Royals
• 2014: Giants
• 2013: Red Sox
• 2012: Giants
• 2011: Cardinals
• 2010: Giants

Dodgers World Series appearances

The 2025 World Series marks the Dodgers’ 27th appearance in the Fall Classic.

Dodgers vs Blue Jays live stream

Watch World Series LIVE on Fubo

Toronto Blue Jays World Series championships

The Blue Jays have won two World Series titles in franchise history: 1992 over the Atlanta Braves and 1993 over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Shohei Ohtani contract

Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers prior to the 2024 season. The largest contract in the history of North American pro sports when he signed in, the deal defers $680 million of the package to payments that start in 2034.

TORONTO — You wanted an epic finish to the World Series? You got it.

You wanted the most drama possible, re-creating that 2023 World Baseball Classic when he struck out Mike Trout to win the gold medal for Japan? you got it.

You’re going to see Shohei Ohtani pitch in Game 7 of the World Series on just three days’ rest for the first time in his career – or perhaps play the outfield for the first time in four years if he comes on in relief.

“Everything’s on the table,’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Game 6.

“Everything,’ he reiterated.

The endless possibilities could now turn into reality after the Dodgers forced a Game 7 with a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays behind the tremendous pitching performance of Ohtani’s countrymen from Japan. Starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched six brilliant innings and rookie Roki Sasaki helped close it out, with Tyler Glasnow getting the first save in the World Series.

The Dodgers’ dominant pitching certainly spoiled the party at the Rogers Centre, with the frenzied sellout crowd hoping, believing, this could be their first World Series celebration since 1993.

Yamamoto, who left the Blue Jays at the altar in free agency two years ago, gave Toronto no chance. He shut down the Blue Jays for the second time this series, forcing the first World Series Game 7 since 2019.

Put your money on Ohtani to start considering Glasnow, who was the scheduled starter for Game 7, got the final three outs. This would allow the Dodgers keep Ohtani in the game.

Yamamoto, who has morphed into Dodgers 1988 hero Orel Hershiser this postseason, simply refused to lose Friday. He put the Dodgers on his back once again, putting them on the brink of back-to-back World Series championships.

He didn’t become just the fourth pitcher in the wild-card era to throw three consecutive complete games in the postseason … but he came close.

Yamamoto gave up just five hits and one walk in six innings and never gave in. He departed after six innings, turning the game over to the Dodgers’ beleaguered bullpen.

And they somehow survived, forcing their first Game 7 in a World Series since they lost to the 2017 Houston Astros.

Simply, Yamamoto refused to let them lose.

Roberts, who shook up his lethargic lineup for the second consecutive game, dropping Mookie Betts to the cleanuip spot for the first time since 2017, saw the strategy immediately pay dividends.

Betts, who was hitting .130 in the World Series and just .164 since the wild-card series, broke out of his slump the same time Blue Jays manager John Schneider tempted fate again by intentionally walking Ohtani with one out and Tommy Edman on second base.

Will Smith stepped to the plate, delivered a run-scoring double, and a rally was on.

Freddie Freeman walked on five pitches, loading the bases for Betts, with Betts already stranding 24 baserunners this series.

Not this time.

Betts, down 1-and-2 in the count, smacked an elevated fastball into left field for a two-run single.

It was the latest intentional walk to Ohtani that backfired.

Ohtani has been intentionally walked nine time this postseason, and the subsequent batter has hit .500 (3 for 6) with three walks.

It turned out to be the only blemish on Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman’s performance all night.

He struck out seven of the first eight batters he faced, tying a World Series record, and after Betts’ two-run single, Gausman retired the next 10 batters through six innings.

He turned the game over to right-handed reliever Louis Varland after six innings, giving up three hits and three runs, walking two and striking out eight batters, after throwing 93 pitches.

In the end, it was the Dodgers refusing to give in, forcing a beautiful Game 7.

Stay tuned.

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A fan carrying an American flag made their way onto the field at Rogers Centre in Toronto during Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.

The incident occurred during the sixth inning. The fan lost his flag while running from security, who eventually tackled him to the ground.

The Canadian fans were not receptive to the fan on the field and loud booing was heard inside the stadium.