Blue Jays, Trey Yesavage beat Dodgers, take 3-2 lead; Aidan Hutchinson signs record extension with Lions

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Good morning and Happy Thursday, sports fans. The Ravens and Dolphins will lead us into Week 9 of the NFL season, but there will be time for that soon enough. Aidan Hutchinson’s bank account just got much heftier, the Blue Jays are on the brink of winning the World Series, things are getting messy in Baton Rouge and much more.

How about we get this day started with the biggest and best stories from around the sports world?

💰 Five things to know Thursday

• The Blue Jays are one win away from another World Series after a 6-1 win in Game 5. After that epic 18-inning loss in Game 3, the Blue Jays picked themselves off the mat to win two straight games against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, and they need just one more for their first World Series since 1993. In Game 5, rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage slammed the door on Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers, but more on that later.
• Lions’ Aidan Hutchinson signs a record $180 million contract extension. Hutchinson just became a very wealthy man after signing a four-year extension that includes $141 million guaranteed, a record for non-quarterbacks. His $46.5 million average annual salary makes him the second highest-paid non-quarterback in the league, behind only Micah Parsons. It pays to get after the quarterback, kids.
• The LSU coaching search is already getting messy. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry announced Wednesday that the school’s Board of Supervisors — not athletic director Scott Woodward — will hire the next football coach. The problem with that plan? LSU Board of Supervisors chairman Scott Ballard wasn’t made aware of it. To top it all off, Ed Orgeron is already pushing for a reunion. Buckle up for a bumpy ride in the bayou.
• Expect the Twins to hire Derek Shelton as their next manager. The 55-year-old Shelton comes off a six-year tenure with the Pirates in which he compiled an overall record of 306-440. Shelton was fired in May, but it didn’t take him long to find another job. Shelton was the bench coach in Minnesota for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, and he will now be tasked with taking over a team in a somewhat uncertain place.
• Manny Pacquiao confirmed negotiations for another fight with Floyd Mayweather. Back in 2015, two of the biggest names in boxing met when Pacquiao and Mayweather went head-to-head. A rematch of that bout may be in the works a decade later after Pacquiao confirmed that there are ongoing negotiations with Mayweather’s camp. What would that fight look like with both fighters well into their 40s?

⚾ Do not miss this: Trey Yesavage shuts down Dodgers

Most 22-year-olds are enjoying their senior year of college by watching the World Series at a local watering hole. Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage spent last night on the mound at Chavez Ravine and completely silenced the Dodgers‘ bats.

In a pivotal Game 5, Yesavage took the mound in enemy territory and turned in a gem of a start. In a 6-1 win, He went seven innings and put up some historic numbers, which R.J. Anderson detailed his reactions.

• Anderson: “Yesavage bested that performance on Wednesday, allowing just one run on three hits and no walks. He also struck out 12 of the 24 batters he faced, establishing a new rookie World Series record. (That mark had previously belonged to Don Newcombe, who notched 11 strikeouts as a member of the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949.)”

Now, the Blue Jays take a 3-2 series lead back to Toronto with them, and it’s starting to feel like a team of destiny. After suffering a gut-wrenching 18-inning loss in Game 3, Toronto could’ve lost control of the series. Instead, the Jays outscored the Dodgers 12-3 in the last two games and are one victory away from their first World Series since 1993.

Our own Matt Snyder is ready to call it. No matter what you throw at this Toronto team, it answers the bell every single time.

• Snyder: “This Blue Jays team feels like they simply will not be denied. There’s been plenty of adversity, but they respond every single time. If they haven’t lost this series yet, they just aren’t going to lose it.”

The biggest ray of hope the Dodger have is that the best baseball player on the planet is on their side. Shohei Ohtani has proven he can make an impact with his bat, and manager Dave Roberts says he could be an “option” to pitch again before the series is over.

🏈 Jaxson Dart headlines midseason All-Rookie Team

The 2025 NFL rookie class is a very interesting one, and some players are emerging as rising stars already. Just ask Baker Mayfield what he thinks about receiver Emeka Egbuka.

Now that we’re halfway through those rookie seasons, our midseason All-Rookie Team has been released. It probably goes without saying that Egbuka is on the list, but what about the quarterback position? Between the two first-round rookies, Jaxson Dart holds the edge over No. 1 pick Cam Ward thanks to his improvisational ability, as Josh Edwards explains.

• Edwards: “Neither quarterback has done enough to earn long-term confidence, but there is no question Dart has provided a spark to that offense and has shown improvement as a passer. He obviously brings a level of toughness to the field and is able to turn a broken-down play into chunk yardage with his legs.”

Be sure to check out the rest of the team here, but I’ll give you a little peek with a look at the big fellas on the offensive line.

• Kelvin Banks Jr., Saints
• Grey Zabel, Seahawks
• Jared Wilson, Patriots
• Tate Ratledge, Lions
• Armand Membou, Jets

The rookies aren’t the only ones getting some midseason love. We also handed out everything from the best quote to the MVP in our midseason NFL Awards.

🏀 Top 25 and 1 (coaches edition)

One the college basketball season tips off, our Top 25 and 1 will be changing rapidly (and sometimes drastically). Before we get there, however, our college basketball experts conducted the same exercise with coaches around the sport.

The usual suspects like Dan Hurley, Tom Izzo, Kelvin Sampson and Bill Self maintained their spots near the top of the list. The reigning national champion, Florida coach Todd Golden, vaulted into the top 10 after being unranked at the start of the 2024-25 season. David Cobb notes that Golden has already built an impressive resume at a relatively young age.

• Cobb: “Golden became the youngest coach to win the national championship since Jim Valvano in 1983 when he led Florida to the mountaintop last season. He just turned 40 in July and could be one of the faces of college basketball for an entire generation to come. With their frontcourt back fully intact and a couple of high-end guards entering via the portal, the Gators are well-positioned to compete for national supremacy again in 2025-26.”

Here’s what the Nos. 20-25 shook out:

20. Pat Kelsey, Louisville
21. TJ Otzelberger, Iowa State
22. Chris Beard, Ole Miss
23. Mick Cronin, UCLA
24. Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s
25. Shaka Smart, Marquette

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

📺 What we’re watching Thursday

🏒 Stars at Lightning, 7 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏒 Islanders at Hurricanes, 7:30 p.m. on Hulu
🏈 Marshall at Coastal Carolina, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2
🏈 Tulane at UTSA, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Warriors at Bucks, 8 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 Ravens at Dolphins, 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video