Interfering Yankees fans banned from Game 5
Two New York Yankees fans have been banned from attending Game 5 of the World Series after interfering with Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts in Game 4.
The Yankees announced in a statement Wednesday that the fans “will not be permitted to attend tonight’s game in any capacity” and added that the incident Tuesday night with Betts was “egregious and unacceptable.”
A source told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers earlier Wednesday that it was not immediately clear whether the ban against Austin Capobianco and John Peter, both season-ticket holders, would apply to any Yankee Stadium games next season.
“The safety and security of players, fans and Stadium staff is the foundational element of every event held at Yankee Stadium, and it cannot be compromised,” the Yankees said in their statement.
“Tonight marks the final home game of year, and we want every ounce of our fans’ passion on display. Yankee Stadium is known for its energy and intensity, however the exuberance of supporting one’s team can never cross the line into intentionally putting players at physical risk.”
The team said it gave the fans’ Game 5 tickets to an ill child and his family who were unable to attend a kids-only news conference at the ballpark in September to mark Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
Capobianco told Rogers that the Yankees refunded him the cost of the tickets for Game 5 and also informed him that he would be arrested if he tried to attend the game.
“We’re hoping for a short-term ban,” Capobianco told Rogers. “We don’t want to lose the season tickets.”
Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark said in a statement Wednesday that the union “will be closely tracking both the response to that incident and the protective measures taken going forward.”
“The MLBPA takes Player safety and security very seriously, including and especially at the ballpark,” Clark said. “As with every incident at the ballpark that affects Players, we have been in regular contact with League security officials since last night’s incident.”
Capobianco and Peter were ejected for prying the ball out of Betts’ glove after the right fielder’s leaping catch in the first inning.
Betts leaped at the wall along the right-field line in foul territory and initially caught Gleyber Torres‘ popup. Capobianco, seated in the first row and wearing a gray Yankees road jersey, grabbed Betts’ glove with both hands and pulled the ball out while Peter grabbed Betts’ non-glove hand at the wrist.
Betts reacted angrily, and Torres was immediately called out on fan interference.
“Not good. There’s no place for that. It’s as simple as that,” New York manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday. “Come here, cheer, root for your team, whatever. No place for that. Should never have hands on anyone.”
Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo said Wednesday he wasn’t too surprised by what happened in New York.
“I saw it. It was maybe one of the more extreme — kind of trying to rip a ball out,” he said. “But at the same time, that’s kind of New York. I feel like that’s what you expect out here. You expect some unique things.
“At the end of the day, I didn’t feel it was too serious. I think Mookie kind of shook it off, too. That’s just kind of the passion, I guess, New Yorkers have.”
It was the second time Torres had an at-bat impacted by fan interference this World Series. With two outs in the ninth inning of Game 1 at Dodger Stadium, Torres hit a fly ball to left field, and a fan reached over and caught the ball. Torres was awarded a double.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
The 2025 NCAA men’s hockey tournament is set, with the 16-team bracket in place and all roads leading to the Frozen Four in St. Louis.
Regional play begins Thursday, with regional finals Saturday and Sunday, and the Frozen Four will be in St. Louis on April 10 and 12. All games will air on the ESPN networks and stream on ESPN+.
The winners of the six conference tournaments win automatic NCAA berths, while the top 10 at-large teams (based on the PairWise rankings) round out the field.
Boston College, the overall No. 1 seed, will play in the Manchester, New Hampshire, regional — with Big Ten champion Michigan State (Toledo, Ohio), Hockey East champ Maine (Allentown, Pennsylvania) and NCHC champion Western Michigan (Fargo, North Dakota) earning the other three top seeds.
Denver, last year’s national champion, will defend its title as the No. 3 seed in Manchester, while UConn (No. 2 in Allentown) and Bentley (No. 4 in Manchester) are in the NCAA tournament for the first time.
Below is the schedule for entire tournament, which will be updated with results as games are played, plus a look at each of the 16 teams.
Every NCAA tournament game will be available on ESPN+. Subscribe to watch.
Schedule
All times Eastern
Toledo (Ohio) Regional
Semifinals, March 27
Boston University vs. Ohio State, 2 p.m., ESPNU
Michigan State vs. Cornell, 5:30 p.m., ESPN+
Final, March 29
Semifinal winners, 4 or 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
Fargo (N.D.) Regional
Semifinals, March 27
Western Michigan vs. Minnesota State, 5 p.m., ESPNU
Minnesota vs. UMass, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2
Final, March 29
Semifinal winners, 4 or 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
Manchester (N.H.) Regional
Semifinals, March 28
Boston College vs. Bentley, 2 p.m., ESPNU
Providence vs. Denver, 5:30 p.m., ESPN+
Final, March 30
Semifinal winners, 4:30 or 7 p.m., ESPN2
Allentown (Penn.) Regional
Semifinals, March 28
UConn vs. Quinnipiac, 5 p.m., ESPNU
Maine vs. Penn State, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2
Final, March 30
Semifinal winners, 4:30 or 7 p.m., ESPN2
FROZEN FOUR
at Enterprise Center, St. Louis
National semifinals, April 10
Manchester winner vs. Fargo winner, Time TBD, ESPN2
Toledo winner vs. Allentown winner, Time TBD, ESPN2
National championship game, April 12
Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2
Teams at a glance
Toledo Regional
No. 1 Michigan State
Record: 26-6-4
PairWise rating: No. 2
How the Spartans got here: Big Ten champion
Last 10 games: 6-3-1
History lesson: This is Michigan State’s 29th NCAA appearance. The Spartans have been to the Frozen Four 11 times and have won three national titles, the last in 2007. Michigan State lost to Michigan in the regional finals last season, which was its first time in the tournament since 2012.
No. 2 Boston University
Record: 21-13-2
PairWise rating: 7
How the Terriers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (lost Hockey East semifinal to Maine)
History lesson: This is BU’s 40th NCAA appearance, including three of the past four years. The Terriers have been to the Frozen Four 24 times and have won five national titles, the last in 2009. The Terriers lost in overtime to Denver in the national semifinals last season, the second straight year they lost in the national semis.
No. 3 Ohio State
Record: 24-13-2
PairWise rating: 10
How the Buckeyes got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-5 (lost Big Ten final to Michigan State)
History lesson: This is Ohio State’s 12th NCAA appearance and its second in three years. The Buckeyes have been to the Frozen Four twice, most recently in 2018, and have never won the national title.
No. 4 Cornell
Record: 18-10-6
PairWise rating: 17
How the Big Red got here: ECAC champion
Last 10 games: 8-2
History lesson: This is Cornell’s 27th NCAA appearance, including the past three years in a row. The Big Red have been to the Frozen Four eight times and have won the national championship twice, most recently in 1970. Cornell lost to Denver in the regional finals last season.
Fargo Regional
No. 1 Western Michigan
Record: 30-7-1
PairWise rating: 4
How the Broncos got here: NCHC champion
Last 10 games: 8-2
History lesson: This is Western Michigan’s 10th NCAA appearance, including the past four years. The Broncos lost in overtime to Michigan State in the first round last season, falling to 1-10 all time in NCAA tournament play.
No. 2 Minnesota
Record: 25-10-4
PairWise rating: 5
How the Golden Gophers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-4-1 (lost Big Ten quarterfinal series to Notre Dame)
History lesson: This is Minnesota’s 42nd NCAA appearance, including the past five years. The Gophers have been to the Frozen Four 23 times and have won five national titles, the last in 2003. Minnesota lost to Boston University in the regional finals last season.
No. 3 UMass
Record: 20-13-5
PairWise rating: 11
How the Minutemen got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-2-3 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to BU in overtime)
History lesson: This is UMass’ seventh NCAA appearance, including five of the past six tournaments. The Minutemen have been to the Frozen Four twice and won one national title, in 2021. UMass lost to Denver in double overtime in the first round of last year’s tournament.
No. 4 Minnesota State
Record: 27-8-3
PairWise rating: 14
How the Mavericks got here: CCHA champion
Last 10 games: 9-0-1
History lesson: This is Minnesota State’s 12th NCAA appearance, including six of the last seven tournaments. The Mavericks have been to the Frozen Four twice and are still looking for their first national championship. Minnesota State didn’t make the tournament last year and lost to St. Cloud State in the first round in 2023.
Manchester Regional
No. 1 Boston College
Record: 26-7-2
PairWise rating: 1
How the Eagles got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to Northeastern)
History lesson: This is BC’s 39th NCAA appearance. The Eagles have been to the Frozen Four 26 times and have won five national titles, the last in 2012. BC lost to Denver 2-0 in last year’s championship game after not making the tournament the previous two years.
No. 2 Providence
Record: 21-10-5
PairWise rating: 8
How the Friars got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-4-1 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to UConn)
History lesson: This is Providence’s 16th NCAA appearance, its first since 2019. The Friars have been to the Frozen Four five times and won the national title once, in 2015.
No. 3 Denver
Record: 29-11-1
PairWise rating: 9
How the Pioneers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-3 (lost NCHC final to Western Michigan in double overtime)
History lesson: This is Denver’s 34th NCAA appearance, including 15 of the past 16 tournaments. The Pios have been to the Frozen Four 18 times and won 10 national titles, the most ever. Denver beat BC for the national championship last season, its second title in three years.
No. 4 Bentley
Record: 23-14-2
PairWise rating: 22
How the Falcons got here: Atlantic champion
Last 10 games: 8-2
History lesson: This is Bentley’s first NCAA appearance in the program’s 26th season in Division I and the second year with Andy Jones as coach. The Falcons have set a school record for victories and are enjoying their first winning season since 2020.
Allentown Regional
No. 1 Maine
Record: 24-7-6
PairWise rating: 3
How the Black Bears got here: Hockey East champion
Last 10 games: 6-2-2
History lesson: This is Maine’s 21st NCAA appearance. The Black Bears have been to the Frozen Four 11 times and have won two national titles, the last in 1999. Maine lost to Cornell in the first round last season, its first tournament appearance since 2012.
No. 2 UConn
Record: 22-11-4
PairWise rating: 6
How the Huskies got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 8-1-1
History lesson: This is UConn’s first NCAA appearance in the program’s 27 years in Division I. The Huskies set a school record for wins as a Div. 1 team in Mike Cavanaugh’s 11th season at the helm.
No. 3 Quinnipiac
Record: 24-11-2
PairWise ranking: 12
How the Bobcats got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-3 (lost ECAC semifinal to Cornell in overtime)
History lesson: This is Quinnipiac’s 11th NCAA appearance, including each of the last six tournaments. The Bobcats have been to the Frozen Four three times and won one national title, in 2023. Quinnipiac lost to Boston College in overtime in the regional finals last season.
No. 4 Penn State
Record: 20-13-4
PairWise rating: 13
How the Nittany Lions got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-2-1 (lost Big Ten semifinal to Ohio State in overtime)
History lesson: This is Penn State’s fifth NCAA appearance. In 2023, the Nittany Lions lost in the regional finals to Michigan in overtime. Penn State has never been to the Frozen Four.
ST. LOUIS — Three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Maroon said he is retiring after this season.
Maroon, who turns 37 next month, made the announcement in a pregame television interview before he and the Chicago Blackhawks played at his hometown St. Louis Blues.
“Sometimes, you’ve got to give up everything you know and everything you dreamed of your whole life,” Maroon told Darren Pang on Chicago Sports Network. “I just know it’s time for me and it’s time for my family to go start a new chapter in our lives.”
Maroon helped the Blues win their first championship in franchise history in 2019. He then joined the Tampa Bay Lightning and won back-to-back in 2020 and ’21.
Maroon became the fourth player in NHL history and first since 1964 to win the Cup three years in a row with two different teams. It was not a coincidence he revealed that he’s calling it a career while in St. Louis with family in attendance.
“It’s tough,” Maroon said. “It’s hard to go through things like this. You can’t really process it, but I think it’s special for me and my family to go start a new chapter.”
Maroon has played 1,002 regular-season and playoff games with Anaheim, Edmonton, New Jersey, St. Louis, Minnesota, Boston and Chicago after getting drafted in the sixth round in 2007 by Philadelphia.
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