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The Tampa Bay Rays have always been willing to do things differently.

Though they routinely have one of the lowest payrolls in Major League Baseball, the Rays have reached the playoffs in five straight seasons by getting the most out of their roster.

They introduced the idea of an “opener” in 2018, leading to the best ERA in the American League just a month after the strategy, though that is just one part of a long list of Tampa Bay innovations.

The Rays’ latest? The reveal of their City Connect uniform on Monday, which uses a balance of “grit and glow” and elements meant to highlight the unconventional nature of the organization.

Its on-field debut will come during the weekend series against the New York Mets beginning May 3 and will be worn every Saturday thereafter. The Rays will also be the first team to wear their City Connect uniforms multiple times on the road — they will wear the threads on June 16 against the Atlanta Braves and Aug. 7 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The “grit” comes from the willingness to do things differently as an organization, while the “glow” is focused on the vibrance of Tampa Bay, according to Warren Hypes, vice president of creative and brand with the Rays. The design celebrates the city’s “counterculture scenes,” which include skate, street art, streetwear, tattoo and music, according to the Rays.

The jersey texture is meant to look like black that’s “been faded in the sun.” Tampa Bay is written across the chest, marking the first time the city’s name will appear on the Rays uniform since 2007. The letters themselves have a skateboard grip texture and a logo similar to Thrashers magazine, an influential skateboarding magazine founded in 1981. The cap logo is the combination of a ray and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

The Rays focused on different cultures and stories of Tampa Bay in their design. While Tampa Bay is perceived as a great place to retire or go on vacation, the Rays believed that it was important to touch on the “vibrant underground community” of the city.

A key element of that community? Skateboarding.

“Skateboarding makes you look at the world in a different way. If you talk to skaters and they’re trying to figure out how to skate stairs or rail or something else, something that’s not meant to be skated, you’ve really got to open your mind to a different way of thinking,” Hypes said. “And I think there’s so many natural ties and parallels to Tampa Bay, No. 1, and No. 2, the way we operate both on the business and team side here.”

In 1978, Tampa Bay opened a skate park at St. Perry Harvey Park, the first public one in Florida and one of the first in the country. Nicknamed the “Bro Bowl,” it is part of the National Register of Historic Places. There are multiple design features that pay homage to the city’s skateboarding heritage.

On the underside of the cap and jersey numbers lies a texture that resembles skateboard grip tape. An inside neck and pant hip graphic includes a Ray executing a “stalefish” skateboard trick where a skater grabs the back of the board, one of the more creative details of the uniform. According to Hypes, they wanted to illustrate the correlation between skateboarding and baseball with that element.

“Again, going back to the grit it takes to try a trick hundreds of times before you land it and looking at how that has parallels with baseball and all the hard work it takes. All the time in the cage, bullpen sessions, everything else it takes to have your big moment in baseball,” he said.

The jocktag graphic is a Pelican with three palm trees above it. The palm trees included in the Pelican decal is an ode to the historical marker located at the Bro Bowl. The Pelican refers to the roots and history of baseball in the area. The St. Petersburg Pelicans were part of the Florida State Negro League during the 1940s and 50s.

There are also references to the “Devil Rays” era of the organization throughout the design. The letters across the front of the uniform are a direct influence of the original Devil Ray lettering.

Gradient accents of the uniform is a subtle nod to the old Devil Ray throwback look. The gradient stripe is on the right sleeve of the jersey, but travels down the left side of the pants.

Hypes emphasized they wanted to reimagine the Devil Rays’ colors futuristically for the colors of the gradient accents. The decision to have the stripes designed to go from the right sleeve to the left pant ties back into the main organizational message of the Rays to be innovative.

“That’s just tying back into that against the grain attitude that makes this region special and makes us as a company special,” he said. “I think the way we operate our business, we very much carve an untraditional path in a game that’s so steep to tradition. And that’s our kind of nod to celebrate that.”

The designing process of the uniform with Nike began four years ago. There were six to eight different iterations of the uniform itself.

Hypes revealed that the first time they went to Nike, they had “several hundred different” ideas that ranged from big ones throughout the region and words that meant something to a location. However, Nike helped them narrow it to three or four different concepts.

Players such as Pete Fairbanks, who is into skateboarding and skate culture, have enjoyed the design. Star outfielder Randy Arozarena said they were “beautiful.”

“I think even people who maybe didn’t grow up with skateboarding as much in their culture have really connected to the color sets,” Hypes said. “And once you explain the story, we’re really invested in the way that we’re doing something different and telling a story differently with this.”

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Utah’s Dampier now probable to face Colorado

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Utah's Dampier now probable to face Colorado

Utah quarterback Devon Dampier has been upgraded to probable for the Utes’ game against Colorado, according to the updated Big 12 availability report released Friday night.

The junior quarterback has dealt with a lower leg injury this season, and coach Kyle Whittingham said Dampier “got beat up in this game pretty good” after the Utes’ 24-21 loss to rival BYU last weekend.

Dampier was initially listed as questionable Wednesday but progressed throughout the week and took reps in practice, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

The 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior, a transfer out of New Mexico, has started every game despite the injury and ranks sixth in the Big 12 in total offense with 1,375 passing yards, 442 rushing yards and 18 total touchdowns.

True freshman backup Byrd Ficklin played four snaps against BYU and would be in line to start if Dampier is unavailable Saturday against the Buffaloes (10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Utah wide receiver Tobias Merriweather and defensive tackle Dallas Vakalahi were downgraded from doubtful to out against Colorado. Merriweather ranks second among Utes wideouts with 130 receiving yards on eight receptions this season.

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2025 World Series: Live updates and analysis from Dodgers-Blue Jays Game 1

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2025 World Series: Live updates and analysis from Dodgers-Blue Jays Game 1

The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers opened the 2025 MLB season in Japan on March 18.

Now, 220 days later, they meet the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the Fall Classic.

Will the Dodgers be the first team to repeat as champs since the New York Yankees at the turn of the century? Or will the underdog Blue Jays win their first title since 1993?

It all starts Friday night. We’ll have the action covered right here, from pregame lineups to live analysis during the game to takeaways after the final pitch.

Key links: Mega-preview, predictions | Schedule

Live updates

Gamecast: Follow the action pitch-by-pitch here

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Jays’ Bichette to start at 2B, bat cleanup in G1

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Jays' Bichette to start at 2B, bat cleanup in G1

TORONTO — Bo Bichette, who has not played since spraining his left knee in early September, was added to the Toronto Blue Jays‘ roster for the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Bichette, a two-time All-Star at shortstop, will play second base for the first time in his major league career and bat cleanup in Game 1 on Friday night in Toronto, according to the lineup released by the Jays.

“I’ve been able to get a lot of good work in, but honestly, I’m leaning on a whole life’s work of swings and at-bats that have all been dedicated to being ready for this moment,” Bichette said. “I feel ready, and I’m ready to get out there. I’m super excited.”

The Blue Jays also included first baseman Ty France on their roster for the first time this postseason. Outfielder Joey Loperfido and right-handed reliever Yariel Rodriguez, who were on the American League Championship Series roster, were not included.

Bichette has not played in a game since injuring the knee in a collision with Yankees catcher Austin Wells on Sept. 6. Bichette attempted to return in time for the AL Championship Series but could not run the bases without significant pain the day before the Blue Jays had to submit their roster.

The infielder worked out at second base and faced live pitching Wednesday and Thursday, after which he said the knee was “feeling good enough.” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Bichette could play second base, shortstop or even serve as the team’s designated hitter during the series, a move that would likely push George Springer into right field.

“I’ve seen him do it, albeit minor leagues a few years ago — or a number of years ago,” Schneider, who previously worked in the organization’s minor league system, said of Bichette playing second base. “But as long as he was moving around fine and physically felt OK, you felt good about putting him out there.”

Set to be a free agent this winter, Bichette had a rebound season after posting a .598 OPS in 81 games in an injury-plagued 2024 campaign. The homegrown star, 27, finished second in the majors with a .311 batting average and hit 18 home runs with 94 RBIs and an .840 OPS.

Without him, the Blue Jays have played Andres Gimenez, their regular second baseman, at shortstop in the postseason with Isiah Kiner-Falefa getting most of the starts at second base.

Los Angeles added right-handers Edgardo Henriquez and Will Klein while dropping lefty Alex Vesia and righty Ben Casparius. The Dodgers said Thursday that Vesia was not with the team in Toronto because of a family matter. The Dodgers opted to leave Vesia off the roster entirely rather than putting him on Major League Baseball’s family medical emergency list, which would have allowed him to return to the roster within three to seven days.

“We just didn’t want to have any potential for any kind of pressure,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “This is so much bigger than baseball. For us, it was doing whatever small part we could to just a hundred percent be supportive.”

Former closer Tanner Scott was not added. The left-hander was dropped from the National League Division Series roster following surgery Oct. 8 to remove an abscess from an infection on his lower body.

Clayton Kershaw, who was left off the Dodgers’ wild-card series roster and did not pitch in the NLCS, is on the World Series roster. Kershaw has said he plans to retire after this season.

Information from ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and the Associated Press was used in this report.

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