“Teams will move about. The two Edinburgh teams are at the bottom – I would expect them to pick up so it will change as we go on.

“Once you get to the more business end of the season then you can start looking at that kind of stuff. We are fully focused on winning games and that is what we have been doing.”

Thelin has maintained a level headed demeanour and a mantra of taking one game at a time since his summer arrival.

But does the experienced Shinnie have a part to play in ensuring some of the younger members of the squad do not get carried away amid a run of 15 wins and a draw?

“It is a hard one, it is letting them have that little bit of excitement because it is good and we are in a good place so it is about enjoying that but it is also about keeping our foot on the pedal because nothing has been achieved,” the midfielder explained.

“It is about trying to continue what we are doing, trying to continue to get better. We are still reasonably early in the manager’s era, so we are still learning as we go.

“It is enjoying it while we are at it because winning games is enjoyable but on top of that it is keeping right on top of it and keeping our foot firmly on the gas.”

Shinnie won the Scottish Cup with Inverness Caledonian Thistle nine years ago and winning silverware with Aberdeen remains “a massive ambition”.

“We know the challenge at hand,” he said of facing Celtic. “We know Celtic will be confident as well so we are trying to focus on ourselves and do the things that have gone well for us.

“Anything can happen in a cup game. We will be focused and ready to go.”

Freddie Freeman authored a World Series MVP performance for the ages, and not just because the Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman dealt with a badly sprained ankle throughout the team’s playoff run.

Freeman also suffered broken cartilage in his rib just before the Dodgers began their postseason in the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres, ESPN and The Washington Post reported.

The 35-year-old Freeman was diagnosed with the injury on the night of Oct. 4, one day before the start of the NLDS, per ESPN. Yet Freeman remained on the Dodgers’ roster while also dealing with the aforementioned ankle injury, plus a broken finger suffered in August that had not fully healed. He was in the lineup for that game, and still contributed through the first two rounds of the playoffs. This despite noticeable pain that required him to sit three different times during the Dodgers’ NLDS win over the Padres and NLCS win over the New York Mets.

The four days of rest between the Dodgers’ clinching Game 6 of the NLCS and Game 1 of the 2024 World Series helped Freeman make a noticeable improvement, and not only physically. He also tweaked his swing to recover his power stroke. Still, the type of rib injury Freeman was dealing with usually sidelines players for months, ESPN reported.

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

Instead, roughly three weeks after being diagnosed with that broken rib cartilage, Freeman hit the first and only walk-off grand slam in World Series history:

And Freeman added on from there, hitting home runs in each of the Dodgers’ next three games to solidify his World Series MVP case. Freeman also broke the record for most consecutive World Series games with a home run (six, dating back to the end of the 2021 World Series he won with the Atlanta Braves) and tied the record for most RBIs in a single World Series (12).

Check out Freeman’s full World Series MVP trophy ceremony and sit-down interview with the “MLB on FOX” postgame crew below:

Freddie Freeman named World Series MVP

Freddie Freeman on Dodgers’ grit, playing through injuries and more

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Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

Former English Premier League referee Martin Atkinson is to take over as VAR manager at the Scottish FA.

The 53-year-old will take up the post in early December and is replacing Jon Moss, who left after 52 days to become head of referees at Football Australia.

Atkinson was an official in England’s top flight for 20 years and refereed the 2015 Europa League final.

He will leave his role as select group manager at Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to begin work alongside SFA head of refereeing Willie Collum.

“I am delighted to appoint someone of Martin’s calibre,” said Collum. “I did not expect to be recruiting for that position again so quickly, but Jon received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and went with our best wishes.

“I am pleased Martin has agreed to continue the considerable work undertaken to date in optimising our VAR operation and I’m sure our VAR officials and match officials generally will look forward to working with someone of Martin’s experience.”

The Dodgers’ 8-7 victory over the Yankees in Game 5 for their eighth World Series title and second in five years averaged 18.6 million viewers on FOX, FOX Deportes and streaming, according to Nielsen.

That is the most-watched game in the Fall Classic since Game 7 in 2019 when the Washington Nationals’ victory over the Houston Astros averaged 23.22 million.

The series averaged 15.81 million, its best performance since 2017 when Houston’s victory over the Dodgers in seven games averaged 18.93 million.

Its also quite a turnaround from last year, when the Texas Rangers’ title over the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games averaged a record-low 9.11 million. The Dodgers-Yankees series was a 67% increase over that mark. 

Additionally, the complete 2024 MLB Postseason on FOX and FS1 averaged 7,485,000 viewers, up +42% over last year’s average (5,265,000) and FOX Sports’ best Postseason through Game 5 of the World Series since 2017, per FOX Sports PR. There was also a 101% increase in viewership among adults 18-34. 

The audience Wednesday peaked at 21.27 million from 11:15-11:30 p.m. EDT.

Dodgers vs. Yankees: MINI-MOVIE of 2024 World Series | MLB on FOX 🎥

The game had a 21.1 rating and 55 share in Los Angeles and 14.8 rating and 39 share in New York.

The rating is the percentage of television households tuned in. The share refers to a percentage of the audience viewing it at the time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience

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Kella was the winner of the second series of Channel Four’s talent show, The Piano. His debut single, Eve & Frank, is out now.

The 23-year-old self-taught classical pianist only started playing the instrument aged 13 and, before he turned to music, he was football-mad.

Kella grew up in Bootle on Merseyside and says there was never any question over who he would support.

“My whole family were Liverpool fans,” he told BBC Sport. “So, I was brought up a Red too.

“My favourite players when I was growing up were Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard – that was my era.

“I was too young to remember Istanbul [Liverpool’s legendary Champions League triumph] properly. I can remember all the fireworks going off afterwards, but it is only a vague memory.

“The highlight for me is more recent – the Barcelona game where we got beat 3-0 at the Nou Camp but then they came to Anfield in the second leg and we thrashed them 4-0. It was an incredible night.

“From that team I loved Jordan Henderson and Virgil van Dijk – he was a massive standout at the back and is arguably the best defender in the world – but that whole team under Jurgen Klopp was just ridiculously good.”

Kella was invited to play at Anfield’s Legends Lounge before Liverpool’s first game of the season against Brentford, when he opened the club’s new trophy room and was given a signed shirt by legendary striker Ian Rush.

“That was just unbelievable,” Kella added. “But when I was there, I was speaking to a few people in there about Arne Slot, and how he had such big shoes to fill.

“I could not imagine anything more daunting than taking Klopp’s job straight after he left, but Slot has absolutely smashed it out of the park.

“We are not just winning games, either. The results have been great but we are playing good football too.”

Kella plays a lot less football himself these days but he was in action this week in a charity game at Bootle FC to raise money for Zoe’s Place, a baby hospice in West Derby which is at risk of closure because of a lack of funding.

“It’s massive for Liverpool that this facility stays open so the whole city is doing as much as possible to raise the funds,” he explained.

“I even wore blue on the day – never again, though!”

Chris Sutton and Brad Kella were speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.

Video Details

“Teams will move about. The two Edinburgh teams are at the bottom – I would expect them to pick up so it will change as we go on.

“Once you get to the more business end of the season then you can start looking at that kind of stuff. We are fully focused on winning games and that is what we have been doing.”

Thelin has maintained a level headed demeanour and a mantra of taking one game at a time since his summer arrival.

But does the experienced Shinnie have a part to play in ensuring some of the younger members of the squad do not get carried away amid a run of 15 wins and a draw?

“It is a hard one, it is letting them have that little bit of excitement because it is good and we are in a good place so it is about enjoying that but it is also about keeping our foot on the pedal because nothing has been achieved,” the midfielder explained.

“It is about trying to continue what we are doing, trying to continue to get better. We are still reasonably early in the manager’s era, so we are still learning as we go.

“It is enjoying it while we are at it because winning games is enjoyable but on top of that it is keeping right on top of it and keeping our foot firmly on the gas.”

Shinnie won the Scottish Cup with Inverness Caledonian Thistle nine years ago and winning silverware with Aberdeen remains “a massive ambition”.

“We know the challenge at hand,” he said of facing Celtic. “We know Celtic will be confident as well so we are trying to focus on ourselves and do the things that have gone well for us.

“Anything can happen in a cup game. We will be focused and ready to go.”

Freddie Freeman authored a World Series MVP performance for the ages, and not just because the Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman dealt with a badly sprained ankle throughout the team’s playoff run.

Freeman also suffered broken cartilage in his rib just before the Dodgers began their postseason in the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres, ESPN and The Washington Post reported.

The 35-year-old Freeman was diagnosed with the injury on the night of Oct. 4, one day before the start of the NLDS, per ESPN. Yet Freeman remained on the Dodgers’ roster while also dealing with the aforementioned ankle injury, plus a broken finger suffered in August that had not fully healed. He was in the lineup for that game, and still contributed through the first two rounds of the playoffs. This despite noticeable pain that required him to sit three different times during the Dodgers’ NLDS win over the Padres and NLCS win over the New York Mets.

The four days of rest between the Dodgers’ clinching Game 6 of the NLCS and Game 1 of the 2024 World Series helped Freeman make a noticeable improvement, and not only physically. He also tweaked his swing to recover his power stroke. Still, the type of rib injury Freeman was dealing with usually sidelines players for months, ESPN reported.

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

Instead, roughly three weeks after being diagnosed with that broken rib cartilage, Freeman hit the first and only walk-off grand slam in World Series history:

And Freeman added on from there, hitting home runs in each of the Dodgers’ next three games to solidify his World Series MVP case. Freeman also broke the record for most consecutive World Series games with a home run (six, dating back to the end of the 2021 World Series he won with the Atlanta Braves) and tied the record for most RBIs in a single World Series (12).

Check out Freeman’s full World Series MVP trophy ceremony and sit-down interview with the “MLB on FOX” postgame crew below:

Freddie Freeman named World Series MVP

Freddie Freeman on Dodgers’ grit, playing through injuries and more

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

Former English Premier League referee Martin Atkinson is to take over as VAR manager at the Scottish FA.

The 53-year-old will take up the post in early December and is replacing Jon Moss, who left after 52 days to become head of referees at Football Australia.

Atkinson was an official in England’s top flight for 20 years and refereed the 2015 Europa League final.

He will leave his role as select group manager at Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to begin work alongside SFA head of refereeing Willie Collum.

“I am delighted to appoint someone of Martin’s calibre,” said Collum. “I did not expect to be recruiting for that position again so quickly, but Jon received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and went with our best wishes.

“I am pleased Martin has agreed to continue the considerable work undertaken to date in optimising our VAR operation and I’m sure our VAR officials and match officials generally will look forward to working with someone of Martin’s experience.”

The Dodgers’ 8-7 victory over the Yankees in Game 5 for their eighth World Series title and second in five years averaged 18.6 million viewers on FOX, FOX Deportes and streaming, according to Nielsen.

That is the most-watched game in the Fall Classic since Game 7 in 2019 when the Washington Nationals’ victory over the Houston Astros averaged 23.22 million.

The series averaged 15.81 million, its best performance since 2017 when Houston’s victory over the Dodgers in seven games averaged 18.93 million.

Its also quite a turnaround from last year, when the Texas Rangers’ title over the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games averaged a record-low 9.11 million. The Dodgers-Yankees series was a 67% increase over that mark. 

Additionally, the complete 2024 MLB Postseason on FOX and FS1 averaged 7,485,000 viewers, up +42% over last year’s average (5,265,000) and FOX Sports’ best Postseason through Game 5 of the World Series since 2017, per FOX Sports PR. There was also a 101% increase in viewership among adults 18-34. 

The audience Wednesday peaked at 21.27 million from 11:15-11:30 p.m. EDT.

Dodgers vs. Yankees: MINI-MOVIE of 2024 World Series | MLB on FOX 🎥

The game had a 21.1 rating and 55 share in Los Angeles and 14.8 rating and 39 share in New York.

The rating is the percentage of television households tuned in. The share refers to a percentage of the audience viewing it at the time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience

Advertisement

Los Angeles Dodgers

New York Yankees

Major League Baseball

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

Kella was the winner of the second series of Channel Four’s talent show, The Piano. His debut single, Eve & Frank, is out now.

The 23-year-old self-taught classical pianist only started playing the instrument aged 13 and, before he turned to music, he was football-mad.

Kella grew up in Bootle on Merseyside and says there was never any question over who he would support.

“My whole family were Liverpool fans,” he told BBC Sport. “So, I was brought up a Red too.

“My favourite players when I was growing up were Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard – that was my era.

“I was too young to remember Istanbul [Liverpool’s legendary Champions League triumph] properly. I can remember all the fireworks going off afterwards, but it is only a vague memory.

“The highlight for me is more recent – the Barcelona game where we got beat 3-0 at the Nou Camp but then they came to Anfield in the second leg and we thrashed them 4-0. It was an incredible night.

“From that team I loved Jordan Henderson and Virgil van Dijk – he was a massive standout at the back and is arguably the best defender in the world – but that whole team under Jurgen Klopp was just ridiculously good.”

Kella was invited to play at Anfield’s Legends Lounge before Liverpool’s first game of the season against Brentford, when he opened the club’s new trophy room and was given a signed shirt by legendary striker Ian Rush.

“That was just unbelievable,” Kella added. “But when I was there, I was speaking to a few people in there about Arne Slot, and how he had such big shoes to fill.

“I could not imagine anything more daunting than taking Klopp’s job straight after he left, but Slot has absolutely smashed it out of the park.

“We are not just winning games, either. The results have been great but we are playing good football too.”

Kella plays a lot less football himself these days but he was in action this week in a charity game at Bootle FC to raise money for Zoe’s Place, a baby hospice in West Derby which is at risk of closure because of a lack of funding.

“It’s massive for Liverpool that this facility stays open so the whole city is doing as much as possible to raise the funds,” he explained.

“I even wore blue on the day – never again, though!”

Chris Sutton and Brad Kella were speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.

Video Details