Shohei Ohtani launched a three-run homer for the Los Angeles Dodgers that punctuated their 8-0 victory over the New York Mets in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night in New York.

Kiké Hernández hit a two-run shot to make it 4-0 in the sixth inning and waved to the Citi Field crowd he quieted. Los Angeles rebounded from a loss at home and grabbed a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series by pitching its fourth shutout in the past five playoff games.

Ohtani connected in the eighth, a 410-foot drive that soared into the second deck in right field and barely stayed fair above the foul pole.

Max Muncy went deep in the ninth for his 13th career postseason homer, tying Corey Seager and Justin Turner for the franchise record. Muncy also connected in Game 2.

Shohei Ohtani destroys a three-run homer, extending Dodgers’ lead

A fired-up Walker Buehler struck out Francisco Lindor to leave the bases loaded in the second, and the Dodgers got five stingy innings from their hard-throwing bullpen. Buehler combined with four relievers on a four-hitter.

Game 4 is Thursday night in Queens, with $325 million rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto scheduled to start for Los Angeles against veteran left-hander Jose Quintana.

Michael Kopech worked a hitless fifth for the win, and Dodgers pitchers finished with 13 strikeouts.

Mets starter Luis Severino fell behind 2-0 in the second, partly due to some shoddy fielding. He did not permit an earned run but threw 95 pitches and walked four in 4 2/3 innings, taking the loss.

Slumping catcher Will Smith knocked in a run with an infield single, and Tommy Edman had a sacrifice fly that could have been more if not for a sensational catch on the right-center warning track by Tyrone Taylor.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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It’s very hard to answer this question.

Before Monza, McLaren believed that would be a relatively weak circuit for them, but they qualified first and second, although Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc beat them to victory.

Before Singapore, you might have said that street circuits were Red Bull’s Achilles heel, which would have led one to believe Las Vegas might be an issue for Verstappen.

But Verstappen finished second in Singapore, against expectations.

So, the answer seems to be no. It’s just a question of who does the best job each weekend.

DARREN BENT scored 221 goals in nearly 600 games for club and country — but none more famous than the one with the most bizarre assist in football history . . . off a BEACHBALL!

Fifteen years ago tomorrow, his fifth-minute shot for Sunderland deflected off a stray red inflatable that completely deceived Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina before going in.

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It clinched a 1-0 Premier League win over the Reds and is the goal he is forever asked to talk about.

Bent, now 40 and a presenter on talkSPORT, said: “I speak about it all the time because the moment was a complete freak situation.

“Seriously, when have you ever previously seen a beachball thrown on to a pitch before the start of a football match? Balloons, toilet rolls . . . but a beachball?

“And the way in which the wind blows in off the coast across the Stadium of Light pitch, what are the chances of that beachball staying on the pitch for five minutes for that amount of time?

“Then when the match ball is crossed to me, at that precise moment it cannons off the inflatable and diverts it in the net.

“I think all the odds of that happening are greater than getting all six numbers on the lottery.

“Even if I tried to re-enact that situation I’d struggle to do it because the beachball would blow away or I’d struggle to hit a shot that would connect with the inflatable.

“It was a complete one-off, almost from a bygone era.

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“Plus, with VAR today there is not a chance that the goal would stand.

“I’m also pretty sure my shot for that goal would bamboozle stat boffins for my xG!”

Bent recalled the moment the ball was crossed from Andy Reid and flicked in by Steed Malbranque.

He added: “In my head it was always the same when I was in a situation like that: ‘Hit the target’.

“The moment I struck it and saw the ball deflect and go in, I ran off celebrating. I knew it hit something, my first instinct was it came off Liverpool defender Glen Johnson’s leg.

“Then I was aware of Liverpool players protesting about the goal.

“I felt a bit for referee Mike Jones because I was told he was demoted to the Championship the following week. He was faced with an unprecedented situation.

“He had no monitor to go and look at to check how the goal had gone in. It was a complete one-off.

“The most frustrating part is I could and should have scored two or three more goals that day.

“We absolutely battered Liverpool but it just so happened it ended up being the winning goal!”

Bent did have sympathy with the Reds fan, Callum Campbell, 16 at the time, who threw the beachball onto the field and received terrible online abuse in the days that followed.

The former England striker added: “When I read about that, I found it quite appalling.

“Here was a football fanatic enjoying the atmosphere of following his team away. Everything about what he did that day was as a supporter of his club.

“As I have previously said, it was just a freak of nature that everything conspired into that moment. He had no clue — like the rest of us — how it would pan out.

“After the game, I remember talking with Glen Johnson, who remains a close friend, and keeper Pepe Reina about how it could have happened.”

The historic beachball is on display as part of The People’s Collection at the National Football Museum in Manchester. Or is it?

Bent said: “I’m led to believe that’s where it is, although I’ve also been told there is a guy in the North East who has it, so it’s open to debate.”

The ex-Ipswich, Aston Villa and Tottenham ace is happy to carry on talking about it — although he admits among his 221 goals it would not even rank among the top 200!

He added: “If I had £1 for every time I have had to talk about it over the last 15 years, I would feel like a lottery winner!

“But I suppose it’s nice to be remembered forever as scoring one of the maddest goals in the history of the Premier League.”

Listen to Darren Bent on his talkSPORT Drive show every Monday to Friday, 4pm to 7pm with Andy Goldstein.

Three-time Olympic champion Adam Peaty says it would be a “100% yes” to the Los Angeles Games in 2028 if the 50m breaststroke is added as an event.

Peaty, 29, was pipped to gold by 0.02 seconds in the 2024 100m breaststroke Olympic final in Paris, after returning to the sport last autumn following a break because of issues with alcohol and his mental health.

In August, reports said World Aquatics has requested that the 50m breaststroke is added for the next Olympics, external – an event which Peaty, who said he would “take a break”, external but still train over the next two years, holds the world record in.

“World Aquatics are potentially putting forward to the Olympic committee about the 50m breaststroke sprint being in the Games,” Peaty told BBC Breakfast.

“If that happens it would be 100% yes, I am there – I am not sure when I will find out.

“I’m going to stay fit and I’m going to train for two years, but I’m going to take a break, put other things forward as a priority. I really enjoy public speaking now and motivating people.”

The only 50m race at the Olympics is the 50m freestyle.

Peaty, who also holds four of the five fastest times in history in the 50m breaststroke, broke his own world record twice at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest.

His world record time of 25.95 means he remains the only person to break 26 seconds in the event.

Victory at the 2022 Commonwealth Games was Peaty’s last major gold medal in the 50m breaststroke, with the Briton having won three straight golds at the World Championships in the event.

In October 2023, Peaty finished third in the event at the World Cup meet in Berlin to mark his return to competitive action for the first time since March 2022.

On 28 September, Lennon Miller’s second goal for Motherwell against St Mirren was reviewed for a possible handball but stood and Collum said the VAR officials were “unable to fine the evidence to be categorical” about a foul.

Later in the same game, Well’s Dan Casey handled the ball on the goal-line to deny Killian Phillips a goal and was shown a straight red. Mark O’Hara had the resulting penalty saved.

“In our opinion, this is the correct call,” said Collum. “It’s a very good piece of teamwork between the assistant referee and the referee. There’s nothing there for the VAR to think that the referee has made an error there in terms of showing a red card.”

The following day, there was a similar incident at Ibrox where Rangers defender John Souttar was penalised for handball in the box following a VAR review. Mykola Kuharevich’s spot-kick for Hibernian was saved and the hosts maintained their 1-0 lead until full-time.

“It’s the correct decision for us,” Collum said of the Souttar incident.

“We would not support a red card, this is not an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.

“This is certainly a punishable handball. There’s every opportunity that the goalkeeper can save this shot. The fact that no card was shown could be debated.

“If the referee had deemed John Souttar’s actions here as deliberate, he probably would’ve received a yellow card. Because the referee and the VAR team don’t deem this as a deliberate handball, there’s no need for a yellow card.”

The position of goalkeeper Jack Butland’s feet in relation to the goal line were also discussed and Collum was “content” there was no need for a re-take.

Collum also re-iterated that there had been an error in the last Scottish Premiership fixture before the split, Rangers’ 2-0 win over St Johnstone on 6 October.

It was announced earlier this week by the SFA’s key match incident review panel that St Johnstone defender Aaron Essel should have been penalised for a shirt pull on Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers.

“This is a wrong decision,” added Collum. “We expect a penalty kick here and we expect the referee to be brought to the monitor to review the decision.”

JAKE PAUL has launched a new business venture ahead of his controversial clash with Mike Tyson.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer is gearing up to face the former undisputed heavyweight champion in a shock Texas tussle next month.

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But the 27-year-old hasn’t turned off his entrepreneurial brain during fight camp, inking a partnership with beloved American restaurant Dog Haus to help with their “overall strategic vision of the brand.”

During his recent trip to Dog Haus’s Arlington store, Paul said: “I’m all in.

“I’ve been a fan of Dog Haus for years, and I’m fired up to push the limits and help take this amazing brand to a whole new level.

“I’m jumping in their corner and excited to introduce their food and experience to everyone across the country!”

Dog Haus CEO Michael Montagano is delighted to have The Problem Child on board.

He said: ‘“When a once-in-a-generation talent reaches out and says he wants to work with you, you take notice!”

“Our relationship with Jake really has very little to do with his celebrity.

“It’s about his dynamic personality, relentless drive and the fact that he has revolutionized the way we communicate, all of which align perfectly with our brand’s ethos.

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“So this is just the beginning.

“We’re excited to partner with Jake and Nakisa [Bidarian], proven game-changers and promotional geniuses, in taking Dog Haus to an unprecedented level.”

Paul has faced intense criticism for fighting Tyson due to the 31-YEAR age difference between them.

Many believe Tyson, 58, only has a short window in the eight-round affair to pull off a shock upset.

But Paul has warned the fan favourite about being overly aggressive in the early goings of the Dallas dust-up.

He told The Daily Mail: “I mean, it’s just being alert and knowing what to do in that situation.

“I could definitely see him trying to [go for an early KO], but he’ll find out very quickly that I also have a ton of power.

“So doing that with a guy like me isn’t always the smartest thing to do, because I’ll catch one of his shots then counter.”