Giants Win World Series, Maddon To Coach Cubs, Kobe Takes Lakers Under Wing
BASEBALL
The main story  — Game 7 of the World Series.  162 games of the regular season and a grueling post-season comes down to just one game. Anything can happen in one game. Baseball, probably better than any sport, can create dramatic situations, as every pitch is extremely important. Plus, in Game 7, teams can unleash all of their star pitchers if necessary. There is no reason to rest them… they have all winter to rest.
It all came down to Thursday night. Would the Kansas City Royals, who haven’t even been to the playoffs since 1985 pull it out, or would the San Francisco Giants win their 3rd World Series in 5 years. The Giants got the early edge, but the Royals came back to tie. Then, in the 4th inning, the Giants got a one-run lead, and that’s when the Giants manager decided to put his ace Madison Bumgarner back in on only 2 days rest. Bumgarner wanted the ball, and he got it. And, of course, Bumgarner was practically unstoppable. He was perfect this post-season, and already 2-0 in the World Series. With 2 outs in the 9th, Bumgarner actually gave up a triple, but he was able to close out the game and cement the San Francisco Giants dynasty.  What a post-season for the underdog Royals, but a big congratulations to the Giants!  San Francisco 3, Kansas City 2.
Elsewhere in baseball, the best manager in the game, Joe Maddon, decided last week that he would opt out of his contract with the Tampa Bay Rays.  And now it looks like the Chicago Cubs have secured his services.  It’s possible that Maddon can actually turn the Cubs’ franchise around.
BASKETBALL
In the NBA, nobody expected much from the Lakers this season, but Kobe Bryant was still looking forward to taking this young team under his wing.  He was hoping his leadership skills could really help the team. One of the key components of that goal was their top rookie, Julius Randle from Kentucky. Sadly, in just the first game of the season, Randle broke his leg on a non-contact play and will likely miss the remainder of the season. Hopefully this doesn’t derail his career too much, and he will be ok when the Lakers get him back next year. He will also only be 20 years old.
