The Michigan Wolverines are finally national champions once more in men’s basketball, taking down the UConn Huskies, 69-63, to finish a thrilling NCAA Tournament in style at Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday night.

This is the first time Michigan has won since 1989, and just the second time in program history they’ve called themselves champions.

Meanwhile, the Huskies were looking to win their third title in the last four tournaments, but their shooting failed them in the end.  

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

While both team’s offenses came into this game working like a machine, it was a low-scoring affair to kick off this game. Michigan only owned a 33-29 first-half lead by the buzzer, but it wasn’t Yaxel Lendeborg leading the way in the points department for the Wolverines.

The Michigan star, who is playing on a sprained left MCL and left ankle, which came during the win over Arizona in the Final Four, was just 1-of-5 shooting for four points in the first half. It was Morez Johnson Jr. (10 points) and Elliot Cadeau (seven points) finding some rhythm for the Wolverines.

UCONN’S DAN HURLEY HEARS BOOS AFTER FINAL FOUR WIN OVER ILLINOIS

But it didn’t help that Michigan was scoreless from beyond the arc and shooting just 37% from the field. Meanwhile, UConn wasn’t doing themselves any favors either.

The Huskies shot just 33% in the first half, with Alex Karaban hitting two of his five three-point attempts. Solo Ball, who was spotted in a walking boot entering the game with “some type of foot sprain,” according to head coach Dan Hurley, had eight points on 3-of-4 from the field.

While they were down, UConn was certainly playing the type of game they wanted against Michigan – a rugged battle, especially on the glass. Michigan has shown its prowess of taking momentum and sprinting with it offensively, dominating opponents all year long, including this NCAA Tournament.

However, the Huskies know their scratching and clawing abilities for 40 minutes allows them to never let an opponent feel comfortable. Just ask the Duke Blue Devils what happened in the Final Four.

The Huskies had that same demeanor in the second half, though it didn’t help they took a page out of the Wolverines’ first-half playbook – they couldn’t find the stroke from range. UConn was desperate to hit a three-pointer, but despite open looks, they couldn’t get one to fall as the Michigan lead eventually got to 11 points after Cadeau finally broke the seal for his squad on the opposite end, burying a three-pointer to get to a double-digit lead.

But Hurley was firing up the crowd as the Huskies never quit, cutting the lead to five with less than nine minutes to play in the game. Lendeborg, though, after shaking his head on the bench as he wasn’t having the game he hoped in the national championship, stepped up when he checked back in.

Lendeborg saw a sweet pass from Cadeau in transition and got the lead back to 11 with a tough layup, making it 56-45 with less than six minutes to play. He would also come in clutch with another two points following a Braylon Mullins three-pointer.

Once again, the Huskies wouldn’t quit, as Mullins finally found his shot beyond the arc, knocking that Michigan lead back to single digits with a follow-up three-pointer again to Lendeborg’s layups. But, just as gritty as the Huskies played, the Wolverines seemed to always have the answer in this hard-fought contest.

A key example of that was, after Karaban buried a three-pointer to cut the Michigan lead to six, Trey McKenney stepped back and drilled a 26-footer with 1:49 left in the game to get the lead back to nine points. The Wolverines faithful in the crowd went ballistic, knowing how much that basket meant considering what UConn has been able to do in this tournament.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

With 37 seconds left in the game, Ball got some help from the backboard, making a three-pointer to cut the lead to 67-63 for the Wolverines. Roddy Gayle Jr. made things more interesting in this game, as he couldn’t knock down his two free throw attempts for Michigan. But Karaban didn’t have another clutch three-pointer in him, coming up short with 13 seconds left.

That was it for UConn’s desperation attempt, and Michigan celebrated their win.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

The UNC Tar Heels are dipping into the NBA pool for its next men’s basketball coach.

After Hubert Davis was fired following a shocking loss to VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament earlier this month, the Tar Heels are set to hire Michael Malone, according to ESPN.

North Carolina was previously linked to top college coaches, including Michigan’s Dusty May, who will be competing for an NCAA title on Monday night against UConn. But May took his name out of any running across college, while Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd and Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger were also rumored to be in the Tar Heels’ favor.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

But Malone, who the past 10 seasons leading the Denver Nuggets, is the man they’re settling on to lead the Tar Heels back to greatness.

Malone is the winningest coach in Nuggets history, tallying 471 career wins across his career there, while also winning an NBA title in 2023.

VCU COACH PRAISES STUDENT JOURNALISTS AFTER HISTORIC MARCH MADNESS COMEBACK: ‘BEST IN THE COUNTRY’

However, Malone, despite what he means to the franchise record books, was fired by the Nuggets in April 2025. He quickly entered the sports media space, joining ESPN in May 2025, but he’s back in the saddle now in a whole new collegiate world compared to the pros.

Perhaps North Carolina wouldn’t have been searching for another head coach if Davis and the Tar Heels didn’t collapse against No. 10 VCU in the first round, as the Rams mounted the biggest first-round comeback in tournament history to ultimately defeat No. 6 UNC in overtime, 82-78.

“We appreciate all that Hubert has done for Carolina as a player, assistant coach, head coach and community leader – he has helped make special memories we will never forget,” athletic director Bubba Cunningham said in a statement. “This was not an easy decision because of Hubert’s tremendous character and all he has given to the program, but we must move forward in a way that allows our team to compete more consistently at an elite level.”

Davis, who made four NCAA Tournaments, including the last three seasons, over his five campaigns with the Tar Heels, released his own statement on the matter. 

“Tonight, I was let go by the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill,” he wrote. “My desire was to continue to coach here. This opportunity has truly been such a blessing. I thank Jesus literally every day for giving me the opportunity, relationships and experiences with the kids and my staff. I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish together.”

BILL SELF ANNOUNCES RETURN TO KANSAS SIDELINE, SET FOR 24TH SEASON DESPITE HEALTH ISSUES

Davis added that he hopes to be coaching “in the very near future.”

Davis, who played for UNC from 1988-92 before being a first-round pick by the New York Knicks in 1992, left the program with about $5.3 million still guaranteed from his contract, per ESPN.

Davis went 125-54 during his 179-game tenure with his alma mater, which included a first-year Final Four appearance during the 2021-22 campaign. The Tar Heels reached the national championship game, falling to the Kansas Jayhawks, who also overcame a double-digit deficit to be crowned champions.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

 After missing March Madness in 2023, the Tar Heels earned themselves a No. 1 seed in 2024, but they were taken down by No. 4 Alabama in the Sweet 16, cutting their national title hopes short. Still, Davis earned himself the ACC Coach of the Year Award that year. 

The Tar Heels want to get back to the Roy Williams days, as the legendary UNC head coach led his squad to six NCAA titles during his tenure, the most recent coming in 2017.

The most exciting week on the golf calendar is here, and new bettors can make use of theScore Bet bonus code NPNEWS to access a welcome offer from the sportsbook.

Upon signing up, new users can enter theScore Bet bonus code NPNEWS to unlock a Bet reset up to $1,000 for the Masters.

Scottie Scheffler is the favorite to win his third Green Jacket, but there are some question marks around the World No. 1 as we head to Augusta.

theScore Bet bonus code NPNEWS for the Masters

Whether it be the Masters, MLB games, the NHL, or the NBA playoff push, enter theScore Bet bonus code NPNEWS at sign-up to receive the bet reset up to $1,000 promotion.

Once the initial wager is placed on a qualifying market, first-time users can have their wager reimbursed up to $1,000 if it loses. That bet can be placed on the Mets vs. Cardinals or any other sporting event on this week’s slate.

New users must reside in either Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia to be eligible for this bet reset offer.

How to sign up for theScore Bet

1. Click this link.
2. Set up an account.
3. Verify your personal information.
4. Apply theScore Bet bonus code NPNEWS.
5. Place a $10 wager on an eligible market.

What our Post expert thinks about the Masters

The past four winners at Augusta have come from the top of the betting board. Last year’s champion, Rory McIlroy, teed off as a +650 second-favorite. The previous iteration saw Scheffler win as a 5/1 favorite. Jon Rahm took home the title at 10/1 in 2023, and Scheffler captured his first Green Jacket as the third choice in 2022.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a surprising winner, but Augusta has produced plenty in the past.

Trevor Immelman, Angel Cabrera, Zach Johnson, and Charl Schwartzel all won as triple-digit long shots between 2007 and 2011, and Danny Willett came from nowhere when he took home the trophy in 2016.

---

Why Trust New York Post Betting

Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says its agents in Canada don’t carry firearms, following questions about a potential ICE presence at upcoming FIFA World Cup games.

An ICE spokesperson says personnel from ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations branch work with Canadian partners on joint investigations involving narcotics, weapons smuggling and human trafficking.

Get breaking National news

Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.

The spokesperson says those agents don’t conduct operational activities in Canada, such as executing search warrants or making arrests.

ICE currently has five offices in Canada, including offices in Toronto and Vancouver, cities which will host World Cup games this summer.

More on Canada
More videos

Toronto city council last month passed a motion brought forward by Mayor Olivia Chow opposing the presence of any ICE agents at upcoming games taking place in the city.

A spokesperson for federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said last week ICE has no authority or jurisdiction on Canadian soil.

New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence reportedly requested a trade from the team and has made clear to the organization he will not be at the team’s offseason workouts.

Lawrence has been trying to “negotiate a contract reflecting his value to the Giants” the last two years but talks have remained stagnant, ESPN reported on Monday. Discussions about a new deal reportedly haven’t moved forward even with John Harbaugh coming in as head coach.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

The burly 340-pound defensive lineman is a three-time Pro Bowler and has been with the Giants through some rough seasons. Despite that, he’s been one of their better defensive players since the team selected him in the first round of the 2019 draft out of Clemson.

Lawrence has 30.5 sacks, 15 pass break-ups and 341 tackles in 109 career games with New York.

NEW YORK JETS OWN THE LONGEST PLAYOFF DROUGHT IN MAJOR NORTH AMERICAN PRO SPORTS AFTER THE SABRES CLINCHED

Last season, Lawrence played in all 17 games for the first time in his career. He had an interception to go along with 31 tackles and a half-sack.

The 28-year-old player signed a four-year contract extension with the Giants in 2023, reportedly worth $87.5 million. He has two years left on his current deal. He would be paid $18.5 million in 2026 and $15.5 million if a new deal isn’t negotiated.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

It’s unclear what team would be interested in trading for Lawrence. But with the NFL Draft around the corner, New York would likely expect at least two picks from any team trading for Lawrence.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

On the eighth anniversary of the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash, the junior hockey team’s home city says work continues on a proper memorial.

A rookie driver of a semi-truck went through a stop sign at an intersection in rural Saskatchewan and into the path of the team’s bus on April 6, 2018.

Sixteen people died and 13 more were injured, sparking an outpouring of grief and tributes from around the world.

The Humboldt Broncos Memorial Committee says asphalt work for a parking lot and pathways at the site of the crash, near the town of Tisdale, is scheduled for this year.

It says the next phase of the memorial project will focus on building a monument to honour the lives lost.

The City of Humboldt says it’s also continuing work with a second committee on a future recreation centre to honour the team.

Story continues below advertisement

“Eight years later, we continue to carry the memory of the 2017-18 Humboldt Broncos with us in everything we do,” Humboldt Mayor Rob Muench said in a news release Monday.

Get daily National news

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.

“These projects are about more than remembrance; they are about creating spaces where families, residents and visitors can reflect, heal and feel connected.”

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League said it sends its deepest thoughts and prayers to the victims’ families and friends.

“Today and every day, the victims and survivors of that awful event are in the hearts of all of us,” it said in a statement.

5:17
Humboldt Broncos survivor Ryan Straschnitzki, 8 years later

TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors signed guard Tyreke Key to a 10-day contract Monday.

The six-foot-two, 207-pound Key averaged 14.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 24.5 minutes in 47 games (16 starts) with Raptors 905 this season.

Related Videos

1:08
Toronto Raptors hold annual March break fan day at Scotiabank Arena

Previous Video

Next Video

He scored in double figures in 33 games, including 20 or more points 13 times.

Story continues below advertisement

Key, of Celina, Tenn., joined the 905 before the start of the 2024-25 season following one year in Belgium (2023-24).

Get daily National news

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.

He played collegiately at Indiana State (2017-21) before transferring to Tennessee as a fifth-year senior (2022-23).

More on Sports
More videos

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2026.

The advent of mobile ticketing has largely forced the paper ticket to go the way of landline phones, dial-up internet and other commonly used products that technology has phased out.

One lifelong Los Angeles Dodgers fan is hoping the team can at least hear him out on being able to continue to print his tickets.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Errol Segal, 81, told NBC Los Angeles on Friday the Dodgers told him he won’t be able to buy paper tickets for the entire season. He was able to buy some paper tickets on Thursday.

Segal told the station he doesn’t know how to use a computer and only uses a flip phone.

He told the station it wouldn’t have been a major deal if he was a season-ticket holder for only a few years, but he said, he’s been one for the last five decades.

SEN ERIC SCHMITT PUSHES FOR LEGISLATION TO TACKLE RISING SPORTS TICKET COSTS

“If I had the tickets one year, five years, 10 years, that’s another story,” he told the station. “Fifty years I’ve had these tickets. They threw me under the bus.”

Segal said the team offered to buy his tickets back, but he didn’t want to hear it.

Segal told the station he hopes the Dodgers would reconsider their stance. Fox News Digital reached out to the Dodgers for comment.

The team has a frequently asked questions sheet listed on its team website, showing fans how they would be able to access their Dodgers tickets through the MLB Ballpark app. One of the questions listed asks, “Can I still print my Dodgers tickets at home?”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“No, to improve security and reduce the risk of ticket fraud, print-at-home tickets in any form are no longer accepted for entry at Dodger Stadium,” the response said.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Pro wrestling star Trevor Lee signed a deal with Major League Wrestling (MLW) and will continue performing with the company as the Southern Crown champion.

Lee, who wrestled in WWE as Cameron Grimes, returned to MLW for sporadic appearances after he was released. He faced off against Mistico at MLW Eric Bischoff’s One Shot, appeared at Battle Riot VIII in January and a handful of Fusion tapings.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

He won the MLW Southern Crown Championship in a Bunkhouse Stampede match against Andrew Everett, Beastman, Diego Hill, Festus, Ikuro Kwon, Jesus Rodriguez, Josh Bishop, Matthew Justice and Paul Walter Hauser.

“I’m just excited to be able to really kind of do anything,” Lee told Fox News Digital. “You know, these past couple of years, I’ve been kind of waiting on a good opportunity and I feel like MLW is kind of presenting that opportunity. I really liked the ability to be able to work with CMLL (Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre), to be able to work with New Japan.

“So, it’s really cool to see what’s going to come out of this.”

Lee is among former WWE wrestlers who have joined MLW over the last few years. Matt Riddle, Killer Kross, Scarlett Bordeaux, Shotzi Blackheart, Donovan Dijak, Bishop Dyer, Austin Aries, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Priscilla Kelly and several others have all competed in WWE at one point or another.

PRO WRESTLING STARS KILLER KROSS, SCARLETT BORDEAUX TALK ‘VERY SIMPLE DECISION’ TO WORK IN MLW AGAIN

It also helps that MLW founder Court Bauer has a WWE background as well.

“I think what really entices me to want to work with MLW is that they do have a great production,” Lee explained. “When you watch the product, it looks good. The crowds are big, the crowds are loud. That’s really kind of all you’re asking for, especially when you kind of take a step down.

“MLW isn’t WWE, but they’re not an indie either. They’re right there. So, it’s nice to be able to be at a place that can represent you well, show you well, and also give you a good batch of talent to work with as well with so many different companies that can come through there.”

Lee, 32, said he wanted to keep showing the pro wrestling world that he can still perform at a high level.

“I just want to be able to show that I’m more than just like a comedy promo act. I can have these elite tier matches and that’s really what my goal is with MLW – to see how far we can go,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

He said he hoped to be able to square up with Aries, Riddle, Dijak as well as CMLL and New Japan competitors.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Five months later, the disbelief still remains.

Of the Dodgers’ World Series triumph. Of the storybook way it unfolded. Of how close they were to defeat, only to rally for a championship.

In Los Angeles, that iconic Game 7 is now the stuff of legend.

In Toronto, it’s a haunting nightmare for the Blue Jays, who welcome the Dodgers back to Canada for a World Series rematch this week.

For everyone involved, the details are still fresh. Even with the start of a new season, the emotions continue to resonate.

“You got taken to the brink, and you found a way to overcome it,” veteran third baseman Max Muncy said. “For me, that might be something that I look at more than anything else. That we got truly tested … (and) came through in the moments when it mattered.”

All of which, entering Monday’s series-opener at Rogers Centre, raised a lingering question.

Was there ever a moment during Game 7 that the Dodgers started to doubt? Where they took a moment amid the mayhem, considered the dire circumstances they were facing, and thought: Man, we’re really gonna lose this game.

Last week, The California Post posed Dodgers’ players that exact query. Most, of course, said no. Some, perhaps more honestly, acknowledged yes. But all of them continued to be amazed at the scale of their accomplishment –– staring down near certain defeat, and responding with one of baseball’s most memorable victories.

The optimists

Of the 16 players from last year’s World Series team that The California Post polled, the majority (11 of them, to be exact) insisted they never had such apprehension.

For some, it was simple confidence in their battle-tested squad.

“I don’t know if that’s just the experience that we’ve had, or the atmospheres we’d already played in,” Muncy said. “But that was a feeling that was resonating through the dugout. It was, ‘We have our work cut out for us. But we can still get this thing done.’”

“Our dugout was so calm,” Teoscar Hernández added, “it felt like we would for sure come back and at least tie the game.”

Others were too focused pitch-to-pitch to let their mind wander.

“I think playing the game, you’re just so locked in that every bit of your attention is focused on, ‘OK, how are we gonna come back and win?’” Tommy Edman said.

Kiké Hernández felt similarly, especially while fighting through an elbow injury that later required surgery: “To be honest, I was trying to be in the moment because I was in so much pain. I was just trying to survive.”

That didn’t mean the optimists weren’t worried, especially after Bo Bichette’s stadium-rocking blast in the bottom of the third inning gave the Blue Jays an early three-run lead.

Said Muncy: “When Bichette hit the three-run homer and the roof blew off the place, you’re kinda sitting there going, ‘This one’s gonna be tough.’” 

Kiké Hernández: “I was like, ‘F—, we’re down 3-0. It’s gonna be an uphill battle.’”

Tyler Glasnow: “I didn’t think we were gonna lose. But I was like, ‘Ugh.’ I just kind of had a weird feeling in my stomach.”

Yet, throughout the rest of the night, hope was alive and well as the Dodgers embarked on their comeback.

“I didn’t really know how we were gonna do it,” Justin Wrobleski said. “But, I don’t know, I had a feeling.”

So did Blake Snell, who put things more declaratively looking back: “I thought we were gonna win the whole time.”

The realists

On the flip side, the five players who did acknowledge moments of doubt noted they never resigned themselves to certain defeat.

It’s just, in a game that contained so many gut punches and plot twists, it was only natural for some dark thoughts to creep in.

“I think everybody in the world thought that (we were gonna lose), so I’d be lying if I didn’t,” Mookie Betts said. “I mean, obviously, you don’t wanna have those bad thoughts. But I mean, who doesn’t have that thought in that situation?”

“I can’t really lie, saying that I wasn’t worried,” Rojas echoed. “Being down 3-0 in a World Series game, where you know it’s all hands on deck from their bullpen … you’re kind of wondering, like, ‘Hey, is this gonna be it?’”

For Rojas, the concern dissipated quickly, with the run the Dodgers got back in the fourth inning helping to immediately restore belief.

“It makes you believe again, like, ‘OK, we’re not out,’” he said.

For others, however, dread remained straight through to the top ninth inning, when the team was down to its last two outs and the veteran infielder stepped up to the plate.

“When you get one out (that inning), you’re like, ‘Aw, darn,’” Freddie Freeman said. “That’s probably the only time that thought crossed my mind.”

“It was scary, like, ‘We’re gonna come all this way, and we’re not gonna make it?’” Alex Call recalled. “That was probably the most real (the thought of losing the game) felt, when (Rojas) was up at the plate.”

The comeback

The Dodgers had been chipping away at their deficit before then, clawing back within one on Muncy’s homer in the eighth.

And all along, in quiet scenes outside the foul lines, there were other ways players were trying to keep the faith strong.

In the bullpen, Will Klein opted for a superstitious routine.

“I was trying to find a position (to stand) where good things would happen,” he said. “I would go downstairs, we’d get a hit, I’d stay downstairs –– until something bad happened.”

One of his other relief-mates sought comfort from above.

“I’m sitting in the bullpen, I’m just praying,” Blake Treinen said. “And God keeps tapping me, like, ‘Hey, why are you worrying? You’ve prayed for a ring. You’ve prayed for this and that. If it’s gonna be, it’s gonna be. Worrying isn’t gonna add another day to your life.’ It’s like, ‘Alright God.’ And then every time something like that would happen, boom … all these things (good) happened.”

Manager Dave Roberts, who broke down Game 7 on The Dodgers Post podcast last month, felt it in the dugout, noting the confident and supportive chatter he heard throughout the night.

“I look back to 2017 (in the Dodgers’ previous World Series Game 7 against the Astros), we gave up three runs early — and we just kind of mailed it in,” he recalled. “Whereas this game right here, even when we were down 3–0 in the third, there was fight.”

And in the end, it all culminated with Rojas’ game-tying home run; a moment to which everyone offered common sentiments this week.

“We were sooo close,” Call said. “And then it’s like, ‘No! We did it!’”

“After Miggy hit that homer, I was like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna win,’” Glasnow added.

“At that point,” Mookie Betts also noted, “it kind of felt like we were playing with house money.”

Jack Dreyer remembered being next to Clayton Kershaw as they were getting loose in the bullpen. The future Hall of Famer’s reaction: “He was in my ear going, ‘Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!’ over and over again,” Dreyer said with a laugh.

Roberts, meanwhile, couldn’t help but smile while rewatching Rojas’ swing recently –– at which point, the Dodgers’ win probability was only 9%.

“It was not on my bingo card,” he joked of Rojas going deep. “That was unbelievable … I just didn’t expect that.”

The championship

There was more stress the rest of the way … as Call so eloquently recounted in his interview with The Post.

Rojas’ stumbling throw home in the top of the ninth: “Oh my gosh, get up! Throw the ball home! This is it.”

The ensuing review to check if Will Smith’s foot stayed on home plate: “It was like, ‘Is his foot on the base? Are we gonna lose on a replay?’”

Ernie Clement’s fly ball that sent Andy Pages and Kiké Hernández colliding into each other in left field: “I’m like, this is it. We’re gonna lose right here.”

Every time, however, the Dodgers escaped –– dodging one bullet after another before finally prevailing in the 11th on Smith’s go-ahead homer and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s game-ending double-play.

“There were so many different times we could’ve lost,” Freeman said. “And it was just like, ‘Wow, we got out of that one. We got out of this one.’ … I’m sure if we sat down, you’d probably count on multiple hands, ‘How did we get out of that?’”

The answer, Dodgers players concurred, was rooted in a culture they’d forged over years of formative playoff experience, plenty full of both heartbreak and elation.

“Even when we don’t play well, we figure out ways to win a game,” Kiké Hernández said. “It speaks volumes about who we are as a group, and our ability to not only be really good, but know how to win.”

As Wrobleski, one of the youngest members of the club, put it: “No matter what the situation is, let the situation make you better, and just heighten that focus.”

To Rojas, who was the oldest member of the team’s position player group, such resiliency only added to the feeling of accomplishment.

“I’m proud of the way we kept our composure and fought through that,” he said. “That’s something that you will never forget.”

All those memories, of course, will come flooding back this week when the Dodgers return to Rogers Centre.

Rojas joked that he was looking forward to being booed, something he’s never experienced before in his career: “I really want to step in that batter’s box again and see how it’s gonna be.”

Roberts was anticipating a hostile reaction for the whole team: “I think the fans there want a piece of us. I think it’s gonna be exciting.”

After all, as Treinen pointed out, “You could play that series the exact same way –– every situation lines back up again, before those big plays happen –– you do it 99 more times, and I bet you could almost say we’d lose 99 more of them.”

But hen it mattered, the Dodgers found a way to conjure one-in-a-hundred (Or thousand? Or million?) World Series magic, in a game forever etched into baseball history.

Said Freeman, with a laugh: “I still don’t know how we pulled that off.”