He confirmed he plans to use the same song at Dodger Stadium:
“It would be fun. I think that music will get into the fans right away. That’s a nice walk-up song, so I can’t wait to, first game of the season, come in the ninth with Timmy Trumpet and get the W for the Dodgers.”
In case you need a refresher on the kind of spectacle we’re talking about:
It’s not a surprise Díaz would continue using that music, but it’s yet another twist of the knife for a Mets fanbase that largely hasn’t enjoyed the offseason so far. The team did sign former New York Yankees reliever Devin Williams as their new closer, but Díaz was a popular player and, by most measures, the best reliever in baseball in 2025.
So expect quite a few Mets fans to look away the first time Dave Roberts calls for Díaz in the ninth inning.
Edwin Díaz is the Dodgers’ new closer. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
During his Dodgers introduction, Díaz also confirmed he would be switching from No. 39 to No. 3 with the Dodgers, as 39 is a retired number for the Dodgers in honor of Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella. He said he chose No. 3 because of his three children. He also said his brother Alexis, who played for the Dodgers last year, gave a strong endorsement for the Dodgers’ culture.
The Dodgers signed Díaz after a nearly disastrous year for their bullpen, with some of their top arms faltering again and again in big spots. The club invested $111 million in contracts for Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates last winter and none of them were reliable options in the playoffs, if they were pitching at all. Díaz figures to be a much more straightforward choice in the ninth inning for 2026.
He confirmed he plans to use the same song at Dodger Stadium:
“It would be fun. I think that music will get into the fans right away. That’s a nice walk-up song, so I can’t wait to, first game of the season, come in the ninth with Timmy Trumpet and get the W for the Dodgers.”
In case you need a refresher on the kind of spectacle we’re talking about:
It’s not a surprise Díaz would continue using that music, but it’s yet another twist of the knife for a Mets fanbase that largely hasn’t enjoyed the offseason so far. The team did sign former New York Yankees reliever Devin Williams as their new closer, but Díaz was a popular player and, by most measures, the best reliever in baseball in 2025.
So expect quite a few Mets fans to look away the first time Dave Roberts calls for Díaz in the ninth inning.
Edwin Díaz is the Dodgers’ new closer. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
During his Dodgers introduction, Díaz also confirmed he would be switching from No. 39 to No. 3 with the Dodgers, as 39 is a retired number for the Dodgers in honor of Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella. He said he chose No. 3 because of his three children. He also said his brother Alexis, who played for the Dodgers last year, gave a strong endorsement for the Dodgers’ culture.
The Dodgers signed Díaz after a nearly disastrous year for their bullpen, with some of their top arms faltering again and again in big spots. The club invested $111 million in contracts for Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates last winter and none of them were reliable options in the playoffs, if they were pitching at all. Díaz figures to be a much more straightforward choice in the ninth inning for 2026.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, left, and general manager Brandon Gomes, right, pose with star closer Edwin Díaz at an introductory news conference at Dodger Stadium on Friday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
At the start of the winter, the assumption was that top free-agent closer Edwin Díaz would fall out of the Dodgers’ preferred price range.
Knowing they needed bullpen help, however, the Dodgers decided to reach out with interest anyway.
What followed will go down as one of the most surprising outcomes of this MLB offseason. And, for the Dodgers, their latest in a string of big-name, star-player acquisitions.
Even though the Dodgers initially had doubts about their chances of landing Díaz — especially on the kind of relatively shorter-term deal they were seeking in their hunt for relief help — circumstances changed, Díaz’s market evolved, and they went from dark horse to front-runner.
On Friday, it all culminated in a Dodger Stadium news conference, the once-unexpected union between the two-time defending champions and three-time All-Star right-hander being made official as Díaz’s three-year, $69-million contract was finalized.
“It wasn’t easy,” Díaz said of his free agent process, which ended with him leaving the New York Mets after a decorated seven-year stint. “I spent seven years in New York. They treated me really good. They treated me great. But I chose the Dodgers because they are a winning organization. I’m looking to win, and I think they have everything to win. So picking the Dodgers was pretty easy.”
That didn’t mean it came as any less of a surprise.
Early on this winter, the Dodgers signaled a hesitancy to hand out another long-term contract to a reliever, after watching Tanner Scott struggle in the first season of the four-year, $72-million deal he signed last winter.
And though they gradually grew more open to the idea, giving serious consideration to Devin Williams before he signed a three-year, $51-million deal with the Mets two weeks ago, the thought of landing Díaz seemed far-fetched.
After all, the 31-year-old was widely expected to receive a four- or five-year deal, having already opted out of the remaining two seasons on his record-breaking five-year, $102-million contract with the Mets to become a free agent this winter. Also, since he had turned down a qualifying offer from the Mets at the start of the offseason, the Dodgers knew they’d lose two draft picks (their second- and fifth-highest selections) to sign him.
“We checked in from the get-go,” general manager Brandon Gomes said. But, he acknowledged, “the opportunity to add somebody of this caliber to what’s already a really talented bullpen was something that we weren’t sure was going to be able to actually come to fruition.”
Turned out, a few factors were working in the Dodgers’ favor.
First, the Mets weren’t willing to give Díaz a longer-term deal, either. Instead, in the wake of the Williams signing, they were reportedly offering only three years for a similar salary as the Dodgers. Not coincidentally, it was only entering last week’s winter meetings — mere days after Williams’ Dec. 3 agreement with the Mets — that Gomes said talks started to intensify.
“Having those conversations and making sure you’re in there and [letting him know], ‘Hey, we’re really valuing you, and if things make sense on your end, great, we’re here’ — that was the biggest thing,” Gomes said. “Making sure you’re exploring all avenues, because you don’t know how things are gonna play out.”
Another benefit for the Dodgers: They had advocates close to Díaz vouching for the organization.
The Dodgers’ new star closer, Edwin Díaz, speaks at his introductory news conference on Friday at Dodger Stadium. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Díaz said he received rave reviews about the club from both his brother Alexis (who spent most of last year with the Dodgers, after they acquired him from Cincinnati following an early-season demotion to the minors) and his Team Puerto Rico teammate Kiké Hernández (a longtime Dodgers fan favorite who is currently a free agent).
“They treat every single player the same,” Díaz said of the message he received. “That’s really nice, [especially] knowing they have a lot of great players, future Hall of Fame players. … That’s really good. That’s how a winning clubhouse is.”
Ultimately, it all led up to a rather swift signing process on Tuesday morning, one in which the Dodgers gave Díaz the highest average annual salary for a reliever in MLB history ($23 million per year) but kept the terms to three years and were able to defer more than $13 million of the total guarantee.
“I think once Devin came off the board, it was like, ‘OK, let’s continue to explore the different options,’” Gomes said. “Obviously having no idea what conversations had gone on up to that point between Edwin and other clubs, it was more about: ‘Hey, we’re here if there’s something that makes sense. And we would love to have you join our group.’ And fortunately enough, everybody’s interests were aligned on that.”
“That’s why you shouldn’t play the game of assumptions, and just do the due diligence on the front end,” Gomes added. “Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t. But having those conversations and making sure you’re doing the work that’s needed to really understand the situation is important, especially when you see situations like this play out.”
Now, the Dodgers will put their faith in Díaz to play a leading role in their quest for a World Series three-peat.
He will be the club’s designated closer — a role they have been hesitant to bestow upon any one reliever since the departure of Kenley Jansen (the only MLB reliever with more saves than Díaz since his debut in 2016).
“For us, we have a high bar. To name someone the closer, you have to be one of the best. You have to be elite and dominant at what you do,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.
The team’s expectation is that his presence will elevate the rest of the bullpen, too, giving a more defined late-game structure to a relief corps that ranks just 21st in the majors in ERA last season.
“It allows Doc and our coaching staff to kind of put guys into spots leading up to that,” Gomes said, “knowing that it doesn’t really matter who’s in the ninth, that we’re gonna like the matchup.”
Perhaps the biggest news from Friday’s introduction: Díaz still plans to enter games to his iconic walk-out song, “Narco” by Timmy Trumpet — which Gomes described as “probably the most electric walkout song in the game.”
“I can’t wait, the first game of the season, coming in the ninth with Timmy Trumpets and getting the W for the Dodgers,” Díaz said.
A few weeks ago, that scene felt like an unlikely vision.
But now, anytime the sounds of trumpets echo around Chavez Ravine in the summers to come, they will serve as a reminder of the team’s latest free-agent coup; one more unexpected than almost all the rest.
Lakers guard Gabe Vincent says the team’s defensive woes are a matter of “urgency” and doing “all the little things” necessary to be successful. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The film tells the truth. The Lakers are not a good defensive team, evidenced by the sight of the NBA’s top guards blowing past Lakers defenders into the paint during a 10-game defensive swoon that ranks among the league’s worst.
Yet when coach JJ Redick shows his team the tape and then backs it up with the numbers, there’s still cautious optimism that the Lakers can improve.
“I don’t think there’s anybody in that meeting room that thinks we’re a good defensive team right now,” Redick said, “but I also don’t think there’s anybody in that meeting room who thinks we can’t be a good defensive team. We’ve got to get better.”
In the 10 games since LeBron James returned to the lineup, the Lakers have scored 121.1 points per 100 possessions, a significant increase in their offensive rating of 115.4 during the first 14 games of the season. While their offensive rating ranks fifth in the league during the last 10 games, their 120.9 defensive rating ranks 28th. It’s a dramatic increase from their previous 113.7-point defensive rating.
The most glaring issues are the team’s defense in transition and early in the opponent’s offense, Redick said. The Lakers give up 1.19 points per possession in transition, fifth-worst in the league.
Sunday’s game in Phoenix against the Suns, who scored 28 fast-break points against the Lakers on Dec. 1, will be a significant test as the Lakers (17-7) try to avoid their first losing streak this season.
Led by Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves (who is out for at least a week with a left calf strain) and the 40-year-old James, the Lakers are not destined to be a fast team on either side of the court. They were outmatched against San Antonio’s dynamic backcourt led by the speedy De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, who combined for 50 points Wednesday as the Spurs scored 27 fast-break points and knocked the Lakers out of NBA Cup contention.
Losses like that exposed the Lakers’ lack of speed on the perimeter, but the team also has shown flashes of excellence against the best guards. The Lakers held 76ers star Tyrese Maxey to five points on two-for-six shooting in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ four-point win at Philadelphia on Dec. 7.
“It’s less of scheme stuff. A little more of urgency,” guard Gabe Vincent said. “A little more of doing all the little things. If you don’t do them, like I said, there are some great players in this league that will expose you.”
One of the team’s top defensive options is on the bench. Forward Jarred Vanderbilt has played only three minutes in the last 10 games. He entered the game against Philadelphia only after Jake LaRavia took a shot to the face that loosened a tooth.
Vanderbilt, an athletic forward, has been a consistent force on defense during his career but struggles to contribute on offense. While he impressed coaches with how hard he worked in the offseason to improve his shooting and ballhandling, Vanderbilt made only four of 14 three-point shots in the first 14 games. He averaged 5.8 rebounds per game before James returned to the lineup Nov. 18, pushing Vanderbilt to the bench.
Before the Lakers’ last game against the Suns, Redick said part of it was a numbers game with James’ return and felt the team would settle on a nine-man rotation. Vanderbilt had tasks he “needed to be able to do consistently to play” even before James returned, Redick said.
Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, scoring against Lakers guard Luka Doncic, and teammates continually drove past their defenders during an NBA Cup game Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
But making changes at that time was difficult, the coach acknowledged. The Lakers were in the midst of a seven-game winning streak. But they’re 2-3 in the last five games, which have laid their defensive struggles bare, and coaches are “looking at everything.”
“If this continues,” Redick said Friday, “he’ll definitely get his opportunities.”
After practice Friday, Vanderbilt stayed on the court shooting extra three-pointers with staff members.
Meanwhile, Reaves will be re-evaluated in approximately one week, the Lakers said after practice.
The guard averaging 27.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists has led the Lakers in total minutes played this season as the team weathered stretches without stars LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Reaves responded with a career start. He is ninth in the NBA in scoring and could be on track to earn his first All-Star nod as he enters a critical contract decision this offseason.
Reaves will at least miss Sunday’s game against the Phoenix Suns, a road game at Utah on Dec. 18 and a game at the Clippers on Dec. 20. After another road game against the Suns on Dec. 23, the Lakers begin a stretch of five consecutive home games, starting with a marquee Christmas Day matchup against the Houston Rockets.
Etc.
The Lakers assigned guard Bronny James to the G League on Friday.
Some unexpected good news from the FDA: bemotrizinol, a sunscreen ingredient that has been used in Europe and Asia for decades, is finally being added to the allowable ingredients list for products sold in the U.S. Bemotrizinol is the active ingredient in sunscreens like Bioré Watery Essence, which has a cult following for being unlike anything we can get in the U.S.
I’ve tried Bioré UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence (that’s the full name of the product) in its original Japanese formulation. This sunscreen is a cult favorite on skincare and Asian beauty forums because of its non-greasy feel, and because it protects against both UVA and UVB rays without leaving a white cast. I got mine from a friend who had either picked it up while traveling or possibly ordered from overseas; you can’t buy it in U.S.-based stores.
I’ll explain why this is below, but first: it truly is nothing like anything we have locally. Even our most “non-greasy” sunscreens tend to feel a little goopy or sticky. This one really feels like nothing after you rub it in. I instantly understood why it’s so sought-after. Remembering that experience, I’m looking forward to what we might see in American sunscreens once manufacturers are allowed to include this ingredient.
What’s so special about bemotrizinol?
Bemotrizinol has a lot of things going for it. One is that it “plays well with other sunscreen ingredients,” as one dermatologist told Women’s Health. You can make lighter, nicer-feeling sunscreens with it, hence the popularity of the Bioré formulation I tried. To see what I mean, check out this video where a dermatologist shows off the differences between Bioré’s Japanese formulation and the version it sells in the U.S. The ingredients are different, and the texture just isn’t the same.
It’s also more effective at broad-spectrum protection. With our current sunscreen formulations, all active ingredients protect against UVB rays (the rays that cause sunburn) but only a few can also provide protection against UVA rays (which contribute to wrinkling and aging of skin). UVB is considered to be the bigger risk for skin cancer, but both probably contribute to cancer risk. Right now, most broad-spectrum U.S. sunscreens use mineral components like zinc oxide. Mineral sunscreens work pretty well, but can leave a white cast on your skin when applied as thickly as you’re supposed to.
Bemotrizinol is a chemical UV filter, so it doesn’t leave that white cast. But it protects well against UVA rays in addition to UVB, and it’s more photostable than a lot of our existing chemical sunscreen ingredients so it can last longer on the skin. In other words, it’s a chemical sunscreen, but combines some of the best features of both chemical and mineral sunscreens.
It’s also considered to be one of the safest sunscreens. All sunscreens on the market are much safer than going without sunscreen, but all of our chemical sunscreen ingredients are currently undergoing a safety evaluation because regulators determined they are probably fine but need more research to know for sure. Currently only our two mineral sunscreen ingredients (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) are considered GRAS, or generally recognized as safe and effective. Bemotrizinol will be the third.
If you’re looking at ingredient lists on Asian or European sunscreens, be aware that it goes by several names. Tinosorb S is bemotrizinol; so is bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine.
Why it’s taken so long
Ask anyone in the skincare world what they think about U.S. sunscreens, and for decades now you’d get complaints that we’re missing out on the best sunscreens that the rest of the world uses. (Our last new sunscreen ingredient was approved in 1996.) In most countries, sunscreens are regulated as cosmetics, but in the U.S. they are regulated as drugs. That means the U.S. requires more rigorous testing and approval.
The CARES act, passed in 2020 for pandemic relief, provided a way for over-the-counter drugs to be sold without going through the complete approval process, so long as the FDA was satisfied they were safe and effective. Bemotrizinol met the criteria, thanks in large part to the fact that it’s been used safely since 2000 in Europe, Asia, and Australia. The FDA’s rule on bemotrizinol still needs to be finalized, but it seems likely we’ll see new sunscreens on shelves before the end of 2026.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — All-Star third baseman Maikel Garcia and the Kansas City Royals have agreed to a five-year, $57.5 million contract that includes a club option for a sixth season, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Friday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract is pending a physical. Garcia was arbitration-eligible for the first time in 2026, so the deal essentially buys out his arbitration years and potentially his first two years of free agency.
The 25-year-old Garcia is coming off a breakout season both in the field, where he won his first Gold Glove playing alongside All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., and at the plate, where he hit .286 with a career-high 16 homers and 74 RBIs.
While the Royals have prioritized landing outfield help in the offseason — they agreed to a $5.25 million deal with Lane Thomas on Thursday — they also wanted to ensure they maintained their franchise cornerstones. That began with re-signing catcher Salvador Perez to a $25 million, two-year contract in November, and it continued by keeping Garcia through at least the 2030 season.
He also is capable of playing shortstop and second base, and Garcia even dabbled with playing in the outfield last season.
By keeping him in the fold, the Royals also solidified what has been one of the better infields in baseball. Witt is coming off a second consecutive All-Star appearance and Gold Glove, Perez is a nine-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove-winner, and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino just had the best season of his four-year big league career, hitting .264 with 32 homers and 113 RBIs.
It also follows a trend of the Royals keeping their own. Each of those four players was signed and developed by Kansas City.
The Royals failed to make the playoffs last season, but they did finish 82-80, the first time they have had consecutive winning years since going to back-to-back World Series in 2014 and ’15. And with a talented pitching staff set to return, and young position players on the upswing, there is optimism that Kansas City can get back to the postseason in 2026.
Once again, there is a new feature available on Google’s NotebookLM, the AI tool that functions like a personal assistant and only references material you provide for it. This one is a slide deck generator, which can be useful if you need to make a presentation in a hurry, but I’ve been using it a little differently to help myself retain new information.
Generating a slide deck in NotebookLM
First, you should know how to generate a deck. In case you’re unfamiliar with NotebookLM, it’s basically just like ChatGPT, but instead of pulling answers from the big, wide Internet, it only relies on PDFs, links, videos, and text you input as resources. This makes it the perfect tool for working on a specific project or studying for a class, since you don’t run the risk of inadvertently getting misled by some random, unrelated source.
You can use the chat bot feature the way you would ChatGPT, asking questions and getting summaries of your materials. You can also automatically generate flashcards, videos, infographics, mind maps, fake podcasts, and much more.
To generate slides, it’s the same process you’d follow to make those: In the left-side panel, select all of the sources you want the tool to pull from. In the right-side panel, select Slide Deck from the menu. After a few minutes, you’ll get slides you can download as a PDF, the same as you would if you were downloading a PowerPoint, and you can upload those to Google Slides or PowerPoint to create a simple presentation.
Why I like NotebookLM’s slide deck feature
I’ve mentioned before that while I love NotebookLM and use it every day for both work and personal pursuits, I can’t stand its app. It just doesn’t work nearly as well as the browser version, which is a shame because the browser version works so well. I pretty much ignore the app and don’t use NotebookLM on mobile or, when I do, I use my mobile browser to access it, which we all know is an annoying workaround that never quite translates right on the smaller screen.
Credit: Google/Lindsey Ellefson
With the slide PDF, however, I get a ready-made study guide complete with visuals, which I can send to myself via iMessage and study on the go. When I generate my own study materials without NotebookLM, I almost always do it in Google Slides, then download the full PDF and review the slides like a giant study guide, so this new feature is taking a bunch of the work out of doing that for me.
Former Mets closer Edwin Diaz was introduced by his new team, the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers, on Friday afternoon and spoke with reporters about his decision to leave New York for Los Angeles.
“I want to say thank you to the Mets organization for what they did for me the last few years. Really, really happy what I did there,” Diaz said.
“Now, we are in a new family, we are with the Dodgers. Came here to win. That’s my goal, try to win another World Series with this great team. I’m really happy to be here.”
Diaz mentioned that he spoke with his brother, Alexis, who played nine games for LA in 2024, before signing his three-year, $69 million deal on Tuesday. He noted that Alexis telling him how well the Dodgers treat players was a selling point.
“Yeah, I did talk to Alexis a little bit when the conversation was getting more close to signing with the Dodgers,” Diaz said. “He told me they are really a good organization, they treat every player like they are all really good players, that was something I was looking for. He told me great things about the Dodgers, make it easy for me.”
Diaz added that it “wasn’t easy” to leave the Mets after the past seven seasons, but he made the decision based on wanting to win a title.
“It wasn’t easy, wasn’t easy. I spent seven years in New York,” Diaz said. “They treat me really good, they treat me great. “I chose the Dodgers because they are a winning organization. I’m looking to win and I think they have everything to win. Picking the Dodgers was pretty easy.”
The three-time All-Star was originally acquired by the Mets in December of 2019 in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Mariners. After a rough first season in New York, he grew into one of the best closers, if not the best, in baseball. Over his six seasons (not counting his injury-missed 2023), Diaz recorded 144 saves with 538 strikeouts and owned a 2.93 ERA.
Los Angeles now adds Diaz (and his iconic walkout song, which he confirmed will come with him to the West Coast) to shore up its bullpen in 2026 as they look to become the first team to win three consecutive World Series titles since the Yankees from 1998-2000.
Edwin Díaz was asked how hard it was to leave the Mets and pick the Dodgers
“It wasn’t easy. I spent 7 years in New York. They treat me really good, they treat me great.
I chose the Dodgers because they’re a winning organization. I’m looking to win. And I think they have… pic.twitter.com/OiMzeYo3z4
Following the end of his introductory news conference, Diaz posted a message to Mets fans on his Instagram account.
“New York, New York. The city that never sleeps and that’s forever shaped me. Thank you for seven incredible years in your city,” Diaz wrote. “Thank you Mets fans for the love and support you showed me over those seven memorable years. It has been the biggest honor to wear the Mets uniform and sound the trumpets in Queens, NY. I’m grateful to the ownership, coaches, staff, teammates, and fans that my family and I met along the way. You’ll always be such a special part of our journey.”
Pete Alonso donned a new shade of orange for the first time Friday, when the Orioles formally introduced the veteran slugger on the heels of a five-year, $155 million free-agent deal that raised some eyebrows across the league.
And less than 24 hours after issuing a heartfelt farewell message to Mets fans via social media, Alonso discussed his departure from Queens and why he pursued a move down to Baltimore.
“As the offseason progressed and we got further along, this partnership was head and shoulders above everybody else,” Alonso said. “This park, this city, this organization, everything combined just clicked. It was the perfect fit for me — not just as a player, but for family life as well. Every single box, this place checks.”
While it’s unclear if the Orioles were the only serious bidder willing to meet Alonso’s demands of a long-term contract at top dollar, he was undoubtedly sold on their pitch and offer.
It’s also worth noting that the Mets reportedly didn’t make a formal offer to Alonso. As a result, they’re searching for a different first baseman who can provide sufficient power and defense.
Consider this a tall order, too, since the Mets just parted ways with their all-time leader in home runs. In seven seasons with the club, Alonso slashed .253/.341/.516 with 264 homers, 183 doubles, and 712 RBI over 1,008 games.
He also made five NL All-Star appearances, earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2019, and won the Home Run Derby twice.
The Orioles are banking on Alonso to boost a lineup that finished last in the AL East last season, with a record of 75-87.
Their young nucleus — headlined by Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Jackson Holliday — remains intact, but a postseason berth in 2026 isn’t guaranteed.
Nevertheless, Alonso is looking forward to the change of scenery and the opportunity to lead a new clubhouse. He signed the second-largest contract in Orioles history.
“I’ve played on a couple winning teams. You need talent, you need some young guys, a mix of veterans, and commitment from top-bottom,” Alonso said. “For me, there’s no hesitation. Like, ‘Yup, that’s the team, these are the people. Baltimore’s it.'”
Alonso will need to wait a while for his first game as a Citi Field visitor next season, as the Mets aren’t scheduled to host the Orioles until Sept. 14-16.
Whether you’re a teacher, a parent, or just someone with a big family, you know how difficult it can be to keep a room full of kids quiet for any amount of time.
One trick I’ve used is offering to time how long kids can stay quiet. For reasons I don’t understand, kids love it when something is being timed. But that only work a few times at the most, so it’s good to have as many other tricks on hand as possible. That’s why I was fascinated to learn there are multiple websites that use the microphone on your laptop to motivate kids to be quiet. Some put children’s curiosity to work, having animated characters show up if the group is quiet for long enough. Others combine animation with good old-fashioned timers.
Here are a few you can check out—all of them are completely free and don’t require anything more than your browser.
Silent Forest: Animals emerge if the room is quiet
Credit: Justin Pot
Silent Forest shows a simple animated forest with a volume indicator. Stay silent for a bit and a cat shows up. A bit longer and a bear shows up. Who else might join? There’s only one way to find out. Make too much noise, though, and you’ll scare the animals, meaning you have to start over if you ever want to see everyone. The idea is that the kids will be curious to see which animals will show up next and keep quiet—and, ideally, pressure each other into staying quiet.
Bouncy Balls: Noise will disrupt the balls
Credit: Justin Pot
Bouncy Balls fills your screen with balls—options include colored balls, emojis, numbered balls, eyeballs, and even bubbles. The balls are constantly vibrating, threatening to explode with a bit of noise—which they do. There’s a risk of this backfiring—it’s sincerely very fun to see the balls bounce—which you can mitigate by enabling a shushing or beeping sound after any violation.
Classroom Zen: Don’t interrupt Ruby or Milo
Credit: Justin Pot
Classroom Zen offers a few different tools for keeping the room quiet. Two feature Ruby, a cartoon who is meditating in either the mountains or the desert. If the room gets too loud, her eyes will start opening—keep going and she’ll ask the room to be quiet. Another features Milo, a three-eyed monster who is trying to sleep.
The secret sauce here, though, is the timer at the top of the screen. This means you can tell the kids they need to be quiet for a certain amount of time and have a timer to enforce that.
