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Tag: Sports transactions

  • Judge grants Duke’s bid to block QB Darian Mensah’s transfer until Feb. 2 hearing in contract fight

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    A judge has granted Duke’s request for a temporary restraining order blocking quarterback Darian Mensah from enrolling to play football at another school until a court hearing set for early February.

    The school filed a lawsuit Monday in Durham County Superior Court against Mensah seeking to block his efforts to transfer and reach a contract with another school to play elsewhere next season. The complaint came three days after Mensah reversed his previously announced plan to return to the Blue Devils after leading them to the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

    Judge Michael O’Foghludha signed an order Wednesday that prevents Mensah from enrolling elsewhere, signing a licensing deal with another school or taking any other action breaching the two-season contract Mensah signed with Duke running through 2026.

    The order, formalizing a verbal ruling from Tuesday’s hearing, didn’t grant Duke’s additional request seeking to block Mensah from entering his name into the transfer portal entirely. But he otherwise can’t take additional steps in the process of reaching a deal to play at a new school, with the order designed to “preserve the status quo” until a Feb. 2 hearing.

    “Mr. Mensah has an existing contract with Duke which the university intends to honor, and we expect he will do the same,” Duke said in a statement Wednesday. “The court-ordered temporary restraining order issued (Tuesday) ensures he does not violate his contract. The university is committed to supporting all our student-athletes, while expecting each of them to abide by their contractual obligations.”

    The school argued its contract with Mensah — signed in July 2025 — paid him for exclusive rights to market Mensah’s name, image and likeness (NIL) tied to playing college football. Duke’s lawsuit argued that the contract requires parties to go through arbitration before any dispute can be resolved.

    “This case arises out of the decision of a star quarterback in the increasingly complex world of college athletics,” the complaint states in its opening. “But at its core, this is a simple case that involves the integrity of contracts.”

    In an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday, sports-law attorney Darren Heitner, who has worked with Mensah, noted Duke’s request for a temporary restraining order preventing Mensah from entering the transfer portal had been denied. Later in the day, however, Heitner said on social media that Mensah “is not, for the time being” allowed to enroll or play football elsewhere before a decision by a different judge set to preside over the next hearing.

    Mensah, who transferred in from Tulane and even faced his former team, finished second in the Bowl Subdivision ranks by throwing for 3,973 yards while ranking tied for second with 34 passing touchdowns.

    The Mensah-Duke case is the latest in what is becoming a more frequent occurrence in the revenue-sharing era of college sports: legal fights over contracts between schools and players seeking to transfer.

    Earlier this month, Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. announced plans to transfer before changing his mind two days later, coming amid multiple reports that the school was prepared to pursue legal options to enforce Williams’ NIL contract.

    And in December, Missouri pass rusher Damon Wilson II filed a lawsuit claiming the athletic department at Georgia was trying to illegally punish him for entering the portal in January 2025.

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  • Will Power is determined to make Penske regret writing him off as he joins Andretti

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    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Will Power casually walked through the near-empty fan zone at Daytona International Speedway in a simple, white firesuit void of any Penske or Verizon Wireless logos. One of the winningest drivers in IndyCar history was practically unnoticeable at an unfamiliar track where few should have recognized the Australian.

    And yet suddenly a crowd grew out of nowhere.

    “Will Power! When you put your foot on the gas in an IRL car, there’s no stopping you,” one man gushed as he clamored for a selfie.

    Others handed him diecasts of his iconic No. 12 Team Penske car for his signature. They heaped praise and admiration and offered Power a warm welcome at his first Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race. He will drive for 75 Express, a team owned by fellow Australian Kenny Habul, in the GTD Pro class next week.

    It was the confidence boost Power didn’t know he needed.

    “It feels good just to be recognized,” he told one fan.

    Power had driven for Roger Penske since 2009 and set the series record for poles (71), built a career that has him ranked fourth on the all-time wins list with 71 victories — one of them the Indianapolis 500 — and won two IndyCar titles.

    But that math couldn’t compete with the clock and Power, who turns 45 on the same day the IndyCar season opens March 1 in St. Petersburg, simply doesn’t have much time left on his racing career. It led Team Penske to choose 24-year-old David Malukas as his replacement, a transition more than a year in the making, but a lack of transparency forced Power to twist in uncertainty for almost the entire 2025 IndyCar season.

    With Power still at the top of his game, Penske late last season was apparently prepared to offer Power a peace offering of a one-year contract extension. But the damage to Power’s ego, pride and mental state already had been done; he told his boss of nearly two decades that he wasn’t interested.

    Power instead signed a contract with Andretti Global, now owned by TWG Motorsports and Dan Towriss, a group eager to add his veteran leadership in its bid to return the organization to the top of IndyCar. Spurning a return to Penske did not sit well with the boss, who held Power to a contract that ran through Dec. 31 and essentially parked him from starting with Andretti until the first of this year.

    Malukas, meanwhile, was in Penske merchandise and getting a jump on his new job the entire time Power was sidelined, unable to do anything with his new team.

    Power, a career Penske loyalist who meets every definition of “Penske Material,” has been crushed by the way his parting played out and the animosity he felt from his former organization through the final four months of last year.

    The ramifications may come back to bite Team Penske, which is coming off one of its worst seasons in years: Power rang in 2026 by going for a run at midnight on New Year’s Eve decked in Andretti gear. He was in the shop two days later to meet his new team, sit in the seat of his new car and start working on a campaign he’s determined will make Penske regret writing him off.

    “There’s nothing more I want to do this year than beat Penske every single weekend,” Power said. “And I understand why I wasn’t allowed to start at Andretti until now because we’re only two weeks into the year and we are already working very, very hard on everything we need to get to get to work on.”

    Towriss in another coup snagged Ron Ruzewski, one of three Team Penske executives fired during an Indianapolis 500 cheating scandal, as team principal of its IndyCar team. Ruzewski and Power know Team Penske inside and out and bring priceless knowledge to an Andretti organization that last won the IndyCar title in 2012.

    One of Power’s first acts at the start of January was to ask Ruzewski for a team meeting that included teammates Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood and the Andretti leadership to discuss priorities and debrief Power’s first session in his new Honda, a test earlier this month in Phoenix.

    “Will is one of the nicest, greatest guys in the series and one of the most pure competitors in IndyCar and I absolutely adore him,” Kirkwood said. “He’s already been great for us in just a few weeks. He works day in and day out to make sure he’s one of the most competitive drivers in the series and that’s a drive I think we all hope to have.

    “He definitely feels like he has something to prove, and combined with Ron, well, there’s no doubt the two of them are going to greatly help improve Andretti’s short oval program.”

    Power concurred.

    “Already on it,” Power said. “Roger was very shrewd in not letting us get started until the start of the year because he knows how much information we are bringing into Andretti.”

    He has secured a townhome in Indiana to be close to the race team while he keeps his full-time home in North Carolina. He spent an entire day in the Honda simulator earlier this week before heading to Daytona for his first time participating in the most prestigious endurance race in North America.

    Penske rarely allowed Power to compete in events outside of IndyCar but had approved Power to race in the Rolex in 2023. The entry fell apart when Power’s wife developed a staph infection that nearly killed her and he had to withdraw from Daytona as he sat by her hospital bedside.

    He finally is back in a bucket-list event for Power but with mixed emotions. He believes these two weekends spent at Daytona are cutting into the time he could be working with his new Andretti engineers. And, his life has changed completely from where he was three years ago as a veteran Penske driver with a sense of security from the loyalty he’d given to that program for so long.

    The rest of the IndyCar field is intrigued to see what Power delivers this year at Andretti because they believe he never has been more motivated.

    “He’s going to be very fast, very good, especially on road and street courses,” former Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin said. “I know what Will’s like and he’s very regimented in terms of what he likes and how he likes things and what he can offer to Andretti. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s on the pole at St. Pete.”

    It is those assets that Towriss was looking for as he begins his second season as the full owner of Andretti. He has been disappointed openly at Penske’s stance in refusing to allow Power to work until the start of January, particularly since Team Penske has been working with Malukas for months.

    “He’s coming in with an insane worth ethic. He thinks about racing all the time,” Towriss said. “We want to win and if you want to just have a job or just work at a race team, then go somewhere else. Come here with us because you want to be part of something and build something special. We know we got that in Will Power.”

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  • Messi would prefer to be an owner rather than a coach when he quits playing

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    BUENOS AIRES — BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Lionel Messi would prefer to become a club owner rather than a coach when he quits as a player, the Argentina soccer star has said.

    In October, he signed a three-year contract extension with Inter Miami to take him through the 2028 season.

    “I don’t see myself as a coach,” the 38-year-old Messi told the Luzu TV streaming channel in an interview recorded in December that aired Tuesday. “I like management, but if have to decide for one of the three I would like to be an owner.

    “I would like to have my own club, to be able to grow it, to start from the bottom and to be able to give the kids, the people, the opportunity to grow and make it an important club. If I had to choose, that’s what would appeal to me most.”

    Messi, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar in 2022, is already a part owner of Uruguay’s fourth-division team Deportivo LSM, which is co-owned by Inter teammate Luis Suarez.

    “Deportivo LS is a family dream that began in 2018. We have grown a lot with more than 3,000 members,” club founder Suarez said last May in a video alongside Messi. “I want to offer Uruguayan soccer, the place I love and where I grew up as a child, opportunities and tools for teenagers and children to grow.”

    The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi also has a future minority ownership stake in Inter included in his contract.

    Messi won the MLS Golden Boot this season after scoring 29 goals, five more than LAFC’s Denis Bouanga and Nashville’s Sam Surridge. He also had 19 assists, and his 48 total goal contributions was one shy of matching the league record set by Carlos Vela in 2019.

    Messi also became the became the first player to win back-to-back MVP awards in MLS history.

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  • Devon Dampier leads No. 15 Utah past Nebraska in Las Vegas Bowl, 44-22

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    LAS VEGAS — Devon Dampier threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 148 yards and three scores, and No. 15 Utah won the Las Vegas Bowl in Morgan Scalley’s first game as coach, beating Nebraska 44-22 on Wednesday in the Las Vegas Bowl.

    Scalley was expected to be the Utes’ coach beginning after this game, but Michigan hired Kyle Whittingham on Friday, prompting a quicker change.

    “There have been so many distractions for these players,” Scalley said. “The game is all about them, and so they’re the ones that don’t deserve all the distractions. They worked their tails off.”

    For Dampier, the game MVP, the question now is whether the junior will return to Salt Lake City or enter the transfer portal and maybe even follow his old coach to Michigan. He didn’t directly address a question regarding what his thought process would be over the next two days.

    “It’s the last couple of hours I get to hang out with these guys,” Dampier said. “That’s where my mind is going to be at for sure.”

    This game was considered a sort of audition for Nebraska freshman quarterback TJ Lateef, who passed for 182 yards and had a touchdown each throwing and running. Mekhi Nelson rushed for 88 yards and a TD on 12 carries, but only 16 yards after the first quarter.

    Utah (11-2) reached 11 victories for the fourth time in program history and the first time since 2019. The Utes improved their bowl record to 18-9, including 5-2 in the Las Vegas Bowl. They also won two Pac-12 championships at Allegiant Stadium.

    The Utes outgained Nebraska (7-6) 535 yards to 343. They rushed for 225 yards, giving the Utes a school-record 3,462 for the season. Their four rushing touchdowns gave the Utes 41 for the season, another program record.

    Utah turned around the game in the second period by outscoring Nebraska 17-0 and outgaining the Huskers 198-17. Nebraska had led 14-7 after the first quarter.

    “They started zone pressuring us,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “You have to win those plays, and we didn’t quite win enough.”

    This was Nebraska’s 30th consecutive loss to an Associated Press-ranked opponent, second to Rutgers’ 43-game skid. Rhule has lost 20 straight games to ranked teams, including 0-11 at Baylor.

    An announced crowd of 38,879 watched the game, a record since this bowl moved to Allegiant Stadium following the 2019 season. The previous record was 32,515 for Wisconsin’s 20-13 victory over Arizona State in 2021. It’s the ninth-highest attendance for this bowl, which used to be at Sam Boyd Stadium.

    Nebraska: The Huskers looked as if they would run all over Utah, rushing 13 times for 94 yards in the first quarter in taking a 14-7 lead. They rushed six times for a yard in the second period as Utah took control.

    Utah: Tight ends J.J. Buchanan and Dallan Bentley combined to catch 10 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns. The game was a homecoming for Buchanan, who is from the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson.

    Nebraska: Will host Ohio on Sept. 5 in the first of two games against Mid-American Conference teams and the third against an FCS school.

    Utah: Will host Idaho on Sept. 3 in what should be an easy tune-up for the season.

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  • Chip Kelly lands new job as Northwestern’s offensive coordinator after firing by Raiders

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    Chip Kelly didn’t have to wait long to land his next job.

    The former Oregon and Philadelphia Eagles coach was hired as Northwestern’s offensive coordinator on Tuesday.

    The move comes on the heels of the Las Vegas Raiders firing Kelly as offensive coordinator late last month after just 11 games. But he has a history of overseeing explosive offenses, particularly at the college level.

    Kelly led Oregon to a 46-7 record and a national championship game appearance from 2009 to 2012 before spending four years as an NFL head coach — three with Philadelphia and one with San Francisco. He returned to the college ranks as UCLA’s coach from 2018-23, leading the Bruins to a 35–34 record. He was offensive coordinator at Ohio State under Ryan Day last year, helping the Buckeyes win the national championship.

    “This program and university are clearly on the rise, and the values of the people and this place align with my own,” he said in a statement. “I am grateful for the opportunity. There is tremendous potential under Coach Braun’s leadership, and I’m ready to contribute to this team.”

    Kelly was the most prominent assistant hired by Pete Carroll in his first season as Las Vegas’ coach after leading the Seattle Seahawks for 14 years. He reportedly received a $6 million contract, the highest for an NFL offensive coordinator. But he never lived up to the deal. Las Vegas’ offense ranked among the NFL’s worst when he was fired.

    “There was certainly an incredible amount of respect for the body of work that he’s put together, whether it be in the NFL, his time at Oregon, time at UCLA, time at Ohio State,” Northwestern coach David Braun said on a Zoom. “But through conversations and really getting to know him as a person and as a football mind, it was very evident to me that an opportunity to bring him on board and have him be a part of Northwestern football was something that could be an absolute game-changer for this program and specifically our offense here at Northwestern.”

    In a statement, athletic director Mark Jackson called it “a seminal moment for our program.” Jackson had a connection with Kelly through Carroll, having worked as an assistant coach on Carroll’s staff with the New England Patriots and later as an administrator at USC during the football team’s dominant run.

    “Mark’s relationship with Chip probably put us in a position to start the conversation, to see if this is an opportunity that Chip would be interested in,” Braun said. “Through those conversations — countless conversations — between Chip and I, it became very evident that this might be something that is of very strong mutual interest. The thing that excites me most about him coming onboard is, yes, his level of expertise, but also the level of passion that he has to get here and get to work and make this truly something special for Northwestern football going into the future.”

    The Wildcats are 19-19 in three seasons under Braun. They went 7-6 this year and beat Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl even though the offense struggled. Kelly replaces Zach Lujan, who spent two years as coordinator. With the transfer portal opening Friday, Braun said it was “absolutely critical” to have the position filled.

    Northwestern is set to move into a new stadium next season after playing home games the past two years at a temporary lakefront facility and at Wrigley Field. Without the new Ryan Field, Braun doesn’t think he lands Kelly.

    “We talked about converging timing,” Braun said. “The converging timing is moving into a new Ryan Field in 2026, House settlement and a new landscape of college football, a program that is on the rise and an opportunity for us to really establish a new era of Northwestern football in the best football stadium in the world. For me to say that that isn’t a contributing factor to all this isn’t true. I think it absolutely is a factor.”

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  • Sherrone Moore jailed as police investigate situation that led to the fired Michigan coach’s arrest

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    ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Sherrone Moore was being held in jail Thursday while police investigate the situation that led to his arrest hours after the once-promising coach was fired at Michigan for what the school said was an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

    Authorities have yet to release details on Moore’s arrest, other than to say he has been held since Wednesday night in the Washtenaw County Jail and remains under investigation.

    Pittsfield Township police had issued a statement that said officers were called to investigate an alleged assault and took a person into custody, without mentioning anyone by name. The statement, however, was released in response to media inquiries about Moore.

    The police department updated its statement in the morning to say the suspect is scheduled for arraignment on Friday.

    Moore, 39, was fired by Michigan, college football’s winningest program that has been mired in scandal, after the school verified evidence of his relationship with the staffer.

    Athletic director Warde Manuel said the behavior “constitutes a clear violation of university policy.”

    The announcement did not include details of the alleged relationship. Moore, who is married with three young daughters, did not return a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

    His departure ends an up-and-down, two-year tenure that saw the Wolverines take a step back on the field after winning the national championship in January 2024 and getting punished by the NCAA for a sign-stealing scandal.

    Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore celebrates with kicker Dominic Zvada (96) after an extra-point kick during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Maryland, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    He led the 18th-ranked Wolverines to a 9-3 record this year after going 8-5 in his debut season.

    Moore signed a five-year contract with a base annual salary of $5.5 million last year. According to the terms of his deal, the university will not have to buy out the remaining years of his contract because he was fired for cause.

    His firing leaves Michigan suddenly looking for a third coach in four years, shortly after a busy cycle that included Lane Kiffin leaving playoff-bound Mississippi for LSU.

    Moore, the team’s former offensive coordinator, was promoted to lead the Wolverines after they won the national title. He succeeded Jim Harbaugh, who returned to the NFL to lead the Los Angeles Chargers.

    Michigan is set to play No. 14 Texas on Dec. 31 in the Citrus Bowl. Biff Poggi, who filled in for Moore when he was suspended earlier this season in relation to the Harbaugh-era sign-stealing scandal, will serve as interim coach. Moore was suspended for two games as part of self-imposed sanctions for NCAA violations related to the scandal.

    The NCAA added a third game to the suspension, which would have kept Moore off the sideline for next year’s opener against Western Michigan.

    Moore previously deleted an entire 52-message text thread with former staffer Connor Stalions, who was at the center of the team’s sign-stealing operation. The texts were later recovered and shared with the NCAA.

    Just a few years ago, Moore was Harbaugh’s top assistant and regarded as a rising star.

    Moore, who is from Derby, Kansas, didn’t start playing football until his junior year of high school. He played for Butler County Community College in Kansas and as an offensive lineman for coach Bob Stoops at Oklahoma during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

    His coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Louisville before moving on to Central Michigan, where he caught Harbaugh’s attention. Harbaugh hired him in 2018 as tight ends coach.

    Moore was promoted to offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2021, when the Wolverines bounced back from a 2-4, pandemic-shortened season and began a three-year run of excellence that culminated in the school’s first national title in 26 years.

    He worked his way up within the Wolverines’ staff and filled in as interim coach for four games during the 2023 championship season while Harbaugh served two suspensions for potential NCAA rules violations.

    Moore also served a one-game suspension during that year related to a recruiting infractions NCAA case.

    Earlier in the 2023 season, Michigan State fired coach Mel Tucker for cause after he engaged in what he described as consensual phone sex with an activist and rape survivor. In 2012, Arkansas fired coach Bobby Petrino due to a sordid scandal that involved a motorcycle crash, an affair with a woman who worked for him and being untruthful to his bosses.

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    Associated Press Writer Ed White contributed.

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  • Geno Smith’s frustration boils over with obscene gesture toward fed-up Raiders fans

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    HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — All indications since he joined the Raiders this year are that Geno Smith is popular and well-respected in the locker room, and his interactions with the media have mostly been positive.

    But everyone has a breaking point, and Smith might have reached his on Sunday.

    After he was sacked 10 times in a 24-10 loss to Cleveland and booed from the moment he was introduced, Smith was seen making an obscene gesture toward fans as he left the field. Shortly thereafter, his answers in the postgame news conference were uncharacteristically brief.

    The Raiders pointed to a statement they issued to the Las Vegas Review-Journal regarding the incident with fans.

    “We are disappointed in his actions and have discussed the incident with Geno,” the statement read. “We hold the Raider Nation in the highest regard and take this matter seriously.”

    It’s understandable why Smith is frustrated. This isn’t the kind of season he and coach Pete Carroll envisioned when the Raiders traded with Seattle to land him. Both had success with the Seahawks and had every intention of translating that to Las Vegas.

    Smith even spoke at his introductory news conference of having “unfinished business.”

    But 11 games and an NFL-high 13 interceptions later, his business with the Raiders may be closer to finished. Judging Smith as the starting quarterback is tricky, however, given how inept the offensive line — coached by Carroll’s son, Brennan — has been.

    Smith had virtually no chance against Myles Garrett and the Browns’ pass rush, and as Carroll said Monday regarding the offensive line, “We got the guys we got.”

    But Smith will have a new offensive coordinator and play-caller in Greg Olson, the interim replacement for Chip Kelly, who was fired Sunday night. Maybe Olson, in his third stint as the Raiders’ OC, will find a way to help Smith play better than he has to this point.

    That Carroll has fired two coordinators in the same month — special teams boss Tom McMahon was let go on Nov. 7 — is more than telling. Carroll had never fired a coordinator in-season before he got to Las Vegas.

    “I’m really surprised as well that this has happened, but I think our players deserve it, and our fans deserve that we give them our best shot, and that’s what competing is all about,” Carroll said. “It’s just a very difficult time to have to do this … but we’re 2-9. So, unfortunately, that’s where we are.”

    What’s working

    DE Maxx Crosby. When is he not? Crosby always brings it, in practices or games. He was sensational even by his standards against the Browns, recording a personal-high five tackles for loss. His 19 tackles for loss this season are on pace to surpass the 23 he registered in 2023, when Crosby led the league in that category for the second year in a row. He trails only the 26 by Browns superstar Myles Garrett.

    What needs help

    The offensive line. If T Kolton Miller returns from injury at some point, it will get at least a little better. But any true improvement will have to occur in the offseason. This line might be the NFL’s worst and will need an overhaul. Giving up 10 sacks even to a stellar Browns defensive front is inexcusable, but the lack of pass protection and run blocking is not new.

    Stock up

    Move up the boards. The Raiders are up to fifth in next year’s draft order, and there’s a real chance they won’t win again this season. If Las Vegas loses out, the Raiders could put themselves in line to draft Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and maybe find the franchise quarterback they so desperately need.

    Stock down

    Job security. With two coordinators gone already, no one can feel too comfortable about their future in Las Vegas. That includes Carroll. Massive change figures to come in the offseason, and given how this season is playing out, it would be difficult to argue for the status quo.

    Injuries

    The Raiders got some rare good news with RB Ashton Jeanty (ankle) avoiding serious injury. He is not expected to miss any time. …There is still hope Miller (ankle) will return by the end of the season, but Carroll said his situation was “more week to week” than day to day.

    Key number

    8 — The number of play-callers the Raiders have had since October 2021, including Olson twice.

    Next steps

    The Raiders visit their AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

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  • LSU athletic director Scott Woodward ousted, 4 days after the firing of football coach Brian Kelly

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    LSU athletic director Scott Woodward resigned under pressure from the post he’s held for six years on Thursday night, four days after the firing of football coach Brian Kelly and a day after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry said Woodward would not hire Kelly’s replacement.

    Woodward, a Baton Rouge native and LSU graduate, was hired as athletic director at his alma mater in April 2019. Since then, LSU has won national championships in football, baseball (twice), women’s basketball and gymnastics.

    “We thank Scott for the last six years of service as athletic director,” LSU Board of Supervisors chairman Scott Ballard said. “He had a lot of success at LSU.

    “Our focus now is on moving the athletic department forward and best positioning LSU to achieve its full potential.”

    Among the coaches hired by Woodward was Kim Mulkey, who led LSU to its first women’s basketball national title in 2023. Her team played an exhibition game on Thursday night, and Mulkey declined to attend a postgame news conference, sending assistant Bob Starkey instead.

    “She’s heartbroken,” Starkey told reporters.

    “In 40 years of coaching, I’ve worked with two phenomenal athletic directors,” Starkey added. “One was Skip Bertman (at LSU). The other one was Scott Woodward.”

    Verge Ausberry, LSU’s executive deputy athletic director, will replace Woodward on an interim basis and lead the search for a football coach, the university announced.

    In an open letter to LSU fans, Woodward said, “Our University will always hold a special place in my heart and I will never be too far from LSU.”

    “Others can recap or opine on my tenure and on my decisions over the last six years as Director of Athletics, but I will not,” Woodward said. “Rather, I will focus on the absolute joy that LSU Athletics brings to our state’s residents and to the Baton Rouge community.”

    When Woodward was hired in 2019, James Carville, a political pundit who graduated from LSU, taught there and was named to the university’s Manship School of Mass Communications’ Hall of Fame, hosted a welcome party for him at his house in New Orleans.

    In a phone interview with The Associated Press on Thursday night, Carville, a Democrat, expressed disgust at the circumstances surrounding Woodward’s sudden departure.

    “The Louisiana governor and the LSU board has damaged the reputation of our university,” Carville said. “Landry’s IQ is the equivalent of the temperature of dishwater.

    “The LSU board is weak and pathetic,” Carville added. “This is not about my politics. It’s about my university.”

    According to Woodward’s contract, he is owed more than $5 million through 2029. LSU has not yet announced the financial terms of his separation agreement.

    Landry on Wednesday was hosting a news conference about government matters not concerning LSU when he was asked about the Tigers’ coaching situation and asserted that Woodward would not be involved in the selection of the next coach.

    Under Woodward, the football program bought out former coach Ed Orgeron for about $17 million in 2021. The buyout for Kelly, whom Woodward signed to a 10-year contract worth about $100 million in December 2021, is about $53 million, which is among the largest in the history of college sports.

    Texas A&M’s $77 million buyout of former coach Jimbo Fisher, who was fired in 2023, is the largest.

    Woodward was Texas A&M’s athletic director when Fisher was hired to coach the Aggies in December 2017. But Woodward already had been at LSU for two years when A&M, in 2021, gave Fisher a contract extension that effectively doubled the cost of his buyout.

    Still, Landry assigned blame for Fisher’s buyout to Woodward.

    “This is a pattern,” Landry said. “Right now, we’ve got a $53 million liability. … We are not doing that again.”

    Kelly’s firing on Sunday came a day after LSU lost at home to Texas A&M, 49-25 — the Tigers’ third defeat in four games.

    Kelly went 34-14 at LSU, never reaching the College Football Playoff, which was expanded from four to 12 teams in 2024.

    LSU does not currently have a president. Its most recent president, William F. Tate IV, left to become president of Rutgers in July. The next president will be hired by the Board of Supervisors, whose members are appointed by the governor to six-year staggered terms.

    Since Landry took office in January 2024, he has appointed nine of the 18 board members, and will have the chance to appoint four more in 2026.

    The board has announced that it expects to select the next president on Tuesday.

    ___

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  • LSU fires coach Brian Kelly in the 4th season of his 10-year, $100 million deal

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    NEW ORLEANS — LSU fired coach Brian Kelly during the fourth season of a 10-year contract worth about $100 million, athletic director Scott Woodward announced Sunday night.

    The move comes on the heels of Saturday night’s 49-25 loss to No. 3 Texas A&M in Tiger Stadium — a second straight loss, and third in four games for LSU (5-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference).

    “When Coach Kelly arrived at LSU four years ago, we had high hopes that he would lead us to multiple SEC and national championships during his time in Baton Rouge,” Woodward said. “Ultimately, the success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize.”

    Associate head coach Frank Wilson, who also serves as a running backs coach, has been tapped as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2025 season.

    Kelly was hired away from Notre Dame when his predecessor, Ed Orgeron, stepped down following the 2021 regular season.

    He has gone 34-14 with the Tigers, even taking LSU to the 2022 SEC title game. But LSU did not qualify for the College Football Playoff in his first three seasons, and was virtually eliminated from contention with its loss to the Aggies.

    The playoff was expanded from four to 12 teams for the 2024 season.

    “I will not compromise in our pursuit of excellence and we will not lower our standards,” said Woodward, an LSU graduate who was hired to his current post in 2019, the same year the Tigers won their last national title under Orgeron.

    Orgeron left after not posting a winning record during his final two seasons.

    While Kelly did not coach LSU to a playoff berth, he oversaw quarterback Jayden Daniels’ development into a Heisman Trophy winner in 2023.

    “I am confident in our ability to bring to Baton Rouge an outstanding leader, teacher and coach, who fits our culture and community and who embraces the excellence that we demand,” Woodward said.

    LSU could have to pay Kelly more than $52 million to not coach through 2031, but the precise figure was unclear on Sunday night.

    “We will continue to negotiate his separation and will work toward a path that is better for both parties,” Woodward said.

    The development is an awkward one for Woodward, who was Texas A&M’s athletic director when that university hired Jimbo Fisher, only to have to buy him out for a historic $77 million after he struggled to win consistently during his six seasons there from 2018 to 2023.

    Kelly, 64, has coached in the top tier of Division I college football since being hired by Central Michigan in 2004.

    In the 22 years since, he has gone 200-76, including a 34-6 record at Cincinnati and a 113-40 record at Notre Dame.

    He was lured away from Notre Dame by Woodward, who saw Kelly as a coach who could win a national title if he had access to the resources at an SEC power like LSU, where the previous three coaches — Nick Saban, Les Miles and Orgeron — all had won national championships.

    But Kelly’s arrival at LSU also overlapped with a major paradigm shift in the sport: the advent of the transfer portal, which allowed players to more freely jump to different schools from year to year without having to sit out a season, and the approval to pay players for the use of their name, image and likeness.

    Last offseason, LSU launched a campaign to dramatically increase funding available to pay players, and the Tigers brought in numerous transfers to step into starting roles, particularly on the offensive line, defensive line and secondary.

    The Tigers also were able to lure 2024 starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who was eligible for the NFL draft, to return for his senior season, further raising expectations that LSU would contend for a CFP berth.

    Instead, LSU not only has lost to Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and A&M, but the three power conference teams the Tigers have beaten — Clemson, Florida and South Carolina — all currently have losing records.

    ___

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  • Blue Jays manager to Shohei Ohtani: We want our hat back — and your dog’s jacket

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    TORONTO (AP) — While most of baseball is saying hats off to Shohei Ohtani, Toronto manager John Schneider wants a cap back from the two-way star.

    Before signing a $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the two-way star met with Blue Jays officials on Dec. 4, 2023, at the team’s spring training complex in Dunedin, Florida.

    Ohtani will be the opening batter of the World Series, leading off for the defending champion Dodgers against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Friday night after his unprecedented performance in the NL Championship Series.

    “I hope he brought his hat, the Blue Jay hat that he took from us in our meeting. I hope he brought it back, finally,” Schneider said Thursday.

    “And the jacket for Decoy,” he added, a reference to Ohtani’s dog, a Nederlanse kooikerhondje. “It’s like, give us our stuff back already.”

    Ohtani smiled when asked about the headgear.

    “It’s in my garage,” he said through a translator.

    Ohtani helped lead the Dodgers to last year’s title, hitting .310 with 54 homers, 130 RBIs and 59 stolen bases.

    Back to pitching in a limited role this season as he returned from elbow surgery, he batted .282 with 55 homers, 102 RBIs and 20 steals while going 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts, striking out 62 in 47 innings.

    Last Friday, he homered three times while pitching six shutout innings and striking 10 against Milwaukee as the Dodgers completed a four-game sweep of the NL Championship Series.

    Absent Ohtani, the Blue Jays had the finances to give first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a $500 million, 14-year contract that starts next year, and he helped Toronto reach the World Series for the first time since 1993.

    “He’s a great player,” Schneider said. “But that aside, I think that we have a great team and just an unbelievable cast of characters and players. I think things worked out the way they’re meant to work out.”

    Schneider isn’t sure how close the Blue Jays came to signing Ohtani.

    “When we met with him, you felt good about it, and you felt good about the feedback he was giving about our organization and opportunity here,” he said. “But you never really know what a player’s feeling in free agency, and there’s a lot of things that have to line up for them personally, too, so you can’t really think about what if. You think about the 26 (players) that we have.”

    Ohtani praised the Blue Jays.

    “It’s an unfortunate reality as a free agent that you get to really pick one team,” he said. “The decision had to be made, but again, this organization has been superb. They have a lot of awesome people.”

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  • Another No. 1 pick QB, another fired coach: Titans’ Brian Callahan out after six games

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    When Tennessee used the No. 1 overall draft pick on quarterback Cam Ward, the plan was for a long-term pairing with head coach Brian Callahan to bring success to the Titans.

    The marriage didn’t even last a full season with Callahan fired after six games in a move that maybe should have been predictable based on recent history.

    Over the last decade, nothing has put an NFL coach on the hot seat more than the franchise using a high draft pick on a quarterback.

    Ward is the fourth straight quarterback picked No. 1 overall to have his coach fired before the end of his rookie season. Caleb Williams and Matt Eberflus lasted 12 games together in Chicago in 2024; Bryce Young and Frank Reich got 11 games in Carolina in 2023; and Trevor Lawrence and Urban Meyer got 13 games in Jacksonville in 2021.

    In all, there have been eight quarterbacks selected first overall in the last 10 drafts and six of those teams fired their coach during that season. It also happened in 2018 with Hue Jackson and Baker Mayfield in Cleveland and in 2016 with Jeff Fisher and Jared Goff with the Rams.

    The only No. 1 pick quarterback in the NFL still with his original coach is 2020 top selection Joe Burrow in Cincinnati with Zac Taylor.

    Teams picking first in the draft typically have many holes based on getting that selection although the Bears and Rams got their No. 1 picks in trades. Four of the fired coaches — Callahan, Eberflus, Jackson and Fisher — came into those seasons on thin ice based on a lack of success already during their tenure.

    Reich got fired in his first season with the Panthers and Meyer got fired in year one with the Jaguars, although that decision went far deeper than just the quarterback.

    But the issue of quick hooks potentially stunting the growth of young quarterbacks goes beyond players picked first overall.

    There have been 35 quarterbacks taken in the first round of the past 10 drafts — including Ward and Jaxson Dart of the New York Giants this season. Seven of those teams fired their coach during the rookie season of the quarterback with eight more making a change before the start of year two.

    Only seven of those first-round picks finished their four-year rookie deals with the same coach, with the verdict still out on several members of the 2023-25 drafts.

    One of those first-round quarterbacks who had a coaching change before the start of his second season was Justin Fields with Chicago. Fields spent his rookie season in 2021 under Matt Nagy before playing the next two seasons for Eberflus.

    Fields is now on his third team with the Jets and his game is trending in the wrong direction. Fields was sacked nine times and completed only nine passes in a 13-11 loss to Denver on Sunday in London, with the Jets finishing with minus-10 net yards passing thanks to the sacks for the lowest total in any game since the Chargers had minus-19 against Kansas City on Sept. 20, 1998, in Ryan Leaf’s third career start.

    Fields had the 10th game since the merger with at least nine sacks and nine or fewer completions and is the first player to do it twice with it also happening in his first career start in 2021 for Chicago against Cleveland. He has one other start when his sack total matched his completion total when he had seven of each in a loss to Detroit in Week 17 of the 2022 season.

    The only other quarterbacks this century with at least nine sacks and nine or fewer completions were Jay Cutler for Chicago against the New York Giants in Week 4 of the 2010 season and David Carr for the expansion Houston Texans against the Chargers in Week 2 of the 2002 season.

    New York is the first team in 20 years to start 0-6 while averaging less than 150 net yards passing (144.2) with Houston averaging just 87.2 in the first six games in 2005 with the sack-prone Carr at QB.

    The Jets have lost all those games despite holding a fourth-quarter lead in three of them: Week 1 versus Pittsburgh, Week 3 against Tampa Bay and last week versus Denver.

    According to Sportradar, the Jets are the fourth team in NFL history to start 0-6 despite holding at least three fourth-quarter leads, joining the Buccaneers in 2013, the 1999 Detroit Lions and the 1953 Chicago Cardinals.

    There is a big crowd at the bottom of the AFC standings with four teams — Baltimore, Cleveland, Miami and Tennessee — tied for second-worst record at 1-5 with the Jets in last at 0-6.

    This is just the third time since the merger in 1970 that a conference has had at least five teams at 1-5 or worse through five games with it last happening in the AFC in 1986 when four teams started 1-5 and the Indianapolis Colts were 0-6. The only other season it happened came in 1974 when five AFC teams were 1-5.

    The last three weeks couldn’t have gone much better for the Pittsburgh Steelers when it comes to their hopes of winning the division.

    Pittsburgh beat Minnesota in Week 4 and Cleveland in Week 6 surrounding a bye and opened up a wide lead in the division thanks to the poor performance of the other three teams.

    Baltimore, Cincinnati and Cleveland all went 0-3 in that stretch, marking just the third time since 2002 realignment that one team in a division won every game in a three-week span and the other three teams lost every game.

    According to Sportradar, the only other times that happened came in 2012 in the AFC West when Denver went 3-0 and the rest of the division was 0-9 from Weeks 10-12 and in 2009 in the AFC West when the Chargers went 3-0 and the other three teams were 0-6, with each having a bye, from Weeks 7-9.

    Inside the Numbers dives into NFL statistics, streaks and trends each week. For more Inside the Numbers, head here.

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  • Japan beats Brazil for the first time in Tokyo comeback

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    TOKYO — TOKYO (AP) — Japan beat Brazil for the first time on Tuesday, fighting from two goals down to win the friendly 3-2 in Ajinomoto Stadium.

    Ayase Ueda grabbed the winning goal with a header in the 71st minute, sending the sell-out crowd into celebration.

    It was Japan’s historic first win over the South American powerhouse at its 14th attempt.

    Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti made several changes to the team that won 5-0 in South Korea four days ago, but the five-time world champion continued its strong form from Seoul with a dominant first half in the Japanese capital.

    Goals from Paulo Henrique and Gabriel Martinelli put the visitors seemingly in control at halftime, and a 12th win over Japan appeared likely.

    Seven minutes after the restart, however, Takumi Minamino capitalized on a mistake by Fabricio Bruno to score from inside the area. Just after the hour, Keito Nakamura’s shot deflected off Bruno to bring Japan level.

    Both teams have already qualified for the 2026 World Cup which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

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  • Titans fire coach Brian Callahan after 4-19 record and 1-5 start to second season

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    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans fired coach Brian Callahan on Monday after a 1-5 start to his second season.

    Chad Brinker, the Titans’ president of football operations, said team officials had extended conversations with controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk and general manager Mike Borgonzi before meeting with Callahan on Monday morning to tell him that Tennessee was making a change.

    “While we are committed to a patient and strategic plan to build a sustainable, winning football program, we have not demonstrated sufficient growth,” Brinker said. “Our players, fans, and community deserve a football team that achieves a standard we are not currently meeting, and we are committed to making the hard decisions necessary to reach and maintain that standard.”

    Callahan went 4-19, which featured a 10-game skid.

    He becomes just the second coach fired during the season by this franchise since relocating to Tennessee in 1997, joining Ken Whisenhunt. Whisenhunt had a 3-20 record when fired in November 2015, with a stint including a 10-game skid to end the 2014 season.

    The Titans had said they wanted to see improvement this season with Callahan going into his second season as a first-time head coach with a rookie quarterback in Cam Ward. Yet Callahan had to hand off play-calling duties after dropping to 0-3 and the offense struggling.

    Even the change in play-caller didn’t help.

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  • Phillies face an uncertain future following their 4th straight playoff exit

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    PHILADELPHIA — PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Orion Kerkering airmailed a throw into the Los Angeles night that not only unimaginably ended the Phillies’ season — it all but ended the run of the core of a roster that suffered through four straight postseasons without a World Series title.

    NL home run and RBI champion Kyle Schwarber, veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto and rotation stalwart Ranger Suárez are all free agents. Outfielder Harrison Bader, who raised his value with a dynamite two months with the Phillies, has a mutual option he is sure to decline.

    And what about manager Rob Thomson? Thomson has guided the Phillies through four playoff berths in his four seasons in charge. He led them to the 2022 World Series (where they lost to Houston) and the Phillies did just win their second straight NL East title.

    The ring is the thing and the Phillies fell shy again of winning their first championship since 2008. That failure could weigh heavily on managing partner John Middleton and team president Dave Dombrowski’s call to bring back Thomson for a fifth season or start fresh with a new manager and a roster makeover after years of essentially running it back with the same core.

    The Phillies could lose valuable pieces to more than just free agency in the offseason.

    What will they do with right fielder Nick Castellanos —- who has one year left on the five-year, $100 million deal signed ahead of the 2022 season — who seemed unhappy and cited personal issues with Thomson after losing his starting job late in the season?

    José Alvarado has a club option for 2026 but are the Phillies really keen on keeping the left-hand reliever who served an 80-game suspension and was left off the postseason roster for violating baseball’s performance-enhancing drugs policy?

    The real question that has haunted the Phillies in each of the last three playoff years is this: How do the Phillies — with a $291.7 million payroll — snap out of the same October pattern of frigid bats from their highest-priced players that doomed them again against the Dodgers?

    Kerkering’s errant throw was only the final shovel of dirt on a playoff hole dug deep by a collapse at the plate from Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner. Harper and Turner aren’t going anywhere and top minor league prospects such as starting pitcher Andrew Painter, outfielder Justin Crawford and infielder Aidan Miller are on the brink of joining the big leagues.

    So what’s next?

    The 62-year-old Thomson is on the short list of greatest managers in franchise history. Outside of Castellanos, Thomson is generally well-liked and highly-regarded inside the clubhouse. His decision-making had some hits — such as the Aaron Nola-Suárez pitching combo in Game 3 — and misses — a rally-killing Bryson Stott in the the ninth inning of Game 2 — in the NL Division Series. He’s 346-251 (.580) in the regular season and that kind of record usually doesn’t get managers fired.

    Whiffing his way down the postseason ladder —- losing in the 2022 World Series; the 2023 NL Championship Series and two straight defeats in the NLDS — raises some concern about Thomson’s job security.

    “It’s out of my control,” Thomson said. “I’m not even thinking about it. I’ve got 60 people in there that are brokenhearted right now. So I’m thinking about that more so than my job right now.”

    Harper — who has six years left on his 13-year, $330 million contract — and Turner both stumped for Thomson to return.

    Yes, they both like the affable Canadian. Yet, there’s a tinge of guilt that their postseason slumps are the bulk of the reason why the Phillies are home empty-handed in October.

    Turner went 4-for-17 with no homers and three RBIs in the NLDS while Schwarber went 3-for-16 (with two homers in Game 3) and Harper was just 3-for-15 with no home runs and no RBIs. Throw out Game 3’s offensive outburst, and Turner-Schwarber-Harper went a combined 3-for-35 in the series. Castellanos, Stott and outfielder Max Kepler all hit under .200 in the series.

    “I love Topper, man. He’s done a great job for us,” Harper said. “That’s a Dombrowski question. But obviously, we love Topper in here. He’s been great for us.”

    Thomson is signed through next season. But there’s always a fall guy and it’s possible the Phillies part ways with hitting coach Kevin Long.

    Schwarber has emerged as the heart of the clubhouse and has about topped Harper as the face of the franchise over his four wildly-successful seasons.

    He’s going to command a lot of years and a lot of money — a lot of money — on the open market. He hit 46, 47, 38 and a career-high 56 homers this season. Schwarber turns 33 before next season and the Phillies can’t be sure his power will hold up deep into a potential long-term contract.

    But can they afford the short-term power and popularity hits if they let him walk?

    Schwarber fought back tears after the Game 4 loss as he pondered not only the end of the season but his crucial offseason decision.

    “You just make a lot of different relationships in the clubhouse,” Schwarber said. “You don’t know how it’s going to work out. You just make so many personal relationships with these guys … They become family. You just never know. These guys all know how I feel about them. This is a premier organization and a lot of people should be very lucky that, one, you’re playing for a team that tries to win every single year and you have a fan base that cares and ownership that cares.”

    Realmuto bristled at reporters in Los Angeles that asked about his future, saying, “I’m not here to talk about free agency, dude. Don’t ask that question right now.”

    Castellanos said he would tend to a left knee injury suffered in July before he made decisions about his future.

    Either way, the Phillies are still talented and deep enough to make the playoffs in 2026.

    No decisions will change the sting of another playoff series loss.

    “Sometimes, baseball just happens,” Turner said. “It’s a bad answer and not what people want to hear. That’s why this game is so hard.”

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  • Winnipeg Jets sign Kyle Connor to an 8-year, $96 million extension

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    WINNIPEG, Manitoba — WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Kyle Connor is staying in Winnipeg.

    The star left-winger has signed an eight-year, $96 million contract extension with the Jets. The team announced Wednesday that the new deal will have an average annual value of $12 million.

    Connor had 41 goals and 56 assists for the Jets last season with a plus-17 defensive rating.

    Winnipeg drafted him at No. 17 in the 2015 NHL entry draft. He has 284 goals and 298 assists over his nine seasons in the NHL, all with Winnipeg. The two-time all-star won the Lady Byng Trophy in 2022 for his sportsmanlike play.

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  • Bengals acquire Joe Flacco from the Browns in a trade that also involves draft picks

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    Joe Flacco is on the move again.

    The Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) acquired the veteran quarterback from the Cleveland Browns along with a 2026 sixth-round draft pick on Tuesday for a fifth-round pick next season.

    The 40-year-old Flacco gives Cincinnati another option. Jake Browning has struggled since replacing Joe Burrow, who is out with a toe injury sustained in Week 2.

    Flacco started the first four games for the Browns (1-4) this season, completing 93 of 160 passes for 815 yards and two touchdowns with six interceptions.

    “Joe is an experienced quarterback with a history of winning,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “He is a leader with a skill set that will fit our personnel well. He is a gifted passer with a strong arm, and we are excited to have him on our team.”

    Rookie Dillon Gabriel replaced Flacco in the starting lineup and played well in Cleveland’s 21-17 loss to Minnesota in London. Rookie Shedeur Sanders now moves up to the backup spot.

    “I got that text during practice. I don’t care. I don’t give a darn about the Browns at all. I care about the Colorado Buffaloes,” said his father, Colorado coach Deion Sanders. “I do love me some Shedeur Sanders, though, believe that. I care about him. The rest of that mess, I don’t. I’m a coach trying to win just like they’re trying to win games. I could care less who they traded.”

    Flacco, who was Super Bowl MVP with the Baltimore Ravens 13 years ago, has played for the Broncos, Jets, Eagles, Jets again, Browns, Colts, Browns again and now the Bengals.

    If Flacco starts against Green Bay this week, he will become the seventh QB since at least 1950 to start against the same opponent twice in a season with a different team. Kyle Orton didn’t twice.

    The Bengals were 4-3 with Browning in 2023 and he led them to a comeback win in Week 2 against the Jaguars after Burrow left the game. But Cincinnati has lost each of his three starts and Browning has six TDs and eight picks so far.

    The Bengals released Brett Rypien after the trade.

    Flacco has thrown for 46,512 yards, 259 TDs and 168 INTs in 18 seasons. He is 10-6 in the playoffs with 3530 yards passing, 26 TDs and 12 INTs.

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    AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed to this report.

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  • Texas Rangers hire Skip Schumaker as manager, signing former Marlins skipper to 4-year deal

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    ARLINGTON, Texas — ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers hired Skip Schumaker as their manager Friday night, agreeing on a four-year contract with the former NL Manager of the Year, who had been in their organization for the past year.

    Schumaker’s deal was announced after Chris Young, the president of baseball operations, acknowledged earlier in the day that the Rangers were focused on an internal candidate in their search to replace Bruce Bochy. Schumaker had been in a senior advisory role with the team since last November.

    The 45-year-old Schumaker was the 2023 NL Manager of the Year when Miami went 84-78 and made the fourth postseason appearance in club history. That was the same year Texas, with Bochy in his debut there, won its only World Series championship.

    “While I attained a good understanding of the organization through my front office role this past season, the conversations with Chris Young, (general manager) Ross Fenstermaker, and others this week have only intensified my interest in this opportunity,” Schumaker said in a statement. “I can’t wait to begin the work for 2026.”

    The Rangers and the 70-year-old Bochy, a four-time World Series champion who was baseball’s winningest active manager, agreed Monday to end his managerial stint. That was the day after Texas finished 81-81 for its second non-winning record since its championship. Bochy was at the end of his three-year contract.

    The Marlins slipped to 62-100 in 2024 after changes in the front office and with a roster decimated by trades and injuries. Schumaker and the team agreed that he wouldn’t return for this season.

    Texas then hired Schumaker for the advisory position, a move viewed by many as making him the heir apparent to Bochy.

    “We are thrilled to announce this promotion and have Skip leading this club in the dugout,” Young said in a statement. “Over his past year as a senior advisor to our baseball operations group, Skip has proven to be driven, passionate and thorough in everything he does. He has a winning spirit and energy, and we are fortunate that someone so highly regarded in the industry has agreed to become our manager.”

    The Rangers became the first of eight major league teams to fill a managerial vacancy. Young wouldn’t say earlier in the day if any other teams had requested permission to speak with Shumaker.

    Before going to Miami, Schumaker was on San Diego’s staff from 2018-21 and then was the bench coach for St. Louis, where he played for the Cardinals during their 2011 World Series win over Texas. He played 11 big league seasons with St. Louis (2005-12), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2013) and Cincinnati (2014-15).

    Schumaker will take over a Rangers team that for the first time in franchise history this year led the majors in ERA (3.47), and will bring back starting pitchers Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Leiter. Texas also set a single-season MLB record with its .99112 fielding percentage, bettering the 2013 Baltimore Orioles’ mark of .99104.

    But the Rangers ranked 26th in the majors with a .234 batting average and 22nd with 684 runs scored.

    “It was a little bit bittersweet. It was painful to really see some of the things that we did so well, and then also there was optimism to know that we did so many things so well and came up short,” Young said earlier Friday. “But there’s a lot to look forward to moving forward, and I think there’s a lot of optimism I have that this is going to get corrected quickly. I mean, we’re not talking about a 20-game jump here to make the playoffs.”

    Fenstermaker said while Schumaker lives on the West Coast, he had been very involved with the team in his advisory role.

    “He’d spend time with us and many different folks in the front office, add his perspective, his wisdom. He was around and available a lot,” Fenstermaker said. “We probably talked to him every few days, if not daily, throughout the course of the year and bounce ideas off him and get his perspective.”

    Bochy has been offered an advisory role in the Rangers’ front office. He also could be in line for such a position with the San Francisco Giants, though he isn’t a candidate for the managerial opening of the team he led to World Series titles in 2010, ’12 and ’14.

    With 2,252 wins, Bochy is sixth among major league managers, with the five ahead of him all in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was 249-237 with the Rangers.

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  • Twins fire manager Rocco Baldelli after 70-92 season

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    MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins fired manager Rocco Baldelli on Monday, ending his seven-year tenure that included three AL Central titles after a second straight disappointing season.

    Minnesota announced Baldelli’s firing following a season marked by a major selloff leading up to the trade deadline after the team faltered in June and failed to mount any momentum in July. The Twins (70-92) went 19-35 after the deadline passed following the departure of 10 players off their major league roster, with only the Colorado Rockies faring worse over the final two months.

    The Twins finished with the fourth-worst record in the major leagues and their worst mark since 2016, when they went 59-103 after firing longtime general manager Terry Ryan at midseason. Current team president Derek Falvey was hired to replace Ryan after that.

    “Over the past seven years Rocco has been much more than our manager. He has been a trusted partner and teammate to me in leading this organization,” Falvey said in a statement. “Together we shared a deep care for the Twins, for our players and staff, and for doing everything in our power to put this club in the best position to succeed. Along the way we experienced some meaningful accomplishments, and I will always be proud of those, even as I wish we had ultimately achieved more.

    “This is a difficult day because of what Rocco represents to so many people here. He led with honesty, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to our players and staff. He gave himself fully to this role and I have tremendous respect and gratitude for the way he carried himself and the way he showed up every single day.”

    For the second straight year, uncertainty around Baldelli’s status hovered around the club. The Twins, who went 87-75 in 2023 to win their third AL Central title under Baldelli and their first series in the playoffs in 21 years, were in firm control of a wild-card spot down the stretch last season before tumbling out of contention with a 12-27 record over the last six weeks to land at 82-80.

    Factoring that finish into their extended funk this year, the Twins are 82-119 over their last 201 games for a .408 winning percentage. That includes a 13-game winning streak they produced earlier this season.

    Attendance has swooned at Target Field, with the Twins finishing with an 81-home game total of a little more than 1.7 million tickets sold, their lowest number in a non-pandemic season since 2000 when they played at the Metrodome and finished 69-93. Fans have mostly directed their disdain toward ownership, with deep frustration over cost-cutting that came after the 2023 breakthrough. The Pohlad family put the franchise up for sale last year, but decided last month to keep control and bring on two new investment groups for an infusion of cash to help pay down debt.

    The dizzying trade-deadline activity left Baldelli and his staff without much to work with down the stretch, though All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton was a bright spot in a breakthrough season for his health and rookie second baseman Luke Keaschall provided consistent production and a professional approach at the plate belying his inexperience.

    The departures of shortstop Carlos Correa, outfielder Harrison Bader, first baseman Ty France and multi-position player Willi Castro robbed the lineup of experience and steadiness, but that was nothing like what happened to Baldelli’s bullpen.

    The Twins traded their five best relievers, from closer Jhoan Duran on down, and left the final 54 games to a ragtag group that had eight blown saves in 18 opportunities during that span. The conversion rate of 44.4% ranked second-worst in the major leagues over the final two months.

    Baldelli was hired before the 2019 season to replace Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, with Falvey citing his adaptivity to the data-based direction of baseball strategy and his communication skill in distilling it to coaches and players and clearly setting expectations and preferences.

    Particularly in this modern age of analytics, there’s plenty of mystery about just how much impact a manager in the dugout truly has on a baseball team’s won-loss record, but the overall performance — even with the post-trade deadline roster depletion this year — and lack of life from the club lately suggested some type of staffing change would be warranted.

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    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

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  • Giants fire veteran manager Bob Melvin after two years as Buster Posey seeks ‘different voice’

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    SAN FRANCISCO — Buster Posey will search for a fresh managerial voice to guide the San Francisco Giants, someone with an “obsessive” work ethic and attention to detail.

    Manager Bob Melvin was fired Monday after the club missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season.

    Posey, San Francisco’s President of Baseball Operations, announced the decision. He had shown his confidence in Melvin by exercising the veteran manager’s contract option for the 2026 season on July 1.

    “Just looking to find a different voice that can take us in a different direction,” Posey said.

    Melvin said after Sunday’s 4-0 victory against Colorado to conclude his second season that he had received no assurances about managing in 2026.

    “It is what it is,” he said, “we’ll see what the next day brings.”

    The Giants finished 81-81 for one more victory than in Melvin’s first year. They haven’t reached the postseason since winning the NL West with a franchise-record 107 victories to edge the rival Dodgers by one game in 2021 under then-skipper Gabe Kapler.

    Now, another change.

    “It’s definitely not ideal but unfortunately we talked about it a lot what the standards are for the Giants and we have high standards,” Posey said. “And I hold myself to those same standards. I understand fully the position that I’m in now. My job and the team’s success is evaluated accordingly as well. You without a doubt hope that there can be consistency in these leadership positions. We’ve got to get back to a place where we’re getting in the playoffs, we’re making runs in playoffs. That’s what our fan base deserves, that’s what the city deserves.”

    As Posey begins finalizing his list of candidates, one familiar name has come up as a possibility: the catcher’s former manager, Bruce Bochy. He has wrapped up his three-year contract with Texas but Posey noted, “I don’t know what his status is yet so I can’t speak on that.”

    The 70-year-old Bochy managed the Giants for 13 seasons from 2007-2019, a run that featured every-other-year World Series titles in 2010, ‘12 and ’14.

    Posey said there’s no timetable for making a hire — “I want to make sure we get it right” — nor suggested whether he would seek someone with prior managerial experience.

    Players offered support for Melvin as the season ended.

    “You know how I feel about BoMel, I loved him. He’s been my manager for I guess seven years,” said third baseman Matt Chapman, who also played for Melvin with Oakland. “I feel extremely grateful that I get to play for him and he’s the same guy every day. He’s been steady for us, he’s always honest with the players, he has our back. He’s done the best with what we’ve given him. The players, a lot of us didn’t play to probably our capabilities.”

    The 63-year-old Melvin left the San Diego Padres to return home to the Bay Area and manage the Giants last year for the job he always dreamed of doing as a former catcher with the organization. This is his 22nd year as a major league manager.

    Melvin has a 1,678-1,588 career regular-season managerial record. A three-time Manager of the Year who has won the award in both leagues, he has eight postseason appearances while guiding Arizona, Seattle, Oakland, San Diego and the Giants.

    San Francisco finished 80-82 in Melvin’s first season last year after he replaced Kapler, who was fired with three days remaining in the 2023 season.

    Melvin is a native of nearby Palo Alto, California. He attended the University of California-Berkeley and played for his hometown Giants from 1986-88.

    This has been his dream job, one he thought about in each visit to Oracle Park as a visiting manager.

    “It wasn’t enjoyable. I knew how much this job meant to Bob,” Posey said of their conversation.

    The players certainly realized their skipper’s passion for being in a place that means so much to him.

    While several Giants — including All-Star Logan Webb — said they don’t expect Posey to be satisfied with this disappointing year, that didn’t necessarily mean they expected a managerial change.

    “He’s done a great job,” Webb said after Sunday’s start. “I know I said some things last time that I think got misconstrued. It had nothing to do with BoMel. He’s amazing at what he does. I think at the end of the day, it comes down to us being able to play better as players, and I think everyone in here will say the exact same thing. BoMel’s a great leader of men. It’s been amazing. I think BoMel is great.”

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    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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  • WNBA suspends Lynx coach Reeve 1 game for behavior, comments in Mercury loss

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    The WNBA suspended Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve for one game for her behavior and comments

    “Her conduct and comments included aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing a game official on the court, failure to leave the court in a timely manner upon her ejection with 21.8 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, inappropriate comments made to fans when exiting the court, and remarks made in a post-game press conference,” the league said in a statement Saturday.

    Reeve, who was also fined, will serve the suspension on Sunday when the Lynx play the Mercury in Game 4 of the teams’ semifinals series in Phoenix. Minnesota trails the best-of-five series 2-1.

    It’s believed to be the first time in the history of the WNBA that a coach has been suspended for a playoff game.

    Minnesota assistant coaches Eric Thibault and Rebekkah Brunson also were fined by the league. Thibault was fined for his inappropriate interaction with an official on the court. Brunson was fined for an inappropriate social media comment directed at WNBA officials.

    In her postgame rant, Reeve called for the WNBA to make changes at the league level when it comes to officiating. Monty McCutchen is the head of WNBA officiating, and Sue Blauch is the head of referee performance and development for the league.

    Reeve, however, focused her anger on the three game officials from Friday night: Isaac Barnett, Randy Richardson and Jenna Reneau.

    “The officiating crew that we had tonight — for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worthy — is (expletive) malpractice,” Reeve said.

    The play that drew Reeve’s ire was Alyssa Thomas stealing the ball from Napheesa Collier near the 3-point line and going toward the other end of the court for the game-sealing layup.

    Collier injured her leg on the play and had to be helped to the locker room. Reeve said Collier “probably has a fracture,” though she didn’t elaborate on the injury.

    Though Collier crashed to the court after the players collided, the National Basketball Referees Association posted a highlight of the play on X with its description of why officials were correct to not blow their whistle.

    “This is NOT a foul,” the post said. “Thomas legally gets to the ball and knocks the ball loose prior to any contact. The leg to leg contact is incidental once the ball is clearly loose.”

    There have been several complaints about WNBA officiating this season. Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon has voiced her issues with the physicality in the playoffs.

    “You can bump and grab a wide receiver in the NFL for those first 5 yards, but you can do it in the W for the whole half court,” she said. “You put two hands on somebody, it should be an automatic foul. The freedom of movement? There’s no freedom. I’m not saying we’re not fouling, too. I’m not saying that. I’m saying it’s out of control.”

    WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed the league’s officiating during All-Star Weekend in July.

    “As we go forward on the officiating, we hear the concerns. We take that employee input,” Engelbert said. “Every play is reviewed. We spend hours and hours and hours. Obviously, we use that then to follow up with officials’ training.

    “Consistency is important. I think some people observe our game versus other basketball formats (and think) there aren’t a ton of fouls called, but I realize consistency is the name of the game.”

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    AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

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