BASEBALL
Dodgers pick Roberts
The Los Angeles Dodgers have made it official, hiring Dave Roberts to be the first black manager in franchise history. The team announced his hiring Monday and plans to introduce him on Dec. 1. The 43-year-old former major leaguer served as bench coach for San Diego the past two seasons. Before that, Roberts was a special assistant for the Padres’ front office in 2010 and their first base coach in 2011-2013. He served as manager for one game this season after Bud Black was fired. Roberts’ father is black and his mother is Japanese. In a statement, Roberts calls his hiring “the opportunity of a lifetime.” Roberts was the primary center fielder for the Dodgers in 2002-2004. He becomes the fourth Dodgers manager to also play for the franchise, joining Tom Lasorda, Bill Russell and Glenn Hoffman. He succeeds Don Mattingly, who mutually parted ways with the team last month.
Former Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer Rod Carew is hoping to qualify for a heart transplant after suffering a massive heart attack two months ago. Carew told Sports Illustrated that he suffered the heart attack while golfing alone in Corona, Calif., on Sept. 20. Carew, 70, told the magazine, “They brought me back to life.” He underwent six hours of open heart surgery and had a device installed that pumps blood for him. The device typically acts as a bridge until a heart transplant. Carew played for the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels in his 19-year career, and has a statue outside Target Field in Minneapolis. He won seven American League batting titles, was the 1967 AL Rookie of the Year and was the 1977 AL MVP.
Catcher Chris Iannetta has signed a one-year contract with the Seattle Mariners, giving the club additional options behind the plate. Seattle announced the signing Monday. The club designated catcher John Hicks for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Iannetta. Iannetta spent the past four seasons with the Los Angeles Angels but struggled at the plate in 2015, hitting just .188 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI. It was the lowest batting average of Iannetta’s career. A year earlier, he hit .252 in 108 games with the Angels. New Seattle General Manager Jerry Dipoto saw Iannetta up close the past few seasons with the Angels and said the addition provides “depth at a critical position.” Seattle will be the third team for Iannetta, who started his career with Colorado.
FOOTBALL
Syracuse fires Shafer
Syracuse has fired Coach Scott Shafer two days after the team’s eighth consecutive loss. Athletic Director Mark Coyle announced the dismissal Monday and said a national search will begin immediately. Shafer will coach the season finale against Boston College on Saturday. The Orange (3-8) started the season with three consecutive victories before going into a tailspin for the second consecutive year. The latest loss was last Saturday at North Carolina State. Coyle was hired in June and had not spoken publicly about Shafer’s future since issuing a wait-and-see approach before the season. The Orange went 3-9 last season, and Shafer has gone just 2-13 in the Atlantic Coast Conference the past two years.
Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer said defensive end Dadi Nicolas will be suspended for half of the Hokies’ game at Virginia on Saturday for hitting referee Ron Cherry during a loss to North Carolina last Saturday. Nicolas was upset after being called for being offside on a second-down incompletion by the Tar Heels. In anger, he flailed his arms and struck Cherry’s outstretched arm, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Beamer said he met with Nicolas on Monday and is convinced the contact was unintentional, but said he clearly hit Cherry’s arm “and that can’t happen.” The Hokies (5-6, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) need to beat Virginia (4-7, 3-4) to become bowl eligible for the 23rd consecutive season. The game will be the last regular-season game of Beamer’s 29 years as the Hokies’ coach.
Baylor freshman quarterback Jarrett Stidham is questionable for No. 7 Baylor’s game Friday at No. 15 TCU. Baylor Coach Art Briles said Monday “it doesn’t look real good” for Stidham to play after Saturday’s victory at Oklahoma State. When Stidham came out after having his leg rolled over, it was described as an ankle injury. During the Big 12 coaches teleconference, Briles spoke about an injury to a bone in Stidham’s leg. Stidham’s throwing hand was also wrapped during the game and Stidham already had a sore back. Stidham took over as Baylor’s starter after junior Seth Russell had season-ending neck surgery. Russell got hurt Oct. 24. Chris Johnson threw two touchdowns against the Cowboys after replacing Stidham and will likely start against TCU.
The NCAA football oversight committee is expected this week to provide guidelines for matching bowls with sub.-500 teams if there are not enough bowl-eligible squads to fill the record 80 postseason spots available this year. Bowl officials are hoping the committee, which is led by Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, can provide some order to a potentially disorganized situation. “I think we’ll still get to 80. If we don’t, I have confidence the NCAA will work out all of those details,” said Wright Waters, executive director of the Football Bowl Association. There are 71 teams that have met the minimum bowl-eligibility requirement of six victories and at least a .500 record in 12 games going into the final two weeks of the regular season. Nineteen more teams can still reach bowl eligibility, 15 need one more victory. Texas, Kansas State, Georgia State and Louisiana-Lafayette need to win their final two games. Among those teams that are a victory away are Virginia Tech (which plays Virginia), Illinois (No. 17 Northwestern), Missouri (Arkansas) and Washington (No. 20 Washington State). The bowl lineup reached 40 this offseason, not including the College Football Playoff championship game. That means 63 percent of FBS teams will play in the postseason, more than ever before. In 2012, the NCAA was asked to come up with a safety net plan to fill all the bowls if there were not enough teams that met the minimum requirements. The protocol allows 5-7 teams to play in the postseason if they are among the top five schools in the NCAA’s Academic Progress Report for the most recent season recorded. Those teams (Wisconsin, Northwestern, Duke, Michigan and Stanford) are already bowl eligible.
BASKETBALL
Hawks coach fined
Atlanta Hawks Coach Mike Budenholzer has been fined $25,000 for making incidental contact with an official. The fine, announced Monday by NBA vice president for basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe, followed Budenholzer’s technical foul and ejection from Saturday’s 109-97 loss at the Cleveland Cavaliers. Budenholzer was given a technical foul for arguing a call. He bumped referee Ben Taylor after stepping on the floor and was quickly tossed. Budenholzer said after the game any contact “was 100 percent unintentional.”