Off the wire

This is a 2017 file photo showing Carlos Beltran of the Houston Astros. Beltran is retiring after winning his first World Series title in his 20th major league season. The 40-year-old made the announcement Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, 12 days after the Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series.
This is a 2017 file photo showing Carlos Beltran of the Houston Astros. Beltran is retiring after winning his first World Series title in his 20th major league season. The 40-year-old made the announcement Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, 12 days after the Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series.

SOCCER

Italy to miss World Cup

Four-time champion Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in six decades after losing its playoff to Sweden 1-0 on aggregate. They played to a goalless draw in a quiet San Siro in Milan on Monday. It could have been worse for Italy, as Sweden was denied what looked like two clear-cut penalties for handballs, first from Matteo Darmian and then from Andrea Barzagli. Italy had a penalty appeal of its own waved off by referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz when Marco Parolo was tripped from behind by Ludwig Augsustinsson. But the Azzurri struggled to carve out clear chances against a solid Sweden side, and really tested goalkeeper Robin Olsen only once. The last major competitions Italy missed were the 1984 and 1992 European Championships. It has participated in every World Cup since failing to qualify for the 1958 tournament.

FOOTBALL

Raiders break ground

After years of planning, dealing and getting millions in public financing approved, the Oakland Raiders broke ground Monday night on their new 65,000-seat, domed stadium in Las Vegas. Contractors will be working under an ambitious timeline as the team wants to kick off the 2020 season at the new stadium. But the Raiders are yet to reach crucial agreements for the $1.9 billion project and now could lose millions under the tax reform bill proposed by House Republicans. The stadium's financing plan includes $750 million in publicly issued tax-exempt bonds. The Raiders and the NFL are expected to contribute $500 million, while the team has also secured a $600 million bank loan. The Raiders' plan to relocate to Las Vegas began when NFL owners shot down their plans to move to Los Angeles.

Gators switch QBs

The Florida Gators are switching quarterbacks for the fourth time in seven weeks. Interim coach Randy Shannon said Monday that Feleipe Franks will be the team's starter against UAB, regaining his spot on the depth chart following an injury to Malik Zaire. Shannon says "that's what we have to go with today." Zaire started the last two games -- both losses -- and sustained an apparent left knee injury in a 28-20 loss at South Carolina on Saturday. Franks replaced Zaire in the second quarter and completed 10 of 25 passes for 174 yards, with an interception. Franks started five games this season, including the opener against Michigan. But the Gators (3-6, 3-5 SEC) turned to Luke Del Rio in early October, went back to Franks the following week and then ended up starting Zaire after the program parted ways with coach Jim McElwain two weeks ago.

TENNIS

Nadal withdraws

Rafael Nadal will have to wait another year to win the ATP Finals. The world No. 1 withdrew from the elite, season-ending tournament after losing his opening match to David Goffin 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-4 on Monday at the O2 Arena in London. Nadal pulled out of the Paris Masters at the quarterfinal stage 10 days ago and admitted ahead of the ATP Finals on the indoor hard-court he struggles on, that his knees, which have caused him trouble throughout his career, were still "not perfect." Despite having qualified 13 consecutive times for the ATP Finals and eight appearances, Nadal has never won the event. Making his debut at the ATP Finals earlier, Grigor Dimitrov withstood a comeback attempt from Dominic Thiem and held on for a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 victory.

BASEBALL

Series moved to Mexico

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will play a three-game series at Monterrey, Mexico, from May 4-6. The games had been originally scheduled for San Diego's Petco Park, and the shift to Estadio de Beisbol was announced Monday. The Padres will remain the home team. This will be the third regular-season series in Monterrey. Colorado beat San Diego 8-2 there in Major League Baseball's season opener on April 4, 1999, and the Padres won two of three games against the New York Mets from Aug. 16-18, 1996. This is the third shift in games announced for next season. Cleveland and Minnesota will play a two-game series from April 17-18 at San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Philadelphia and the Mets will meet on Aug. 19 at Williamsport, Penn., near the site of the Little League World Series. Each player making the Mexico or Puerto Rico trips will receive an additional $15,000. Managers, coaches, trainers and clubhouse staff on each team will split $40,000.

Braves hire GM

The Atlanta Braves have hired former Dodgers and Blue Jays executive Alex Anthopoulos as their general manager. Anthopoulos, 40, was introduced on Monday. He spent the last two seasons as the Dodgers' vice president of baseball operations. He succeeds John Coppolella, who was forced to resign Oct. 2 after an ongoing investigation by Major League Baseball disclosed rule violations committed by the Braves in the international player market. After being named the Blue Jays' GM in 2009, Anthopoulos helped build the team that won the AL East in 2015, ending a 22-year postseason drought. It was not immediately known if Anthopoulos will be given control of baseball operations with the Braves, duties that have been managed by team president John Hart. Anthopoulos began his baseball career with the Montreal Expos as a publicity intern before moving to scouting for three years. He joined Toronto after the 2003 season as a scouting coordinator and earned a promotion to vice president of baseball operations and assistant general manager in 2006 before taking over as GM.

BASKETBALL

Capel Jr. dies of ALS

Former Old Dominion and Fayetteville State coach Jeff Capel Jr. has died, less than two years after being diagnosed with ALS. Fayetteville State Chancellor James A. Anderson said family members told him of Capel's death Monday. He was 64. Anderson called Capel one of the school's "most respected alumni and former coaches" in a statement. Capel was diagnosed with ALS in the spring of 2016 by doctors at Duke University. His son -- Duke associate head coach Jeff Capel III -- revealed the diagnosis in a first-person story written in January for The Players Tribune. The elder Capel coached seven seasons at Old Dominion from 1994-2001, taking the Monarchs to two NCAA Tournaments.

BASEBALL

Beltran, 40, retires after winning first title

HOUSTON — It took quite some time, but Carlos Beltran finally got there, winning a World Series title after 20 seasons in the majors.

Now he is leaving the Houston Astros and leaving baseball, retiring after a career in which he was a nine-time All-Star and was Rookie of the Year. The 40-year-old designated hitter and outfielder made the announcement Monday, 12 days after the Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series.

He announced his retirement in an essay written for The Players’ Tribune website. His story touched on what finally winning a championship meant to him.

“I realized early on that my purpose in this game was to share knowledge with younger players and to give back to the game of baseball,” he wrote. “I always wanted to do that — that, and be the best teammate I could possibly be. Over 20 years, I feel like I accomplished that.

“So whether we won or lost Game 7, I would have still been happy with my career. But it still feels nice to have a ring,” he continued.

Besides being named an All-Star 9 times, most recently in 2016, and the 1999 AL Rookie of the Year, he won 3 Gold Glove and 2 Silver Slugger awards.

His production dropped dramatically this year. He hit .295 with 29 home runs and 93 RBI for the New York Yankees and Texas in 2016. He then batted .231 with 14 home runs and 51 RBI for Houston. Despite that, Beltran’s veteran presence and his work with Houston’s younger players including Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Marwin Gonzalez proved invaluable for the Astros.

He finishes with a .279 average, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBI and 312 stolen bases. He also has played for Kansas City, the New York Mets, San Francisco and St. Louis.

Sports on 11/14/2017

Upcoming Events