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Boston Bruins president Cam Neely said the signing of prospect Mitchell Miller was his biggest regret as an NHL executive, and he expressed concern over failures in the team’s vetting process.

“I’m extremely upset that we have made a lot of people unhappy with our decision,” Neely said Monday. “I take a lot of pride in the Bruins organization and what we stand for, and we failed there.”

The Bruins signed Miller, a 20-year-old defenseman, on Friday to an entry-level contract with the intention of sending him to AHL Providence. The team, however, announced Sunday night that it was parting ways with Miller after intense backlash from fans, the team’s own players and commissioner Gary Bettman.

Said Bettman on Saturday: “I can’t tell you that he’ll ever be eligible to come into the NHL.”

Miller was a fourth-round pick by the Arizona Coyotes in 2020, but his draft rights were relinquished when a story was published about how he and another middle school classmate were convicted in juvenile court in 2016 of assaulting and bullying Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, a Black classmate with developmental disabilities. In the report, Meyer-Crothers’ mother alleged Miller began abusing her son in second grade and repeatedly used racial slurs.

Neely said the possibility of signing Miller was first broached in August. The Bruins said Sunday that they decided to cut ties with him “based on new information.” When asked about that Monday, Neely said the fact that the Bruins never reached out to the family of Meyer-Crothers “was concerning to me” and that it was “absolutely” a problem with the team’s vetting process.

“We like to take pride in what we do in the community and we hold ourselves accountable,” said Neely, who said he plans to reach out to the family of Meyer-Crothers. “We dropped the ball, and I’m here to apologize.

“I’ll say it again: I want to apologize to Isaiah and his family. It’s something that they shouldn’t continue to go through.”

Why did the Bruins believe Miller deserved a chance in the NHL, after the Coyotes passed?

“From everything I’ve heard, he was working on himself, working in programs to better himself,” Neely said. “I was under the impression it was a 14-year-old kid who made a really, really bad decision and did some horrible things, and he’s 20 years old now. I was under the impression that he, in the last six years, had done a lot of work on himself.”

The Bruins president, however, said the team “could’ve dug deeper” on Miller before signing him.

The initial backlash came from NHL fans and quickly extended to Boston’s own players, who were on the road in Toronto and had been told that Miller would be signed. Captain Patrice Bergeron called Miller’s actions “unacceptable, and we don’t stand by that.”

On Saturday, while in Finland for the NHL Global Series, Bettman said Miller’s future in the league was uncertain. The NHLPA told ESPN on Saturday that it had not been informed of any suspension or disciplinary action by the NHL toward Miller.

Neely said Boston GM Don Sweeney spoke with deputy commissioner Bill Daly on Wednesday about signing Miller.

“From what I gather, [NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly] said that Mitchell would have to get in front of Gary Bettman if he was going to play in the NHL,” Neely said.

Neely called the signing of Miller his biggest regret “by far” as an executive. It came at a time when the Bruins are off to their best start in franchise history (10-2-0).

“The timing of it was never probably going to be good,” Neely said. “I think it got down to the point of [whether] we’re doing it or not. And we made the wrong decision.”

ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark contributed to this report.

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Marlins def. Yankees, earn 1st-ever sweep of N.Y.

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Marlins def. Yankees, earn 1st-ever sweep of N.Y.

MIAMI — Kyle Stowers hit a three-run homer and the Miami Marlins defeated the New York Yankees 7-3 on Sunday, completing their first-ever sweep of the Yankees in a series of three or more games.

The Marlins (55-55) reached .500 for the first time since April 15, when the team was 8-8. Since June 13, the Marlins are 30-14; that’s tied with the 2003 team for the most wins in a 44-game span in franchise history, according to ESPN Research.

The 2003 Marlins went on to beat the Yankees in the World Series in six games.

Marlins starter Edward Cabrera (5-5) pitched six innings of two-hit ball with seven strikeouts and one walk. His only blemish came against the first batter he faced. Trent Grisham drove Cabrera’s 98.1 mph four-seam fastball to right-center.

Miami rookie Jakob Marsee, who made his major league debut on Friday, was 2-for-4 and finished a single short of the cycle.

Stowers made it 6-1 when he connected on an 0-2 fastball from Brent Headrick, who entered in the fourth with two on after starter Luis Gil (0-1) was lifted 3⅓ innings into his season debut.

Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, struck out three and surrendered five runs and five hits while issuing four walks in his return from a high-grade lat strain. He threw 77 pitches.

Gil’s shaky debut comes at a rough point in the season for the Yankees, whose inconsistency has prompted a rash of criticism, the latest coming from former Yankees stars Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez on Fox’s pregame show Saturday night.

“They make way too many mistakes,” Jeter said. “Way too many mistakes, and you can’t get away with making that number of mistakes against great teams.”

Added Rodriguez: “Where’s the accountability?”

Boone addressed those criticisms before Sunday’s game, saying it comes with the territory of being the Yankees, but he added after the loss that it’s “gut-check” time for his club.

New York’s weekend series at Miami included the Yankees blowing a six-run lead in a wild 13-12 loss on Friday, before a 2-0 loss on Saturday.

The Yankees had a seven-game lead in the AL East in late May. By July 2, the lead was gone and the Yankees have been looking up at Toronto in the division ever since. The red-hot Boston Red Sox, who were more than 10 games behind the Yankees about two months ago, have overtaken their rival for the second spot in the AL East and AL wild-card lead.

“It’s getting late,” Boone said. “And it’s certainly not too late for us. I am confident that we’re going to get it together. But that’s all it is right now is, you know, it’s empty until we start doing it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Rodriguez makes history with 4th 20-20 season

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Rodriguez makes history with 4th 20-20 season

SEATTLE — Julio Rodriguez homered to become the first player in major league history with 20 or more home runs and 20 or more stolen bases in each of his first four seasons, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-4 on Sunday.

Rodriguez hit a two-run shot in the third inning — his 100th career homer — and the slugging and speedy center fielder also added his 21st stolen base of the season after singling in the fifth inning.

Jorge Polanco added a solo shot in the second, and shortstop J.P. Crawford smacked a two-run blast in the fourth against Rangers starter Jacob deGrom (10-4), who became the fastest pitcher in major league history to reach 1,800 career strikeouts by games and innings Sunday.

The Rangers kept things close by pushing across three runs against Mariners starter Logan Evans (5-4), but tallied only one run against the Mariners bullpen before closer Andrés Muñoz locked down his 25th save of the season.

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White Sox place Vargas on IL with oblique strain

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White Sox place Vargas on IL with oblique strain

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Chicago White Sox placed infielder Miguel Vargas on the 10-day injured list on Sunday because of a left oblique strain.

Vargas, 25, was scratched from Saturday night’s 1-0 victory at the Angels. Vargas, who was acquired from the Dodgers as part of a three-team trade in July 2024, is batting .229 with 13 homers and 44 RBIs in 106 games.

The White Sox also recalled infielder Curtis Mead from Triple-A Charlotte before their series finale against the Angels. Left-hander Bryan Hudson and right-hander Elvis Peguero were claimed off waivers from Milwaukee and assigned to Charlotte.

Mead, 24, came over when the White Sox traded right-hander Adrian Houser to Tampa Bay on Thursday. Mead hit .226 with three homers and eight RBIs in 49 games with the Rays this year.

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