Trent Dilfer, the former Super Bowl-winning quarterback and ESPN analyst, was introduced as UAB‘s head coach on Wednesday, laying out a vision for an era of Blazers football that he said “many people couldn’t possibly imagine.”
Dilfer, who is about to finish his fourth season as coach at Lipscomb Academy in Tennessee, said he knows it’s going to be challenging to transition to the college game. He said he likes “big climbs.”
“It’s a giant mountain,” he said, “but I think the College Football Playoff is something we should talk about.”
It was a strong sentiment to express about a program that until recently was a doormat in the Group of 5.
UAB didn’t start playing NCAA football until 1996 — overshadowed by the University of Alabama and far less resourced. It had three winning seasons and one bowl berth in the 17 seasons before Bill Clark took over as head coach in 2014.
The program was then shuttered following the 2014 season and didn’t play again until 2017.
Clark stayed on through the shutdown and the return, and he led the team to a 43-20 record and two Conference USA championships before he stepped down in the summer to address an ailing back.
Offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent was elevated to interim head coach and led the team to a 6-6 record during the regular season.
Dilfer, 50, admitted that he wasn’t very well versed in the history of the program.
“I know this,” he said. “I know if you’re in the Southeast, you have a president that cares about excellence and an [athletic director] that understands the impact of football on a donor base that wants football to be good, you can be really good. So whatever the brand is on the jersey, I think this has an opportunity to be one of the best.”
“I wouldn’t use the word ‘scared,'” he said. “I was skeptical.”
But the more Dilfer thought about it, the more he said his interest grew. People thought he was foolish for taking a job coaching high school football in Tennessee, he said, and on Thursday he’ll lead Lipscomb to a state championship game.
“I’ll make very few promises,” he said. “But this promise I will make: You will get the best of me.”
Dilfer said he’d be lying if he said he knew how to recruit at an elite level. But he said he’d learn.
He also acknowledged the players’ feelings in him being brought on as coach.
The team sent a letter to the school president on Tuesday morning, expressing their frustration over the handling of the coaching search and throwing their support behind Vincent to be named the permanent head coach.
“They’re losing a man they truly, truly believe in,” Dilfer said. “Talking to those players today, you can see the pain in their eyes. They love Coach Vincent. They love that staff. And I said, ‘I want to honor that.’ I want to help them finish strong.
“But I also hope to earn their trust as we go through this together because great things are coming. So we’ll connect with our current roster and we’ll recruit them.”
Vincent will stay on and coach the team in the HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl on Dec. 16 against Louisiana Tech.
Landeskog, who returned in Game 3 of this Western Conference first-round series after missing nearly three seasons while recovering from a knee injury, scored his first goal since June 20, 2022, in a multi-point performance that saw the Avalanche tie the series at 2-2 in Game 4 at Ball Arena. Game 5 is Monday in Dallas.
“It means a lot,” Landeskog told reporters after the win. “Obviously, I’ve envisioned scoring again for a long time. There obviously days when I didn’t know if I was ever going to score again. It obviously feels good. It’s a tight playoff series in a big game here at home. To get to do it here at home in front of our fans obviously means a means a lot. Super exciting. Hopefully more to come.”
A short-handed goal from Logan O’Connor midway through the first period followed by a late power-play goal from Nathan MacKinnon staked the Avalanche to a 2-0 lead entering the second period.
That set the stage for Landeskog, who was in the slot when Brock Nelson fed a pass that the 32-year-old winger launched for a one-timer that beat Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger for a 3-0 lead.
Landeskog, who was playing on the second line, was instantly mobbed by his teammates on the nice such as Samuel Girard, Valeri Nichushkin, Devon Toews and Nelson, who joined the Avalanche at the NHL trade deadline.
As Landeskog returned to the bench, he was congratulated by the entire team which also included a hug from a smiling MacKinnon, who along with Landeskog, have been with the franchise for more than a decade.
“I was just proud of him again,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters after the game. “I was proud of him regardless of if he scores or not because I know what he’s gone through, and I know how difficult that was. I think that takes it to another level. You know he wants to come back and contribute like he did in the past and he’s off to a great start.”
Landeskog’s goal was the latest milestone in what’s been a lengthy recovery from a chronically injured right knee. He missed what amounted to 1,032 days since his last NHL game.
In that time, the Avalanche have remained in a championship window but have dramatically altered their roster. The Avs have nine players from that championship team who have remained with the franchise and have since reshuffled a roster that led to them re-acquiring defenseman Erik Johnson, one of Landeskog’s closest friends, in their bid for the fourth title in franchise history.
Even with all the changes, there were still questions about when they could see Landeskog return to the lineup. And if Landeskog did return, what he could look like?
His first professional game in three years came April 11 with the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate where he logged 15 minutes. Landeskog would then score a goal and get an assist in his second and final game.
And much like his AHL stint, all it took was two games for Landeskog to score and have another two-point performance.
While Landeskog’s goal became the most celebrated moment of the evening, what he did to help create the Avalanche’s fourth goal was an example of why he’s so crucial to their title aspirations.
Landeskog played a pass to Nelson who then found a Girard for a shot from the point that gave the Avs a 4-0 lead in the fourth. In the time Landeskog passed the puck, he anchored himself at the net front to gain position on 6-foot-7 Stars defensemen Lian Bichsel to screen goaltender Casey DeSmith, who replaced Oettinger for the third period.
Jockeying with Bichsel, who is six inches taller and 16 pounds heavier, allowed Landeskog to test both his strength and that right knee to gain leverage.
The result? Girard’s shot found space in traffic with Landeskog making it hard for DeSmith to see the puck.
“He’s a big boy,” Landeskog said with a smile. “He’s a big strong guy, a physical player and hard to play against. I was trying to get in front of their goal, and he was trying to get me out of there. It was a good battle.”
ST. LOUIS — Walt Jocketty, a three-time baseball executive of the year and former general manager for both the Cardinals and Reds, has died. He was 74.
Jocketty died Friday in the Phoenix area, former Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told the team after speaking with Jocketty’s wife, Sue.
The Cardinals announced the death Saturday. Jocketty had been battling health issues for the several years.
St. Louis won the National League Central seven times under Jocketty’s leadership. The Cardinals also won National League championships in 2004 and 2006 and their 10th World Series title in 2006.
“On behalf of the entire St. Louis Cardinals organization, I would like to offer condolences to Walt’s family and his many friends,” Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement. “Walt was our first GM when we purchased the ballclub and he helped to lead our baseball operations through some of the franchises most successful and memorable years.
“He will be sorely missed but long remembered for his distinguished career in baseball.”
Jocketty became the general manager in St. Louis on Oct. 14, 1994. After the team was sold in 1995, the new ownership kept Jocketty in his job. His biggest move was hiring La Russa in 1996. The two men had worked together in Oakland.
La Russa would go on to be the winningest manager in the Cardinals history and a Hall of Famer.
Jocketty revamped the roster, and in 1996, the Cardinals returned to postseason play for the first time in nine seasons.
In his tenure with St. Louis, Jocketty either drafted or acquired such stars as Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, Mark McGwire, Adam Wainright, Chris Carpenter, David Eckstein, Jason Isringhausen, Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen.
With Jocketty at the helm, St. Louis put together seven consecutive winning seasons. In 2004 and 2005, the Cardinals won more than 100 games.
He was named the MLB Executive of the Year in 2000, 2004 and 2010.
Leading up to the 2000 season, Jocketty became the first general manager in baseball history to trade for a 20-game winner (Darryl Kile from Colorado) and a 40-home run hitter (Edmonds from Anaheim) in the same offseason.
After he was fired by the Cardinals in 2007 because of differences with ownership, Jocketty was hired by the Reds as a special adviser on Jan. 11, 2008. He was named general manager after Wayne Krivsky was fired on April 23, 2008. He served in that role until Dick Williams replaced him on Dec. 27, 2016.
Jocketty was replaced by John Mozeliak in St. Louis.
“He was a great man,” Mozeliak said after Saturday’s game. “In terms of baseball, he loved it. His influence on myself and this organization was huge. Trying to sum it up in a sentence or two is difficult but his impact is something that I think will always be remembered. His legacy will age well.”
Despite replacing him when he was fired, Mozeliak said the two remained close.
“That was a different time, of course,” Mozeliak said. “In the end, we ended up being friends again. We both understood this is part of the business. I think he was proud of the success I ended up having.”
The Reds made the playoffs three times when Jocketty served as general manager, in 2010, 2012 and 2013. They have made the playoffs only once since.
Jocketty is survived by his wife and two children, Ashley and Joey.
CLEVELAND — Jarren Duran barely had time to catch his breath after tripling in the third inning. It didn’t matter, he had already made up his mind to run again.
Duran pulled off Boston’s first straight steal of home plate in exactly 16 years, scoring on the next pitch from Doug Nikhazy as the Red Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday.
“(Third base coach Kyle Hudson) heard him tell the umpire that he was working from the stretch, so I decided I was going to go on the first pitch,” Duran said. “It was just to keep the offense going and cause a little chaos. I knew I had it.”
As Nikhazy went from the windup, Duran broke for home. He slid headfirst and slapped his right hand on the plate ahead of Bo Naylor‘s tag. Umpire Brock Ballou’s safe call was upheld in a video review.
“Under the new rules, he’s kind of the perfect player,” Boston manager Alex Cora said of Duran. “We saw a window there and he took advantage of the situation.”
It marked the first straight steal of home plate by the Red Sox since Jacoby Ellsbury against the Yankees on April 26, 2009. Duran’s two previous thefts of home were part of double steals last season at Tampa Bay on May 21 and at the White Sox on June 7.
“It was really a cool play and a cool sequence of events there,” Red Sox pitcher Walker Buehler said. “He’s one of the most exciting players in baseball. After watching him from afar, it’s been fun to see him up close this season.”
Nikhazy, a 25-year-old left-hander, was making his major league debut and had already allowed five runs in 2 2/3 innings. With Rafael Devers in the batter’s box, he said he took “a peek” at Duran before delivering the ball.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt praised Duran for making “a head’s up baseball play” because third baseman José Ramírez was off the line, but his starting pitcher blamed himself.
“He had taken a big jump and he took off immediately,” Nikhazy said. “In the moment, I chose to make the pitch as opposed to stepping off. Ultimately, when I saw him, I should have stepped off.”
Duran went 3 for 5 with three runs and two RBI in the nightcap. He was hitless in four at-bats in the first game, which Cleveland won 5-4.