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STARKVILLE, Miss. — Former Mississippi State coach Mike Leach was a luminary and a larger-than-life character in college football. On Tuesday, his impact was spelled out in detail as friends, coaches and players shared personal stories of Leach’s humanity, his sense of humor and the deep curiosity that drove him to the highest levels of the sport.

Leach died on Dec. 12 at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson from a heart condition. He was 61 years old.

At Humphrey Coliseum on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, Mississippi State held a memorial for its departed head coach with some of college football’s most recognizable figures in attendance. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and USC coach Lincoln Riley were some of those who eulogized Leach.

Many of his protégés, including TCU coach Sonny Dykes and Houston coach Dana Holgorsen, traveled to Starkville for the memorial. Some of his competitors in the SEC, including Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin and Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, came to pay their respects as well.

As the service was about to begin, Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” played over the sound system. It was quickly apparent with every speaker who came on stage that Leach, who was born in California and raised in Wyoming, had carved his own path — from college rugby player to Power 5 head coach.

Many in attendance wore cowbell-shaped pins on their suit jackets. Inside the cowbell was a skull and crossbones, a nod to Leach’s nickname, Pirate.

Mississippi State president Mark Keenum recalled meeting Leach for the first time before he was hired as head coach in January 2020. Keenum said he was struck by Leach’s “intense curiosity.” Keenum said that not only did Leach want to learn about anything and everything, he wanted to share what he’d learned.

Keenum said Leach, who taught seminars and wrote a book about Geronimo, wasn’t satisfied with the College Football Playoff’s decision to expand from four to 12 teams. So he lobbied Keenum, the chair of the CFP board of managers.

“Mike wrote a plan for a 64-team College Football Playoff,” Keenum said. “For real, an elaborate plan.”

Laughter rippled through the coliseum. Keenum smiled and said they agreed to disagree.

“He was not the typical Power 5 football coach,” Keenum said. “But as we all know, Mike Leach was anything but typical.”

Sankey said there was no such thing as a brief, 15-minute conversation with Leach, and they never spoke about only one thing. Leach was informal, showing up to work often in cargo shorts and flip flops. Sankey said Leach spoke to him at SEC media days once and asked why neckties were still a staple of fashion when powdered wigs had fallen by the wayside.

Leach was rare in that he didn’t play college football. He got his undergraduate degree from BYU, his master’s degree from the U.S. Sports Academy and his Juris Doctor from Pepperdine. His first three jobs in football were offensive line coach at Cal Poly, linebackers coach at College of the Desert and head coach of the Pori Bears in Finland.

His big break came in 1989 when he connected with Hal Mumme at Iowa Wesleyan. Together, they’d create the pass-happy offense known as the Air Raid.

Leach followed Mumme to Valdosta State and then to Kentucky. He left to become the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, and after one season, he got the head coaching job at Texas Tech.

At Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State, Leach compiled a record of 158-107. Ten times his offenses led the FBS in passing. But his impact went far beyond the record books. His coaching tree features more than a dozen current and former college head coaches.

There wasn’t a subject Leach wouldn’t talk about. He had strong opinions on the existence of Bigfoot, which Halloween candy was best and who would win in a battle of college mascots.

Former Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew said his favorite thing about Leach was his authenticity. It was part confidence, he said, and part not caring what anyone thought of him. Leach was unapologetically himself. Minshew, who spent less than a year with him in Pullman, said of Leach, “He changed my life.”

And it all started with the simple question, Minshew recalled, “Do you want to lead the country in passing?”

Minshew was a little-known junior college quarterback when Leach recruited him as a graduate student. Minshew wound up breaking the school record for passing yards in a single season (4,776) and was drafted in the sixth round by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops called Leach a bold and innovative thinker. When Leach left his staff at Oklahoma to become head coach at Texas Tech, Stoops said the Air Raid began to “spread like wildfire” to all levels of football — high school, college and the NFL.

But what Stoops said few people got to see was how competitive and demanding he was. Stoops addressed the Mississippi State players in attendance and said how proud Leach would have been of their season and their decision to play in the bowl game.

“There’s a ball game going on right now in heaven,” Stoops said. “And can’t you just see Mike? It’s fourth-and-2, he’s on his own 40, and you know he’s going for it.”

USC coach Lincoln Riley recalled hitching a ride with Leach one day at Texas Tech when the actor Matthew McConaughey called. Leach got so lost in the conversation, Riley recalled, that he nearly sideswiped a truck on the road and didn’t notice.

Riley laughed, and a moment later he had to fight back tears thinking about Leach’s impact on his life and his family. Leach took a chance and gave Riley his start — first as a student assistant, then as a graduate assistant and finally as a receivers coach at Texas Tech.

Riley said Leach’s legacy will go beyond funny stories and an innovative offense. It was about the relationships he built and how he built them.

“He truly did invest in other people. And it’s a great reminder for us all,” Riley said. “Rest in peace, my friend. There will never be another one like you.”

Leach is survived by his wife, Sharon; his children, Janeen, Kim, Cody and Kiersten; and his three grandchildren.

Defensive coordinator Zach Arnett was promoted to head coach last week, agreeing to a four-year deal.

Mississippi State will play Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 2.

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What are torpedo bats? Are they legal? What to know about MLB’s hottest trend

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What are torpedo bats? Are they legal? What to know about MLB's hottest trend

The opening weekend of the 2025 MLB season was taken over by a surprise star — torpedo bats.

The bowling pin-shaped bats became the talk of the sport after the Yankees’ home run onslaught on the first Saturday of the season put it in the spotlight and the buzz hasn’t slowed since.

What exactly is a torpedo bat? How does it help hitters? And how is it legal? Let’s dig in.

Read: An MIT-educated professor, the Yankees and the bat that could be changing baseball


What is a torpedo bat and why is it different from a traditional MLB bat?

The idea of the torpedo bat is to take a size format — say, 34 inches and 32 ounces — and distribute the wood in a different geometric shape than the traditional form to ensure the fattest part of the bat is located where the player makes the most contact. Standard bats taper toward an end cap that is as thick diametrically as the sweet spot of the barrel. The torpedo bat moves some of the mass on the end of the bat about 6 to 7 inches lower, giving it a bowling-pin shape, with a much thinner end.


How does it help hitters?

The benefits for those who like swinging with it — and not everyone who has swung it likes it — are two-fold. Both are rooted in logic and physics. The first is that distributing more mass to the area of most frequent contact aligns with players’ swing patterns and provides greater impact when bat strikes ball. Players are perpetually seeking ways to barrel more balls, and while swings that connect on the end of the bat and toward the handle probably will have worse performance than with a traditional bat, that’s a tradeoff they’re willing to make for the additional slug. And as hitters know, slug is what pays.

The second benefit, in theory, is increased bat speed. Imagine a sledgehammer and a broomstick that both weigh 32 ounces. The sledgehammer’s weight is almost all at the end, whereas the broomstick’s is distributed evenly. Which is easier to swing fast? The broomstick, of course, because shape of the sledgehammer takes more strength and effort to move. By shedding some of the weight off the end of the torpedo bat and moving it toward the middle, hitters have found it swings very similarly to a traditional model but with slightly faster bat velocity.


Why did it become such a big story so early in the 2025 MLB season?

Because the New York Yankees hit nine home runs in a game Saturday and Michael Kay, their play-by-play announcer, pointed out that some of them came from hitters using a new bat shape. The fascination was immediate. While baseball, as an industry, has implemented forward-thinking rules in recent seasons, the modification to something so fundamental and known as the shape of a bat registered as bizarre. The initial response from many who saw it: How is this legal?


OK. How is this legal?

Major League Baseball’s bat regulations are relatively permissive. Currently, the rules allow for a maximum barrel diameter of 2.61 inches, a maximum length of 42 inches and a smooth and round shape. The lack of restrictions allows MLB’s authorized bat manufacturers to toy with bat geometry and for the results to still fall within the regulations.


Who came up with the idea of using them?

The notion of a bowling-pin-style bat has kicked around baseball for years. Some bat manufacturers made smaller versions as training tools. But the version that’s now infiltrating baseball goes back two years when a then-Yankees coach named Aaron Leanhardt started asking hitters how they should counteract the giant leaps in recent years made by pitchers.

When Yankees players responded that bigger barrels would help, Leanhardt — an MIT-educated former Michigan physics professor who left academia to work in the sports industry — recognized that as long as bats stayed within MLB parameters, he could change their geometry to make them a reality. Leanhardt, who left the Yankees to serve as major league field coordinator for the Miami Marlins over the winter, worked with bat manufacturers throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons to make that a reality.


When did it first appear in MLB games?

It’s unclear specifically when. But Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton used a torpedo bat last year and went on a home run-hitting rampage in October that helped send the Yankees to the World Series. New York Mets star Francisco Lindor also used a torpedo-style bat last year and went on to finish second in National League MVP voting.


Who are some of the other notable early users of torpedo bats?

In addition to Stanton and Lindor, Yankees hitters Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt have used torpedoes to great success. Others who have used them in games include Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers and Toronto’s Davis Schneider. And that’s just the beginning. Hundreds more players are expected to test out torpedoes — and perhaps use them in games — in the coming weeks.


How is this different from a corked bat?

Corking bats involves drilling a hole at the end of the bat, filling it in and capping it. The use of altered bats allows players to swing faster because the material with which they replace the wood — whether it’s cork, superballs or another material — is lighter. Any sort of bat adulteration is illegal and, if found, results in suspension.


Could a rule be changed to ban them?

Could it happen? Sure. Leagues and governing bodies have put restrictions on equipment they believe fundamentally altered fairness. Stick curvature is limited in hockey. Full-body swimsuits made of polyurethane and neoprene are banned by World Aquatics. But officials at MLB have acknowledged that the game’s pendulum has swung significantly toward pitching in recent years, and if an offensive revolution comes about because of torpedo bats — and that is far from a guarantee — it could bring about more balance to the game. If that pendulum swings too far, MLB could alter its bat regulations, something it has done multiple times already this century.


So the torpedo bat is here to stay?

Absolutely. Bat manufacturers are cranking them out and shipping them to interested players with great urgency. Just how widely the torpedo bat is adopted is the question that will play out over the rest of the season. But it has piqued the curiosity of nearly every hitter in the big leagues, and just as pitchers toy with new pitches to see if they can marginally improve themselves, hitters will do the same with bats.

Comfort is paramount with a bat, so hitters will test them during batting practice and in cage sessions before unleashing them during the game. As time goes on, players will find specific shapes that are most comfortable to them and best suit their swing during bat-fitting sessions — similar to how golfers seek custom clubs. But make no mistake: This is an almost-overnight alteration of the game, and “traditional or torpedo” is a question every big leaguer going forward will ask himself.

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St. Pete to spend $22.5M to fix Tropicana Field

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St. Pete to spend .5M to fix Tropicana Field

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The once and possibly future home of the Tampa Bay Rays will get a new roof to replace the one shredded by Hurricane Milton with the goal of having the ballpark ready for the 2026 season, city officials decided in a vote Thursday.

The St. Petersburg City Council voted 7-1 to approve $22.5 million to begin the repairs at Tropicana Field, which will start with a membrane roof that must be in place before other work can continue. Although the Rays pulled out of a planned $1.3 billion new stadium deal, the city is still contractually obligated to fix the Trop.

“We are legally bound by an agreement. The agreement requires us to fix the stadium,” said council member Lissett Hanewicz, who is an attorney. “We need to go forward with the roof repair so we can do the other repairs.”

The hurricane damage forced the Rays to play home games this season at Steinbrenner Field across the bay in Tampa, the spring training home of the New York Yankees. The Rays went 4-2 on their first homestand ever at an open-air ballpark, which seats around 11,000 fans.

Under the current agreement with the city, the Rays owe three more seasons at the Trop once it’s ready again for baseball, through 2028. It’s unclear if the Rays will maintain a long-term commitment to the city or look to Tampa or someplace else for a new stadium. Major League Baseball has said keeping the team in the Tampa Bay region is a priority. The Rays have played at the Trop since their inception in 1998.

The team said it would have a statement on the vote later Thursday.

The overall cost of Tropicana Field repairs is estimated at $56 million, said city architect Raul Quintana. After the roof, the work includes fixing the playing surface, ensuring audio and visual electronics are working, installing flooring and drywall, getting concession stands running and other issues.

“This is a very complex project. We feel like we’re in a good place,” Quintana said at the council meeting Thursday.

Under the proposed timeline, the roof installation will take about 10 months. The unique membrane system is fabricated in Germany and assembled in China, Quintana said, adding that officials are examining how President Donald Trump’s new tariffs might affect the cost.

The new roof, he added, will be able to withstand hurricane winds as high as 165 mph. Hurricane Milton, one of the strongest hurricanes ever in the Atlantic basin at one point, blasted ashore Oct. 9 south of Tampa Bay with Category 3 winds of about 125 mph.

Citing mounting costs, the Rays last month pulled out of a deal with the city and Pinellas County for a new $1.3 billion ballpark to be built near the Trop site. That was part of a broader $6.5 billion project known as the Historic Gas Plant district to bring housing, retail and restaurants, arts and a Black history museum to a once-thriving Black neighborhood razed for the original stadium.

The city council plans to vote on additional Trop repair costs over the next few months.

“This is our contractual obligation. I don’t like it more than anybody else. I’d much rather be spending that money on hurricane recovery and helping residents in the most affected neighborhoods,” council member Brandi Gabbard said. “These are the cards that we’re dealt.”

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Tulane suspends Finley after transfer QB’s arrest

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Tulane suspends Finley after transfer QB's arrest

Tulane quarterback TJ Finley has been suspended following his arrest Wednesday in New Orleans on a charge of illegal possession of stolen things worth more than $25,000.

Finley, 23, whose name is Tyler Jamal, was booked and released. Tulane said in a statement that the length of the suspension will depend on the outcome of his case. The school cited privacy laws in declining to comment further.

University police responded Wednesday to an address where a truck was blocking a driveway. After looking up the license plate, police saw it registered to a vehicle stolen in Atlanta. Finley arrived to move the car and informed the officer that he had bought the truck recently. He’s scheduled to appear in court June 1.

Finley transferred to Tulane in December after spending the 2024 season with Western Kentucky. He had been competing for the team’s starting quarterback job in spring practice alongside fellow transfers Kadin Semonza and Donovan Leary.

Finley, a native of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, started his college career at LSU before transferring to Auburn for two seasons and then Texas State in 2023. He started five games for both LSU and Auburn but had his most success with Texas State, passing for 3,439 yards and 24 touchdowns.

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