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Trevor Bauer’s initial 324-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy has been reduced to 194 games by an arbitrator, the league announced Thursday, ending a seven-month grievance process and bringing some clarity to a saga that has been unfolding for the past year and a half.

Bauer has served only 144 games of his suspension, but arbitrator Martin Scheinman ruled that he is eligible to be reinstated immediately, essentially giving him credit for the time he served on MLB’s restricted list in the second half of the 2021 season. Bauer, however, will be docked his pay from the Los Angeles Dodgers through the first 50 games of the 2023 season to make up the difference.

The Dodgers have 14 days to decide whether they will reinstate him onto their 40-man roster. The team released a short statement Thursday night that read: “We have just been informed of the arbitrator’s ruling and will comment as soon as practical.”

Bauer, as part of a tweet, wrote: “Can’t wait to see y’all out at a stadium soon!”

Bauer is under contract with the Dodgers for only one more season, on a deal that initially called for him to be paid $32 million. With the 194-game suspension, the Dodgers saved about $28.1 million off his 2022 salary and will save another $9.5 million off his 2023 salary.

Despite the reduction, Bauer’s suspension stands as the longest in the six-plus years of the domestic violence policy.

Bauer, the 31-year-old former Cy Young Award winner, has been facing sexual assault allegations since June 2021, notably by a San Diego woman who obtained a temporary restraining order against him. Bauer refuted her allegations and remains in litigation with the woman. Two other women made similar assault allegations to the Washington Post, which Bauer and his legal team have also refuted.

The L.A. District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute Bauer in February, but MLB handed him a 324-game suspension on April 30, twice longer than the previous longest suspension under its policy. Bauer then became the first player to appeal.

Scheinman is an independent arbitrator who is retained by both MLB and the MLB Players Association.

“While we believe a longer suspension was warranted, MLB will abide by the neutral arbitrator’s decision, which upholds baseball’s longest-ever active player suspension for sexual assault or domestic violence,” MLB wrote in its statement Thursday. “We understand this process was difficult for the witnesses involved and we thank them for their participation. Due to the collectively bargained confidentiality provisions of the joint program, we are unable to provide further details at this time.”

Bauer joined the Dodgers in February 2021 on a three-year, $102 million contract that included two opt-outs — but he hasn’t pitched since June 28 of the first year.

The following day, a then-27-year-old San Diego woman filed a request for a domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) in which she alleged that Bauer assaulted her over the course of two sexual encounters at his Pasadena, California, home in April and May of that year. The woman — whom ESPN has chosen not to name — alleged that he choked her unconscious on multiple occasions, repeatedly scratched and punched her throughout her body, sodomized her without consent and left her with injuries that warranted a trip to the emergency room after rough sex. Bauer and his attorneys, Jon Fetterolf and Rachel Luba, denied the allegations, calling them “fraudulent” and “baseless” in an initial statement.

MLB first placed Bauer on administrative leave on July 2, 2021, triggering an investigation. After that, two other women, both from Ohio, made similar allegations to the Post. In August 2021, a woman told the Post she sought a DVRO against Bauer in June 2020 and accused him of choking and striking her without consent during sex and sending threatening messages. That woman, the Post reported, dismissed her order six weeks later after Bauer’s attorneys threatened legal action. The second woman alleged to the Post that Bauer choked her unconscious without consent on multiple occasions dating back to 2013.

MLB said it conducted “an extensive investigation” into Bauer’s off-field conduct but did not disclose specifics of its findings, nor did it reveal how many women made assault allegations against him.

Bauer, meanwhile, has denied wrongdoing, saying the acts were consensual. He denied the first woman’s allegations on Twitter and published sexually explicit text messages from her in an effort to show consent. In August 2021, after an L.A. judge dismissed the San Diego woman’s request for a permanent restraining order, Bauer released a seven-minute video on YouTube in which he categorically denied her version of events.

The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office declined to file criminal charges against Bauer in February 2022, rejecting charges of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury and sodomy of an unconscious person and domestic violence. But MLB, which, according to sources, heard similar allegations from multiple women, suspended him three months later.

Prior to Bauer, 15 players had been suspended under the domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy that was introduced in August 2015. The policy, jointly agreed to with the MLB Players Association, grants MLB commissioner Rob Manfred the autonomy to suspend players under “just cause” and does not require him to meet the proof-beyond-a-reasonable-doubt threshold required in the country’s court system. Those suspensions — not counting that of former reliever Felipe Vazquez, who’s serving a jail sentence for sexual assault of a minor — have ranged from 15 to 162 games and were the result of negotiated settlements in which players waived their right to appeal.

Bauer became the first player to challenge a ruling, triggering a prolonged process in which a three-person panel — consisting of one rep from MLB, another from the MLBPA and an independent arbiter (in this case, Scheinman) — reviews findings and interviews witnesses to determine whether to uphold, reduce or throw out a suspension.

After MLB first placed Bauer on administrative leave, the Dodgers canceled his scheduled bobblehead night and removed his merchandise from their stores. Team president Stan Kasten sent an email to employees in August 2021, saying he was “deeply troubled by the allegations” against Bauer. Outside of that, the team had not commented publicly before their statement Thursday.

Bauer’s suspension, initially slated to last until the 19th game of the 2024 season, kept the Dodgers from paying him in 2022. Uncertainty over the arbitrators’ ruling was seen as a primary reason the Dodgers, hesitant to exceed the luxury tax threshold a third consecutive year, mostly stayed away from the star free agents this offseason.

In recent months, Bauer has continued to populate his YouTube channel with videos of him taking part in lively bullpen sessions and providing pitching tips.

Bauer has filed defamation lawsuits against two media companies, Deadspin and The Athletic. He also filed suit against the San Diego woman, who followed with a countersuit this past August. On Nov. 23, U.S. District Court Judge James Selna allowed the San Diego woman to proceed with her lawsuit and dismissed Bauer’s defamation suit against one of her former attorneys. In his ruling, Selna wrote that the initial denial of the restraining order by L.A. Superior Court Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman did not determine whether Bauer had committed an act of abuse and that neither party had asked her to make such a determination.

“The state court proceedings did not necessarily decide that Bauer did not batter or sexually assault [the woman],” Selna added.

Bauer won the Golden Spikes Award at UCLA in 2011 and was the No. 3 draft pick that year. He clashed with teammates in Arizona, prompting a trade, and had two notable incidents in Cleveland, allegedly cutting his finger with a drone before a 2016 playoff start and hurling a baseball over the center-field fence after being removed from a 2019 outing on July 28, 2019, three days before being traded again.

Bauer clashed with Manfred over his handling of the Houston Astros‘ sign-stealing scandal and the commissioner’s efforts to market the game to a younger audience, among other topics. He has built a reputation as a difficult teammate, but he is also considered one of the most forward-thinking, analytically minded pitchers in the sport.

Bauer made a case for a Cy Young Award in 2018, then won it during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season while with the Cincinnati Reds. The Dodgers signed him later that offseason, outbidding the New York Mets despite rampant criticism surrounding Bauer’s history of bullying others on social media. Bauer pitched like an ace for Los Angeles in the first half of the 2021 season, posting a 2.59 ERA in 17 starts.

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Ex-LSU WR Lacy turns himself in, released on bail

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Ex-LSU WR Lacy turns himself in, released on bail

Former LSU wide receiver Kyren Lacy, accused of causing a crash that killed a 78-year-old man on Dec. 17 and then fleeing the scene without rendering aid or calling authorities, turned himself in to authorities Sunday night, was jailed and then released on $151,000 bail, according to police records.

Lafourche (Louisiana) Parish Sheriff’s Office records indicate that Lacy was charged with negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run with death and reckless operation of a vehicle.

A warrant had been issued for Lacy’s arrest, and police on Friday said they had been in contact with Lacy and his attorney to turn himself in.

According to a news release from Louisiana State Police on Friday, Lacy was allegedly driving a 2023 Dodge Charger on Louisiana Highway 20 and “recklessly passed multiple vehicles at a high rate of speed by crossing the centerline and entering the northbound lane while in a designated no-passing zone.”

“As Lacy was illegally passing the other vehicles, the driver of a northbound pickup truck abruptly braked and swerved to the right to avoid a head-on collision with the approaching Dodge,” a Louisiana State Police news release said.

“Traveling behind the pickup was a 2017 Kia Cadenza whose driver swerved left to avoid the oncoming Dodge Charger. As the Kia Cadenza took evasive action to avoid impact with the Dodge, it crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a southbound 2017 Kia Sorento.”

Police alleged that Lacy, 24, drove around the crash scene and fled “without stopping to render aid, call emergency services, or report his involvement in the crash.”

Herman Hall, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, who was a passenger in the Kia Sorento, later died from injuries suffered in the crash, according to state police. Hall was 78.

The drivers of the Cadenza and Sorento also sustained moderate injuries, according to police.

Lacy’s agent, Rocky Arceneaux, said in a statement that his client is “fully cooperating with the authorities.”

Lacy played two seasons at Louisiana before transferring to LSU in 2022. This past season, he had 58 catches for 866 yards with nine touchdowns and declared for the NFL draft on Dec. 19, two days after the crash.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach contributed to this report.

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Sawyer gets his ‘moment,’ sends OSU to CFP final

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Sawyer gets his 'moment,' sends OSU to CFP final

ARLINGTON, Texas — As the confetti fell around him, Jack Sawyer raised his arms, lifted his head and closed his eyes. As a boy growing up in a Columbus suburb playing catch with his dad in the backyard wearing a scarlet and gray jersey, Sawyer had often dreamed that one day he might become an Ohio State hero with an iconic moment that would go down in Buckeyes history.

On Friday night, playing against Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, that moment finally happened.

On fourth-and-goal with just over two minutes remaining, Texas needed one play to tie the score and potentially force overtime. Instead, Sawyer ended the Longhorns’ season and catapulted the Buckeyes to the CFP National Championship game, where they will face Notre Dame.

Sawyer screamed past right tackle Cameron Williams and sailed toward Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, his freshman-year roommate at Ohio State. As he crashed into Ewers’ back, the ball popped loose. Off one bounce, Sawyer scooped it up and raced 83 yards for a touchdown that won’t be forgotten in Columbus.

“I almost blacked out when I saw nothing but green grass ahead of me,” he said.

With that play, the Buckeyes defeated Texas 28-14. And Sawyer cemented an Ohio State legacy.

“To make a play like that in that moment. … You want to leave a legacy behind? You become a legend. He just became a legend at Ohio State,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day told ESPN on the field after the game.

The longing for just that moment is why Sawyer put off the NFL to come back for his senior season. After three losses to Michigan with no Big Ten championships or national titles, Sawyer and several other Ohio State seniors who could have been Day 1 or 2 NFL draft picks opted to return for “one last ride,” as he put it.

Their disappointing 2023 season ended with a deflating loss to Missouri in the same Cotton Bowl stadium. Sawyer said he just couldn’t stomach ending his Ohio State career that way.

“I wanted to go to the NFL and chase my dream more than the next guy,” Sawyer told ESPN over the summer. “But I haven’t won a championship. And you walk around the Woody [Hayes Athletic Center] and all you see is championships and championship posters and banners. Having not helped our team win any of those, it’s something that wears on me and it’s something that motivates me every day.”

Sawyer nearly had that moment six weeks ago. Yet, in a turn, what followed was a career low point for him and the Buckeyes.

He intercepted Michigan quarterback Davis Warren at the goal line midway through the fourth quarter. But with the score tied, the Buckeyes couldn’t capitalize on the turnover. On their ensuing possession, the Wolverines nailed a game-winning field goal for a stunning 13-10 victory, handing the Buckeyes — and Sawyer — their fourth straight loss in the series.

As Michigan’s players planted their flag at midfield of The Horseshoe, Sawyer charged in along with his teammates and ripped it away, leading to a melee that lasted five minutes and was finally broken up by police with pepper spray.

But with the expanded 12-team playoff, Ohio State’s seniors got one final chance to end their careers with hardware. With his scoop-and-score, Sawyer brought the Buckeyes within a game of winning their first national championship since 2014.

“The resiliency of this team from a month ago has been incredible,” said Sawyer, who became the first FBS player in a decade to produce multiple pass breakups and a sack in three straight games, according to ESPN Research, all coming during Ohio State’s playoff run. “We sat up here last year with a sore taste in our mouth and heard a lot of things. We come back and heard the same things a month ago. But we kept swinging.”

The underdog Longhorns kept swinging too.

After the Buckeyes took a 21-14 lead, Ewers led Texas all the way to the Ohio State 1-yard line. But on second-and-goal, safety Lathan Ransom dropped Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner for a 7-yard loss on a risky sweep.

“We had a plan to try to get the ball on the edge,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “It’s one of those plays if you block it all right, you get in the end zone — and we didn’t.”

After an incompletion, Texas faced fourth-and-goal from the 8. Ewers, who began his career at Ohio State before transferring to Texas after one season, said he thought he had time to get off the pass. But his onetime roommate got to him before he could.

“Obviously, it’s not like I tried to give him the game,” Ewers said. “He is a great player, great individual, great person. … It sucks, but Jack’s a good player and he made a great play.”

Sawyer’s fumble recovery was the longest in CFP and Cotton Bowl history. As Ohio State quarterback Will Howard took a knee, Day jumped into Sawyer’s arms.

“I don’t know if there’s a guy … who loves being a Buckeye more,” Day said. “This is somebody … who has always wanted to be a Buckeye, who has always wanted for a moment like this. So to see him get the moment that he had today — I mean, he’s become like family to me.”

Day and Sawyer both cautioned that their last ride together isn’t over quite yet. They have one game left and a national title still to win. But they also both acknowledged the magnitude of the moment. And Sawyer’s looming place in Ohio State history.

“I love Columbus, I love the state of Ohio, I love Ohio State football,” Sawyer said. “And I’m so fortunate to be playing in the national championship my last year here.”

ESPN’s Dave Wilson contributed to this report.

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Minnesota’s Hetherman joins Miami as new DC

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Minnesota's Hetherman joins Miami as new DC

Minnesota defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman has resigned his post with the Gophers and accepted the same position at Miami.

Hetherman helped the Gophers to an 8-5 record this season, including a 5-4 mark in the Big Ten. Minnesota closed the season with a 24-10 victory over Virginia Tech in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl earlier this month.

The Hurricanes fired defensive coordinator Lance Guidry last month after late-season defensive woes effectively cost Miami a chance to play for a conference championship, as well as a potential berth in the College Football Playoff.

Guidry spent two seasons on the Miami staff after arriving from Marshall. Though Miami showed growth in the early part of the season, the Hurricanes regressed in the final month, including a 42-38 loss to Syracuse in the regular-season finale with an ACC championship game berth on the line.

Miami blew a 21-0 lead, finished the regular season with losses in two of its final three games and failed to advance to Charlotte to play for the conference title. Miami finished two spots outside the final CFP spot.

Then, in its season finale, a 42-41 Pop-Tarts Bowl loss to Iowa State, Miami blew a 10-point third-quarter lead — allowing the Cyclones to score the go-ahead touchdown with 56 seconds remaining. Guidry was fired three days later.

“In a continuous effort to always improve all aspects of our program, I have decided to make a change on defense,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said at the time. “We will move forward and make decisions that provide our players, staff and program the best opportunity to win and develop at the highest level.”

The Hurricanes open next season at home against Notre Dame, which will play for the CFP title next week.

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