Connect with us

Published

on

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In spite of back-to-back losses to rival Michigan, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith reiterated his confidence in coach Ryan Day, telling ESPN on Tuesday that “he’s my CEO” and that they’ve talked about everything from personnel to playcalling and what they “need to do better.”

“My standards are high; our team standards are high,” Smith said in a wide-ranging interview in his office. “So we talk about how do we get better and how do we make sure we are able to win the championships that we aspire to win? We look at each individual contest that got in the way of that, and we’re trying to figure out what’s the strategy to mitigate that. When we lose, it’s highly disappointing, but I break things down and look at things objectively, and we have good conversations about what we need to do better.”

After Ohio State’s stunning 45-23 home loss to Michigan this past season, Wolverines defensive back Mike Sainristil planted a huge maize and blue flag in the block “O” in the middle of the Ohio Stadium turf. Fans were quick to criticize Day, although Smith said more of it comes at them through social media now than through his inbox or voicemail.

“It’s really not that bad,” he said.

The players have heard it, star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. said.

“We love the coaches, so we want to go out there and protect them and do our best for them, more so than ourselves,” Harrison Jr. said. “Sometimes we’re just going out there and playing for them so they look good. I think that’s what kind of drives us a little bit from an offense and defense players’ perspective. Just going out there playing for your coaches because you’re seeing the stuff that’s said about our coaches, and we see them every day and we love them so much because of what they do for us, so if it anything it makes us play harder.”

According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Ohio State hasn’t lost three straight to Michigan since 1995-97. Under Day, the Buckeyes are 1-2 against the Wolverines and 44-4 against every other opponent, with three of those four losses coming in the College Football Playoff. Day is 32-0 against all other Big Ten teams, including in the conference championship game. There is a giant countdown clock in a hallway of the Les Wexner Football Complex as part of a display titled “The Greatest Rivalry,” and another one in the weight room, ticking down the days and minutes until Ohio State faces Michigan again — on Nov. 25 in Ann Arbor for the regular-season finale. The Buckeyes’ focus this spring has been on finding a starting quarterback to replace C.J. Stroud and improving a defense that allowed 16 plays of at least 20 yards over the final two games of last season (six against Michigan and 10 against Georgia).

“The rivalry game’s obviously very, very important,” Day told ESPN. “When you look at those games, and you see these single plays that really cost us the game. When you’re talking about on defense, giving up explosive plays, certainly that’s very, very important. That’s how games can go sideways. And so we have to identify that, get that fixed, and that hurt us in the Georgia game as well. That was something we talked about a lot in the offseason, or we’re continually talking about now in the spring, but I really like the team that we have coming back.”

As part of the offseason self-evaluation process, Day said he is considering relinquishing some of the playcalling duties to offensive coordinator Brian Hartline — a topic he broached with Smith this offseason. Day has given more responsibility to Hartline this spring in part so he can roam the field and spend more time with the defense, but it’s unclear how much that will continue this fall.

“His thought process about possibly giving up playcalling, he shared that with me without me ever asking that question,” Smith said. “When we hired him, I told him, ‘You’ve got to stay in your wheelhouse and call plays. There’ll be a natural point in time in your career where that changes.’ So that’s not for me to decide; that’s for him to decide.” Smith said it was the same process with personnel decisions.

“You know, we literally go down every person — not just the coaches, but the support staff — and say, ‘OK, is our mix right? Do we have the right person here?'” Smith said. “We may talk about a deficiency here and how do we strengthen that, so we, it’s a collaborative process, but I don’t make the decision. I hired him to make those decisions.”

And to beat Michigan.

“When you look at the roster, all you want to do is identify, OK, does this look like the teams we’ve had in the past?” Day said. “Do we have enough talent to reach our goals year after year? And the answer is yes. We definitely have it.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Landeskog scores 1st NHL goal in nearly 3 years

Published

on

By

Landeskog scores 1st NHL goal in nearly 3 years

Perhaps the only detail more emphatic than the goals in the Colorado Avalanche‘s 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars Saturday night, was the impact provided by their captain, Gabriel Landeskog.

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.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Former Cardinals, Reds GM Jocketty dies at 74

Published

on

By

Former Cardinals, Reds GM Jocketty dies at 74

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.

Continue Reading

Sports

Duran steals home, leaves Red Sox in amazement

Published

on

By

Duran steals home, leaves Red Sox in amazement

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.

Continue Reading

Trending