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SEATTLE — Four years after he set a single-round Home Run Derby record only to not win the title, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. bestowed the same fate on someone else — and added to his family’s rich legacy in the process.

The son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, participating in the Derby at his family’s urging, ousted hometown favorite Julio Rodriguez after a record-setting performance and outlasted Randy Arozarena in the finals to win the Derby on Monday night — 16 years after his father did the same.

“When my family pushes me to do something,” the younger Guerrero said, “usually good things happen.”

In 2019, the then-20-year-old Guerrero, a star first baseman with the Toronto Blue Jays, put on a show in his Derby debut, hitting a record 40 home runs in the second round and 91 overall. But he fell in the finals to Pete Alonso of the New York Mets.

After watching his single-round record eclipsed Monday by the Seattle Mariners‘ Rodriguez — who sent the T-Mobile Park crowd of 46,952 into a frenzy with 41 homers in the first-round to bounce Alonso — Guerrero calmly dispatched a worn-down Rodriguez, who mustered only 20 home runs in Round 2.

“I wanted to live in the moment,” Rodriguez said. “Kind of be able to give a show to the Mariners fans and just give it my all. For that second round, I was just” — he exhaled deeply — “but it was fun. It was fun.”

Fun abounded in the 37th edition of the Derby, from Rodriguez’s laser show to Guerrero’s pointed counterpunching to Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman becoming the first batter to swing from both sides of the plate — and punctuating his 27-homer round with six shots from the right side landing over the fence after hitting 21 from the left. Rutschman soon bowed out to top-seeded Luis Robert Jr., paving the way for the J-Rod show.

With the crowd chanting his name and using a yellow-painted bat that stung balls with the precision of the bumblebee it resembled, Rodriguez hit more than 3 miles of home runs in the first round — 16,556 feet total.

“I thought I put on a good show and just unfortunately ran into a buzz saw,” said Alonso, who hit 22 home runs to Rodriguez’s 41. “He had a ridiculously historic round. I mean, that was incredible to watch. Good for him, and good for Seattle.”

As Guerrero, a fellow native of the Dominican Republic, added about Rodriguez: “I knew he was going to do that. We talked before, and you could tell that he really wanted to win. I mean, he put a lot of work in this. But, you know, it happened.”

What happened, specifically, was Vlad being Vlad. He calmly stepped up. After Rodriguez finished the second round with 20 home runs, Guerrero topped him with 21. Arozarena of the Tampa Bay Rays vanquished the Chicago White Sox‘s Robert in the semifinals.

Guerrero awaited Arozarena not with any lessons learned from 2019 but rather a tough-to-swallow reality that left Guerrero exhausted in the wake of his eventual win.

“Everybody was telling me to calm down, to slow down, but you just can’t,” Guerrero said. “You just can’t. You just got to continue to hit homers.”

Homer he did, hitting 25 and bringing his total on the night to 72.

Arozarena started slow in the finals but picked it up toward the end of regulation to register 21 home runs. In 30 seconds of bonus time, Arozarena mustered only two more homers — and Guerrero hoisted the trophy, won a chain with a spinning pendant and took home a $1 million prize.

Guerrero also joined his father, who in 2007 won the Derby at the All-Star Game in San Francisco, as the first father-son duo to accomplish the feat. Guerrero was 8 years old when his dad took home the trophy, saying, “I don’t remember much about 2007.” However, he added, “I feel very happy, very proud that my father and I both won the Derby.”

While Guerrero was skeptical about participating in future Derbies — “The way I feel, it’s not too good right now,” he admitted — he was perfectly content to appreciate and enjoy this one. He survived the Derby’s first true switch-hitter. He toppled the slugger who stole his record. And at the ripe old age of 24, without quite the endurance of a few years back, he emerged victorious.

“Honestly, I feel tired,” Guerrero said. “But I feel happy.”

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Ex-‘Last Chance U’ coach shot on Oakland campus

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Ex-'Last Chance U' coach shot on Oakland campus

A senior member of the athletics staff at a community college in Oakland, California, was shot on campus Thursday, the second time in two days the city has had a shooting at a local school.

The Oakland Police Department said it was investigating the shooting that occurred just before noon at Laney College, where officers arrived to find a man with gunshot wounds. The victim was taken to a hospital and his condition was unknown.

The man later was identified as John Beam, the current athletic director and former head coach of the Laney football team. Beam and the Laney Eagles were featured in the 2020 season of the Netflix documentary series “Last Chance U.” The docuseries focused on athletes at junior colleges looking to turn around their lives.

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said she was “heartbroken” by “the second shooting on an Oakland campus in one week.”

“My thoughts are with Coach John Beam and his loved ones. We are praying for him,” Lee said in a prepared statement. “Coach Beam is a giant in Oakland — a mentor, an educator, and a lifeline for thousands of young people. For over 40 years, he has shaped leaders on and off the field, and our community is shaken alongside his family.”

Lee added: “We are standing together, praying for Coach Beam and his loved ones.”

Thursday’s incident came a day after a student was shot at Oakland’s Skyline High School. The student was in stable condition. Police said they arrested two juveniles and recovered two firearms.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Colorado AD will step down, take advisory role

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Colorado AD will step down, take advisory role

Colorado athletics director Rick George will step down from his role at the end of the academic year and become a special advisor to the chancellor, the school announced Thursday.

George has been the AD in Boulder since 2013, returning to the school where he once served on legendary football coach Bill McCartney’s staff as the recruiting coordinator and assistant athletic director for football operations. This coincided with Colorado’s only national title in 1990.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as Athletic Director for the University of Colorado for the last 13 years, but after considerable thought and discussions with my family dating back to last spring, I have decided it is time for new leadership to guide the department,” said George. “I wanted to make this announcement now in order to give Chancellor Schwartz plenty of time to find the right person for Colorado, and I look forward to doing everything I can to ensure a smooth transition.

“I also wanted to time my announcement so that I could support Coach Prime and our football team this season, which I’m looking forward to continuing in my new role.”

During his tenure as athletics director, George oversaw the development of a new athletics building attached to Folsom Field and was named the Athletic Director of the year in 2023-24 by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

His time as AD will perhaps be most remembered by his hiring of Deion Sanders as football coach, which generated significant national interest in Colorado football. He also returned Colorado to the Big 12, which represented a significant domino in the collapse of the Pac-12 following UCLA and USC’s departures for the Big Ten.

George also spent time as a member of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee and served on the Division I Council.

“Rick’s contributions to our university in his 13 years as head of our athletic department have been incalculable,” Chancellor Justin Schwartz said. “He is a nationally respected leader who has always kept CU at the forefront of the dynamic and highly competitive landscape of college athletics. I am grateful for his leadership and am elated he has decided to stay on as a Special Advisor and AD Emeritus.”

Prior to becoming AD, George was the Chief Operating Officer for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball.

The school did not announce a timeline for hiring a replacement.

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Yurachek replaces Rhoades as new CFP chair

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Yurachek replaces Rhoades as new CFP chair

The College Football Playoff management committee has formally approved the return of Utah athletic director Mark Harlan to its selection committee and named current committee member and Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek its new chair, the CFP announced on Thursday.

The moves come hours after Baylor athletic director and selection committee chair Mack Rhoades took a leave of absence from his job for personal reasons amid a university investigation.

“We are deeply appreciative of Mack Rhoades’ leadership and service as chair of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee this season,” CFP executive director Rich Clark said in a news release. “Mack has informed us of his decision to step down for personal reasons, and our thoughts are with him and his family during this time. We are pleased to announce that Hunter Yurachek will assume the role of Selection Committee Chair, effective immediately. Hunter’s experience, integrity, and commitment to the game make him exceptionally well-suited to lead the committee as it continues its important work throughout the remainder of the season.”

Harlan previously served a one-year term during the 2023 season. The CFP typically requires athletic directors on the selection committee to be active, “sitting” athletic directors. Because Rhoades was the Big 12’s nomination, he was replaced by a Big 12 athletic director. The 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua unanimously agreed to the changes.

Harlan is not the only committee member in his second stint with the group, as former Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long – also the CFP’s inaugural chairman – is participating again this season. The 12-person group was already one member short this season after committee member Randall McDaniel also stepped away last month for personal reasons.

Rhoades told ESPN on Thursday that he initiated the leave from his Baylor role but declined to explain why.

Baylor told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg that the university received allegations involving Rhoades on Monday. The allegations do not involve Title IX, student welfare or NCAA rules and do not involve the football program, indicating it is a separate incident from Rhoades’ alleged altercation with a football player during a September game.

Jovan Overshown and Cody Hall will serve as Baylor’s co-interim athletic directors, a school spokesman told Rittenberg. Overshown is the school’s deputy athletic director and chief operating officer, and Hall is Baylor’s executive senior associate athletic director for internal administration and chief financial officer.

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