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As Florida State president Richard McCullough began his remarks to his board of trustees during a virtual meeting on Wednesday, more than 2,000 people were tuned into the livestream on YouTube.

Among those were officials both in the ACC office and schools across the league. Shortly after McCullough told the board that Florida State would “very seriously” consider leaving the ACC unless there is a radical change to the conference’s revenue distribution model, the backlash from those inside the league followed.

While Florida State has made it clear it has been unhappy before, this was the first time McCullough said so publicly — the strongest sign yet that Florida State would consider leaving the league.

One ACC administrator thought it was an attempt to “strong arm” presidents to change their minds on revenue distribution. Another questioned whether trustee members even realized Florida State willingly signed the grant of rights in 2016, giving the ACC control over its media rights through the end of its television contract in 2036.

“Was this a leverage play?” one administrator asked. “It seems like there would’ve been a lot better ways of handling it.”

Based on interviews with administrators and league officials over the past several days, the league has seemingly taken an “us versus Florida State” mentality — with both public and private comments intimating as much. But the saga might be far from over as conference realignment continues in the Big Ten and Big 12. If the Big Ten decided to expand to 20 schools after adding Oregon and Washington on Friday, would it come looking at the ACC and Florida State? And how would that even work with the grant of rights question continuing to muddy the waters?

There is an Aug. 15 deadline for any conference member to give notice if it plans to leave the ACC in a year. With that date looming, there remain incredulous administrators wondering what the play is for Florida State.

“One could argue they’re just trying to create chaos and that they thought the only way to make it work would be to break the league up,” one source said. “Part of the theory here is they bang the drum real loud and eventually everybody else would panic.”

In some ways, what happened Wednesday in the board meeting was not surprising. Florida State athletic director Michael Alford has been vocal both publicly and in meetings with ADs, ACC administrators and officials that the school is not happy with both the speed and progress in addressing what is estimated to be a $30 million annual revenue gap with the SEC and Big Ten — a gap Florida State described as “insurmountable.”

In February, after feeling there was no urgency to address changing ACC revenue distribution to help close that gap, Alford sounded the first alarm, telling his board, “Something has to change because we cannot compete nationally being $30 million behind every year. It’s not one year. We’re talking about $30 million compounded year after year.”

Within three months, the ACC had a framework to address at least part of the gap: Success initiatives, which would reward teams that have on-field success in football and basketball with a larger portion of the revenue that comes with CFP and NCAA tournament appearances.

Beyond the success initiatives, Florida State has been pushing for another component to the revenue distribution: rewarding teams that generate higher television ratings and viewership with a larger share of the television money distribution. But that has gotten zero traction from ADs and presidents, frustrating Florida State further.

A number of administrators from other ACC schools questioned why Florida State felt it deserved a larger revenue share, considering its football program has not won an ACC championship or been in the College Football Playoff since 2014. Florida State has presented numbers that show they bring 15% of the value to the TV deal but get 7% of the revenue. Currently, each ACC school shares that equally.

“I would love all my colleagues in the ACC to love me in every way,” McCullough told ESPN before the board meeting. “But I have a fiduciary responsibility to Florida State, so I have to push and there are some schools that just don’t agree with my point of view.

League commissioner Jim Phillips declined comment but several athletic directors did not after Alford’s remarks Wednesday. After the board meeting, a group of ACC ADs discussed how to best address the remarks and decided North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham would speak first publicly on their behalf. Cunningham told a local radio station Thursday it did the ACC no good for Florida State to be “barking like that.”

In comments to ESPN on Friday, Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich echoed what Cunningham said. “Florida State is doing what Florida State feels like it needs to do,” Radakovich said. “Each of our schools have to make their own decisions. But on top of all of it, we need to continue to try to make the ACC as strong as we can make it. We’ve got our grant of rights, we have all those other pieces that are associated with keeping ourselves together. Right now, we feel really strongly that our best course of action is to keep the ACC together and try to make it as strong as it can be.”

As one ACC administrator noted, the ACC is already losing the PR battle, with the Big 12 — a league with fewer signature programs, a lower TV valuation and no standalone network — being viewed as growing and stable, while the ACC looks to be teetering. Florida State’s public criticism of the league’s financial picture only exacerbates that problem.

At ACC media days just last month, Phillips addressed the idea that the ACC would no longer be able to compete at such a revenue disadvantage.

“We’ve had multiple TV consultants,” Phillips said. “Third is a good position but we want to gain traction financially in order to close the gap with the SEC and Big Ten.

“I think one of the presidents said it best: ‘Are we chasing a dollar amount or are we chasing success?'” Phillips continued. “I think there’s a difference there. If you’re chasing a number it takes you down a different path. If you’re chasing success competitively, every institution has an idea of what they need. So again, I feel really strongly about this league and I think people are missing it when they’re not paying attention to the results of how well the conference has done.'”

League officials and ADs thought they’d found enough common ground after contentious spring meetings in May, when it became publicly known that Clemson, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia and Virginia Tech had discussed the grant of rights and future of the ACC among themselves — which led to a clearing of the air among the entire league. On the heels of that meeting, ACC presidents agreed to change the revenue distribution model to include the success initiatives.

With that progress made, the league has continued to look at ways to address the revenue gap — something atop Phillips’ agenda on a daily basis. While the SEC and Big Ten will be far ahead from a revenue standpoint, the ACC remains No. 3 in revenue distribution, distributing an average of nearly $40 million per school in 2021-22.

Radakovich said the payouts from the league’s TV deal have exceeded initial projections. The problem is the SEC and Big Ten negotiated new deals in a far different climate that provided them with more money.

“It’s hypersensitive, now, given all the different changes that have continued to come within intercollegiate athletics,” Radakovich said. “Needing more resources is high on the list.”

Florida State is not alone in wanting those resources, of course. That is why what happened Wednesday remained perplexing for many within the league. Multiple sources questioned where Florida State would go if it decided to leave given the current situations in the SEC (not looking to expand) and the Big Ten (adding Oregon and Washington).

Panic is a concern, another league source told ESPN, noting “everyone’s head has to be on a swivel” right now, but that making hasty decisions could create far worse long-term outcomes.

Another school official did not think making loud statements would change any decision a president makes about unevenly distributing television revenue based on ratings. “Why would my president take money out of our pocket and give it to Florida State when it would only hurt us? We need to run an athletic department, too,” one source said.

If FSU is planning to leave anyway, an athletic director said, there’s little reason to give them more money now. Instead, ACC schools could simply wait for FSU to be the one to cut a sizable check on its way out the door.

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‘Reason he’s here’: Crochet delivers for Red Sox

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'Reason he's here': Crochet delivers for Red Sox

BALTIMORE — Garrett Crochet gave the Boston Red Sox an immediate return on their investment.

In his first start since agreeing to a $170 million, six-year contract, the left-hander pitched a career-best eight innings as the Red Sox shut out the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 on Wednesday night. Crochet also threw 102 pitches, one shy of his career high.

“My first start in college I went eight, and I haven’t sniffed it since,” Crochet said.

Crochet (1-0) gave up four hits and a walk while striking out eight in his first victory since the offseason trade that sent him from the Chicago White Sox to Boston.

“That’s the reason he’s here,” manager Alex Cora said after the game. “That’s the reason we committed to him.”

Crochet went 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA last season, a bright spot on a Chicago team that lost 121 games. He threw 146 innings, which was double his previous career total since his debut in 2020.

Then Crochet was dealt to the Red Sox, and they made their long-term commitment to the 25-year-old earlier this week.

“Going back to when the trade went through, we knew Boston was a place where we would love to be long term,” Crochet said. “Credit to the front office for staying diligent, and my agency as well.”

Now the question is less about where he’ll pitch and more about how well. He’s off to a nice start in that regard.

“I can’t think of the last time I played baseball for pride. In college, you’re playing to get drafted, and once you’re in the big leagues, you’re playing to stay in the big leagues,” Crochet said. “So to have this security and feel like I’m playing to truly just win ballgames, it takes a lot of the riff-raff out of it.”

The news all around was good for Boston on Wednesday.

It reached a $60 million, eight-year deal with young infielder Kristian Campbell, and he went out and doubled twice against the Orioles.

And Rafael Devers ended a 21-at-bat hitless streak to start the season with an RBI double in the fifth inning. He finished with two hits and no strikeouts.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Ohtani’s walk-off pushes Dodgers to historic 8-0

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Ohtani's walk-off pushes Dodgers to historic 8-0

LOS ANGELES — Aside from his ability to pitch and hit and stretch the boundaries of imagination, Shohei Ohtani has displayed another singular trait in his time in the major leagues: an ability to meet the moment. Or, perhaps, for the moment to meet him.

And so on Wednesday night, with his Los Angeles Dodgers looking to stay unbeaten, the score tied in the bottom of the ninth, and more than 50,000 fans standing and clenching the Ohtani bobbleheads they lined up hours in advance for, Ohtani approached the batter’s box — and his teammates expected greatness.

“He’s going to end this right here,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said he thought to himself.

“We knew,” starting pitcher Blake Snell said. “It’s just what he does.”

Validation came instantly. Ohtani stayed back on a first-pitch changeup from Raisel Iglesias near the outside corner and shot it toward straightaway center field, 399 feet away, for a walk-off home run, sending the Dodgers to a 6-5, come-from-behind victory over the reeling Atlanta Braves.

“I don’t think anybody didn’t expect him to hit a walk-off home run there,” Dodgers utility man Tommy Edman said. “It’s just a question of where he’d hit it.”

The Dodgers are now 8-0, topping the 1933 New York Yankees of Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth for the longest winning streak to begin a season for a reigning champion. The Braves, meanwhile, are 0-7, the type of record no team has ever recovered from to make the playoffs. And Ohtani, with three home runs and a 1.126 OPS this season, just keeps meeting moments.

“He’s pretty good, huh?” Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez said. “It’s Shohei. He’s going to do that. He’s going to do things better than that.”

On Aug. 23 last year, Ohtani reached the 40/40 club with a walk-off grand slam. Five days later, the Dodgers staged a second giveaway of his bobblehead — one that saw his now-famous dog, Decoy, handle the ceremonial first pitch — and Ohtani led off with a home run. On Sept. 19, Ohtani clinched his first postseason berth and ascended into the unprecedented 50/50 club with one of the greatest single-game performances in baseball history — six hits, three homers, two steals and 10 RBIs. Barely two weeks later, he homered in his first playoff game.

When Ohtani came up on Wednesday, he had what he described as a simple approach.

“I was looking for a really good pitch to hit,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “If I didn’t get a good pitch to hit, I was willing to walk.”

Of course, though, he got a good pitch.

And, of course, he sent it out.

“You just feel that he’s going to do something special,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And I just like the way he’s not pressing. He’s in the strike zone, and when he does that, there’s just no one better.”

The Dodgers began their much-anticipated season with a couple of breezy wins over the Chicago Cubs from Japan, even though Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman did not play in them. They returned home, brought iconic rapper Ice Cube out to present the World Series trophy on one afternoon, received their rings on another and swept a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers. Then came the Braves, and the Dodgers swept them, too — even though Freeman, nursing an ankle injury caused from slipping in the shower, didn’t participate.

The Dodgers already have two walk-offs and six comeback wins this season.

Wednesday’s effort left Roberts “a little dumbfounded.”

A nightmarish start defensively, highlighted by two errant throws from Muncy, spoiled Snell’s start and put them behind 5-0 after the first inning and a half. But the Dodgers kept inching closer. They trailed by just two in the eighth and put runners on second and third with two out. Muncy came to bat with his batting average at just .083. He had used the ballyhooed “Torpedo” bat for his first three plate appearances, didn’t like how it altered his swing plane, grabbed his usual bat for a showdown against Iglesias and laced a game-tying double into the right-center-field gap.

An inning later, Ohtani ended it.

“Overall, not just tonight, there is a really good vibe within the team,” Ohtani said after recording his fourth career walk-off hit. “I just think that’s allowing us to come back in these games to win.”

The Dodgers’ 8-0 start has allowed them to stay just ahead of the 7-0 San Diego Padres and the 5-1 San Francisco Giants in the National League West. Tack on the Arizona Diamondbacks (4-2) and the Colorado Rockies (1-4), and this marks the first time in the divisional era that an entire division has combined for at least 25 wins and no more than seven losses, according to ESPN Research. The Dodgers’ and Padres’ starts mark just the fifth season in major league history with multiple teams starting 7-0 or better, and the first time since 2003.

The Dodgers famously overcame a 2-1 series deficit to vanquish the Padres in the NL Division Series last year, then rode that fight to their first full-season championship since 1988.

That fight hasn’t let up.

“It feels like this clubhouse is carrying a little bit of the attitude we had last year that we’re never out of a game and we’re resilient, and we’ve been carrying it into this season,” Muncy said. “It’s been fun to watch. The guys don’t give up. Bad things have happened, and no one’s really been down or out on themselves. Everyone’s just, ‘All right, here we go, next inning, let’s get after it.’ The whole team, top to bottom, has been doing that. It’s been making it really, really fun to play.”

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Death of Gardner’s son pinned to carbon monoxide

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Death of Gardner's son pinned to carbon monoxide

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Carbon monoxide poisoning was the cause of death of the teenage son of former New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner, authorities in Costa Rica said Wednesday night.

Randall Zúñiga, director of the Judicial Investigation Agency, said 14-year-old Miller Gardner was tested for carboxyhemoglobin, a compound generated when carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in the blood.

When carboxyhemoglobin saturation exceeds 50%, it is considered lethal. In Gardner’s case, the test showed a saturation of 64%.

“It’s important to note that adjacent to this room is a dedicated machine room, where it’s believed there may be some type of contamination toward these rooms,” Zúñiga said.

The head of the Costa Rican judicial police added that, during the autopsy, a “layer” was detected on the boy’s organs, which forms when there is a high presence of the poisonous gas.

Gardner died March 21 while staying with his family at a hotel on the Manuel Antonio beach in Costa Rica’s Central Pacific.

Asphyxiation was initially thought to have caused his death. After an autopsy was performed by the Forensic Pathology Section, that theory was ruled out.

Another line of investigation centered around whether the family had suffered food poisoning. Family members had reported feeling ill after dining at a nearby restaurant on the night of March 20 and received treatment from the hotel doctor.

Brett Gardner, 41, was drafted by the Yankees in 2005 and spent his entire major league career with the organization. The speedy outfielder batted .256 with 139 homers, 578 RBIs, 274 steals and 73 triples in 14 seasons from 2008 to 2021.

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