Harbaugh: ‘Loved what I saw’ in Michigan win
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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore both were serving suspensions for the team’s opener against East Carolina, so they decided to watch together at Moore’s home.
“I said, ‘Hey, let’s watch the game together,’ and he said, ‘Why don’t you come over,'” Harbaugh said Monday. “His wife, Kelli, had some sandwiches, his two daughters were there, and my son Johnny. We had a good time. It was good, excellent.
“I really loved what I saw out of our team.”
The second-ranked Wolverines beat East Carolina 30-3, as quarterback J.J. McCarthy passed for 280 yards and three touchdowns and Michigan held the Pirates scoreless until the last play. Michigan self-imposed a three-game suspension for Harbaugh and a one-game suspension for Moore because of NCAA recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period. The school imposed the discipline to get ahead of the NCAA infractions process after a negotiated resolution for Harbaugh, which included a four-game suspension, fell apart.
Harbaugh will miss this week’s game against UNLV and a Sept. 16 contest against Bowling Green. Special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh, son of Jim Harbaugh, and running backs coach Mike Hart will serve as co-head coaches this week against UNLV. Moore will handle head-coaching duties for the Bowling Green game. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter filled in for Harbaugh against East Carolina.
Jim Harbaugh on Monday referenced a message he received from longtime friend Jim Minick, who served in the military and worked for Michigan football early in Harbaugh’s tenure.
“He said, ‘There’s a military saying that the true sign of your leadership is what your unit does when you aren’t there,'” Harbaugh said. “For us, I thought it was really great. Our captains, our senior leadership, our coaches, all were phenomenal. When we started fall camp, I told the team, ‘Moses had 70 leaders, how many do you think we need? More. We need a lot more.’ I think we have that, and it’s building. You talk about turning a negative into a positive.
“I just love the way our team is doing that.”
Although Michigan is heavily favored to win all three games during the suspension, Harbaugh last week called the punishment “a baseball bat to the kneecaps.” McCarthy wore a “Free Harbaugh” shirt before and after the game, and the offense began in Harbaugh’s train formation — all lined up behind each other — while holding up four fingers for Harbaugh’s number as a Michigan and NFL quarterback.
“It was great watching the team,” Harbaugh said. “They played fast, physical, smart, tough and, personally, I felt the love, too, which was great, from our team and from the Michigan faithful. So, good day.”
Jim Harbaugh praised quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell for handling the offensive playcalling against ECU and having McCarthy spread the ball to wide receiver Roman Wilson and others.
Jay Harbaugh will serve as Michigan’s coach in the first half against UNLV, and Hart will take over from the start of halftime through the end of the game.
“To be able to share this opportunity with him is an honor,” said Hart, a former Michigan running back and the school’s all-time leading rusher, with 5,040 yards. “Hopefully, we take care of business and in the second half, it’s easy for me and I don’t have to mess it up.”
BOSTON — Red Sox manager Alex Cora will miss Monday’s series opener against the New York Mets at Fenway Park so he can attend his daughter’s college graduation.
Cora’s daughter, Camila, will be graduating from nearby Boston College.
“It’s going to be a very special day — one that I’m not going to miss,” Cora said before Sunday’s game vs. the Atlanta Braves. “I 100% will miss the game for that. I will do that any given day. It’s going to be a very special day for us.”
Cora reflected on how the time has seemed to go quickly and spoke about how fast his daughter seemed to grow up.
“It went fast, it went really fast,” Cora said of her time in college. “For a girl from divorced parents, her mom did an amazing job, staying the course while I was playing and coaching and doing my ESPN thing. … She’s actually a reflection of her. I appreciate everything she’s done for her and for us.”
Asked if he’ll be able to hold back his emotions at the ceremony, Cora smiled and said “We’ll see,” before bringing up memories of when his daughter was at the 2018 World Series victory celebration and a postseason series wrap-up win over Tampa Bay in ’21 at Fenway.
“It’s going to be an amazing day. It happened fast,” he said. “You put everything into perspective, you go back to the videos of ’18, she was a little girl.
“Then you go back to ’21 when she hopped onto the field when we beat Tampa, she was still a little girl. Now, she’s not a little girl,” he said. “She’s a woman. She had fun with it. She’s a great student and the future’s bright for her.”
MILWAUKEE — Brewers pitcher Tobias Myers is going back to the minors as he continues to struggle to match the success he enjoyed as a rookie last year.
The Brewers optioned Myers to Triple-A Nashville on Sunday while selecting right-handed pitcher Easton McGee from Triple-A and transferring left-handed pitcher Connor Thomas to the 60-day injured list.
Myers is 1-1 with a 4.95 ERA in six appearances, including five starts. He allowed four runs over 3 2/3 innings in a 7-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
The right-hander had gone 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA last season and was selected the Brewers’ most valuable pitcher by the Milwaukee chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He closed that season by pitching five scoreless innings in the decisive Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series against the New York Mets, a game the Brewers lost 4-2 by allowing four runs in the ninth.
“I love the kid, man,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after Saturday’s game. “You saw it in Game 3, that’s in there. So we’ve got to get back to that.”
The Brewers had optioned Myers to Nashville a week ago, but he didn’t actually pitch there before rejoining the big-league club after left-hander José Quintana went on the injured list with a left shoulder issue. Now he’s heading back to Nashville.
Myers entered Saturday having walked 10 batters over 16 1/3 innings. He didn’t walk anyone Saturday, but gave up a career-high 11 hits.
“My goal was to fill the zone up and kind of get away from the walks I’ve been dealing with,” Myers said after the game. “I think I just filled it up a little too much.”
McGee went 1-0 with a 3.44 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 18 1/3 innings in 13 relief appearances with Nashville.
McGee appeared in one game for Tampa Bay in 2022 and one game for Seattle in 2023.In the only two games he has pitched in the big leagues, McGee has allowed just one unearned run over 9 2/3 innings while striking out three and allowing five hits and one walk.
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