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Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin doubled down on his accusation that Alabama defensive coordinator Kevin Steele wasn’t calling plays for the Crimson Tide during their 17-3 win over South Florida last Saturday.

Kiffin told reporters Monday that he wasn’t attempting to make waves when he said Sunday that it appeared that defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson had taken over playcalling duties after Alabama’s loss to Texas — something Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban had not announced.

Ole Miss travels to play Alabama on Saturday.

“I was asked the question, ‘What’s it like going against Steele’s defense?’ I wasn’t trying to start this big thing,” Kiffin said. “We saw things on TV copy just where it was different. First off, of what the play looked like — the calls and stuff. And so we looked into that further. And then it ain’t no secret that people in these buildings know each other, so we obviously got some information that way, too.”

Unprompted, Alabama coach Nick Saban refuted that suggestion during his Monday news conference.

“On this other thing I hear floating around out there — I’m sure you’ve seen the same reports that I’ve seen — is that Kevin Steele is the defensive coordinator,” Saban said. “He has all the defensive coordinator responsibilities. The only thing that we tried to improve from an administrative standpoint was game day administration of getting the signals in quicker, alright? So that was the only thing we worked on as a staff, and the whole staff made a contribution to it and I think it was a lot better in this game [against USF] than it was in the Texas game.”

Alabama, which lost to Texas 34-24, rebounded defensively to beat USF 17-3.

Steele, 65, is on his third stint working for Saban at Alabama. He originally joined the staff during Saban’s first year in 2007 as defensive coordinator.

Steele, who coached linebackers at Alabama during Kiffin’s time as offensive coordinator in 2014, returned as defensive coordinator this offseason after holding in the same position at LSU, Auburn, and Miami.

On Monday, Kiffin reiterated his appreciation for Saban hiring him on the heels of his firing as head coach at USC.

“People give people opportunities all the time,” Kiffin said. “But the things I learned from him defensively, things I learned from him organizationally — discipline. I’m extremely grateful to him. He really helped him at a really challenging time in my life.”

Saban said that Ole Miss is a good team and “Lane has done a good job with the program.”

“This is one of the best offensive teams in the country in terms of the things they do, the multiples they have,” he said.

He later added, “We’re going to have to play our best and we need to improve to be able to do that.”

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Mariners vs. Blue Jays (Oct 13, 2025) Live Score – ESPN

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Mariners vs. Blue Jays (Oct 13, 2025) Live Score - ESPN

1st Rodríguez homered to left (370 feet), Arozarena scored and Raleigh scored. 3 0 1st Lukes reached on infield single to first, Springer scored on throwing error by first baseman Naylor, Lukes to second. 3 1 1st Kirk singled to center, Lukes scored. 3 2 2nd Lukes singled to right, Clement scored, Springer to third. 3 3 5th Polanco homered to center (400 feet), Arozarena scored and Raleigh scored. 6 3 6th Crawford singled to left, Rivas scored. 7 3 7th Naylor homered to right (359 feet), Polanco scored. 9 3 7th Crawford hit sacrifice fly to center, Suárez scored. 10 3

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Julio Rodriguez’s three-run HR gives Mariners early ALCS Game 2 lead

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Julio Rodriguez's three-run HR gives Mariners early ALCS Game 2 lead

The Seattle Mariners got off to a strong start in Game 2 of the American Champions League Series on Monday courtesy of Julio Rodriguez.

The center fielder smashed an 84 mph splitter off Trey Yesavage for a three-run homer in the top of the first inning. The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander had never allowed an extra-base hit on the splitter before, according to ESPN Research.

It marked Rodriguez’s second home run of the postseason as Seattle looks to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

The blast was Yesavage’s first career home run allowed in his fifth career start (regular season and playoffs). Entering Monday, he had allowed only two extra-base hits in 19⅓ innings pitched.

Seattle trailed 1-0 in the first inning in Game 1 before bouncing back to win 3-1 on Sunday. The series shifts to Seattle on Wednesday.

ESPN Research contributed to this report.

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Padres’ Shildt retires, cites ‘severe toll’ of job

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Padres' Shildt retires, cites 'severe toll' of job

Mike Shildt is retiring as San Diego Padres manager with two years remaining on his contract, saying “the grind of the baseball season has taken a severe toll on me mentally, physically and emotionally.”

The 57-year-old Shildt on Saturday informed the team he would retire, nine days after the Padres were eliminated by the Chicago Cubs in a tense three-game wild-card series. He said he made the decision on his own accord.

Shildt led the Padres to the postseason in each of the two seasons he managed the franchise. The club confirmed Shildt’s decision Monday.

“While it has always been about serving others, it’s time I take care of myself and exit on my terms,” Shildt said in a statement given to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I gave every fiber of my being to help achieve Peter Seidler’s vision of bringing a World Series Championship to San Diego.

“We fell short of the ultimate goal, but I am proud of what the players, staff and organization were able to accomplish the last two seasons.”

Shildt went 183-141 as manager in San Diego. The Padres won 90 games this season and finished second in the NL West before being eliminated by the Cubs.

“I am most grateful for our players,” Shildt said in his statement. “San Diego is rightfully proud of the Padres players. It is a group that conducts themselves with class, is dedicated to each other and the common goal of winning a World Series. I love our players and will miss them dearly!!

“After 34 years of dedicating myself to the rigors of coaching and managing, I can with great enjoyment look back on achieving my two primary goals: To help players get the most out of their God given ability and become better men. Also, to win games.”

Before joining the Padres organization in early 2022 as a player development coach, Shildt was the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals from 2018 to 2021, posting a winning record in each of his three full seasons. He was the NL Manager of the Year in 2019 after leading the Cards to 91 wins and the NL Central title.

“We would like to congratulate Mike on a successful career and thank him for his significant contributions to the Padres and the San Diego community over the last four years,” Padres general manager A.J. Preller wrote as part of a statement.

Preller added that the search for a new Padres manager “will begin immediately with the goal of winning a World Series championship in 2026.”

The Padres’ new manager will be the eighth person to lead the dugout since Preller fired Bud Black in June 2015. Their chief rival, the Dodgers, has been managed by San Diego County product Dave Roberts since November 2015.

San Diego becomes the eighth MLB team with a managerial opening and the ninth to change managers in this offseason. Texas has already hired Skip Schumaker, but there are openings with the Padres, Angels, Braves, Orioles, Twins, Giants, Nationals and Rockies.

Information from ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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