Sans scooter, Francona reflects on leaving game
CLEVELAND — Terry Francona made it to the home finale, his last managing the Guardians before retirement.
His beloved scooter didn’t get there.
Just hours before Cleveland fans saluted the popular manager, who is leaving baseball after 11 seasons with the club, Francona revealed that the celebrated motorized scooter he rode to and from Progressive Field for the past several seasons was stolen for the second time.
“The hog has been officially put on ice,” Francona said, using the pet nickname for his ride before Wednesday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. “It got stolen again, but this time they stripped it.”
Francona said the two-wheeled vehicle was swiped about 10 days ago. It was first stolen in January but recovered by Cleveland police.
“Been in mourning,” he said. “They got it in the clubhouse under a blanket. Looks like they took a baseball bat to it.”
Francona, 64, recently hopped on a substitute electric scooter, but the ride wasn’t the same. He veered out of the way to avoid hitting some pedestrians, caught a pothole on a cobblestone street near his downtown apartment and crashed.
“I went over the handlebars,” he said. “I mean over. It’s amazing how much you can see of your life in that moment.”
Jokes aside — and it was fitting the moments before Francona’s finale included some light-hearted one-liners from him — the last home game in 2023 is a bittersweet celebration, but the Guardians sent Francona off with a 4-3 victory Wednesday night.
After the final out, Francona, who is retiring after 23 seasons, two World Series titles and the respect of virtually everyone in the sport, stood in line like he always has to shake hands and high-five his players.
He briefly walked down the dugout steps before turning, and with the help of a gentle shove from All-Star third baseman José Ramírez, Francona went back on the field to soak in an ovation to remember.
“Ti-to!” Ti-to!” they screamed.
He had no words.
“I was really touched,” Francona. “I guess what I’m just trying to convey is the 11 years here are what is the best part. It’s not like the last day. It’s everything that I lived through here with the people that I was with and that’s what I care about.”
It’s hard for the Guardians and their fans to say goodbye to the longest tenured and winningest manager in the club’s 123-year history — one of baseball’s all-time characters.
Although he hasn’t officially announced his retirement, Francona is expected to do so formally early next week.
His departure will be a loss for baseball.
“For me, just to be here on his last home game means a lot,” said Reds manager David Bell, who has known Francona for decades. “The thing I know about Tito is that everyone who has ever worked with him loves him. I’m sure this [is] emotional.”
Francona didn’t want a special ceremony for his final home game, but he relented to the team handing out 20,000 red “Thank You Tito” T-shirts.
“The most frustrating part is I can’t wear the T-shirt because it’s me,” Francona cracked beforehand. “I mean, it’s a nice T-shirt. I love it when we get free stuff, but I can’t wear it.”
Shortly before the first pitch, the team paid homage to Francona’s run in Cleveland with a touching video tribute that chronicled his deep connection with the franchise (his dad, Tito, spent six seasons as an outfielder with the Indians) as well as his managerial stint.
Never wanting the spotlight on anyone but his players, Francona said the image of his father brought out emotions he tried to contain.
“It was really touching,” Francona said. “I know I’m not the smartest person in the room by far, but I was smart enough to pick a place where I believed in the people and that only grew. Anybody that’s ever spent 10 minutes with me knows how much I like it here.”
When the video finished, Francona emerged from the dugout and tipped his cap at the cheering fans. He retreated for a moment before coming back out for a curtain call.
Francona wasn’t sure what kind of emotions he would be feeling as Cleveland said goodbye.
“Probably more uncomfortable than anything,” he said. “I know it’s a nice gesture, not dismissing that part of it. My joy is what I do every day and who I do it with.”
Francona has been slowed by major health issues in recent years, and he made the decision to step away after a tough, two-month stretch earlier this season. Francona insisted upon keeping the spotlight on his players during the season’s final month and he spoke with them before the series opener so they weren’t caught off-guard by anything in their final days together.
He’ll cheer for the Guardians, just not from the dugout.
“I’m going to be rooting like hell for these guys,” he said. “Might be in a rocking chair or something, hopefully, on a golf course. But I will never not root for these guys. I love these guys, man. This has been 11 years of good.”
He has been a beloved figure in Cleveland and beyond.
“To be in this game that long and be respected and liked by everyone you have ever come across is amazing,” said Bell, whose father, Buddy, played with Francona and hired him as a coach. “From a player’s standpoint, I would love to play for Tito and I think most of his players do. To get the most out of your players but also to be well-liked by so many people, in this game that’s everything.
“An incredible career.”
Francona’s teams were always in the playoff hunt despite having one of baseball’s lowest payrolls. In 2016, the team came within one swing of winning their first World Series since 1948 before losing in seven games to the Chicago Cubs.
Before the finale, Francona reflected a bit on his managerial career, which began in Philadelphia in 1997 and ended after four years with his car’s tires being slashed on fan appreciation day.
Asked what he’d miss most, Francona said, “Easy answer is the people.”
And there’s that short ride home.
“It’s the greatest setup ever,” he said. “I don’t know too many places where after games, the police are either high-fiving or telling you, ‘Hey, just hang in there or cut around this car.’ I mean it, it’s been nice.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
SEWELL, N.J. — A few days after brothers John and Matthew Gaudreau died when they were struck by a driver while riding bicycles on the eve of their sister Katie’s wedding, family friends were visiting parents Guy and Jane at their home during a rainstorm. Looking outside after the skies cleared, they saw a double rainbow that brought them some momentary peace.
Since then, Jane Gaudreau had not gotten any signs she attributed to her sons, so she sat in their room Friday and asked them for some divine intervention to clear out bad weather in time for an event to honor their legacies. After a brief scare of a tornado watch the night before, a rainbow appeared Saturday morning about an hour before the sun came out for the inaugural Gaudreau Family 5K Walk/Run and Family Day.
“I was so relieved,” Jane said. “I was like, ‘Well, there’s my sign.'”
Thousands attended the event at Washington Lake Park in southern New Jersey, a place John and Matthew went hundreds of times as kids and around the corner from Hollydell Ice Arena, where they started playing hockey. Roughly 1,100 people took part in a walk or run in person, along with more than 1,300 virtually in the U.S., Canada and around the world.
“I think it speaks to them as a family, how close they were and how everybody loved being around them,” said Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, one of a handful of NHL players who were close to the Gaudreaus and made a point to be there. “You just see the support from this community and from other players as well that are here and traveled in. It just says a lot about Johnny, Matty, their legacy and this family as a whole, how much support they have because they’re such amazing people.”
Along with honoring the NHL star known as “Johnny Hockey” and his younger brother who family and friends called Matty, the goal of the event was to raise money for an accessible playground at Archbishop Damiano School where Jane and her daughter Kristen work. It was a cause John and Matthew had begun to champion in honor of their grandmother Marie, who spent 44 years at the school and died in 2023.
It became their mother’s project after their deaths.
“Jane works every day with children with disabilities, and she knew how important it was for the playground to be built,” said family friend Deb Vasutoro, who came up with the idea for a 5K. “The playground has been a project for, I think, four or five years, and there just never was enough funding. When the boys passed and Jane needed a purpose, she thought, ‘Let’s build the playground.’ It was the perfect marriage of doing something good to honor the boys and seeing children laugh and smile.”
The Rev. Allain Caparas from Gloucester Catholic High School, which the brothers attended and played hockey for while growing up in Carneys Point, said raising funds for the playground is an extension of the impact they had on the community.
“They’re continuing to make a difference in the lives of so many others,” Caparas said. “Johnny and Matthew lived their lives with purpose, and now we’re celebrating that.”
Social media filled with mentions from folks in Columbus and Calgary, the NHL cities in which John Gaudreau played, and as far away as Ireland and Sweden. Paul O’Connor, who has been tight with the Gaudreau family from son Dalton being childhood best friends with Matthew, couldn’t empty out his inbox because he kept getting notifications about signups and donations.
“It just keeps growing,” O’Connor said. “And people that couldn’t be here, they’re doing a virtual [5K]. If they can’t do either, they’re just throwing money at the cause.”
Tears welled up in the eyes of Guy and Jane as they talked about the event. His speech to the crowd was brief and poignant at the same time.
“I’d like to thank everybody for coming,” Guy said after running the 5K. “It really means a lot to Jane and the girls and the family. We miss the boys, and it really means a lot for us to have you here to honor my boys. Thank you.”
The sea of people first in the rain and then the sunshine included folks in gear from all across hockey. Tkachuk wore a “Johnny Hockey” hoodie with Gaudreau’s name and No. 13 on the back.
He handed sticks, collected from various vigils in late August and early September, to race winners along with fellow players Erik Gudbranson, Zach Aston-Reese, Tony DeAngelo and Buddy Robinson.
“Our family wouldn’t have missed this,” Gudbranson said after flying in Friday night following a trip to Walt Disney World. “Hockey’s a very tight community. It’s still a tragedy. We miss the boys.”
The aim is to hold the event annually moving forward, potentially in Calgary and Columbus.
“We thought this was such a good thing to honor the boys we want to keep it up,” Jane said. “I just think each year it’ll just get better and better.”
Florida Panthers forwards Eetu Luostarinen and Anton Lundell will be ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night in Edmonton, coach Paul Maurice said Saturday.
Both players were injured in Wednesday’s series-clinching Game 5 win against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Panthers forward A.J. Greer‘s status for the series opener against the Oilers remains uncertain. He missed Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals and was on the ice for only 4:22 in Game 5 due to a lower-body injury.
All three players did not participate in Saturday’s practice, the first team skate since the defending champions booked their spot in the Final rematch.
“I think the only question mark is Greer,” Maurice said. “We will list him as day to day. The other guys are fine. They will be back on the ice tomorrow when we do a little bit of an optional.”
Luostarinen, 26, recorded 24 points (9 goals, 15 assists) in 80 games during the regular season and 13 points (4 goals, 9 assists) in 17 games this postseason.
Lundell, 23, tallied 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) in 79 games in the regular season and 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in 17 playoff games.
Greer, 28, posted 17 points (6 goals, 11 assists) in 81 games in the regular season and three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in 12 playoff contests.
It’s a rematch of the last year’s Stanley Cup Final, as the Edmonton Oilers take on the Florida Panthers. If you need a quick refresher, Aleksander Barkov and the Panthers went up 3-0 to start the series before Connor McDavid and the Oilers won the next three to force a Game 7. The Panthers prevailed in the deciding match to take home their first championship, though McDavid would win the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP despite being on the losing team.
This year, the Oilers dispatched the Los Angeles Kings in the first round (again), the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round, and the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals. Meanwhile, the Panthers defeated their in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, the Toronto Maple Leafs in a seven-game second round, and the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Oilers opened as early favorites in Game 1, but series odds have been close to a toss-up. McDavid is the current odds-on favorite to win the Conn Smythe.
All odds accurate as of publish time. For more, go to ESPN BET. 
Odds to win Conn Smythe Trophy
The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded to the player deemed to have been the most valuable to his team throughout the playoffs. Only players with 100-1 odds or better are listed. More odds available at ESPN BET.
Connor McDavid, Oilers: -110
Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers: +250
Aleksander Barkov, Panthers: +400
Leon Draisaitl, Oilers: 10-1
Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers: 25-1
Sam Bennett, Panthers: 30-1
Carter Verhaeghe, Panthers: 50-1
Brad Marchand, Panthers: 60-1
Stuart Skinner, Oilers: 60-1
Sam Reinhart, Panthers: 75-1
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oilers: 100-1
Goal scorers (selected):
Florida Panthers
Edmonton Oilers
Schedule
All times Eastern
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Game 1: Florida at Edmonton; Wednesday, June 4, 8 p.m.
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Game 2: Florida at Edmonton; Friday, June 6, 8 p.m.
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Game 3: Edmonton at Florida; Monday, June 9, 8 p.m.
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Game 4: Edmonton at Florida; Thursday, June 12, 8 p.m.
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Game 5: Florida at Edmonton; Saturday, June 14, 8 p.m.
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Game 6: Edmonton at Florida; Tuesday, June 17, 8 p.m.
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Game 7: Florida at Edmonton; Friday, June 20, 8 p.m.
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