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The Miami Marlins wanted to hire a president of baseball operations over general manager Kim Ng despite her constructing a playoff team this year, leading to her departure from the organization Monday, sources told ESPN.

Ng, 54, was the highest-ranking woman in a major men’s North American professional sports front office. The Marlins hired her in November 2020 as general manager — the first female GM in MLB, the NFL, NBA or NHL — and her contract included a mutual option for 2024. In a statement, Marlins owner Bruce Sherman said the team exercised its end of the option but Ng declined hers.

Ng was offered a contract extension, sources told ESPN’s Buster Olney, but she turned it down.

The team’s desire to hire someone over Ng to run baseball operations surprised fellow executives around baseball, who lauded her work with the 2023 Marlins. Her deals for third baseman Jake Burger and first baseman Josh Bell at the trade deadline fortified a weak offense and helped push the Marlins to an 84-78 record and the final wild card slot in the National League.

Despire a -57 run differential, the largest ever for a playoff team, he Marlins improved by 15 games from the previous season following Ng’s hiring of manager Skip Schumaker, who is under contract for 2024 with a team option for 2025. The playoff appearance, in which the Marlins were swept by the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild card round, was the first for the team in a full season since 2003.

Ng, who declined comment when reached by ESPN, had weathered significant tumult in the organization during her three years there. In February 2022, Hall of Famer Derek Jeter stepped down as CEO of the Marlins after disagreements with Sherman on the direction of the franchise. Four months later, the Marlins fired vice president of player development and scouting Gary Denbo, who had clashed with people inside the organization.

With Ng in charge, the Marlins took steps forward. Left-hander Jesus Luzardo, acquired at the deadline in 2021, grew into a reliable starter in his first full season in Miami’s rotation. Rookie Eury Perez, who debuted this year just 27 days after his 20th birthday, was a revelation. Despite the struggles of reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, who recently underwent Tommy John surgery, the Marlins’ starting pitching was a strength.

The offense still struggled but received a jolt from second baseman Luis Arraez, who won the NL batting title with a .354 average after Miami acquired him for right-hander Pablo Lopez over the winter.

While Miami’s free agent signings of third baseman Jean Segura and first baseman Yuli Gurriel flopped, their replacements, Burger and Bell, helped them navigate a tight NL wild card race to lock down the final spot.

In 53 games, Burger hit .303/.355/.505 with nine home runs while Bell hit .270/.338/.480 with 11 home runs. Burger is under team control for five more season and Bell for another year, though he does have an opt-out this winter.

“We thank Kim for her contribution during her time with our organization and wish her and her family well,” Sherman said in the statement. “We will immediately begin a thorough and extensive search for new leadership as we plan to continue to invest in the Marlins organization both on and off the field.”

The only other current job opening for a head of baseball operations is with the Boston Red Sox, who fired chief baseball office Chaim Bloom in September.

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Bedard hurt on last-second faceoff, out for Sat.

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Bedard hurt on last-second faceoff, out for Sat.

ST. LOUIS — Chicago star Connor Bedard was injured on a last-second faceoff in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night and will miss the Blackhawks’ game Saturday.

With 0.8 seconds left, Bedard attempted to win the draw to give Chicago one last chance, but he was knocked down by Blues center Brayden Schenn. Bedard grasped at his right shoulder and immediately headed to the locker room, accompanied by a trainer, while his teammates remained on the ice and the bench.

“He won’t play tomorrow,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said of the team’s game at home against Detroit on Saturday night. “I won’t know more info tomorrow, so don’t ask me tomorrow. At some point through the weekend, I’ll know more, so I’d probably have more info come Monday.”

Asked whether Bedard’s injury would be only short term, Blashill offered few details.

“I’d hate to say that without knowing the information,” he said. “Until we get the information, again, he’s not going to play tomorrow.”

Bedard ranked fifth in the NHL in points heading into the game, and he assisted on both of Chicago’s goals in the loss. He now has 12 goals and 25 assists.

He was pushed into desperation mode when the Blues iced the puck and a half a second was put back on the clock. Blashill said he’d have to see the play again, but his initial impression was that nothing dirty occurred on the play.

“Honestly, I think it’s a freak accident,” Blashill said, “to be honest with you.”

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Canucks trade Hughes to Wild for 3 players, pick

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Canucks trade Hughes to Wild for 3 players, pick

Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes was traded to the Minnesota Wild, the teams announced on Friday. It was a blockbuster deal in which Vancouver received three roster players — defenseman Zeev Buium, center Marco Rossi and winger Liam Ohgren — as well as a first-round pick.

It’s one of the boldest moves in Wild franchise history, and signals GM Bill Guerin’s hunger to win now after signing Kirill Kaprizov to the richest contract in NHL history this summer. The Wild have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2015.

Hughes, 26, is a 2018 first-round pick of the Canucks and considered one of the best defensemen in the league. He is one of six players already named to the Team USA Olympic men’s hockey team. Hughes won the Norris Trophy in 2023-24 when he recorded a career-high 92 points for a first-place Canucks team.

However, a Hughes trade became increasingly inevitable after the Canucks got off to a poor start. Vancouver entered Friday in last place in the Pacific Division at 11-17-3 with a minus-24 goal differential. Late last month, the Vancouver front office sent a memo across the league that it was open to trading any of its pending unrestricted free agents. That did not include Hughes, who is under contract through the end of next season.

However, it empowered many general managers across the league to inquire about Hughes, who did not have any trade protection.

The Canucks got plenty in return. Buium, 20, is a 2024 first-round pick of the Wild and can inherit Hughes’ role as a true power-play quarterback. Rossi, 24, and Ohgren, 21, are also former first-round picks of the Wild.

Though Hughes never asked for a trade, many around the NHL believed he did not want to re-sign in Vancouver after his contract expired in the summer of 2027. The prevailing belief is that Hughes preferred to play for a United States-based team on the East Coast. Hughes spends his offseason in Michigan. His brothers, Jack and Luke, play for the New Jersey Devils.

According to sources, the Devils did make a trade offer for Hughes to reunite him with his two younger brothers. However, New Jersey couldn’t match what Minnesota gave up.

Minnesota began engaging with Vancouver about a week ago, according to sources, and the deal came together quickly. The Canucks received at least six other offers, according to sources, but Vancouver believed Minnesota presented the strongest overall package that can best set the team up for the future.

Hughes is not eligible to sign an extension with the Wild until July 1.

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San Jose State receiver Scudero to enter portal

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San Jose State receiver Scudero to enter portal

San Jose State wide receiver Danny Scudero, the leading receiver in FBS this season, will enter the NCAA transfer portal when it opens in January, he announced Friday.

The 5-foot-9, 174-pound redshirt sophomore caught 88 passes for 1,291 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first season with the Spartans, becoming a semifinal for the Biletnikoff Award and earning first-team All-Mountain West honors.

Scudero is expected to be one of the more coveted wide receivers available when the transfer portal officially opens on Jan. 2 and has two more seasons of eligibility remaining.

Scudero spent two years at Sacramento State before transferring to San Jose State after the 2024 season. He broke out with 189 receiving yards to open the season against Central Michigan and surpassed 100 yards in five more games, including a career-high 215 and two touchdowns against Hawaii.

Scudero’s 88 receptions ranked fourth-most in FBS, and he leads all receivers this season with 16 catches of 30 or more yards.

The Spartans produced the No. 14 passing offense in FBS this season but went 3-9 in their second year under coach Ken Niumatalolo.

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