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Michigan and coach Jim Harbaugh are being investigated by the NCAA for the second time this year.

A low-level staffer with a military background has emerged as one of the linchpins of the NCAA investigation into the University of Michigan’s alleged sign-stealing operation, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

Harbaugh has already served a university-imposed three-game suspension this season stemming from alleged recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period and for not cooperating with NCAA investigators.

Here are a few answers to questions based on what we know about the developing investigation.

What is Michigan accused of doing?

The NCAA notified Michigan officials and the Big Ten Conference on Wednesday that it is investigating allegations that the Wolverines were stealing signs. According to a report from Yahoo, Michigan allegedly had people attending future opponents’ games — as well as those of potential College Football Playoff opponents — to gather information about the teams’ signals for offensive and defensive plays that are sent from the sideline. The NCAA’s investigation also includes games prior to the 2022 season, sources told ESPN.

If the Wolverines sent people to games to steal signs, it would violate NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1, which states: “Off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited.” There aren’t a lot of details available, including how much, if any, head coach Jim Harbaugh knew about the sign stealing; how many games someone associated with Michigan attended; how long the alleged sign-stealing system has been used; what staff members, if any, attended future opponents’ games; and if electronic devices were used to record the signals.

Who is Connor Stalions?

Stalions is a person of interest in the NCAA’s investigation, sources told ESPN. He has worked as an off-field analyst for the Wolverines since May 2022. According to his LinkedIn account, he was previously a volunteer coach at Michigan from 2015 to 2022.

The son of two Michigan alumni, Stalions attended the United States Naval Academy, where he was a student assistant on the football team. After being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 2017, Stalions worked as a graduate assistant at Navy before beginning his military training, according to his LinkedIn account.

Stalions wrote on LinkedIn that he attempts to “employ Marine Corps philosophies and tactics into the sport of football regarding strategies in staffing, recruiting, scouting, intelligence, planning and more.”

Among the skills Stalions wrote about on LinkedIn were “identifying the opponent’s most likely course of action and most dangerous course of action” and “identifying and exploiting critical vulnerabilities and centers of gravity in the opponent scouting process.”

Why is in-person scouting banned in college sports?

Sign stealing is technically not against NCAA rules and is a practice that has gone on with a wink-wink for decades. Scouting opponents in person was outlawed by the NCAA in 1994 as a cost-cutting measure.

The rule change eliminated all live scouting by staff members or scouting services, which was a big change for football and men’s and women’s basketball. University presidents believed it was just as easy for coaches to scout opponents on TV or tape. They also hoped it would bring more equity to the playing field because schools with smaller athletics budgets couldn’t afford to send their coaches all over the country on scouting trips like the big schools did.

Many coaches were upset when in-person scouting was banned nearly three decades ago, especially those from smaller schools who couldn’t watch their opponents’ games on TV. But coaches adjusted by swapping tapes of recent games. Coaches complained that they couldn’t gauge an opponents’ speed on tape or pick up details like cadence and tendencies without seeing them live.

How does college football send in its plays?

College football doesn’t use one-way helmet communications like the NFL does, so teams assign players and other sideline personnel to signal in plays. Teams usually have multiple signalers — only one who communicates the correct plays — to limit sign stealing. They also use large placards, often divided into four squares, that display logos, symbols and pictures of celebrities and pop culture references to identify certain plays. Some play sequences at the beginning of each half are scripted, so players know the general sequence of what will be called.

Why doesn’t college football use radio communication like the NFL?

Despite increasing support among coaches for helmet communications, college football has held off, namely because of cost but also some liability concerns. The vastly different budgets of leagues and teams would make helmet communication technology a financial challenge for the less-resourced programs throughout the sport. Steve Shaw, the national coordinator of officials, told The Athletic in 2022 that any change to helmets could void liability and warranty language, which then could open potential lawsuits for head injuries. “The long pole in the tent on this is getting the helmet authorization from the manufacturers and making sure they meet all standards and are totally supportive,” Shaw said.

One Power 5 coach told ESPN on Thursday, “Sign stealing is a huge issue in college football that no one talks about. It’s the easiest thing to fix. There are wearable devices. It’s embarrassing to watch college football and see all the lengths people go to to hide signals. It’s a bad look.”

What would this mean for Michigan and Jim Harbaugh given he’s already under investigation by the NCAA?

Harbaugh already faces NCAA charges of failure to cooperate and head coach responsibility related to recruiting violations committed during the COVID-19 dead period. Another violation by a member of his coaching staff could trigger another charge of head coach responsibility, which could potentially be a Level I violation. According to NCAA bylaw 19.12.5.1: “An institution shall be considered a repeat violator if the Committee on Infractions finds that a Level I or Level II violation has occurred within five years of the starting date of a Level I or Level II penalty stemming from a previous case.” Because the NCAA has not ruled on Michigan’s Level II violations case, stemming from alleged recruiting infractions during the COVID-19 dead period, the school and potentially Harbaugh could be deemed repeat violators.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions rejected a four-game negotiated suspension for Harbaugh in the recruiting case, and Michigan self-imposed a three-game suspension. With that case still needing to be resolved, an additional head coach responsibility charge based on alleged signal stealing would significantly increase his exposure to additional punishment, including a longer suspension.

The NCAA’s committee on infractions would not need to render its decision on the initial case for the repeat violator provision to be enacted. The infractions committee is not expected to make its decision on the first case until 2024.

Will Michigan have to forfeit games if found guilty?

The retroactive vacation of wins is always possible in major infractions cases. Sources told ESPN that the NCAA is investigating allegations that stem from before the 2023 season, so impacted games that Michigan won could be vacated. Other possible penalties include postseason bans, scholarship reductions, fines and coaching restrictions (game suspensions and off-campus recruiting privileges) for those who are implicated.

Is there precedent for sign-stealing accusations like this in college football?

Some coaches have been more tolerant of sign stealing than others. As Clemson’s longtime defensive coordinator, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables earned the reputation of being one of the best at stealing signs during games.

Before the Tigers played Ohio State in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day in 2021, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said, “He’s one of the best defensive coordinators in college football. He does a great job calling the game. Seems to always know exactly what the other team is doing in terms of the plays that they’re running, each play. Seems to call the right defense into that play a lot. Why that is, I don’t really know, but I can tell you he’s been doing it for a really long time and it’s a good challenge.”

In 2015, Washington State coach Mike Leach, who was never one to mince his words, accused Arizona State of stealing signs. He doubled down before the teams met the next year.

“I think they still steal signs,” Leach said. “We’ll have to keep an eye on it. That’s certainly the reputation. And I think they have a certain amount of technology and expertise on the subject which if they ever go to a different conference or something I’d certainly like them to share it with us.

“But yeah, you’ve got to keep an eye on it because they’ll steal signs and they’re pretty clever about it. And it’s like breaking the enigma code with them. … I think they ought to do a full on investigation to see how they’re doing it and make sure it’s within the rules.”

Then Arizona State coach Todd Graham even admitted as much.

“We are definitely going by the rules,” Graham said. “There’s not anything illegal about looking at somebody’s signals or somebody’s groupings.”

In 2016, then-Baylor assistant coach Jeff Lebby was suspended for a half for being on the sideline at a Tulsa-Oklahoma game. Lebby was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to attend a wedding, and he and his wife had been invited to the game. Someone spotted him on the Golden Hurricane sideline and told him he wasn’t supposed to be there under NCAA rules, and Lebby left. He missed the first half of Baylor’s game against Oklahoma that season.

The NCAA accepted Baylor’s self-imposed punishment for a Level III violation.

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Ohtani takes Miz deep but phenom fans 12 in win

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Ohtani takes Miz deep but phenom fans 12 in win

MILWAUKEE — Shohei Ohtani greeted Jacob Misiorowski with a leadoff homer, but the Milwaukee Brewers‘ rookie phenom got the last word.

After giving up Ohtani’s 431-foot blast, Misiorowski responded with another dominant outing. He struck out a career-high 12 batters — including two-way superstar Ohtani in the third inning — to lead the Brewers to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.

“It’s Shohei Ohtani,” Misiorowski said. “You kind of expect [that]. It’s cool to see him do it in action, but it fires me up even more coming back the next at-bat and striking him out. I’m right there. I think it was a moment of like, ‘OK, now we go.'”

Misiorowski, whose fastball routinely tops 100 mph, threw an 88.2 mph curveball on an 0-2 count to Ohtani, who crushed it for his 31st homer. That’s the most by a Dodgers player before the All-Star break.

It was the 21st career leadoff homer for the three-time MVP, who struck out swinging on a curveball in the third and walked to start the sixth. That was the only walk given up by Misiorowski, who scattered four hits.

“Really good stuff, aggressive in the zone,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “But what really stood out to me was his command and control.”

Misiorowski outdueled three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who surpassed 3,000 career strikeouts in his previous outing. Asked Monday about his matchup with Misiorowski, Kershaw said he only knew that the 6-foot-7 right-hander threw hard.

“I know him now, huh?” Kershaw said Tuesday. “That was super impressive. That was unbelievable. It was really special. Everything. Obviously the velo, but he’s got four pitches, commands the ball. I don’t know how you hit that, honestly. That’s just really tough.”

Misiorowski was glad to get Kershaw’s attention.

“I saw something online that he didn’t now who I was, so I hope he knows me now,” Misiorowski said. “It’s kind of cool.”

In five starts since the Brewers called him up from the minors, Misiorowski has already beaten Kershaw and 2024 NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. In another outing, Misiorowski carried a perfect game into the seventh inning.

“He’s just broken the shell,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s just out of the egg, all arms and legs. He’s still got gooey stuff coming off, you can see it, all arms and legs, but there’s something special about him.”

The numbers would indicate as much. Misiorowski is 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA and has given up only 12 hits in 25⅔ innings.

He topped out at 101.6 mph and threw 20 pitches of at least 100 on Tuesday. He also threw 19 curveballs after using curves only 10% of the time before Tuesday.

He was coming off his only shaky performance, giving up five runs — including a grand slam by Brandon Nimmo — and three walks over 3⅔ innings Wednesday in a 7-3 loss to the New York Mets.

It looked as if it might be more of the same after Ohtani went deep. Misiorowski responded by striking out 12 of the next 16 batters.

“I think that’s my job, is to figure it out on the fly,” he said. “I feel like I did it tonight.”

He got out of a jam in the sixth. The Dodgers trailed 2-1 and had runners on second and third with one out, but third baseman Andruw Monasterio fielded a grounder and threw out Ohtani at the plate, and Misiorowski retired Michael Conforto on a grounder.

Misiorowski pumped his fist as he headed toward the dugout, then watched the Brewers’ bullpen nail down the win.

“It’s so satisfying,” Misiorowski said. “It’s just a dream come true, to do what I did.”

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Giants walk off on Bailey’s inside-the-park homer

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Giants walk off on Bailey's inside-the-park homer

SAN FRANCISCO — Patrick Bailey hit a three-run, inside-the-park home run with one out in the ninth inning, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.

Bailey became just the third catcher in MLB history to hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run, joining the Chicago Cubs’ Pat Moran in 1907 and the Washington Nationals’ Bennie Tate in 1926.

Bailey’s homer would have been an outside-the-park home run in 29 of 30 ballparks, with Oracle Park being the exception.

Mike Yastrzemski reached base twice and scored to help the Giants to their sixth win in seven games.

Casey Schmitt began the rally with a leadoff double. After Jung Hoo Lee popped out, Wilmer Flores lined a single to center.

Bailey, who grounded into a double play and struck out in two of his previous at-bats, then smashed a 1-0 fastball from Jordan Romano (1-4) into right-center field that ricocheted off the brick part of the wall.

Ryan Walker (2-3) retired one batter, with two on in the top of the ninth, to earn the win.

Phillies All-Star Kyle Schwarber had two hits, including his team-leading 28th home run.

Schwarber flew out, struck out and was hit by a pitch before homering off Giants reliever Spencer Bivens into McCovey Cove. Brandon Marsh, who singled as a pinch hitter leading off the inning, scored on the play.

Two days after being named an All-Star for the second time in his career, Robbie Ray gave up four hits and one run in 5⅔ innings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Mets’ Mendoza: Snubbed Soto ‘an All-Star for us’

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Mets' Mendoza: Snubbed Soto 'an All-Star for us'

BALTIMORE — The New York Mets consider Juan Soto to be a bona fide All-Star, despite the snub he received from those who selected the National League squad for the Midsummer Classic on July 15.

Soto, in his first year with the Mets, has performed well enough to earn the respect of his manager and teammates. In their opinion, he’s deserving of a place in the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.

“He’s an All-Star for us,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday night after the Mets beat Baltimore 7-6. “It’s frustrating, but I’m hoping in the next couple of days we hear something and he makes it.”

Soto drove in the winning run with a sharp single on the first pitch of the 10th inning. That capped a night in which he went 3 for 5 to raise his batting average to .269 with 21 homers and 52 RBIs.

Soto has walked 72 times, by far the most in the majors, but he can also lash out at a pitcher when necessary.

“He’s got a pretty good understanding of what the pitchers are trying to do to him,” Mendoza said. “There is his awareness of the game, he’s going to see pitchers. There are times when he’s going to be aggressive. Tonight was one of those nights. First pitch in the 10th, he’s attacking.”

Soto made the All-Star team as a member of the Nationals, Padres and Yankees each year since 2021. The streak appears to be over. But his teammates believe he deserves to go.

“What he done all year is just incredible, and the results are good enough,” Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes said. “The consistency he’s showed up with, at the at-bats he’s taken, is more than an All-Star. He’s one of the best in the game and a big part of our lineup.”

Soto seems rather philosophical about the snub.

“Sometimes, you’re going to make it and sometimes you don’t,” he told reporters after Sunday’s loss to the Yankees. “It’s just part of baseball.”

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