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Three United States senators sent a letter Tuesday to Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred asking whether a new Florida law undermines the league’s collective bargaining agreement with minor league players and could “put at risk the gains made by minor league players to finally earn a living wage.”

The letter, signed by Senate Judiciary Committee chair Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado) and obtained by ESPN, questioned why MLB lobbied Florida lawmakers for a broad exemption to the state’s minimum wage laws while negotiating the historic CBA that was ratified in April and drastically increased player pay.

In June, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law S.B. 892, which exempts minor league players from minimum wage and maximum hour laws.

Previously MLB had lobbied officials to pass laws that cut minor league players out of federal minimum wage requirements. While those efforts failed, lawmakers included the language — known as the Save America’s Pastime Act — in a 2018 spending bill. At the time, MLB was defending itself against a class-action lawsuit by players that the league had violated wage-and-hour laws. MLB paid $185 million to settle the case in July 2022.

The Florida Senate introduced the bill in mid-February, five months after MLB voluntarily recognized the new minor league unit of the MLB Players Association and in the middle of discussions between the league and union on the framework of the CBA. A league spokesman said the Florida law will not affect current players.

Despite the passage of the Florida law, players on dozens of teams across Florida continued to receive salaries in line with the minimums outlined in the CBA throughout the 2023 season, sources said. The new minor league salaries — $35,800 for players in Triple-A, $30,250 in Double-A, $27,300 in High-A, $26,200 in Low-A and $19,800 in the Florida and Arizona Complex Leagues — more than doubled the wages of players.

Durbin, the Senate Majority Whip who amid players’ unionization efforts last year sent a letter to Manfred questioning the validity of the league’s antitrust exemption, has become a vocal advocate for minor league players but had not publicly addressed S.B. 892.

The letter pointed out that Arizona, California, New York, North Carolina and Washington had previously received support from MLB and the MLBPA advocating for a narrower exemption to wage-and-hour laws than the one passed by Florida.

In the letter, the senators asked whether MLB planned to send a similar letter to Florida and whether the league would support federal legislation for a more narrow exemption.

“These efforts by MLB to pass a broad exemption from state wage and hour laws in Florida,” the letter said, “appear to significantly undermine the agreement MLB entered into with the MLBPA and put at risk the gains made by minor league players to finally earn a living wage.”

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Wisconsin fires offensive coordinator after 2 years

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Wisconsin fires offensive coordinator after 2 years

Wisconsin fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo on Sunday, a day after the Badgers’ 16-13 home loss to No. 1 Oregon.

In a statement, Badgers coach Luke Fickell thanked Longo for his two seasons with the program, while adding, “We are not where we need to be and believe this decision is in the best interest of the team.”

Wisconsin ranks 97th nationally in scoring and 102nd in passing while operating an Air Raid-style offense that Longo brought with him from North Carolina and other stops.

The Badgers, who lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to a season-ending injury Sept. 14, had only three points and 88 yards in the second half against Oregon, which rallied from a 13-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter.

Wisconsin ranked 101st nationally in scoring in Longo’s 23 games as coordinator and failed to eclipse 13 points on its current three-game losing streak. Quarterback Braedyn Locke had only 96 passing yards against the Ducks.

Fickell did not immediately announce an interim coordinator for Wisconsin’s final regular-season games against Nebraska and Minnesota.

Fickell had long targeted Longo for a coordinator role, going back to his time as Cincinnati’s coach. Longo, 56, oversaw productive offenses at Ole Miss, North Carolina, Sam Houston State and other spots but never consistently got traction at a Wisconsin program that had operated dramatically differently on offense before his arrival.

“This team still has a lot in front of us and I am committed to doing everything we can to close out this season with success,” Fickell said in his statement.

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4-star QB Jones, former FSU commit, picks Florida

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4-star QB Jones, former FSU commit, picks Florida

Four-star quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. has committed to Florida, he told ESPN on Sunday, joining the Gators’ 2025 class four days after pulling his pledge from Florida State.

Jones, a four-year starter at Florida’s Mandarin High School, is ESPN’s No. 9 dual-threat passer in the Class of 2025. After multiple trips to Florida throughout his recruitment, Jones returned to campus Saturday, taking an official visit with the Gators during the program’s 27-16 win over LSU. A day later, Jones stands as the lone quarterback pledge in a 2025 Florida class that includes five pledges from the ESPN 300.

“I pretty much saw everything I needed to see when I visited last spring — I just love everything around the campus,” Jones told ESPN. “And then hanging out with the guys yesterday, seeing the camaraderie with each other, that really just sealed it for me.”

Jones was the longest-tenured member of Mike Norvell’s 2025 class at Florida State before his decommitment from the Seminoles on Thursday morning.

Jones’ exit came days after Norvell announced the firings of three assistant coaches on Nov. 10, including offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Alex Atkins. Jones was the first Florida State commit to pull his pledge in the wake of the staff shakeup but marked the Seminoles sixth decommitment since the start of the regular season, joining five ESPN 300 recruits who have left Norvell’s recruiting class across the program’s 1-9 start.

Jones’ commitment follows a key late-season victory for Billy Napier on Saturday and marks the Gators’ first recruiting win since athletic director Scott Strickland announced on Nov. 7 that Florida would stick with the third-year coach beyond the 2024 season.

Uncertainty over Napier’s future had weighed down Florida’s recruiting efforts in the 2025 class as the Gators began November with the No. 39 class in ESPN’s latest team rankings for the cycle. But Jones’ pledge comes as a boost for Florida one day after the Gators hosted a handful of high-profile flip targets, including five-star offensive tackle Solomon Thomas (Florida State pledge) and four-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench (Texas pledge).

When Jones signs with Florida, he’ll arrive on campus flanked by fellow in-state offensive talents in four-star wide receivers Vernell Brown III (No. 44 in the ESPN 300) and Naeshaun Montgomery (No. 115), as well as four-star running back Waltez Clark (No. 223). Florida is also set to sign a pair of in-state defenders from the 2025 ESPN 300 between four-star defensive end Jalen Wiggins (No. 68) and four-star cornerback Ben Hanks Jr. (No. 121).

With Jones’ commitment, Florida has another jolt to its momentum on the recruiting trail as the Gators seek to chart a strong finish in the 2025 cycle next month. More imminently, Florida will host No. 11 Ole Miss on Saturday.

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Ted Williams’ 1946 MVP award sells for over $500K

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Ted Williams' 1946 MVP award sells for over 0K

A rare souvenir postcard picturing Hank Aaron as a rookie with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues sold for nearly $200,000 at a baseball memorabilia auction that also included Ted Williams’ 1946 AL MVP award, which went for $528,750.

The Aaron postcard from the scrapbook of scout Ed Scott, who discovered Aaron, went for $199,750 following a bidding war that soared past the pre-sale estimate of $5,000-$10,000, Hunt Auctions said.

The auction included 280 items from Williams’ personal collection that had been held by his daughter, Claudia, who died last year. Among the other items were a silver bat awarded for his 1958 batting title, which sold for more than $270,000, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented to him by fellow naval aviator George H.W. Bush, which went for $141,000.

The sale also included items from the collection of Rutherford Hayes Jones, the business manager of the Washington Giants, one of the earliest Black baseball teams. The trove was discovered in 2001 in a suitcase, where it had been unseen for 40 years.

A first batch of items from Claudia Williams’ collection went up for auction in 2012 at Fenway Park and garnered more than $5 million.

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