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The Ottawa Senators fired coach D.J. Smith and assistant Davis Payne on Monday, continuing a season of change for the team.

Smith will be replaced by interim coach Jacques Martin. Earlier this month, the Senators hired Martin, who had coached the Senators from the 1995-96 season through the 2003-04 campaign, as a senior adviser to the coaching staff.

The Senators said Martin, who has coached nearly 1,300 NHL games, will be on the bench Tuesday when the Senators face the Arizona Coyotes. Joining Martin will be former Senators captain and franchise career points leader Daniel Alfredsson, who will serve as an assistant coach.

Questions surrounding Smith’s future with the Senators had been building since last season. Since then, the Senators came under new ownership, with Canadian businessman Michael Andlauer becoming the majority owner in September.

Andlauer’s first few months have proved challenging. The club’s struggle to find consistency was further amplified by restricted free agent forward Shane Pinto receiving a 41-game suspension for violating the NHL’s rules on sports wagering.

Less than a week later, the club fired general manager Pierre Dorion on the same day the Senators lost a first-round draft pick for their role in an invalidated trade back in 2022 involving Evgenii Dadonov and the Anaheim Ducks.

Dorion’s departure led to the Senators turning to president of hockey operations Steve Staios to serve as the club’s interim GM.

“A lot of our issues in our team play are the strengths of Jacques Martin: detailed, structured, organized, disciplined,” Staios said Monday on a video call with reporters from Arizona. “To me, in theory, he’s the perfect fit for everything that we had been lacking in those areas.”

Staios said at the time he consulted with Smith on the decision to bring on Martin as a senior adviser.

As for Smith, he was hired by the Senators in 2019 to take over a team in the midst of a rebuild. The Senators missed the playoffs in each of his four full seasons, with their strongest finish coming last season when they went 39-35-8 but finished six points behind the Florida Panthers for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.

The firing came in the fifth and final year of Smith’s contract. He’s the fifth NHL coach to be replaced this season.

“It was a difficult day for him, a difficult day for me,” Staios said. “It’s a difficult day for our players because I think we all feel a sense of responsibility in it, including D.J., so he was disappointed in himself and handled it like a true pro.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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D-backs star Marte’s home robbed during break

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D-backs star Marte's home robbed during break

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A home belonging to Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte was burglarized during the Major League Baseball All-Star break, according to police.

Scottsdale, Arizona, police confirmed that the department is investigating a “high-dollar residential burglary” that is believed to have happened on Tuesday night, which is when Marte was playing for the National League in its All-Star game win in Atlanta.

Numerous personal items and jewelry were stolen. No one was at home when the burglary occurred.

Police said the home is “reportedly” owned by Marte. Maricopa County Assessor’s Office records show Marte owns a home on the block near the investigation.

Police say the investigation is ongoing.

Marte hit a two-run double in the first inning of the NL’s win, which was secured after a home run contest at the end of the game after the score was tied after nine innings.

The burglary is the latest in a series of thefts from the homes of high-profile athletes across the country this year. Players have been targeted because of the high-end products believed to be in their homes and sometimes the thefts occur when they are away with their teams for road games.

The FBI has warned sports leagues about crime organizations targeting professional athletes. The NFL and NBA have issued security alerts to athletes.

A Seattle man was charged last month in connection with a string of burglaries at the homes of prominent active and retired professional athletes in the area.

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Cubs icon Sandberg ‘continuing to fight’ cancer

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Cubs icon Sandberg 'continuing to fight' cancer

Chicago Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg said Wednesday he is “continuing to fight” cancer and is prioritizing time with those closest to him.

He posted a letter addressed to his fans and extended baseball family on Instagram.

“I wanted to share an update regarding my health,” wrote Sandberg, 65. “It’s been a challenging few months as I have been going through treatment on a regular basis.

“While I am continuing to fight, I’m looking forward to making the most of every day with my loving family and friends.

“I haven’t been to Wrigley Field as much as I hoped in the first half but I’m watching every game and am excited for the second half.”

He threw out the first pitch, surrounded by fellow Cubs greats, before the home opener on April 4.

In January 2024, Sandberg announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, then last August announced he was cancer-free. In December, he said the cancer had recurred and spread. He vowed to “continue to be positive, strong, and fight to beat this.”

Sandberg spent 15 of his 16 major league seasons with the Cubs, along with 13 games at the start of his career for the Philadelphia Phillies (1981).

Sandberg was the 1984 National League MVP, when he batted a career-high .314 with a major-league-leading 19 triples and 114 runs scored as well as 19 home runs, 84 RBIs and 32 stolen bases.

The second baseman also earned the second of his nine career Gold Glove awards that year. He was a 10-time All-Star selection and a seven-time Silver Slugger honoree, batting .285 with 282 home runs and 1,061 RBIs in his 2,164-game career.

Sandberg, who was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, also spent parts of three seasons (2013-15) as the Phillies’ manager.

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Rangers give All-Star bonus to snubbed Eovaldi

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Rangers give All-Star bonus to snubbed Eovaldi

Despite an excellent first half to the season, Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi wasn’t selected as an All-Star this year, but the team made sure that he’ll be paid like one.

Despite the snub, Eovaldi was given the $100,000 All-Star bonus in his contract by the Rangers after he posted a 1.58 ERA with 94 strikeouts over 91 innings. Teammate Jacob deGrom, who was selected as an All-Star, also received a $100,000 bonus.

Eovaldi, in his 15th major league season, would lead the majors in ERA, but after missing a month due to a triceps injury, he fell six innings short of the necessary 97 innings to qualify among leaders for individual statistical categories.

Eovaldi, a two-time All-Star, won his third straight game on Sunday to improve to 7-3, giving up five hits and a run with eight strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings against the Houston Astros.

The right-hander ranks second only to Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal among MLB starting pitchers in WHIP (0.85) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.71). Opposing batters are hitting a paltry .194 with a .237 on-base percentage, .286 slugging percentage and .523 OPS against Eovaldi.

Eovaldi is scheduled to make his first start of the second half at home on Sunday against Skubal and the Tigers at Globe Life Field.

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