Badgers’ Fickell hopes Vrabel can be around team

Published

1 year ago

February 9, 2024

admin

Pete Thamel, ESPNFeb 8, 2024, 10:12 AM ET

Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell told ESPN on Thursday that he is hoping to have Mike Vrabel, his best friend and former teammate, “around as much as possible” with the team in an informal role the upcoming season.

Vrabel was fired by the Tennessee Titans last month and did not land an NFL job in this year’s hiring cycle. Vrabel and Fickell were teammates at Ohio State and coached together there as assistants.

“I love Mike and want him around as much as possible,” Fickell told ESPN. “I want to see how much he’d like to be around, in the spring for sure. And we’ll go from there.”

Fickell joked with ESPN that he is not intimidated by Vrabel’s 6-foot-4 frame, laughing as he referenced an anonymous quote to The Athletic that Vrabel’s physical presence could be intimidating to someone in an organization.

Fickell was a nose tackle at Ohio State. Vrabel played linebacker for the Buckeyes, and the two have remained close both personally and professionally since their time there in the 1990s.

It’s common in college football and the NFL for coaches who are out of work to spend time with friends and colleagues to offer opinions and an extra set of eyes.

Fickell first mentioned Vrabel’s potential presence in a radio interview this week.

“I talked to him, I think, on Saturday, and we hadn’t communicated for probably a week or so just because the process was going,” Fickell told ESPN Wisconsin’s “Wilde & Tausch.” “He sounded like a new man. And I’m not sure exactly if this was his choice, or what it is the future looks like, but I know that we’re going to have a visitor here that’s going to spend a little bit of time, hopefully around us. Starting, coming up in the spring and some things like that, see how much, how deep we can get involved with my buddy and get him around here.”

Fickell went 7-6 in his first season at Wisconsin. He led Cincinnati to the College Football Playoff in 2020.

Sports

Jays put Santander on IL with shoulder injury

Published

32 mins ago

May 30, 2025

admin

Jays put Santander on IL with shoulder injury

Associated Press

May 30, 2025, 03:28 PM ET

TORONTO — The Blue Jays put slugger Anthony Santander on the 10-day injured list Friday because of left shoulder inflammation and recalled outfielder Alan Roden from Triple-A Buffalo.

Santander is batting .179 with six home runs and 18 RBI in 50 games. The veteran switch hitter has missed a handful of games because of left hip and left shoulder soreness over the past three weeks.

Santander signed a $92.5 million, five-year contract with Toronto in January after eight seasons with Baltimore. He hit a career-best 44 home runs for the Orioles last season.

The outfielder had an MRI after Thursday’s 12-0 win over the Athletics, when he was 0 for 2 with two strikeouts and two walks, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. The team was still determining whether the next steps would include a cortisone injection or rehabilitation, the manager said.

“I think it just got to the point to where it was bothering him,” Schneider said before Friday’s game against the Athletics. “You can’t really put the work that you want to put in volume-wise, and we just think it’s best for him right now.”

Roden rejoins the Blue Jays after batting .178 with one home run and five RBI in 28 games for Toronto earlier this season, his first in the majors. Roden hit .361 with three homers and 12 RBI in 18 games at Buffalo after being sent down May 7.

Sports

Twins reinstate Buxton after 11-game absence

Published

32 mins ago

May 30, 2025

admin

Twins reinstate Buxton after 11-game absence

Associated Press

May 30, 2025, 02:29 PM ET

SEATTLE — The Minnesota Twins reinstated center fielder Byron Buxton from the seven-day concussion injured list Friday before beginning a three-game series in Seattle, two weeks after he collided with shortstop Carlos Correa in pursuit of a shallow fly ball.

Buxton missed 11 games after the collision, which also sent Correa into the concussion protocol. Correa needed only the minimum seven-day stay on the injured list and missed five games.

To make room for Buxton, outfielder Carson McCusker was sent back to Triple-A St. Paul. Buxton was batting .261 with an .834 OPS and 18 extra-base hits, including 10 homers, before he was hurt. He also had 33 runs, 27 RBIs and 8 steals in his first 41 games.

Sports

Tigers place pitcher Jobe (elbow) on 15-day IL

Published

32 mins ago

May 30, 2025

admin

Tigers place pitcher Jobe (elbow) on 15-day IL

Associated Press

May 30, 2025, 06:01 PM ET

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Detroit Tigers placed pitcher Jackson Jobe on the 15-day injured list Friday because of a right elbow injury.

Jobe, a rookie right-hander, mentioned discomfort after leaving his last start, against San Francisco on Wednesday. The injury was described as a Grade 1 right flexor strain, and the move was retroactive to Thursday.

“He reported that he had a little bit of soreness,” Detroit manager AJ Hinch said before the MLB-leading Tigers opened a three-game series in Kansas City. “So we took him immediately to get evaluated. When the test came back and the doctors read it, they discovered this flexor strain.

“I try not to rush to any judgment until we see how his rest goes, and see how his rehab goes. We’ll listen to the doctors and the pitching coaches on that.”

The 22-year-old Jobe is 4-1 with a 4.22 ERA in 10 starts this season. He has 39 strikeouts and 27 walks in 49 innings.

Right-handed pitcher Dylan Smith was selected from Triple-A Toledo and will make his major league debut with the Tigers. To make room for Smith on the 40-man roster, right-hander Alex Cobb has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.