Connect with us

Published

on

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Avery Johnson has few peers among college football quarterbacks when it comes to explosive running ability. Two games in, Kansas State’s sophomore starter hadn’t had many chances to show it.

On Friday night, Arizona gave him no choice.

Johnson delivered his first career 100-yard rushing performance in his fourth start and threw for 156 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers, leading No. 14 Kansas State to a 31-7 win over No. 20 Arizona.

“It felt really good just being able to match up with another top-20 team in the nation and being able to go out and have a dominant win like that,” Johnson said. “Credit to the defense and the guys around me. It was a really fun win tonight.”

After surviving an upset bid on the road last week in a 34-27 victory at Tulane, Kansas State bounced back on a short week and played up to Big 12 title contender expectations by overpowering an Arizona squad that had won nine consecutive games dating to last season’s 10-3 finish.

K-State called only five designed runs for its young quarterback through its first two games, but Johnson knew more were planned for Arizona. When he saw defenders focus on his running backs, he said he had to make them pay. Johnson picked up 126 yards on his 14 rushing attempts (excluding sacks), and the trio of Johnson and running backs DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards combined for 237 yards on the ground with nine runs of 10 or more yards.

“I never really know how teams are going to play us,” Johnson said. “It’s kind of like pick your poison.”

Edwards, a touted Colorado transfer, put Kansas State ahead with a 71-yard punt return touchdown to start the second quarter. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita answered by leading a drive down to K-State’s 30-yard line and then took a shot at the end zone, but cornerback Keenan Garber cut off his receiver to snag an interception.

Arizona’s preseason All-America wide receiver, Tetairoa McMillan, tied a career-high 11 catches for 138 yards, but Kansas State’s defense managed to pitch a shutout the rest of the way and got three fourth-down stops in the second half.

Johnson helped his squad pull away in the second half with three consecutive scoring drives, effectively controlling the clock and finishing with a career-high 266 yards of total offense.

“Our quarterback is a pretty good player,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “He rose up tonight when we needed him to and played really good football and was really calm. He made some plays with his feet, made some plays with his legs and that was a fun performance to watch him.”

“This guy is something different,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “He’s a 10.4 100-meter guy. He’s unique.”

The sophomore’s inexperience as a starter showed in the final moments of the first half, when a long scramble burned the final 10 seconds of the second quarter and ended with Johnson running out of bounds after time expired, taking away a field goal attempt that could’ve put the Wildcats up by 10. Afterward, his head coach took the blame for what he called a “terrible gaffe.”

“It is all on me,” Klieman said. “I’ve got to be better in that situation, and I should’ve just taken a timeout. That’s not on the kid. That is 100 percent on me, and I told him that.”

Johnson appreciated Klieman’s support but still regretted the missed opportunity. As he walked off the field at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium to the locker room, strength coach Trumain Carroll reminded him that this team feeds off his energy. Johnson responded with a strong second half. He said he believes he’s starting to settle in to comfortably running the offense.

“I really wish I could be playing my top, best football right now,” Johnson said, “but it’s just going to take some time. All Coach asks me to do is get 1 percent better each week.”

Klieman believes his 3-0 Wildcats showed they’re capable of being a complete team and are heading in the right direction with their week-to-week improvement as the program chases a second Big 12 title in three years.

“I don’t know what we’re trying to prove to everybody else,” Klieman said. “We need to prove to ourselves that we can sustain this and keep playing at a high level.”

For Kansas State, the win will not count in the Big 12 standings since this showdown was technically a nonconference game. The two programs agreed to this home-and-home series in 2016 and agreed to keep it on the schedule rather than cancel after Arizona agreed to join the Big 12 this season.

K-State’s conference opener comes next week in a road test against BYU (10:30 ET, ESPN). Arizona is idle before traveling to face Utah on Sept. 28.

Continue Reading

Sports

Manfred to rule on Rose ban after Trump meeting

Published

on

By

Manfred to rule on Rose ban after Trump meeting

NEW YORK — Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said he discussed Pete Rose with President Donald Trump at a meeting two weeks ago and he plans to rule on a request to end the sport’s permanent ban of the career hits leader, who died in September.

Speaking Monday at a meeting of the Associated Press Sports Editors, Manfred said he and Trump discussed several issues, including concerns over how immigration policies could impact players from Cuba, Venezuela and other foreign countries.

Manfred is considering a petition to have Rose posthumously removed from MLB’s permanently ineligible list. The petition was filed in January by Jeffrey Lenkov, a Southern California lawyer who represented Rose prior to the 17-time All-Star’s death at age 83.

“I met with President Trump two weeks ago … and one of the topics was Pete Rose, but I’m not going beyond that,” Manfred said. “He’s said what he said publicly. I’m not going beyond that in terms of what the back and forth was.”

Trump posted on social media Feb. 28 that he plans to issue “a complete PARDON of Pete Rose.” Trump posted on Truth Social that Rose “shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING.”

It’s unclear what a presidential pardon might include. Trump did not specifically mention a tax case in which Rose pleaded guilty in 1990 to two counts of filing false tax returns and served a five-month prison sentence.

The president said he would sign a pardon for Rose “over the next few weeks” but has not addressed the matter since.

Rose had 4,256 hits and also holds records for games (3,562) and plate appearances (15,890). He was the 1973 National League MVP and played on three World Series winners.

An investigation for MLB by lawyer John M. Dowd found Rose placed numerous bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win from 1985-87 while playing for and managing the team. Rose agreed with MLB on a permanent ban in 1989.

Lenkov is seeking Rose’s reinstatement so that he can be considered for the Hall of Fame. Under a rule adopted by the Hall’s board of directors in 1991, anyone on the permanently ineligible list can’t be considered for election to the Hall. Rose applied for reinstatement in 1997 and met with Commissioner Bud Selig in November 2002, but Selig never ruled on Rose’s request. Manfred in 2015 denied Rose’s application for reinstatement.

Manfred said reinstating Rose now was “a little more complicated than it might appear on the outside” and did not commit to a timeline except that “I want to get it done promptly as soon as we get the work done.”

“I’m not going to give this the pocket veto,” Manfred said. “I will in fact issue a ruling.”

Rose’s reinstatement doesn’t mean he would automatically appear on a Hall of Fame ballot. He would first have to be nominated by the Hall’s Historical Overview Committee, which is picked by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and approved by the Hall’s board.

Manfred said he has been in regular contact with chairman Jane Forbes Clark.

“I mean, believe me, a lot of Hall of Fame dialogue on this one,” Manfred said.

If reinstated, Rose potentially would be eligible for consideration to be placed on a ballot to be considered by the 16-member Classic Baseball Era committee in December 2027.

Manfred said he doesn’t think baseball’s current ties to legal sports betting should color views on Rose’s case.

“There is and always has been a clear demarcation between what Rob Manfred, ordinary citizen, can do on the one hand, and what someone who has the privilege to play or work in Major League Baseball can do on the other in respect to gambling,” Manfred said. “The fact that the law changed, and we sell data and/or sponsorships, which is essentially all we do, to sports betting enterprises, I don’t think changes that.

“It’s a privilege to play Major League Baseball. As with every privilege, there comes responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is that they not bet on the game.”

Manfred did not go into details on his discussion with Trump over foreign-born players other than to say he expressed worry.

“Given the number of foreign-born players we have, we’re always concerned about ingress and egress,” Manfred said. “We have had dialogue with the administration about this topic. And, you know, they’re very interested in sports. They understand the unique need to be able to go back and forth, and I’m going to leave it at that.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

Published

on

By

Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

It was old faces in familiar places for the Atlanta Braves on Monday after they activated right-hander Ian Anderson to the active roster and signed outfielder Eddie Rosario to a major league contract.

In corresponding moves, outfielder Jarred Kelenic was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, while right-hander Davis Daniel was optioned to Triple-A after Sunday’s game.

Both Anderson and Rosario emerged as 2021 postseason heroes in Atlanta as the Braves went on to win the World Series.

Anderson, who was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, went 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight postseason starts for the Braves over the 2020 and 2021 postseasons.

In the 2021 World Series, Anderson famously pitched five no-hit innings in Game 3 to lead Atlanta to a 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros. The Braves defeated the Astros in six games.

Anderson, who turns 27 Friday, was traded by the Braves to the Angels on March 23 for left-hander Jose Suarez. He struggled badly with his new club, going 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in seven relief appearances. He allowed 17 hits and seven walks in just 9⅓ innings.

Rosario, 33, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in February and played in two games with the club, going 1-for-4. He was designated for assignment and became a free agent when Shohei Ohtani returned from the paternity list just over a week ago.

Rosario was the 2021 National League Championship Series MVP, when he powered the Braves past the Dodgers with three home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.647 OPS in six games.

Over parts of 11 seasons, Rosario is a career .261 hitter with 169 home runs and 583 RBIs in 1,123 games with five different clubs, including five seasons with the Minnesota Twins (2015-20) and four with the Braves (2021-24).

Kelenic, 25, was batting .167 with two home runs in 23 games and is a career .211 hitter with 49 home runs and 156 RBIs in 406 games with the Seattle Mariners (2021-23) and Braves.

Daniel, 27, made his only appearance for the Braves on Sunday with a scoreless inning and has appeared in 10 games (six starts) over the past three seasons with a 4.95 ERA.

Continue Reading

Sports

Two-time Cup winner Sullivan out as Pens coach

Published

on

By

Two-time Cup winner Sullivan out as Pens coach

Mike Sullivan, who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, is out as the team’s head coach, it was announced Monday.

Sullivan was the longest-tenured coach in Penguins history after just completing his 10th season. The 57-year-old, who also coached Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off, was under contract in Pittsburgh through 2026-27.

In a statement, Penguins GM Kyle Dubas said the decision was “the best course forward for all involved” as Pittsburgh navigates a transitional period.

“On behalf of Fenway Sports Group and the Penguins organization, I would like to thank Mike Sullivan for his unwavering commitment and loyalty to the team and City of Pittsburgh over the past decade,” Dubas said. “Mike is known for his preparation, focus and fierce competitiveness. I was fortunate to have a front-row seat to his dedication to this franchise for the past two seasons. He will forever be an enormous part of Penguins history, not only for the impressive back-to-back Cups, his impact on the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust, but more importantly, for his love and loyalty to the organization. This was not a decision that was taken lightly, but as we continue to navigate the Penguins through this transitional period, we felt it was the best course forward for all involved.”

The Penguins have missed the playoffs for three straight seasons as Dubas works to retool the team into a contender while Crosby is still competing at a high level. Crosby just completed his 20th straight season in which he posted a point-per-game scoring pace, and he was voted by his peers in the NHLPA as the league’s most complete player. The captain is under contract through next season on a two-year extension he signed prior to the 2024-25 season.

Sullivan was elevated to Penguins head coach in 2015 after leading the organization’s AHL team in Wilkes-Barre. With 409 wins in Pittsburgh, he leaves as the Penguins’ all-time wins leader.

With Sullivan’s departure, there are now seven head-coaching vacancies in the NHL. The Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken and New York Rangers are also searching for new coaches right now. According to sources, Sullivan has been atop the Rangers’ wish list.

Sources also said Sullivan is keen on coaching again next season and will be a top candidate for several of the vacancies. Sullivan worked as an assistant coach with the Rangers and as both an assistant and head coach with the Bruins earlier in his career.

Continue Reading

Trending