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ATLANTA — The national championship drought has stretched nearly 20 years at Texas, not that anyone needs to tell quarterback Quinn Ewers. Somewhere in his childhood home, his mom still has a Longhorns hat he wore when he was 3, and 4 and 5, refusing to let anyone take it off his head. He’s been thinking about a Longhorns national title since he took that hat off. And, for a time, he was sure last season would finally be when that drought came to an end.

Texas had won its first Big 12 championship since 2009 and advanced to its first College Football Playoff appearance behind Ewers, who had made his literal childhood dream come true when he decided to play for the Longhorns. Everything felt as if it was coming together for a storybook ending headed into their semifinal game against Washington in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2024.

Though Ewers struggled for long stretches, he rallied Texas in the fourth quarter. Down 37-31 with 41 seconds left, Ewers had a chance to lead a game-winning drive. All he had to do was take Texas 69 yards for the score.

He got inside the Washington 15 and then had four tries to score. On the final attempt, Ewers dropped back and lofted a ball for Adonai Mitchell in the end zone. Elijah Jackson batted the ball away.

Ewers was reduced to tears, his red-rimmed eyes speaking for him during the postgame news conference.

That night in the Sugar Bowl stuck with him for a year. Now, Ewers has delivered Texas back to the semifinal, a date with Ohio State — his former school — looming in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. And his goals have not changed in the year since the Sugar Bowl loss.

He still wants to be the quarterback to deliver the first Texas national title since 2005.

“It definitely was tough just to go back and watch what happened,” Ewers told ESPN during a quiet moment in the locker room after a 39-31 win over Arizona State in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. “It feels you’re like an inch away from going to the national championship. It’s a hard pill to swallow.

“I mean, I can tell you, I probably didn’t sleep for two days after that game.”

Nine days after that Sugar Bowl loss, Ewers announced he would return to Texas. Ewers had endured plenty in 2023, beyond the gut-wrenching ending to the Sugar Bowl. Though he was entrenched as the starter after transferring to Texas in 2022 from Ohio State, Texas had just signed freshman phenom Arch Manning, nephew of Peyton and Eli. Nothing Ewers did seemed good enough for the fan base. Whispers followed every bad play, every average performance.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian never stopped believing that Ewers was his guy. And Ewers and Manning maintain that their relationship is strong. But the lasting image from that Sugar Bowl may very well be the snapshot of Ewers, sitting alone on a dais at media day, looking behind him at a large crowd gathered to talk to Manning.

Despite everything he has done to bring Texas back to national relevance, he’ll be the guy some fans have been waiting on to leave for two years.

Unless he wins two more games.

Of course, there were those who did not expect him to stay for 2024. The natural assumption was that Ewers would leave after last season and that Manning would finally take the starting quarterback job. Instead, that loss in the Sugar Bowl solidified Ewers’ decision to come back.

This year, Texas became his team more than ever. As Texas worked to make it back, Ewers said, “That is just a testament to my teammates and how much trust everybody has in me, and I feel like it helps me be a better player.”

Manning played more this year, starting two games after Ewers sustained an abdominal injury in September and seeing spot duty in situational run packages, especially after Ewers sprained his ankle late in the season. But even in games when Ewers struggled to move the offense, Sarkisian stayed loyal to his starter.

Ewers is comfortable leading this offense. With him, it knows how to win. His teammates believe in him. Ewers will end his Texas career as one of the all-time greats in program history. As it stands, he ranks No. 3 in career passing yards and touchdowns thrown for the Longhorns; he has thrown a touchdown pass in 26 straight games, the longest streak by a Texas QB since Colt McCoy from 2007 to 2009. Only McCoy has more 300-yard passing games than Ewers.

In 35 career starts, Ewers is 27-8. Five of those losses came in his first year as a starter in 2022. Two came to Georgia this season, and Ewers’ performances in both losses gave his critics plenty of fodder to hold against him. His play might look downright clunky at times, but when he delivers, he shows off playmaking ability that made him the No. 1 recruit in the country out of high school.

Like when Ewers delivered two perfect passes on the first two plays of the Peach Bowl against Arizona State. Then nothing for two quarters. The fourth quarter was the typical yin-and-yang Ewers experience. His 5-yard touchdown run put Texas up 24-8 and brought out a rare show of emotion, as he flexed his arms to punctuate the score.

Arizona State answered with a touchdown. Two plays into the ensuing drive, Ewers threw an interception with 5:45 to play, leading to the game-tying score. From there, though, Ewers was locked in — going 8-of-10 for 105 yards on the last two drives of the fourth quarter — putting Texas in field goal range both times. Bert Auburn missed both attempts.

In overtime, Texas was down to its final play: fourth-and-13 from the Arizona State 28. Though it was not identical to the situation in the Sugar Bowl a year ago, it was close enough.

It was on Ewers to make a throw to save the season.

Texas got to the line, and Ewers sent a player in motion. That is when he says he saw Arizona State tip its defensive playcall, because sometimes Texas motions and then snaps right away. Ewers changed the protection to account for the defensive play — where the Sun Devils planned to bring their safety and linebackers and rush six. With the safety now rushing the passer, Ewers knew he would have Matthew Golden down the field wide open.

Touchdown, Texas.

“I think everybody sees the throw and the catch,” offensive coordinator Kyle Flood said. “I don’t know if you saw him change the protection. I knew we were going to be protected. We’re going to be clean. And now it’s just a matter, hopefully we can get open. He makes the right throw.”

“Quinn’s got a clutch gene, and he came through,” said Texas edge player Ethan Burke, who stood on the sideline waiting for the final play.

In the second overtime, Sarkisian called a play Texas often runs during spring and fall camp for tight end Gunnar Helm in overtime situations. “We have a really solid defense, so most of the time it gets covered up,” Ewers said. “Even if he wasn’t one-on-one, I was going to give Gunnar a shot, and if that wasn’t there, I knew I had Tre [Wisner] in the flat. So, just so cool to see that play come to fruition.”

Indeed, as Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron cradled the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl Defensive MVP trophy in one arm while answering a question about the defensive performance, he stopped midsentence.

“Big shoutout to Quinn,” Barron said. “He doesn’t get the love that he should get from others, but it doesn’t matter. He knows he doesn’t need that love. We love him.”

Barron, Ewers and the other players who felt the sting after the loss in the Sugar Bowl in 2024 now have their second chance to advance to the national title game.

“I don’t think any of them forget being in New Orleans at the end of that game last year, and I don’t think any of them forgot all offseason long, and the obsession that they’ve had with getting back to this stage, I think is one that has fueled us through a fair amount of adversity that has gotten us back here,” Sarkisian said.

“That is definitely accurate,” Ewers said. “This game is my life, and this game is this whole team’s life, and for us to go as far as we did, and the amount of time that we put in was definitely hard, but [we’re] just so thankful that we have another opportunity to go win and a game that we lost last year.”

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Pete Rose history on display at Baseball Hall of Fame

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Pete Rose history on display at Baseball Hall of Fame

This weekend, tens of thousands of fans are expected to travel to Cooperstown, New York, as they do annually, to pay homage to new inductees and returning members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, visit the Hall and see an array of artifacts from the greats of the game — including Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose.

Rose, whose name has never been allowed to appear on a Hall of Fame ballot, died in September at age 83. In May, commissioner Rob Manfred removed Rose and other deceased individuals from MLB’s permanently ineligible list, making Rose newly eligible for election to the Hall.

But Rose’s presence in the Hall’s exhibits didn’t require the action of a commissioner. The legendary “Charlie Hustle” has been there for decades, a constant in the museum’s presentation of the history of the game, with numerous pieces that he donated to the Hall. Rose, of course, is not a Hall of Famer, but fans have long been able to see him and his accomplishments represented in at least a dozen items on display, including bats and a ball, a cap, cleats, a jersey and more connected with his 4,256 hits, record numbers of games played and at-bats and myriad awards. The 17-time All-Star at a record five positions won three World Series titles and proudly referred to himself as the winningest player ever.

MLB banished Rose in 1989 after an investigation it commissioned found Rose, then the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, had bet on the sport and his own team’s games. Two years later, the Hall of Fame’s board decided anyone on MLB’s permanently ineligible list would also be ineligible for election to the Hall. That became known as “the Pete Rose rule.”

For nearly 15 years after baseball banned him, Rose repeatedly denied that he had bet on the sport. Before, and long after, his 2004 admission to having gambled on baseball games — including Reds games — during part of his managerial tenure with Cincinnati, Rose was a fixture in Cooperstown for induction weekends, signing and selling his autographs at a memorabilia store.

Just a block away at the Hall were Sparky Anderson, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez of the 1975 and ’76 “Big Red Machine” championship teams with Rose, and Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt of the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies with whom Rose won a championship, as well as several other teammates from his 24 seasons.

The Hall’s “Whole New Ballgame” exhibit, devoted to the era from 1970 to the present, features a Rose jersey from the 1973 season, when he won the National League Most Valuable Player Award; the ball and a ticket from the 1981 game when he tied Stan Musial’s National League hits record; and a 1978 can of a chocolate-flavored beverage named “Pete,” bearing a Rose action photo.

The section of the Hall that chronicles many of the game’s most hallowed records is titled “One for the Books.” It showcases Rose’s shoes and a scoresheet from his crowning achievement, Sept. 11, 1985, when he broke Ty Cobb’s career hits record. Also displayed is a pair of Rose bats from 1978, when he reached the 3,000-hit milestone and later tied the 1897 National League-record 44-game hitting streak by Wee Willie Keeler, and Rose’s Montreal Expos cap from 1984 when he broke Carl Yastrzemski’s record for games played.

In “Shoebox Treasures,” which examines the baseball cards phenomenon, visitors can see the Rose Topps card from 1975 and two Topps cards — one authentic and one counterfeit — from ’63, when he was named National League Rookie of the Year.

There is also an interactive exhibit on the subject of gambling that includes the Rose saga.

And according to the Hall, its archives contain dozens of holdings pertaining to Rose, from recorded interviews — including with Howard Stern — to correspondence and collectibles, as well as the investigative file from MLB’s 1989 probe of Rose’s gambling led by special counsel John Dowd.

Rose visited the Hall when he was 26 and a fifth-year star for Cincinnati. It was July 24, 1967, and the Reds toured the museum before losing to the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 in the then-annual Hall of Fame exhibition game, in which Rose went 0-for-3.

“This is really great,” Rose said as he looked around the Hall, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. “This is what baseball is all about.”

Rose marveled at the multitude of mementos from Babe Ruth, a member of Cooperstown’s inaugural 1936 class, and at the vast space specifically for the “Bambino” and his larger-than-life exploits on the diamond and beyond.

Dayton (Ohio) Daily News columnist Si Burick, who eventually would be selected to the Hall’s writers wing, recounted a moment from the visit in his column the next day:

When a fellow suggested to an awestruck Rose that he, too, might some day grace the Hall of Fame, if he continued at his present pace, the irrepressible Cincinnatian had a typical answer. Peter pointed to a cubicle filled with Ruth gadgets, and suggested, “There’s my chance to get in — with my bowling ball.”

Ruth’s bowling ball was on display and Rose was a winner four months earlier during spring training at a “Base-Bowl” event in a Tampa bowling alley that paired MLB and Professional Bowlers Association stars. Rose and Dick Weber edged Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals and Wayne Zahn. Of the four, only Rose isn’t enshrined in either the baseball or PBA Hall of Fame.

“I got all the records, so you can throw me into the sea, but the records are still going to come to the top,” Rose said in a 2019 interview for ESPN’s “Backstory” program. “You can walk into the Hall of Fame, you see my name in things everywhere, which is fine. It’s good for me. It’s good for the Hall of Fame. The greatest thing for baseball is the history of baseball.”

With Rose now eligible for election, his Hall candidacy is to be considered by the Historical Overview Committee, which develops a ballot of eight names for the Classic Era Committee that is next scheduled to meet in December 2027. That era committee handles candidates whose greatest impact was prior to 1980, including Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues stars. Its 16 members, comprising Hall of Famers, executives and veteran media members, are charged with weighing the eight candidates’ résumés, integrity, sportsmanship and character — 12 votes are needed for election.

The long-running debates over Rose surely will continue well past 2027. Regardless of whether he’s added to the Plaques Gallery signifying membership in the Hall — there will be 351 plaques as of Sunday, including the day’s five new inductees — there’s no disputing that Rose will continue to have places in the building.

ESPN senior writer Don Van Natta Jr. contributed to this report.

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Orioles place closer Bautista (shoulder) on IL

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Orioles place closer Bautista (shoulder) on IL

CLEVELAND — Baltimore Orioles closer Felix Bautista, who is tied for sixth in the American League with 19 saves, was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday with right shoulder discomfort.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino said the right-hander felt uncomfortable while stretching in the bullpen Wednesday during a 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. Bautista will undergo an MRI when the Orioles return home Friday.

“The (dugout) phone rang in the seventh inning last night and I thought, ‘That is not good,'” Mansolino said. “Then I heard it get slammed down and knew it wasn’t good.

“Félix had started his process of getting loose and that’s when it flared up.”

Bautista did not pitch in the first three games of the series in Cleveland, last seeing action on Sunday at Tampa Bay when he earned his 19th save in 20 opportunities. He missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The 30-year-old Dominican has a 1-1 record and 2.60 ERA in 35 appearances, limiting opponents to a .134 batting average over 34 2/3 innings. Bautista has struck out 50 and walked 23.

“We just have to hope it’s not too serious,” Mansolino said.

The Orioles will use a closer-by-committee in the short term with righty setup men Seranthony Dominguez and Yennier Cano at the front of the line.

“We’re going to have to bump up their roles,” Mansolino said. “We’ll figure it out.”

Bautista will not enter free agency until 2028, but is eligible for arbitration following this season. The 6-foot-8, 285-pounder is in the final year of a two-year, $2 million contract.

With the Orioles out of wild-card contention, they are expected to be active sellers before the July 31 trade deadline.

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Two-time Gold Glove recipient Ahmed retiring

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Two-time Gold Glove recipient Ahmed retiring

Two-time Gold Glove winner Nick Ahmed announced his retirement from professional baseball on Thursday.

Ahmed, 35, spent 10 seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, then split the 2024 campaign with the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres before playing in five games this season with the Texas Rangers. He was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the second round of the 2011 MLB draft out of UConn.

“For as long as I can remember, all I ever wanted to do was play baseball,” Ahmed wrote on social media. “I got to live out my childhood dream and play for a very long time! After 15 professional seasons and over a decade in the big leagues I am officially hanging up my spikes and retiring from playing.”

“To all of the organizations I got to play for… Atlanta, thank you for drafting me! Arizona… calling me up to the big leagues, and believing in me for 10 seasons! SF, LA, SD and TEX… thank you for giving me chances to continue doing what I loved!”

A Gold Glove winner in 2018 and 2019 while playing at shortstop, Ahmed batted .233 with 72 homers and 339 RBIs in 964 career games.

“I will always love the game of baseball,” he added. “I am excited for my next chapter and the [opportunity] to give the best of me to this game that we all love!”

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