Verlander hopes training reset pays ‘big dividends’
SAN FRANCISCO — For the first time in nearly two decades as a major league pitcher, Justin Verlander didn’t take an offseason break from throwing.
He needed to keep a baseball in his hand so his shoulder would cooperate. He needed the routine to maintain a rhythm.
“I’ve always been somebody who, I set down the ball, I don’t pick it up again for a few months and then I’ve always been very lucky that I just pick it up and start throwing,” Verlander said Monday. “Well, at 41, that caught up with me. So that was an adjustment that I’ve made that I feel is paying big dividends already.”
The star right-hander finalized a one-year, $15 million contract with the San Francisco Giants last weekend, and he’s determined to show he can still pitch at the highest level after a forgettable, injury-plagued 2024 season.
New president of baseball operations Buster Posey and the Giants believe Verlander can still bring it and are counting on him to help them contend again in the talented National League West.
The three-time American League Cy Young Award winner said he’s “miles ahead” of where he was last year at this time and he’s trying not to overdo it ahead of spring training, which begins next month.
Verlander went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA in 17 starts for the AL West champion Houston Astros last year. He opened the season on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation. He also was on the IL from June 18 to Aug. 21 because of neck discomfort.
“Last year was difficult,” he said. “It was worst-case scenario for me. You could never get in a groove, pitched about as bad as I felt like I could. Positives were, I was able to learn a lot. You can’t play this game for very long if you don’t learn from injuries.”
Verlander will receive a full no-trade provision and a hotel suite on road trips.
He would earn $200,000 for winning his second MVP award, $150,000 for finishing second in the voting and $50,000 for third — and would get the same bonuses for Cy Young Award voting.
In addition, Verlander’s deal calls for him to make $100,000 for an All-Star selection, $150,000 for World Series MVP and $100,000 for League Championship Series MVP.
Verlander clearly remembers the electric atmosphere in San Francisco during the 2012 World Series, when the Giants swept his Detroit Tigers.
That included Posey on the other side — and now the retired star catcher did the recruiting of the veteran pitcher.
And the Giants aren’t adding him just to be a mentor or an example for their young pitchers but rather a top-tier starter to complement Logan Webb and Robbie Ray.
“Justin’s track record speaks for itself,” Posey said. “I was lucky enough to get to compete against him for a number of years and have always admired the way that he takes care of himself. When we started having the conversation a couple of weeks ago, it was very evident just how motivated he is, and you don’t get to the level of greatness that he’s accomplished in his career without having just the utmost fortitude and desire to be the best.”
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David Hale
The ACC will roll out its new nine-game conference schedule in a modified form for the 2026 football season, the conference announced Tuesday, with a full nine-game slate beginning in 2027.
For the upcoming season, which the ACC is calling a “transition year,” 12 of its 17 schools will play nine conference games, with Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State, North Carolina and Boston College playing just eight. Those five teams each have multiple Power Four opponents already scheduled outside the conference.
Because the ACC has an odd number of teams, one school will play eight league games each season starting in 2027.
Four ACC schools — Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Louisville — have an annual rivalry game against the SEC, and while Louisville AD Josh Heird said his school is eager to play a strong schedule each season, the other three initially balked at the lack of scheduling flexibility that would come with a nine-game conference slate and an annual nonconference game against their SEC rival.
Clemson has also scheduled an annual series against Notre Dame that starts in 2027, meaning that any year in which the Tigers are slated for nine ACC games, they’d be guaranteed at least 11 games vs. Power Four opponents.
Under the ACC’s new nine-game scheduling plan, which was approved in September, each team will be required to play at least 10 games against Power Four competition, meaning one nonconference Power Four game for the schools playing the full nine-game conference slate, and two for any teams playing eight.
The ACC will also adjust its tiebreaker policies for the 2026 season and beyond as a result of the unequal scheduling. The new formula, however, might also address concerns following this year’s five-team tie for second place in the conference that allowed a 7-5 Duke team to reach the championship game, which the Blue Devils ultimately won.
This marks the fourth different scheduling format for the ACC in the past four years. In 2022, the ACC agreed to scrap divisions for the 2023 season. In 2024, Cal, Stanford and SMU joined the league, forcing the ACC to adjust its annual rivalry games to fit the expanded roster of schools. The new nine-game league schedule, the ACC said, will allow for increased flexibility in scheduling and allow schools to face off more frequently.
The ACC remains contractually tied with Notre Dame as well, playing five nonconference games per year against the Fighting Irish.
Teams with a nine-game ACC slate in 2026
California
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Home: Clemson, Pitt, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
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Away: NC State, SMU, Syracuse, Virginia
Duke
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Home: Boston College, Clemson, North Carolina, Stanford
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Away: Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, Virginia, Wake Forest
Louisville
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Home: Florida State, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Wake Forest
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Away: Georgia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, Syracuse
Miami
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Home: Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Pitt, Virginia Tech
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Away: Clemson, North Carolina, Stanford, Wake Forest
NC State
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Home: California, Duke, Louisville, Syracuse, Wake Forest
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Away: Florida State, North Carolina, Stanford, Virginia (in Brazil)
Pitt
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Home: Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Syracuse
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Away: Boston College, California, Louisville, Miami, Virginia Tech
SMU
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Home: Boston College, California, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
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Away: Florida State, Louisville, Stanford, Syracuse
Stanford
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Home: Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, SMU
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Away: California, Duke, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Syracuse
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Home: California, Clemson, Louisville, SMU
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Away: Boston College, North Carolina, NC State, Pitt, Virginia
Virginia
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Home: California, Duke, North Carolina, NC State (in Brazil), Syracuse
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Away: Florida State, SMU, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Virginia Tech
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Home: Georgia Tech, Pitt, Stanford, Virginia
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Away: Boston College, California, Clemson, Miami, SMU
Wake Forest
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Home: Duke, Miami, Stanford, Virginia
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Away: California, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State, SMU
Teams with an eight-game ACC schedule in 2026
Boston College
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Home: Florida State, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
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Away: Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU
Clemson
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Home: Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia Tech
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Away: California, Duke, Florida State, Syracuse
Florida State
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Home: Clemson, NC State, SMU, Virginia
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Away: Boston College, Louisville, Miami, Pitt
Georgia Tech
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Home: Boston College, Duke, Louisville, Wake Forest
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Away: Clemson, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Stanford
North Carolina
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Home: Louisville, Miami, NC State, Syracuse
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Away: Clemson, Duke, Pitt, Virginia
LUBBOCK, Texas — Big 12 champion Texas Tech, which has a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff, has extended the contracts of all three of its coordinators and the team’s general manager through the 2028 season.
The school announced the extensions Tuesday night for offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich, defensive coordinator Shiel Wood, associate head coach and special teams coordinator Kenny Perry, and GM James Blanchard.
“I appreciate (athletic director) Kirby Hocutt and our administration for proactively investing in the future of our football program,” head coach Joey McGuire said. “Our expectation is to compete annually for championships with this staff and the resources we have in place here at Texas Tech.”
Those new contracts for the assistants come two weeks after McGuire got an extension through the 2032 season and a significant pay raise.
Fourth-ranked Texas Tech (12-1) will play in the Orange Bowl CFP quarterfinal game on New Year’s Day against Oregon or James Madison.
Jeremiyah Love, the star Notre Dame running back and Heisman Trophy finalist, made it official Tuesday night and declared for the 2026 NFL draft.
Love made the announcement on social media, thanking his family, Fighting Irish coaches and teammates, among others, and saying he “could not have picked a better place for me to grow into the man I am today.”
Love is widely expected to be the top running back selected in next year’s draft.
The 6-foot, 214-pounder is projected to go No. 3 in Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest Big Board for ESPN, and Field Yates has him going 14th to the Kansas City Chiefs in his latest mock draft.
Love scored 21 all-purpose touchdowns in 2025, passing Jerome Bettis (1991) for the most in a season in Notre Dame history. The junior also ended the regular season fourth nationally with 1,372 rushing yards and third with 18 rushing touchdowns, averaging 6.89 yards per carry.
He finished third in Heisman voting behind winner Fernando Mendoza, the quarterback of No. 1 Indiana, and Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia. And he was Notre Dame’s first winner of the Doak Walker Award, given to the top running back in college football.
Love’s junior season already has ended because Notre Dame (10-2) didn’t make the College Football Playoff and opted against playing in a bowl.
As a sophomore, Love rushed for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns on 163 carries, helping Notre Dame reach the CFP championship game, which it lost 34-23 to Ohio State. He had 28 catches for 237 yards and two touchdowns that season.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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