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CINCINNATI — A familiar face is headed back to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden has rejoined the Bengals in the same role, the team announced Thursday. The news comes three days after the Fighting Irish lost to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

“Al is a very highly regarded coach, and we are excited to welcome him back to the Bengals as defensive coordinator,” head coach Zac Taylor said in a statement. “He understands football at every level and has had great success as a coordinator, position coach and head coach. Al has a great football mind and will bring a smart, physical, aggressive approach to our defense.”

Golden, 55, spent the past three seasons as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator. He replaces Lou Anarumo, who held the post for the past six seasons before he was fired after the Bengals missed the postseason.

This will be Golden’s second stint on Taylor’s coaching staff. Before taking the job at Notre Dame, he was Cincinnati’s linebackers coach during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. During those years, Golden played an integral role in leading a defense that helped the Bengals reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years.

The Fighting Irish’s defense was a major reason why Notre Dame was a win away from its first national championship since 1988. Entering the CFP final against the Buckeyes, Notre Dame’s defense ranked fourth among Power 4 teams in points allowed per drive (1.21), according to ESPN Research.

He will be tasked with leading a Bengals defense that looks vastly different from just a couple of years ago. Staples from that Super Bowl team, including safety Jessie Bates III and defensive tackle DJ Reader, departed in free agency in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Last season, Anarumo was tasked with balancing a group that featured aging veterans, injuries at key positions and inexperience at others.

Eventually, the defense figured things out during the Bengals’ five-game winning streak to close the regular season. But with Cincinnati missing the postseason for a second straight year, Taylor opted for a staff shake-up. Along with Anarumo, offensive line coach Frank Pollack and defensive line coach Marion Hobby were among those who were not retained.

On Monday, Cincinnati announced Scott Peters as Pollack’s replacement and Michael McCarthy as the assistant offensive line coach. Later in the day, Anarumo was hired as the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator.

The Bengals will need to improve a unit that finished near the bottom of the league in several key categories. Last season, Cincinnati was 26th in points allowed per drive, 30th in defensive red zone efficiency and 30th in first downs allowed per game, according to ESPN Research.

Cincinnati is trying to build around star quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase as the team looks to end a two-year playoff drought. Burrow was named to his second Pro Bowl following a career year. Chase made his fourth Pro Bowl in as many NFL seasons and joined defensive end Trey Hendrickson as the team’s first All-Pro selections since 2015.

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Twins call on RHP Matthews to keep streak going

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Twins call on RHP Matthews to keep streak going

The Minnesota Twins recalled right-hander Zebby Matthews from Triple-A St. Paul and inserted him into the rotation for their road game Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The 24-year-old Matthews closed out last season in the Twins’ rotation and fashioned a 1-4 record with a 6.69 ERA in nine starts. He has produced a 2-1 record with a 1.93 ERA in seven starts for St. Paul, which includes 38 strikeouts and nine walks over 32⅔ innings.

The Twins, who carry a 13-game winning streak into Sunday’s game, also selected the contract of outfielder Carson McCusker, a 26-year-old who has yet to make his big league debut. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound slugger is hitting .350 with 10 homers and 36 RBIs in 38 games this season for St. Paul.

The task ahead of Matthews is to try to continue a hot pitching streak that has seen the Twins record three straight shutouts, including in the first two games of the Brewers series. Minnesota enters Sunday with a collective 3.15 ERA that ranks No. 3 in the majors.

The active stretch of 33 straight shutout innings is the longest such streak in Twins history, which began in 1961. They had three longer shutout streaks when they were the Washington Senators, but the most recent of those took place in 1913.

To accommodate Matthews’ arrival, the Twins placed reliever Danny Coulombe (left forearm extensor strain) on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Thursday. Coulombe has yet to allow a run this season in 16⅔ innings.

To make room for McCusker, the Twins shifted rookie Luke Keaschall to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Keaschall fractured his right forearm April 25 against the Los Angeles Angels.

The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.

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Cora to skip game to attend daughter’s graduation

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Cora to skip game to attend daughter's graduation

BOSTON — Red Sox manager Alex Cora will miss Monday’s series opener against the New York Mets at Fenway Park so he can attend his daughter’s college graduation.

Cora’s daughter, Camila, will be graduating from nearby Boston College.

“It’s going to be a very special day — one that I’m not going to miss,” Cora said before Sunday’s game vs. the Atlanta Braves. “I 100% will miss the game for that. I will do that any given day. It’s going to be a very special day for us.”

Cora reflected on how the time has seemed to go quickly and spoke about how fast his daughter seemed to grow up.

“It went fast, it went really fast,” Cora said of her time in college. “For a girl from divorced parents, her mom did an amazing job, staying the course while I was playing and coaching and doing my ESPN thing. … She’s actually a reflection of her. I appreciate everything she’s done for her and for us.”

Asked if he’ll be able to hold back his emotions at the ceremony, Cora smiled and said “We’ll see,” before bringing up memories of when his daughter was at the 2018 World Series victory celebration and a postseason series wrap-up win over Tampa Bay in ’21 at Fenway.

“It’s going to be an amazing day. It happened fast,” he said. “You put everything into perspective, you go back to the videos of ’18, she was a little girl.

“Then you go back to ’21 when she hopped onto the field when we beat Tampa, she was still a little girl. Now, she’s not a little girl,” he said. “She’s a woman. She had fun with it. She’s a great student and the future’s bright for her.”

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Brewers send struggling starter Myers to minors

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Brewers send struggling starter Myers to minors

MILWAUKEE — Brewers pitcher Tobias Myers is going back to the minors as he continues to struggle to match the success he enjoyed as a rookie last year.

The Brewers optioned Myers to Triple-A Nashville on Sunday while selecting right-handed pitcher Easton McGee from Triple-A and transferring left-handed pitcher Connor Thomas to the 60-day injured list.

Myers is 1-1 with a 4.95 ERA in six appearances, including five starts. He allowed four runs over 3 2/3 innings in a 7-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.

The right-hander had gone 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA last season and was selected the Brewers’ most valuable pitcher by the Milwaukee chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He closed that season by pitching five scoreless innings in the decisive Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series against the New York Mets, a game the Brewers lost 4-2 by allowing four runs in the ninth.

“I love the kid, man,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after Saturday’s game. “You saw it in Game 3, that’s in there. So we’ve got to get back to that.”

The Brewers had optioned Myers to Nashville a week ago, but he didn’t actually pitch there before rejoining the big-league club after left-hander José Quintana went on the injured list with a left shoulder issue. Now he’s heading back to Nashville.

Myers entered Saturday having walked 10 batters over 16 1/3 innings. He didn’t walk anyone Saturday, but gave up a career-high 11 hits.

“My goal was to fill the zone up and kind of get away from the walks I’ve been dealing with,” Myers said after the game. “I think I just filled it up a little too much.”

McGee went 1-0 with a 3.44 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 18 1/3 innings in 13 relief appearances with Nashville.

McGee appeared in one game for Tampa Bay in 2022 and one game for Seattle in 2023.In the only two games he has pitched in the big leagues, McGee has allowed just one unearned run over 9 2/3 innings while striking out three and allowing five hits and one walk.

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