LESS THAN A year ago, the New York Yankees acquired Juan Soto, with outfielder Trent Grisham, from the San Diego Padres for five players headlined by right-hander Michael King. It was a hefty haul for one guaranteed season that became a bargain.

Soto belted a career-high 41 home runs while dealing with nagging hand and forearm injuries. He finished second in the majors behind teammate Aaron Judge in on-base percentage. He ranked third in OPS, third in wRC+, fourth in slugging percentage and fourth in fWAR. He and Judge were baseball’s most productive duo since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig as the Yankees won 94 games, the American League East title and the AL pennant for the first time in 15 years. It was a platform year players dream about.

Along the way, Soto voiced his desire to become part of the team’s history while becoming a treasured figure in the Bronx. He embraced the roll calls in right field with air hugs. He punctuated his production with theatrics. He shuffled in the batter’s box. He stared pitchers down. He shook his head and nodded and smiled. His flamboyant relentlessness made every at-bat must-watch television. He did not yield a pitch, never mind a plate appearance. His inaugural year as a Yankee was unforgettable.

Now, though, it all might be over. The Yankees’ exclusive five-day window to negotiate and sign Soto ends Monday. Up next is a bidding war that could ascend well beyond $500 million. Surpassing Shohei Ohtani‘s heavily deferred $700 million deal in present-day value is possible.

Soto has repeatedly said he loved his time in New York. After the Yankees clinched the pennant in Cleveland, Soto’s father, also named Juan José Soto, raved in Spanish about his son’s experience as a Yankee.

“Spectacular. Spectacular,” Soto said during the Yankees’ on-field celebration. “The Yankees are the home of baseball. It’s the brand of baseball. And there isn’t anything like playing for the Yankees.”

Now, the younger Soto must decide whether he is going to play for them again.

FIVE NIGHTS AGO, Juan Soto, the son, sat atop the bench in the home team’s dugout at Yankee Stadium, dejected, watching the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate their World Series title as his teammates and coaches gathered their belongings. He was still wearing his batting helmet. His bat was still in his hands.

After staring at the mosh pit in the middle of the diamond, he stood up, walked to one end, climbed a step toward the field, bowed his head, said a prayer, glanced to the heavens and touched his chest, then vanished into the clubhouse.

The Yankees’ season, an 8½-month odyssey, was over. Soto’s career in pinstripes might have ended with it.

An hour later, Soto, who became a free agent the next day, was bombarded with questions about his future. The 26-year-old right fielder did not indicate a preference to stay in the Bronx.

Did you think about that possibly being your last game as a Yankee? (You never know.) Do you want to return if the money is right? (I’m going to weigh my options.) Do the Yankees have an advantage in re-signing you because this year went so well? (Every team will have the same opportunity.) Does geography matter? (I don’t think so.) Do you expect the Mets to come after you? (I don’t know, but I’m open to all 30 teams.)

“Leaving any place that is a winning team is always hard, and definitely this place was really special,” Soto said that night. “It’s been a blast for me. I’ve been really happy. If I’m here or not, I’ve been really happy for the teammates that I have and the people that I get to know. This was a really special group, but at the end of the day, we will see what’s going to happen.”

The next morning, Scott Boras, Soto’s agent, told ESPN his superstar client’s priority is playing for a winner. That, according to Boras, means “a commitment by ownership to be competitive” and “a system that provides great players and great pitching.”

“Juan loves winning and winning organizations and a winning owner,” Boras said. “The geography part of it is that Juan and his loved ones are going to be comfortable. That’s what’s most important to him. And major league geography … Juan’s played on both: West Coast and East Coast. His main thing, the priority, is winning.”

The Yankees face stiff competition for Soto’s services. The New York Mets, boosted by billionaire owner Steve Cohen’s deep pockets, want him. The Toronto Blue Jays, the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies figure to have interest. The Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants seek a franchise linchpin. The Washington Nationals, the organization that signed and developed Soto out of the Dominican Republic, would welcome a reunion.

“This is going to stay in my heart for the rest of my life,” Soto said after the World Series finale. “I don’t know how it’s going to be next year.”

THE REASON THE Yankees chose to mortgage some of their future for just one guaranteed season of Soto was never more clear than on Oct. 19, in the 10th inning of Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, with the AL pennant on the line.

It wasn’t just Soto’s go-ahead, three-run home run off Cleveland Guardians right-hander Hunter Gaddis, one of baseball’s top relievers in 2024. It was the meticulous chess game to reach that swing. Soto fouled off four straight off-speed pitches, two sliders and two changeups before seeing a fastball and attacking. It was Soto at his finest.

“What impresses me the most is how young he is and how locked in he is every single day, ready to work,” Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes said. “I can’t imagine myself being 25 years old and doing what he does, and being so responsible and creating a lot of sacrifice. Because being 25 in New York, and the success he had, it’s tough to keep it level-headed every single day.”

This was Soto’s way all through the year. He homered in his spring training debut in Tampa. He fired the game-saving throw on Opening Day in Houston. He smashed the homer that sent the Yankees to the World Series, where he batted .313 with a 1.084 OPS.

“The one thing Juan has shown us all year is that flair for the dramatic,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “and knack for big situations.”

Yankees hitting coach Pat Roessler, who worked with Soto in Washington, marveled at the slugger’s work ethic. Soto, Roessler noted, has had the same routine since his days with the Nationals. He said Soto would work extra before or after games when he felt a tick off. He offered two reasons for Soto’s otherworldly hitting skill: an unreal ability to recognize pitches early and a compact swing he can repeat with extreme accuracy.

“I’ve never had a guy that could repeat his swing like that,” Roessler said.

That skill set made Soto a superstar by his 21st birthday and a World Series champion five days after that. It prompted the Nationals to offer him a 15-year, $440 million contract extension two years ago. When he declined, he was traded to San Diego. A year and a half later, Soto, a talent likened to Ted Williams, was traded again, to the Yankees — his third team in less than three years. It was a trade Boras insisted would not have happened if Padres owner Peter Seidler hadn’t died the previous month.

“Peter Seidler would have never traded Juan,” Boras said. “Economically, we were certainly very like in-kind thinking about who Juan Soto was and what his value was.”

The question now is whether Soto’s résumé will expand to a fourth club in less than four years.

“Anybody would be lucky to have him,” Cortes said. “I’m sure this organization is dying to have him back.”

Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe said he wanted Soto to return “as bad as you can probably want something.”

Veteran slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who has never been a free agent, didn’t have any advice for Soto, only a request with a smile: “Just stay with us.”

All indications are that Soto is open to staying — and just as open to leaving. He has waited for this moment for years, ready to be finished with bouncing back and forth from coast to coast — ready for a permanent home. Now it is time to reap the benefits of his success and test the market.

His season in the Bronx might have been spectacular. There might not be anything like playing for the Yankees. That doesn’t mean he will do it again.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Michael Irvin is back at another Miami game, wearing the same long-sleeved shirt, cargo pants and black lace-up boots he has sported at each game since a come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech to end September.

Football players are superstitious, and Miami is undefeated, so Irvin says he has no choice but to keep wearing the outfit, and to keep coming to games. His shirt has gained so much visibility over the last month, as cameras have panned to his exuberant outbursts and raucous cheering, that Miami has fielded questions from fans about where they can buy one like it. The truth is, the white Dri-Fit shirt — complete with orange and green sleeves and an ibis on the back — came from his closet and is not for sale in the team shop.

Thirty minutes before Miami kicks off against Duke this past Saturday, Irvin stands with fellow Canes greats Lamar Thomas and Andre Johnson, inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in August. Then Mike Rumph, who played on the 2001 national championship team and works on the Miami staff, comes over to say hello. Soon others follow: Frank Gore, Duane Starks, Daryl Jones, Rohan Marley.

Different game but same story: Miami alums showing up in full force as the 9-0 Hurricanes make a run at a championship this season.

“When I was playing, that’s how it was, all the guys would come back,” says Johnson, who lives in Texas. “They set an example for me. So I knew when it was my time, I would want to come back and show support. I had a free weekend, so I was like, ‘I’m going to catch a game.'”

Ray Lewis, Clinton Portis, Reggie Wayne, Greg Olsen, Bernie Kosar and many others have been back, too, part of a concerted effort coach Mario Cristobal has made since his return in 2022 to reconnect Miami alums with the team. This past spring, nearly 300 returned for alumni weekend around the spring game.

“Look at the old games in the ’80s and ’90s, and look at the sidelines, at how littered it was with real-deal dudes,” said Cristobal, who played at Miami from 1989 to ’92. ” As a player, I would kill to get over there and watch these guys go at it.”

The same thing is playing out in real time this season. Miami has not won a championship since 2001, but every win this season has brought a little more hope that maybe this will be the year. The alums who set the standard have been waiting decades to see a season like this one.

There has always been a suite reserved for alums for each Miami home game. But this year, many former players have decided to come down to the sideline to watch.

“All the past coaches told us to come back but never showed us the love Mario has,” says Thomas, who played with Cristobal at Miami. “He has embraced us.”

And nobody wears the emotions that come with seeing your alma mater rise again quite like Irvin.

Already this season, cameras have panned to him celebrating with Miami defensive ends coach Jason Taylor after the last-second win over Virginia Tech, laying on the turf in the late stages of a comeback win over Cal, embracing players against Louisville and celebrating against Florida State.

Michael Irvin is going through it �� pic.twitter.com/uIZ2rDUT1K

– SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) Oct. 6, 2024

“I’m high intensity and animated, but it’s the emotions and the passion,” says Irvin, who starred as a receiver at Miami from 1985 to ’87 before an NFL Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Cowboys. “You’re not going to accomplish anything without that passion. The passion is what pushes you past the pain no matter what the deal is. This team is learning that.”

That takes time, of course. So does building a championship program. Miami had another start like this one in 2017, opening 10-0 with huge home wins over Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, during which alums and fans also came out in full force. But that team lost its final three to close out the season, including a 38-3 defeat to Clemson in the ACC championship game.

That season proved to be an anomaly — it’s the only 10-win season Miami has had since 2003. This year, though, feels different than 2017. Alums can sense that. It is why Irvin grows emotional when he recounts conversations he has had with players throughout the course of the season.

“One of the kids said to me, ‘We love coming out of the tunnel seeing you here,'” Irvin said, wiping away tears. “It means something. We talked for years about the importance of getting back to it on the football field and now that they’re doing it, it’s important for us to show up. I don’t care who it is. You’ve got to show up.”

As soon as the game starts, Irvin takes his customary spot along the sideline. Emotions firmly in check. But he soon gets antsy, and is on the move, walking to the opposite side of the field to follow the Miami offense. When Xavier Restrepo catches a 34-yard touchdown pass from Cam Ward to open the scoring, Irvin proceeds to run down the sideline, high-fiving players.

After going up 14-0, Irvin greets every player coming off the field with a, “Way to go, baby!”

Things start to get a little more tense as Duke jumps out to a 28-17 lead in the third quarter. Irvin watches intently from the sideline, alternating between biting his nails, taking his glasses off, crouching, taking a knee and putting his arms on his head.

He shouts more encouragement: “Let’s go eat!” and “We will get points!”

Finally, a shift: Restrepo scores on a 3-yard pass from Ward to cut the gap to three, then freshman O.J. Frederique Jr. gets a crucial interception to give Miami the ball back. Irvin runs over to Frederique, sitting on the bench, and shouts, “Way to make a play for us! Way to make a play for us!”

“I tell people you can only hope to contain Mike — you can’t stop him,” Thomas says with a laugh. “Mike is just like that. He loves the U. The passion that we have for that school is undeniable. We love it.”

As Miami drives down the field, Irvin grows more animated with every play — stomping, crouching, gesturing and yelling to no one in particular. When Elija Lofton scores to put Miami ahead, Irvin raises his arms in triumph.

But the game is not over yet. After Jacolby George scores off a 49-yard touchdown pass from Ward, Irvin gives him a hug on the sideline.

Restrepo scores again, this time on a 66-yard pass in the fourth quarter. Irvin jumps up and down on the sideline, and high-fives new school president Joe Echevarria. Next comes longtime Coral Gables chief of police Ed Hudak, a fixture on the Miami sideline for decades. As Restrepo comes off the field with running back Mark Fletcher Jr., Irvin hugs them both.

Miami now leads 46-31, and Restrepo has broken the all-time Miami record for career receiving yards. Irvin takes out his phone and poses with Restrepo for a selfie.

“He just said [I was the] best receiver ever in Canes history,” Restrepo said. “He put me on top of that list, he congratulated me. I have so much love for that guy. We see greatness right in front of our face, and they’re very interactive with us. That’s why you come to the U.”

Players like Restrepo also came to Miami to help get the program back to where it belongs. Growing up in South Florida, restoring the tradition and legacy has always been important to him. When last season ended, with his best friend, quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, in the transfer portal, Restrepo could have decided to leave.

But he is big on loyalty, and he is big on staying until the job is finished. Miami has never won an ACC championship. But a win every week brings them one step closer to that goal. Restrepo did not work long hours as a child in his backyard, on his high school field, or at Miami to let that slip away. When he saw the Hurricanes had signed Ward and assembled its most talented team since his arrival in 2020, he envisioned the possibilities.

He and his teammates put in the work. The alums who were there in the spring, who watch practice, who have attended games, take great pride in what they are seeing: A team that is holding each other accountable, pushing themselves, with the leaders and depth to get the job done. Mostly, this team reminds them of themselves.

They will keep coming back. Johnson, who had a front-row seat to watch Ward in the spring, says, “Winning cures everything,” Johnson said. “I remember seeing Cam, and I knew we had a great player at quarterback. It’s like anything: When you have a guy that has that impact at that position, you can go a long way.”

“We’re a different brand,” Irvin says. “People wait on Miami. To see this, now? It’s everything.”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is reviewing online videos that show police officers punching fans during the Florida–Georgia game Saturday at EverBank Stadium.

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said she has spoken to Sheriff T.K. Waters regarding altercations at the rivalry game known as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”

“I’m aware of several disturbing videos circulating from [Saturday’s] game,” Deegan posted on X on Sunday. “We are awaiting the outcome of that investigation.”

The Sheriff’s Office said Sunday it won’t comment until its review is complete.

“The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s Professional Standards Division is aware of the videos circulating from the Georgia-Florida football game. Administrative reviews of the incidents are being opened. As such, the agency will not comment until all facts are known and the reviews have been completed,” the office said.

One video shows two officers struggling with two spectators in the stands. Surrounding fans could be heard screaming at officers to stop.

A second video shows an argument between a man and two JSO officers escalate into a fight that left the man with his face bloodied and handcuffed after being shot repeatedly with a stun gun.

Neither video showed circumstances that led to the confrontations.