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Kim Ng made her mark as a trailblazer in the male-dominated world of Major League Baseball.

In 2020, the Miami Marlins made her the first female general manager in the four major North American professional sports leagues. She kept the position for three seasons and the Marlins reached the playoffs her final year.

Now Ng, who played softball at the University of Chicago, will use her skills to directly uplift women’s sports. She’s been hired as a senior adviser for the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, which will launch in 2025.

With women’s sports riding a wave of momentum, Ng felt this was the right time to jump in.

“We’re in a moment here,” she said. “And maybe it’s not a moment. Maybe it’s more of a movement. I just wanted to be a part of it.”

Ng spent a combined 21 years in the front offices of the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, and she has three World Series rings. Before joining the Marlins, she spent nine years as a senior vice president for Major League Baseball.

She’ll work closely with Athletes Unlimited CEO and co-founder Jon Patricof and senior vice president and director of softball Cheri Kempf. They’re launching a league to provide more options for players while creating a strong domestic presence in the sport during the ramp-up for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“Kim is one of the most accomplished executives in professional sports,” Patricof said. “She brings a long track record, both working at the league level and at the team level. She has a mix of incredibly strong strategic skills as well as understanding the ins and outs of how to run a pro sports operation. So, we’re incredibly excited to have her join.”

Ng, 55, is the oldest of five who played softball. Three of the sisters played in college. That makes this endeavor personal for Ng.

“It’s always been really important that women get this type of stage and are given the opportunities as well,” she said. “For me, in this different point of my career, I think being able to support these women in a different way than I had in my career previously is just such a thrill.”

Ng said she met with Athletes Unlimited co-founders Patricof and Jonathan Soros in 2019, before the company launched the next year. She came away impressed with their creativity and vision for women’s sports.

She watched as the company stabilized over time. The league just finished its shorter AUX schedule for the third time, and Athletes Unlimited softball will start its fifth individual championship season this summer.

Now she’ll lead Athletes Unlimited’s traditional team entity, which will replace AUX. The new league will start with a touring model in 2025 and become city-based in 2026.

Ng wants help build a strong domestic pro softball league ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics.

“For me, it’s just so incredibly meaningful to have a chance to help shape and mold what the game is going to look like and the ways that we’re going to be able to provide it and present it to future softball fans and the future softball players, to future female athletes young girls,” she said. “That’s all part of this.”

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

LAS VEGAS — Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox won Major League Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards on Thursday.

Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York YankeesAaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.

Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.

Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.

Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.

Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.

Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.

He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.

Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.

Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.

A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.

Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.

Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.

Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.

Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.

The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.

Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

No. 12 Georgia will be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne for Saturday’s showdown against No. 7 Tennessee.

Etienne was downgraded from questionable to out on Thursday night’s SEC availability report.

Etienne left Georgia’s win over Florida with an upper-body injury on Nov. 2 and did not return. He played limited snaps in last week’s 28-10 loss at Ole Miss, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards.

Etienne leads the Bulldogs with 477 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season.

The loss is another blow to Georgia’s banged-up backfield. Cash Jones is also listed as questionable while Branson Robinson remains out after missing the past three games with a knee injury.

That leaves true freshman Nate Frazier as the only healthy Bulldogs running back who has played meaningful snaps this year. Frazier is second on the team with 333 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

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