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LAS VEGAS — With mounds of dirt, construction vehicles and the exact location where home plate will be at the new A’s Ballpark serving as the backdrop Monday morning, team owner John Fisher stood in front of a large gathering with one message: “We are Vegas’ team.”

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, state and local government dignitaries, former Athletics greats such as Rollie Fingers and Dave Stewart, Little Leaguers and many others looked on as the team celebrated the groundbreaking of a $1.75 billion, 33,000-person capacity ballpark that is expected to be finished in time for the 2028 season.

Nevada and Clark County have approved up to $380 million in public funds for the project.

“I have no doubt this is done in 2028,” team president Marc Badain said. “You know the workforce here; they’re all here and ready to get going.

“It’s nice to see the validation a day like today brings and what the next three years will mean for the community and for the construction project and the jobs and everything else that you’re going to see as this building comes out of the ground starting as early as tonight.”

Badain went through a similar process when serving in the same capacity for the NFL’s Raiders. He was a central figure in that team’s move from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020 as well as the approval and construction of $2 billion Allegiant Stadium.

While waiting for Allegiant Stadium to be finished, the Raiders remained in Oakland for three seasons in the stadium they shared with the A’s. But while the Raiders maintained a largely strong connection to the Bay Area even while playing as a lameduck franchise, A’s fans were incensed about their team’s impending departure and the process involved.

That made staying in Oakland untenable for the franchise, which played its final season in the dilapidated stadium last year. The A’s are playing the first of at least three years about an hour away at a Triple-A ballpark in West Sacramento, California, while they await their move to Las Vegas.

“We are a local team,” Fisher said. “And we want to start from the youngest of fans, because if you can get the kids, you can get their parents. It takes less time than you think; what really takes time is … to have a winner.

“Our goal is to continue to build upon what we have, and building a team is like building anything else. Sometimes it takes more time than you want it to. It’s like building the stadium. And we think that we have the pieces to make ourselves really successful.”

The stadium will be built on nine acres of the 35-acre site owned by Bally’s on the corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. The Tropicana’s resort towers were destroyed in an overnight demolition in October to clear the way for the ballpark.

The A’s are trying to strike a balance of making the most of their temporary home while also preparing for their future. Each A’s player wears a patch of Sacramento’s Tower Bridge on one sleeve and a Las Vegas logo on the other as part of a three-year sponsorship with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

The Las Vegas Stadium Authority in December approved lease, non-relocation and development documents, the last major steps for the A’s to eventually become Las Vegas’ team.

Artist renderings show a stadium with its five overlapping layers that bears a striking resemblance to Australia’s famed Sydney Opera House. A glass window beyond the outfield provides an outdoor feel with views of the Las Vegas Strip. Rather than a centralized cooling system, air conditioning will be distributed through the seats.

This will be MLB’s smallest stadium, though Tropicana Field where the Tampa Bay Rays usually call home has a capacity of 25,000 when the upper levels are closed off. It otherwise holds just less than 40,000 seats.

The Rays, like the A’s, are playing this season at a Triple-A ballpark after Hurricane Milton damaged their domed stadium. Tampa Bay’s long-term home is unknown, and the club could soon be in the hands of new owners.

Cleveland plays at Progressive Field, which now seats 34,830. It was downsized from the 43,345-seat capacity when the park opened in 1994.

The A’s are set to become the fourth major professional team in Las Vegas, joining the Raiders, NHL’s Golden Knights and WNBA’s Aces.

“I think that the demographics, the success that other sports have had and the amount of tourism here, those three legs of the stool make this an ideal market for us,” Manfred said. “I have no doubt that this team is going to be really successful in Vegas.”

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Kiffin’s ‘little, short’ QB leads Rebels past LSU

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Kiffin's 'little, short' QB leads Rebels past LSU

OXFORD, Miss. — Listed at 6-foot-even, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss didn’t receive any Division I scholarships out of Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He transferred to Ole Miss in May from Division II Ferris State, where he typically played in front of about 5,000 people.

On Saturday, in front of 67,737 people — the fourth-largest crowd in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium — Chambliss led the Rebels to a 24-19 win against No. 4 LSU, pushing undefeated Ole Miss (5-0) into the College Football Playoff race and making a case to be the Rebels’ full-time starter.

Playing in place of injured starter Austin Simmons, Chambliss outplayed LSU senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who entered the season as a projected first-round NFL draft pick. He completed 23-of-39 passing yards for 314 yards and one touchdown, and he ran 14 times for 71 yards.

“This is a really cool story,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. “I like good stories. Here’s a little, short kid from Division II going against Nussmeier and the mighty Tigers with Ole Miss. It was really cool.”

Chambliss became the first SEC player with 300 pass yards and 50 rush yards in three consecutive games over the past 30 years. He has played so well during that span that Kiffin didn’t rule out the possibility of Chambliss earning the starting job.

“We’ve got a bye week coming up,” Kiffin said “It’s a good problem to have. I don’t have that answer right now, and I don’t need to have it right now. We have two really good quarterbacks. That’s a really good thing to have. You see around the country, people usually when they lose their quarterback, their team changes a lot. And Austin got hurt, and we’re still able to play the way that we played.”

It wasn’t a flawless performance for Ole Miss, which had 14 penalties for 109 yards — 10 of which came in the first half, the most in the Kiffin era. The Rebels, though, exposed LSU’s inept offense, which was held to just 57 rushing yards and was 2-of-11 on third-down conversions.

“We wanted it more,” safety Wydett Williams Jr. said of the defense. “Simple as that.”

Nussmeier was held to 197 passing yards, a career low as the Tigers’ starter. He was often off target and made several bad decisions, including in the second quarter, when he threw a pass into traffic that Williams snagged for an interception.

Chambliss, though, was playing behind an offensive line that didn’t allow one sack and gave him ample time to throw. He led a group that racked up 480 total yards against a defense that was one of the best in the SEC.

“It’s like a dream come true,” Chambliss said. “… It’s an amazing accomplishment. Got to thank God for that one, he’s been with me the whole time. I’ve got to thank Coach Kiffin, the whole staff here at Ole Miss for giving me the opportunity to come here and showcase my skill set, showcase what I can do. Great athletes, just an amazing support staff. It’s a dream come true.”

At Ferris, Chambliss led the Bulldogs to their third national title in four years last season, but the difference in resources was stark. He said he was used to practicing in the snow because there was no indoor facility. There have been a few upgrades with his move, including players around him like receiver Cayden Lee, who led the Rebels with four catches for 70 yards, and running back Kewan Lacy, who had 87 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

“I feel like Trinidad has just done a really amazing job,” Lee said, “the way he’s handled the offense, the meetings he’s had with us personally, just getting us ready for the defense, having us dialed in the film studies, and that’s really showing on the field.”

Chambliss and Simmons hugged after the game, and those within the program said Simmons has handled his injury recovery and the situation well.

“Austin’s been a stud, battling his way back from injury,” Kiffin said. “That’s not easy. You’ve been waiting to be the starter for a couple of years, waiting for Jaxson [Dart] to leave, and so really proud of him as he’s handled that.”

The Rebels head into a bye week with three SEC wins, including Kentucky and Arkansas. Their win against the Tigers was the first this season against a ranked opponent, and it should catapult them into the top 12.

With about a minute left in the game, Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter told a staff member, “I think we need as many uniforms down here as we can,” to help prevent fans from storming the field.

It turned out that wasn’t necessary — a moment Kiffin said was an even more telling reaction about the state of the program.

“To me, that’s really cool that you get to a place as a program that you do beat the [No. 4] team in the country and you don’t rush the field because you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, and that’s win the game,” he said. “That makes me happy this program has gotten to that place.”

That doesn’t mean there wasn’t room to celebrate. As Kiffin went into the tunnel, he pumped his fist and flung his visor into the air.

Lee said the only expectations the Rebels have to meet are their own.

“I remember last year, everybody had all these expectations for us to go super, super far, and we didn’t end up doing that,” he said. “And this year I feel like almost nobody is talking us. All of the talk and stuff preseason doesn’t matter. It just matters the team’s mindset and what you guys are going to do every single game. So far we have a 1-0 mindset, and that’s worked out for us.”

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ACC: Officials missed key offsides call in GT-Wake

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ACC: Officials missed key offsides call in GT-Wake

The ACC said Saturday night that officials missed a pivotal offsides call that allowed No. 16 Georgia Tech to eventually overcome Wake Forest 30-29 in overtime in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

With the Yellow Jackets holding no timeouts and the Demon Deacons with the lead and working on the clock late in regulation, Wake Forest quarterback Robby Ashford threw a free-play deep ball on third-and-5 after a Georgia Tech player appeared to leap well offsides.

But officials didn’t throw a flag, sparking an irate reaction from the entire Wake Forest sideline and boos cascading from the stands.

The penalty would’ve been a 5-yarder and likely moved the chains, putting Wake Forest in position to potentially kneel out the clock. Instead, the Yellow Jackets got the ball back with 1:41 left, marched down the field and saw kicker Aidan Birr convert a 33-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in regulation to send the game to OT.

“I’m not putting that on Robby,” first-year Demon Deacons coach Jake Dickert told reporters. “There’s no way he can see the flag. We wanted to see the defensive look, we clapped, we’ll see what it ends up. And then Robby does what he’s trained to do, and that’s take a shot because he doesn’t know if that’s offsides or not.”

In overtime, Georgia Tech intercepted Wake Forest’s 2-point play to close out the win. The Yellow Jackets rallied from 17 down in the third quarter to stay unbeaten (5-0, 2-0 ACC).

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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OSU opens post-Gundy era, falls by 18 to Baylor

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OSU opens post-Gundy era, falls by 18 to Baylor

STILLWATER, Okla. — Sawyer Robertson passed for 393 yards and four touchdowns, and Baylor ruined Oklahoma State’s first game without Mike Gundy as head coach in more than 20 years with a 45-27 victory on Saturday.

Robertson threw each of his touchdown passes to a different player and also ran for a score. Josh Cameron caught six passes for 98 yards for the Bears (3-2, 1-1 Big 12), who gained 612 total yards.

Zane Flores passed for 232 yards for Oklahoma State, which lost its first game under interim coach Doug Meacham. Trent Howland had career highs of 84 yards and two touchdowns rushing for the Cowboys (1-3, 0-1).

Despite the loss, it was a significant improvement for the Cowboys, whose previous losses were 69-3 to Oregon and 19-12 to Tulsa. The Cowboys posted a season-high 448 yards.

Oklahoma State showed early that it planned to open things up. The Cowboys scored their first points of Meacham’s tenure on a double pass. Receiver Sam Jackson V completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Josh Ford that tied the score at 7 in the first quarter.

Robertson threw three touchdown passes in the first half to help Baylor take a 28-20 lead at the break, despite Oklahoma State outgaining the Bears 349 yards to 285.

Howland added to his career day by throwing a 13-yard completion, then running in from a yard out on the next play to cut Baylor’s lead to 35-27 in the third. That was the closest Oklahoma State would get.

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