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ANAHEIM, Calif. — The diagnosis blared through the press box speakers at 8:53 p.m. PT on Tuesday: Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Angels announced, had exited the game as a pitcher due to a cracked nail on what was later revealed to be his right middle finger. Mere seconds later, Ohtani, now acting as a hitter, extended on a low-and-away splitter and unleashed a towering opposite-field home run, his second of the night, punctuating another breathtaking performance that left everyone around him in awe.

Ohtani reached all four times he came to bat and contributed 6⅓ innings of one-run ball, leading the Angels to a 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. But it was the circumstances of his second home run that embodied his unprecedented value, unable to contribute further on the mound yet still acting as a force in the batter’s box.

“It’s everything as advertised and even more,” new Angels infielder Mike Moustakas said after what was only his third day as Ohtani’s teammate. “I’m fortunate enough to see his preparation and see what he does in the cage and in here, and it translates every single day out there on the field.”

Ohtani, surging through the month of June and acting once again as the favorite for the American League MVP award, walked and singled in between his two home runs as a hitter and allowed only four hits and two walks as a pitcher, striking out 10 while shutting the White Sox out through the first six innings.

He became the sixth player with 10 strikeouts and two home runs in a game since the mound moved to its current distance in 1893, joining Zack Greinke (2019), Madison Bumgarner (2017), Rick Wise (1971), Pedro Ramos (1963) and Milt Pappas (1961). And Ohtani is the first player since 1900 with 10 strikeouts and three hits in multiple games in a single season.

Ohtani now has five three-hit performances in games when he is the starting pitcher, joining Warren Spahn (1958) and George Uhle (1923) as the only players to attain that many in a single season.

And yet none of that does his exploits justice.

The Angels have reached the midway point of their season, and Ohtani leads the majors in OPS (1.039), home runs (28) and RBIs (64), while ranking 15th among 65 qualified pitchers in ERA (3.02), accumulating the third-most strikeouts (127) and sporting the lowest batting average against (.180). His 5.7 FanGraphs wins above replacement paces the sport by a wide margin.

After his second home run on Tuesday, many of the 33,637 in attendance began to shower Ohtani with “MVP” chants, a common occurrence in recent years.

“It’s always a good feeling to hear that,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “It gives me a lot of motivation to do better.”

Ohtani breezed through the top of the first, striking out two batters in the process, then unleashed a 418-foot, 110.8 mph home run in the bottom half to give his team its first run.

But Ohtani began the game with a small crack in his right middle fingernail that he said got worse as the night wore on. In the top of the seventh, with two on and one out and the Angels clinging to 2-0 lead, Ohtani engaged in a relatively long conversation with pitching coach Matt Wise. The crack in his nail had made it more difficult for him to command his off-speed pitches, and the power-hitting Jake Burger was due up. Ohtani had already thrown 102 pitches and saw that Jacob Webb was warming up and felt it would be best to come out. Angels manager Phil Nevin removed him moments later.

“That actually happened a couple innings earlier, and he was fine,” Nevin said. “It’s just there was a little more separation there, so he just felt like somebody else was a better choice at that time.”

Ohtani doesn’t believe he’ll be impacted for his next start, which lines up for Monday at the San Diego Padres.

“I feel like I came out of the game before it got too bad,” Ohtani said, “so the plan is [to] go on schedule.”

The home run Ohtani hit moments after exiting as a pitcher, traveling 404 feet to left-center field, was his 13th in June, tying five others — including himself in 2021 — for the most in franchise history in any month. His 28 home runs for the year also tied his 2021 total for an Angels record before the start of July, which is still four days away.

On the mound, Ohtani recorded his fifth game this season with 10 or more strikeouts and one or fewer runs allowed, tying Nolan Ryan (1977 and 1979) for the most before July in franchise history.

“It’s special,” Moustakas, a veteran of 13 years, said. “I’m fortunate enough to get to watch it in the short time since I’ve been here, and I can’t wait to see what he does next, man. It’s always fun. Everybody in the stands is on the edge of their seat when he comes up or when he’s pitching, and I feel like it’s the same way in the clubhouse and in the dugout.

“You know something’s going to happen any time he steps in the box or on the mound. It’s pretty fun to be part of it.”

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Rangers P deGrom (elbow) throwing, ‘feels good’

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Rangers P deGrom (elbow) throwing, 'feels good'

ARLINGTON, Texas — Two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom already has thrown off the mound this offseason and said everything felt normal after missing most of his first two seasons with the Texas Rangers because of elbow surgery.

The three starts deGrom got to make in September were significant for him.

“That way I could treat it like a normal offseason and not feel like I was in rehab mode the whole time,” he said Saturday during the team’s annual Fan Fest. “So that’s what this offseason has been, you know, normal throwing. Been off the mound already and everything feels good.”

The right-hander said he would usually wait until Feb. 1 before throwing, but he started earlier this week so he could ramp up a bit slower going into spring training.

DeGrom, 36, has started only nine games for the Rangers since signing a $185 million, five-year contract in free agency two winters ago. They won all six starts he made before the end of April during his 2023 debut with the team before the surgery. After rehabbing most of last year, he was 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA and 14 strikeouts over 10⅔ innings in those three September starts.

“One of the things I’m most excited about is a healthy season from Jacob, and for our fans to see what that looks like, and how good he is,” Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said. “It’s just electric, and coming to the ballpark every day that he’s pitching, knowing that we’ve got a great chance to win the game, it’s an exciting feeling. Our fans truly haven’t experienced that over the course of a season. We’re excited and hopeful that this is the year they get to see that.”

Since his back-to-back Cy Young Awards with the New York Mets in 2018 and 2019, deGrom hasn’t made more than 15 starts in a season. He started 12 times during the COVID-19-shortened 60-game season in 2020.

DeGrom had a career-low 1.08 ERA over 92 innings in 2021 before missing the final three months with right forearm tightness and a sprained elbow, then was shut down late during spring training in 2022 because of a stress reaction in his right scapula. He went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 11 starts over the last two months of that season before becoming a free agent.

His fastball touched 98 mph in the last of his three starts last season, when he pitched four innings of one-run ball against the Los Angeles Angels.

“In those games, you know, it’s still a thought in the back of your mind, you just came back from a major surgery and you probably don’t get another one at my age,” he said. “So it was, hey, is everything good? And then like I said, was able to check those boxes off in this offseason, treat it normal.”

Now deGrom feels like he can start pitching again without worrying about being injured.

“Just throw the ball to the target and not think about anything,” he said. “So, yeah, I think I can get back to where I was.”

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Source: Sarkisian lands new 7-year deal at Texas

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Source: Sarkisian lands new 7-year deal at Texas

More than a week after its season ended in the College Football Playoff, Texas has agreed to a new contract with coach Steve Sarkisian, a source told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Saturday, confirming a report. The sides came to an agreement Friday night in a deal that includes an extension.

A source told ESPN that it’s a seven-year contract for Sarkisian, 50, that adds a year to his deal and makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football.

News of the agreement was first reported by The Action Network, which noted that the deal came after Sarkisian declined interviews with two NFL franchises for coaching positions.

The Longhorns, in their first season in the SEC, advanced to the title game and won two CFP playoff games against Clemson and Arizona State before being eliminated by Ohio State on Jan. 10 in the Cotton Bowl.

Texas played Ohio State tight before a late fumble return stretched the Buckeyes’ lead to 14 points. Sarkisian said being the last remaining SEC team in the playoff in their first year in the league is something the Longhorns take pride in.

“I really believe this is a premier football conference in America because of the week-in, week-out task that it requires physically and mentally,” Sarkisian said. “I know unfortunately for Georgia, they lost their starting quarterback in the SEC championship game, and I’m sure other teams in our conference had to endure things that can take their toll on your team, and that’s no excuse. At the end of the day, we have to find a way to navigate our ways through it, but to be here on this stage to be back in the final four wearing that SEC patch on our jersey, we’re going to do our best to represent it because this is a heck of a conference.”

Sarkisian arrived at Texas in 2021 after serving as Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama in his previous stop. As head coach previously at Washington and USC, combined with his run at Texas, he is 84-52 overall. With the Longhorns, he is 38-17 and won the Big 12 title last season.

Texas will open next season with a rematch against Ohio State on Aug. 30 in Columbus, Ohio. In that game vs. the Buckeyes, the likely starter under center for Sarkisian will be Arch Manning, who backed up Quinn Ewers for two seasons and will soon get his chance to headline what will be one of the most anticipated quarterback situations in recent memory. The nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning and grandson of Archie Manning came to Texas as ESPN’s No. 5 recruit in the 2023 class.

Arch Manning saw more playing time this season as Ewers dealt with injury, and he completed 61 of 90 passes for 939 yards and nine touchdowns. He also showcased big-play ability as a runner, breaking off a 67-yard scamper against UTSA and averaging 4.2 yards per carry.

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AD: Irish prefer independence over vying for bye

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AD: Irish prefer independence over vying for bye

ATLANTA — Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua said the independent Irish are comfortable continuing to give up access to a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff — something currently granted to only the four highest-ranked conference champions — as long as the fate of conference championship games remains the same.

“We’re comfortable that if conference championship games continue as they’re currently configured, part of the deal we made is that we wouldn’t get a bye, and that’s understandable,” Bevacqua said Saturday, speaking to a small group of reporters at the national championship game media availability at the Georgia World Congress Center. “And quite frankly, I wouldn’t trade that [first-round] Indiana game at Notre Dame Stadium for anything in the world, but you also have to be smart and strategic, and your odds of making a national championship game are increased if you get to play one less game.

“So I think a lot is going to depend on the fate of the conference championship games,” he said. “Should they go away? And that’s obviously not my decision. Should they be altered in some sort of material way where it’s not the top two teams playing for a championship, but something else? Then I think we absolutely have to re-look at Notre Dame’s ability to get a bye if we end up being one of the top four teams.”

Bevacqua’s comments come as he and the FBS commissioners prepare to meet Sunday to begin their review of the inaugural 12-team field, which will produce a national champion on Monday with the winner of Ohio State vs. Notre Dame.

Bevacqua is part of the CFP’s management committee, which is also comprised of the 10 FBS commissioners tasked with determining the format and rules of the playoff to eventually send to the 11 presidents and chancellors on the CFP board for their approval. The commissioners and Bevacqua will have a 90-minute business meeting to start to discuss possible changes for the 2025 season, which would require unanimity, leaving many CFP sources skeptical that next season will look much different.

Bevacqua said he thinks “there’s a chance” the group could agree on a change to the seeding, but one option that has been floated by sources with knowledge of the discussions is having the committee’s top four teams earn the top four seeds — which opens the door for Notre Dame to earn a first-round bye without playing in a conference championship game.

“I think everybody wants what’s best for the overall system,” he said. “It was interesting, when you think about those four teams that got a bye, they didn’t advance. Now I don’t think that has anything to do with the fact that they got a bye, I think that was mostly competition and happenstance. But I think there’ll be a good, honest conversation that will start tomorrow. Are there any changes that we ought to make from this year to next year and make something that’s worked really well work even better? Will there be changes? I’m just one person. I’m not sure.”

CFP executive director Rich Clark, who also spoke to a small group of reporters at the media day event, said some changes for 2025 would require “more lead time than a few months to implement,” so no major structural changes like the size of the bracket are expected for 2025.

Clark said the commissioners will talk about every aspect from “cradle to the grave,” including seeding and re-seeding possibilities.”

Clark said whatever changes are made for 2026 and beyond — the start of a new, six-year contract with ESPN — need to be determined by the end of the calendar year. That could include increasing the bracket size, possibly to 14 or 16 teams.

“We’re trying to beat that timeline,” Clark said. “We don’t want to obviously wait until the limits of it. So we want to move smartly on these things, but we don’t want to make bad decisions, either.”

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