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The Athletics are acquiring left-hander Jeffrey Springs in a six-player trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, the team announced Saturday, continuing their push toward contention with a significant increase in their payroll as they head into their first season in Sacramento.

Springs and left-hander Jacob Lopez will go to the A’s while right-handers Joe Boyle and Jacob Watters, first baseman Will Simpson, and a Competitive Balance A round draft pick — somewhere in the late 30s — will go to the Rays.

Pushing their payroll into the $100 million range, the A’s acquired Springs — who is owed $10.5 million each of the next two seasons and has a $15 million club option for 2027 — on the heels of giving free agent Luis Severino a three-year, $67 million contract.

Springs, 32, broke out in 2022 with the Rays after bouncing from Texas to Boston to Tampa Bay. He looked primed for a big 2023 after signing an extension, only to tear the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow.

He returned from Tommy John surgery last season and, in seven starts, went 2-2 with a 3.27 ERA and 37 strikeouts against 11 walks in 33 innings. Springs will join Severino and J.P. Sears in a rotation that also could include left-hander Hogan Harris and right-handers Joey Estes, Mitch Spence, Osvaldo Bido and Luis Medina.

The A’s went 69-93 this year. With a core of designated hitter Brent Rooker, outfielders Lawrence Butler and JJ Bleday, catcher Shea Langeliers, shortstop Jacob Wilson, and first-base prospect Nick Kurtz, they are positioning themselves to compete in a wide-open American League West.

Lopez, 26, made four appearances for Tampa Bay each of the past two seasons. He is 1-0 with a 4.76 ERA in 22⅔ career innings pitched.

Boyle, 25, is the lone player with major league experience going to the Rays. At 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, Boyle throws a 98 mph fastball and devastating slider that both grade as well-above-average pitches. Throughout his time with the A’s — and, before that, Cincinnati — controlling those pitches was always the issue. In 47⅔ innings this year between the rotation and bullpen, Boyle struck out 56 and walked 40 but allowed just four home runs.

Simpson, a 15th-round draft pick out of Washington in 2023, ascended to Double-A this year after hitting .270/.373/.480 with 16 home runs and 81 RBIs in 109 games at High Class A. In addition to his time at first base, the 6-3, 225-pound Simpson dabbled at third base and played outfield in college.

Watters, taken in the fourth round out of West Virginia in 2022, split time between the rotation and bullpen in High Class A this year. He went 6-3 with a 5.04 ERA, striking out 56 and walking 28 in 60⅔ innings.

The Competitive Balance Round A pick is worth around $2.5 million in bonus-pool dollars for the Rays, who also have their own competitive-balance pick two slots ahead of the one they acquired in the deal.

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Purdue RB Mockobee has season-ending surgery

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Purdue RB Mockobee has season-ending surgery

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue running back Devin Mockobee will miss the rest of his final college season after undergoing ankle surgery late last week, coach Barry Odom announced Monday.

Mockobee finishes his career as the fourth-leading rusher in Boilermakers history with 2,987 yards, trailing Mike Alstott, Kory Sheets and Otis Armstrong, a College Football Hall of Famer. Mockobee also ranks in the school’s top 10 in carries with 630 and career 100-yard games with nine.

Odom said Mockobee injured his ankle late in an Oct. 25 loss to Rutgers. He was ruled out of last weekend’s 21-16 loss at No. 21 Michigan following Friday’s surgery.

“We were hoping we would get a little bit better news after they did that procedure on his ankle, but unfortunately, the injury he sustained, he’s played his last game here,” Odom said. “I sure hate that because he is such a wonderful young man, a great leader of this program and a great representative of Purdue University. The things he poured into this program and university since I’ve been here, he will go down as one of the really enjoyable, great guys I’ve had a chance to coach. We’ll be connected forever, and I know this place means a lot to him.”

Losing this season’s leading rusher couldn’t come at a worse time for the Boilermakers (2-7, 0-6 Big Ten). They are mired in a six-game losing streak and remain one of four winless teams in league play. Purdue’s next chance to snap a school-record 15-game losing streak in conference games comes Saturday when it hosts No. 1 Ohio State (8-0, 5-0).

Antonio Harris started against Michigan then rotated with Malachi Thomas. Harris finished with 11 carries for 54 yards and one touchdown while Thomas had 15 carries for 68 yards. Malachi Singleton, a quarterback, also finished with six carries for 24 yards.

Odom did not say whether he would follow a similar game plan against the Buckeyes.

Mockobee joined the Boilermakers as a walk-on from Boonville, Indiana, but quickly emerged as their top rusher in 2022.

He set school freshman records by rushing for 968 yards and posting four 100-yard games while scoring nine times for the Big Ten West Division champions. After losing the Big Ten championship game to the Wolverines, first-time head coach Ryan Walters gave the 6-foot, 202-pound rusher a scholarship.

But Mockobee struggled with fumbles in 2023, starting just four games and finishing with 811 yards and six TD runs. He rebounded by starting all 12 games in 2024 and producing 687 yards rushing and four scores. He had a team-high 521 yards rushing and 4 TD runs in 8 games this season before getting injured.

Mockobee finished his career with 86 receptions for 839 yards and 3 touchdowns and the only completed pass of his career was a TD pass earlier this season.

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Alabama suspends DB Kirkpatrick after arrest

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Alabama suspends DB Kirkpatrick after arrest

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. has been suspended indefinitely following his arrest over the weekend, coach Kalen DeBoer said Monday.

Kirkpatrick was arrested Saturday on three counts of reckless endangerment and one count of attempting to elude and speeding. He was released from Tuscaloosa County Jail on a $1,500 bond.

“Unfortunately, with the information that I have at this time, I talked to Dre, and we need to indefinitely suspend him,” DeBoer said. “He understands there are consequences that come with his actions.”

Kirkpatrick, a sophomore and son of former Alabama defensive back and NFL veteran Dre Kirkpatrick, has eight tackles, including one for a loss, one pass defense and a forced fumble this season.

No. 4 Alabama hosts LSU on Saturday.

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NCAA sends concerns to prediction market Kalshi

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NCAA sends concerns to prediction market Kalshi

The NCAA sent a letter to Kalshi, a company that offers prediction markets on college basketball and football, expressing its concern about the company’s “commitment to contest integrity and the protection of contest participants,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by ESPN.

In the letter, dated Oct. 30, NCAA chief legal officer Scott Bearby asked Kalshi how it monitors collegiate sports markets for integrity concerns and activity by prohibited customers, who it considers a prohibited customer, whether it will report integrity concerns to the NCAA and whether the company will cooperate with NCAA investigations.

“We welcome Kalshi’s stance on its efforts to protect the integrity of NCAA competitions and to reduce instances of abuse and harassment directed at student-athletes and other participants,” Bearby wrote.

The NCAA also asked if Kalshi would ban prediction markets similar to prop bets, which the company began offering this fall.

Prop betting markets, Bearby noted in the letter, heighten “the risk of integrity and harassment concerns.” In March last year, NCAA president Charlie Baker called for a ban on prop bets on college athletes in states with legal sports wagering.

The NCAA also asked Kalshi in the letter to review language on its website that the NCAA says implies a relationship between them.

“Kalshi has robust market integrity provisions required by our status as a federally licensed financial exchange,” a Kalshi spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN. “We value the NCAA’s feedback and are working on adjusting the language on our site. We are currently reviewing and addressing their additional requests.”

Prediction markets like Kalshi have emerged over the past year and are competing with traditional sportsbooks in the betting market. Kalshi is battling multiple lawsuits by state gambling regulators, who allege that the company is violating state laws by offering event contracts that mimic sports bets. Kalshi argues that it does not fall under state jurisdiction and is instead regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a federal agency.

In March, Kalshi announced a partnership with IC360, an integrity monitor used by many collegiate and professional leagues.

The NCAA has faced an increasing number of alleged betting violations by players in recent years. In September, the NCAA announced that a Fresno State men’s basketball player had manipulated his performance for gambling purposes and conspired with two other players in a prop betting scheme. In total, the association has opened investigations into potential betting violations by approximately 30 current or former men’s basketball players.

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