Rick Renteria expected to replace Robin Ventura as White Sox manager

Robin Ventura (center) will reportedly be replaced by bench coach Rick Renteria (left). (AP)

 

Despite reports suggesting the door was open for Robin Ventura to return as Chicago White Sox manager in 2017, it appears his five-year tenure will officially end on Monday.

According to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. general manager Rick Hahn is expected to name current White Sox bench coach Rick Renteria as the team’s new manager at press conference on Monday morning. What’s not clear is whether this means Ventura will be fired, reassigned or has simply decided to step down after suffering through a fourth straight losing season.

 

Here’s more from the report:

Indications are the Sox are preparing to name Renteria, 54, as their new manager on Monday. The Sox on Saturday announced an end-of-the-season press conference with general manager Rick Hahn for 11 a.m. Monday at U.S. Cellular Field, increasing growing speculation a change would be made soon.

Hahn’s customary practice has been to address media on the last day of the season.

Perhaps there’s more reading between the lines here than actual concrete evidence, but there’s also enough smoke to suspect a fire.

Whatever the circumstances, it’s become clear that Ventura isn’t the answer as the White Sox manager. Perhaps he’ll go on to find success elsewhere, but his style never really seemed to mesh with the players in Chicago. Not to mention the disconnect that seemed to exist between him and the front office. Beyond that, he always seemed a step behind his counterparts when it came to in-game decisions.

Ventura’s managerial career started out promising, as the White Sox posted 85 wins in 2012. The team and the manager took a huge step back in 2013, winning just 63 games. It’s been a slow climb back to respectability since, with Chicago posting 73, 76 and currently 78 wins over the last three seasons. The latter being hugely disappointing given the internal expectations coming into the season and the team’s hot start.

There are just too many negatives to justify Ventura keeping his job. He always had the support of chairman Jerry Reinsdorf though, which made the difference. Maybe we’ll find out if that has changed too.

As for Renteria, he’s long been respected around MLB. He oversaw a rebuilding Cubs team that won 73 games in 2014, only to be replaced when Joe Maddon became available. If hired and given an extended look, it’ll be interesting to see what he can bring to the table. It’ll also be very interesting to see what direction Hahn takes his roster after falling short of expectations.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he has practiced on a simulator but is not ready for a race car

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he’s used a simulator as part of his rehabilitation from a concussion suffered earlier this season, but admits he’s not ready to get back into a race car yet.

Still, Earnhardt, who is out the rest of the season, is encouraged by his progress.

“I feel so much better than I did five weeks ago,” Earnhardt said Saturday at Dover International Speedway. “I would have never thought about coming to the track five weeks ago. I’m excited.”

He’s unsure when he’ll get into a car, but has been working toward that.

“We’ve got so much time to figure it out,” Earnhardt said of getting back on the track. “I’m not really worried about. I’m not ready. I know that. I’ll know when I’m ready. It’s not one of them things that has a schedule.

“I have been driving a simulator a little bit. That is not the same thing as driving a real race car, but it does challenge me mentally and challenges the issues and the symptoms. My doctor said it would be a good practice to use that simulator. I’ve been doing that a little bit. I’m feeling so much better. I’m glad to be at the track, I wish I was driving. I would feel more useful if I was in the seat of the car with our guys. I wanted to come back and I’m glad to be here to be able to do something.”

He’s at the track to test his recovery and support his Sprint Cup team and his JR Motorsports teams.

“Walking through the garage and signing autographs is tough,” Earnhardt said. “Your balance gets bad. If you’ve got a lot things happening in your peripheral and stuff, that’s something that is going to challenge it. That’s pretty much it. My eyes got a lot better. I don’t really notice issues with my eyes quite as much anymore, but the balance stuff is still needing some work.

“I got a lot of new exercises. I went for an evaluation about a week ago and got some new stuff to keep continue to challenge that. The whole process is basically you work really hard with what they give you until that doesn’t bring the symptoms up and they give you more stuff that is even more challenging. Eventually, you’re going to get to a point to where physical exercise isn’t going to bring out the symptoms and you’ve got to do stuff like this.

“This is really some of the final phases, I suppose, of therapy. If I come to an environment like this and go walk through the garage and get into those busy moments and I don’t have any reaction to it, I would consider that being 100 percent normal.

“There’s still some stuff that you’ve got to be able to do as a race car driver that I’ll still have to work on to get to where I can really have that quick, fast reaction time and all that good stuff.”

Might a go-kart be next for him to try?

“I’ll just probably just go ahead and get into a Late Model or a current race car and get out on to the racetrack and get after it.”

Earnhardt’s doctor, Dr. Micky Collins, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program, has worked with Earnhardt before. He’s also worked with other athletes, including NHL player Sidney Crosby, who has come back from missing much of two seasons because of concussions to remain as one of that sport’s top players. Crosby helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup last season and was selected as the MVP after leading Canada to the championship in the World Cup this week.

“I know his story pretty well with his connection to (Collins),” Earnhardt said. “I feel pretty good about what (Collins) has done with me in the past. That gives me a lot of confidence about this situation. You’ve got to believe in the therapy 100 percent. I feel I’m in great, great hands.”

Earnhardt reiterated he plans to keep racing.

“I’m not ready to hang it up just yet,” Earnhardt said.

Joe Girardi puts Yankees on notice in 2017 warning

The Yankees have been relegated to spending the last weekend of the regular season trying to impact other teams’ playoff chances, which they did with a 7-3 win over Baltimore on Saturday in The Bronx.

They don’t want to be in the same situation again a year from now, and in a meeting with his players prior to Friday’s loss to the Orioles, he made sure to put everyone on notice.

His message was fairly simple: “Just that there’s a lot of work to do to get to where we want, and there’s younger kids knocking on older players’ doors.”

The manager told his team that it won’t just be inexperienced players like Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin vying for playing time in 2017.

Gary Sanchez proved this year it is possible to unseat an established player as he pushed aside Brian McCann to become the starting catcher.

Though there are no obvious candidates to make a similar move in 2017, the organization restocked its farm system for a reason and some of the prospects they acquired could arrive soon.

“One thing as a player you need to understand is there’s no certainty in this game,” Girardi said of next year’s plans. “When you take the field on a daily basis, you have to prove yourself. There’s nothing given to anyone in this game. You have to go out and earn it. It’s important you never forget that.”

Of course, there’s no guarantee the younger players are going to help.

“For the younger kids that have some success, the hard part is not getting here,” Girardi said he told the team. “The hard part is sticking. As people adjust to you, you have to make adjustments as a ballplayer. I think next year’s camp could be extremely competitive and you need to be ready.”

Austin has gone through some brutal stretches but also shown a penchant for hitting home runs in critical situations. Interestingly, all of his homers have been to the opposite field.

“Getting a chance to come up here and playing meaningful games is something I’ll take with me into next year,” said Austin, who hit his fifth homer, but still has his struggles fresh in his mind. “When we were playing the Dodgers and I struck out seven consecutive times, that’s something I’ve never done before. It’s easy to get down on yourself.”

So consider that perhaps a lesson learned down the stretch this season.

There are other prospects like outfielder Clint Frazier and infielders Gleyber Torres and Jorge Mateo who may be ready next season, as well.

Sanchez’s arrival in August helped spark the Yankees’ late-season move toward the playoffs, which ultimately fell short. His success could make management more willing to take chances on youthful players.

“I think [competition] can bring out a lot of good things and just not young players against young players,” Girardi said. “It’s young players pushing older players, too, and I think that can be really beneficial as we move forward.”

Asked if Sanchez’s ability to win a spot proves the team would be willing to do the same thing to other veterans next year, Girardi said, “I think the idea is to win as many games here, and we’re gonna put the best people out there.”

On Saturday, they got enough out of the lineup to overcome an early 3-0 deficit — the result of another subpar start from Luis Severino. Austin Romine’s two-run single in the eighth gave the Yankees their first lead and forced the Orioles to wait to celebrate a playoff berth.

“This shows what we’ve been doing the last two months,” Mark Teixeira said. “We’re playing for pride.”

Acrobatic Jourdan Lewis interception seals Michigan win over Wisconsin

Michigan’s offense couldn’t quite put Wisconsin away late in Saturday’s game at Michigan Stadium, so the defense — Jourdan Lewis specifically — did it instead.

Michigan, ranked No. 4 nationally, went ahead 14-7 on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Wilton Speight to Amara Darboh with 7:56 to go. From there, Wisconsin, ranked No. 8, had three shots to tie it. On those three drives, the Badgers gained a total of 14 yards.

The first drive was a three-and-out. The second of those drives ended when Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook, making his second career start, was intercepted by Channing Stribling.

Hornibrook, a redshirt freshman, struggled all day long, completing 9-of-25 passes for just 88 yards. He looked cool, calm and collected last weekend at Michigan State.

His last throw of the night, after the Badgers regained possession at their own eight-yard line with 2:46 to go, was intercepted on a seam route by Lewis. It was one of the best interceptions you will ever see.

Here’s another angle of Lewis, who somehow leaped and brought the pass in with just his right hand, like he was palming a tennis ball.

From there, Michigan was able to run out the clock and hold on to a 14-7 win to stay undefeated.

From the start, this was a classic Big Ten defensive battle. Neither offense could establish any sort of rhythm. The teams combined for eight first half punts and the only points came on a one-yard touchdown plunge from Michigan’s Khalid Hill on the first play of the second quarter.

Michigan was able to move the ball a bit against Wisconsin’s stout front seven, but failed to add on to its lead because of two Kenny Allen missed field goals — one from 31 yards and another from 43 on back-to-back drives.

Wisconsin’s offense was finally able to put some points on the board midway through the third, but only after a turnover from the defense. Five plays after Derrick Tindal picked off Speight in UW territory, the Badgers evened things up on Hornibrook’s best throw of the night, a beautiful 17-yard touch pass on a wheel route to Dare Ogunbowale out of the backfield.

Michigan, Ryan Tice this time, missed another field goal on its next drive, but the Wisconsin offense just could not pull ahead.

The Badgers mustered just 159 yards of offense on the afternoon, leaving the door open for the Wolverines to finally re-take the lead. They did just that when Jim Harbaugh dialed up a play-action pass and Speight found Darboh behind the defense for a 46-yard score.

The UM defense took care of business the rest of the way, and the Wolverines were able to keep pace with Ohio State atop the Big Ten East.

Michigan’s defense is the real deal, but this game could leave some concern about the Wolverines offense. Wisconsin, even without star linebacker Vince Biegel, has one of the better defenses in the country. There aren’t many teams that would have success against the Badgers. It may not show on the scoreboard, but the Wolverines still managed 349 yards of offense. That’s the most UW’s defense has given up all season.

Moving forward, the Wolverines travel to lowly Rutgers next weekend before a bye week.

On the other side, Wisconsin proved it can play with the big boys, but Hornibrook just didn’t seem ready for that type of environment. Paul Chryst elevated Hornibrook to starter over fifth-year senior Bart Houston last week. It was the right move, but the Badgers will need improved play to reach their potential.

It won’t get easier for Hornibrook and company, either. Next week, the Badgers host No. 2 Ohio State.

Insane Hail Mary helps Tennessee land another comeback win

Did you hear that?

I think that loud screaming you heard was Knoxville celebrating the latest Tennessee comeback win. After falling behind 17-0 in the game, Tennessee closed out the game on a 34-14 run, stealing the game from the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens with a Hail Mary pass from Joshua Dobbs to Jauan Jennings. If you listen closely, you can hear a lone voice screaming “OMAHAAAAAAAAAAA!”

This is the Volunteers fourth come back win this season. They are now 4-0 when down by 10 or more points. There is no telling how many white hairs were grown watching the game, but the stress of Tennessee fans is worth it for them if they continue to pull of miracles like this.

Check out these last five possessions:

 

-Tennessee takes down Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason in in his own end zone to take the lead with 2:56 left in the game. 28-24 Tennessee.

 

-Jacob Eason throws an interception to Malik Foreman with 2:10 left in the game. 28-24 Tennessee.

 

-Tennessee goes three-and-out…. 1:07 left in the game. 28-24 Tennessee.

 

-Eason takes Georgia down the field to take the lead back. Four plays, 81 yards, 57 seconds. Unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Bulldogs places the ball at the 20-yard line for the ensuing kick off. 31-28 Georgia.

 

-After a short kick, Micah Abernathy returns the ball to the Georgia 40. Hail Mary pass from Joshua Dobbs to Jauan Jennings completed…. 43-yard touchdown pass. Game Tennessee. 34-31 Tennessee.

 

Even if you’re Steven Spielberg, you just can’t script the last possessions of a football game any better.

Tennessee just seems to have the magic this year. After falling behind 13-3 against Appalachian State, the Vols reeled off 20 unanswered points to take the first game of the season in overtime. Virgina Tech went up 14-0 before falling to Tennessee’s explosive attack 45-24. Last week against Florida, the Vols found themselves down 21-3 at halftime before outscoring the Gators 35-7 in the second half.

With the win in Georgia, Tennessee is now 5-0 for the first time under Butch Jones.

While not great for the hearts of their fans (or their coach), there is something to be said about fighting this kind of adversity early in the season. Being battle tested is no longer an issue since they have had to come back from relatively large deficits in four of their first five games.

This probably doesn’t come as a big surprise for many Vol fans because they have steadily improved since Butch Jones took over in 2013. Last year, Tennessee finished the season on a six game winning streak, including the Outback Bowl. This leaves the team with 11 straight wins since 2015.

Whatever it is, Tennessee looks like they are cooking something special this year with Joshua Dobbs and Jones leading the way for the team.

Strap yourselves in, Knoxville. You’re in for a wild ride the rest of the season.

UNC kicker nails 54-yard field goal to beat Florida State, celebrates by trolling fan base

North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said he knew his kicker’s range was about 52 yards, but when the Tar Heels found themselves at the Florida State 37-yard line with four seconds remaining and down one, Fedora had no choice but to trot kicker Nick Weiler out for a career-long 54-yard field goal.

And Weiler nailed it.

The senior, whose previous long was 49 yards, looked a little nervous but blasted the kick through the right side of the uprights to give the Tar Heels a 37-35 upset victory against the No. 12 Seminoles.

It was an improbable win for North Carolina, which had opened the door for a Florida State come-from-behind victory after missing an extra point with 2:31 remaining. Florida State drove 75 yards in a little more than 2 minutes to take a 35-34 lead with 23 seconds left.

“I just said look, we’re gonna be in a two-minute situation where you’re going to need to kick a field goal to win. So get ready,” Fedora said he told Weider.

Quarterback Mitch Trubisky completed his first pass for 23 yards and then had an incomplete pass left the clock at nine seconds. Trubisky then launched a pass in the direction of Mack Hollins, who appeared to be tripped by a Florida State defender and officials signaled for a penalty. The pass interference put the ball on the 37-yard line and after Florida State attempted to freeze Weiler, the senior nailed the biggest kick of his career.

The loss all but eliminates Florida State, which has losses against the Tar Heels and Louisville, from ACC Coastal contention. North Carolina remains at the top of the ACC Atlantic with conference wins against Florida State and Pittsburgh, two of the toughest opponents on the Tar Heels schedule.

When asked whether he thought Weider could make the kick, Fedora was blunt.

“He’s made them in practice and he was due today.”

TODAY IN HISTORY - OCTOBER 1ST

1808 – Mary Anna Custis Lee, American wife of Robert E. Lee (d. 1873) is born.

1832 – Caroline Harrison, American educator, 24th First Lady of the United States (d. 1892) is born.

1854 – The watch company founded in 1850 in Roxbury by Aaron Lufkin Dennison relocates to Waltham, Massachusetts, to become the Waltham Watch Company, a pioneer in the American system of watch manufacturing.

1880 – First electric lamp factory is opened by Thomas Edison.

1881 – William Boeing, American engineer and businessman, founded the Boeing Company (d. 1956) is born.

1891 – Stanford University opens its doors in California.

1903 – Baseball: The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.

1908 – Ford puts the Model T car on the market at a price of US$825.

1910 – Los Angeles Times bombing: A large bomb destroys the Los Angeles Times building in downtown Los Angeles, killing 21.

1924 – Jimmy Carter, American lieutenant and politician, 39th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate is borbn.

1931 – The George Washington Bridge linking New Jersey and New York opens.

1940 – The Pennsylvania Turnpike, often considered the first superhighway in the United States, opens to traffic.

1947 – Dave Arneson, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (d. 2009) is born.

1957 – First appearance of In God we trust on U.S. paper currency.

1958 – NASA is created to replace NACA.

1961 – The United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is formed, becoming the country's first centralized military espionage organization.

1962 – First broadcast of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

1966 – West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with eighteen fatalities and no survivors 5.5 miles south of Wemme, Oregon. This accident marks the first loss of a DC-9.

1971 – Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida, United States.

1975 – Thrilla in Manila: Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philippines.

1979 – The United States returns sovereignty of the Panama Canal to Panama.

1982 – Epcot opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.

1982 – Sony launches the first consumer compact disc player (model CDP-101).

2015 – Umpqua Community College shooting: a gunman killed nine people at a community college in Roseburg, Oregon.