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Red Sox invite MLB No. 2 prospect Anthony to ST
Outfielder Roman Anthony, baseball's No. 2 prospect according to Baseball America and the MLB Pipeline, was among nine non-roster invitees to spring training, the Boston Red Sox announced Tuesday.
Anthony, 20, is a left-handed hitter who was named Double-A Portland's team MVP in 2024 after hitting 15 home runs and 38 extra-base hits. He quickly moved on to Triple-A, where played in 35 games for Worcester, batting .344.
A second-round selection in 2022, this will be the Florida native's first spring training camp. At Fenway Fest in Boston earlier this month, in speaking during his media availability, Anthony said he grew up watching Christian Yelich, who started with the Miami Marlins before moving on to the Milwaukee Brewers.
"I think he's part of the reason why I love the game so much," Anthony said. "He's one guy I'm really excited to meet in my career. Just as a kid, trying to model my game after him being that tall, skinny, awkward kid. I just always saw similarities of myself and him."
Boston will open spring training in Fort Myers, Florida, on Feb. 12, when pitchers and catchers report.
Right-handed reliever Kirby Yates and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement on a one-year, $13 million contract, sources told ESPN, continuing the Dodgers' construction of a superteam that will enter the 2025 season as heavy World Series favorites.
Yates, 37, was one of the best relievers in baseball last year, posting a 1.17 ERA in 61 innings, striking out 85 and walking 27 while saving 33 games for Texas. He joins a Dodgers bullpen that already added closer Tanner Scott, re-signed fireman Blake Treinen and returns right-hander Michael Kopech and left-hander Alex Vesia.
Add that to their starting-pitching depth -- Shohei Ohtani, free agent signing Blake Snell, right-handers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Landon Knack, and the likely return of left-hander Clayton Kershaw -- and the Dodgers have the deepest pitching staff in baseball as they look to become the first repeat World Series champions in a quarter-century.
A late bloomer who didn't crack a big league roster until he was 27, Yates has nevertheless fashioned an impressive big league career, saving 95 games and making a pair of All-Star teams, including last year.
Yates, who can earn $500,000 bonuses if he reaches 50- and 55-appearance thresholds, puts up gaudy strikeout numbers despite lacking a high-octane fastball. His go-to pitch is a devastating split-fingered fastball and his 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings ranks sixth all-time among pitchers with at least 400 innings, behind only Aroldis Chapman, Josh Hader, Edwin Diaz, Craig Kimbrel and former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen.
The $13 million salary will push the Dodgers' offseason spending to more than $450 million guaranteed, with the free agent signings of Snell, Scott, Treinen, outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, outfielder Michael Conforto, infielder Hye-seong Kim and a contract extension for superutilityman Tommy Edman.
Los Angeles' luxury-tax payroll this year is around $390 million, and with the penalties for exceeding the $241 million threshold, their total payroll is likely to be in excess of $500 million. Owners of other teams have been outspoken about Los Angeles' spending, with the New York Yankees' Hal Steinbrenner on Tuesday telling YES Network that "it's difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kinds of things they're doing."
Race fan, stock car driver, track promoter, racing memorabilia expert and collector and speedway historian, Ted Knorr passed away on Jan. 24 at the age of 87.
Knorr was a graduate of Indianas Rensselear High School and was a member of the schools undefeated football team in 1954. Witnessing some of his earliest races in the Chicago area, Monticello, Ind., and Rensselaer, Ind., Knorr was on hand for some of the first races at the Jasper County Fairgrounds in Rensselaer in 1953.
In 1954, the half-mile dirt track was shortened up to an almost-circular third-mile track with Knorrs father, Ted Knorr II, a successful Rensselaer businessman, taking over the tracks promotional reins in 1957 in addition to heading up the racing at the old Monticello Speedway.
With the elder Knorr doing the promoting, young Ted became a race car driver, eventually scoring a feature win. Working at the local A&P grocery store after his high school graduation, Knorr, who also did some go-kart racing, joined the Indiana State Police force in 1964.
As the 1966 racing season approached, Knorr was all set to join the stock car ranks of the United States Auto Club, which was known for its championship races in the Midwest with many Indianapolis 500 winners and drivers among its stock car competitors.
A former-Charlie Glotzbach 1964 Chevrolet with a 400 horsepower big block Chevy engine was Knorrs ride with No. 36 on the sides as Knorr assumed a new racing name Ted Wilson. The new racing moniker was to be used to keep Knorrs racing under the radar from his full-time employer.
A bad crash at the Milwaukee Mile in August of 1966 ended Knorrs USAC racing career with the team rebuilding the car for a season of racing at Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville, Ind., close to Knorrs home in Lowell, Ind. Knorr finished seventh in the Illiana standings in 1967.
With the old coupes giving way to late model stocks at Rensselaer, Henrys Speedway near Boswell, Ind., and the Broadway Speedway in Crown Point, Knorr hooked up with car owner J.C. Foreman, from the Black Oak area of Gary, and began racing Foremans 57 Chevy in late 1968. Wheeling the Foreman-owned Chevy No. 3, Knorr (Ted Wilson) won the first late model stock car race at Rensselear in 1969 in addition to winning some features at the Broadway dirt oval.
Henrys was again running on Saturday nights but was a long haul from Black Oak so we ran some at Broadway and won two or three features that summer and continued doing well at Rensselaer, reminisced Knorr many years later. (I) lost the title on the final nightss 50 lapper (at Rensselaer) because the idiot driver forgot how to point race and blew the right rear (tire) while leading with ten laps to goand lost the title by two points.
He captured the late model track championship at Henrys Speedway in 1970, wheeling a Chevy with a Ron Dunmore (Win More with Dunmore) engine.
(In) 1970, I won the championship at Henrys running Ralph Wheelans 69 Chevy convertible with a Ronnie Dunmore motor, recalled Knorr more than 40 years later. It (the car) needed a real race motor because I think it was a former Raceway Park chassis and it weighed a ton. (I) couldnt keep it on the bottom but could ride wide open into the high banked corners and sent sparks flying off the concrete (walls) many times during the races.
In 1971, Knorrs driving days were over as he was forced to quit by the Indiana State Police. Knorrs dad had given up race promoting after 1965 but came back to Indiana in 1971 to promote the Rensselear oval, now known as Rensselear Raceway. Sadly, Knorr Senior passed away in October of 1971, leaving the management of the track up to Ted and his brother, Gerry.
Knorr promoted the Rensselaer dirt track through the 1985 season, hosting weekly racing on Sunday nights. The tracks annual season-ending Brooks Ford 100/Northern Indiana Dirt Track Championship race became one of the Midwests premiere dirt track events with the likes of Earl J. Hubert, Dave Whitcomb, Bob Pierce, Roger Long, Paul Shafer and Dick Potts among those claiming victories. Potts was a nine-time Rensselaer late model champion.
For several years, Knorr also promoted Henrys Speedway, or Chase Raceway as it was known then, and formed the Illiana Clay Racing Club, which operated from 1975 until the early 1980s, naming an overall champion between the two tracks and later the Broadway and Kankakee, Ill., dirt ovals. Knorr was an original member of Bob Memmers United Midwest Promoters sanctioning body.
After his promoting days were over, Ted Knorr became interested in the history of the sport and an expert regarding racing memorabilia. Retiring from the Indiana police force in 1992, he and his wife Cathy could be seen at numerous swap meets and memorabilia shows throughout the area.
For many years, Knorr was involved with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in several capacities. He loaned numerous pieces from his 500 collection to the speedways museum for display. He also originated the largest-ever auto racing memorabilia show at speedway, the day before the 500. Knorr even took a vintage ride or two at the famed speedway, including in 2012.
Ted Knorr was a true racer.
MSRs Return Successful with Runner-Up Rolex 24 Result
In Acura Meyer Shank Racings return to IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition, the team literally almost picked up where it left off.
Following the teams win in the 2023 Petit Le Mans capped off the season at Road Atlanta, MSRs sports car operation went dormant as focus shifted to its NTT IndyCar Series program.
Now back to full-time competition, the 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona saw the team nearly duplicate its performance at Petit Le Mans two years ago.
However, a valiant effort by anchor driver Tom Blomqvist aboard the No. 60 Acura ARX 06 came up short in the waning stages of the twice-around-the-clock race at Daytona (Fla.) Intl Speedway as as Porsche Penske Motorsports Felipe Nasr polished off a second consecutive Daytona victory for the team
MSRs second entry, piloted by Renger van der Zande, Nick Yelloly, Alex Palou and Kakunoshin Ohta, endured issues during the endurance race after a left-rear suspension failure forced the team to make repairs. The No. 93 finished eighth in GTP.
Blomqvist, who co-drove the No. 60 with Scott Dixon, Felix Rosenqvist and Colin Braun, felt the car lacked pace throughout the 24-hour event.
I mean, somehow in the race we actually struggled a lot more pace, Blomqvist said. We came into the race relatively confident, but for whatever reason we just struggled a lot to keep our rear tires under us.
Even from lap one you already knew it was going to be a tough stint. We kind of struggled to be honest the whole race. The Porsches were extremely strong. We were good maybe the first few and then they would just pull away especially on the double stints they had a lot more pace than us, and when the traffic came they had such an advantage.
We struggled so much for traction that they would just carve through traffic so much better than us.
The No. 60 came to life unexpectedly during the final laps according to Blomqvist.
Last stint, the car was just better, Blomqvist said. Not much to say, really. I didnt think I was going to have anything for them, but you never give up, and I think I gave it all I had, and I think to be honest that was the best we probably could have done today.
The guys did a fantastic job to get us in that position strategy-wise. We were always making the right calls generally at the right time, so that was good.
But definitely some work to do, Blomqvist continued. A lot of lessons learnt, lets say, from this race, and I think to be honest, if you asked all of us, were super happy with second because at one point we thought it was going to be a real long day.
As Dixon and Rosenqvist shift back to full-time NTT IndyCar Series action, MSRs full-time sports car drivers aboard the No. 60, Blomqvist and Braun, felt the teams reemergence in the sport was as successful as it could be.
I think considering all the other GTP teams have been together for a few years here and were kind much reassembled and adding people, I think we have a lot of blue sky, a lot of potential to tidy up a few things here and there and continue to be stronger and stronger, Braun said. A heck of a first race.
I think when we all went to the first test in November when we got the cars, I think if you would have said wed come here and finish second, wed all have been signing up for that. So great job for sure.
A1R Announces Two-Rider Effort For AFT Singles Season
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. A1R Racing has expanded to a two-rider squad for the upcoming Progressive American Flat Track season, featuring veteran Aidan RoosEvans and the talented Bronson Pearce.
Last season, the team significantly increased its effort while making the switch to Yamaha equipment. Those moves paid off, most notably via a career-best AFT Singles presented by KICKER Main Event finish of fourth for RoosEvans at the Senoia Short Track.
A 14-time motorcycle dirt track amateur national champion, RoosEvans has made his presence felt near the front of the pack on multiple occasions since returning his focus to two-wheeled racing following a decorated auto racing career, which included taking Warrior Region ASCR Rookie of the Year honors in 2018. The versatile OFallon, Ill., native will pull double duty this year, adding a limited four-wheeled schedule alongside his preexisting motorcycle racing slate.
Meanwhile, Pearce joins the Progressive AFT tour full time after previously establishing himself as one of the nations elite Supermoto pilots, racking up numerous victories and accolades in national and international competition. The Bakersfield, California, native has already proven those skills translate neatly to dirt track racing, a fact that was made most evident with his fifth-place finish at last years Sturgis TT.
Backed by Yamaha again this year, A1R will support RoosEvans and Pearce with a full complement of crew and employees, including multiple mechanics, coaches and more.
We come into the 2025 season hungry, armed with a ton of talent and motivation and eager to reach new heights, A1R Team Manager Derek Arnett said. Aiden and Bronson have both proven they can race inside the top five.
Now its our aim to do that with regularity. Were putting in a huge effort this offseason to make that goal a reality.
When I hopped back on a Yamaha last year, I felt right back at home, RoosEvans said. With their backing and that of our other great partners, I feel like we have what it takes to battle for podiums.
Im also excited to step back into the car racing world a little bit. Progressive AFT will remain our priority, but well also work in some four-wheeled action. Stay tuned for more announcements on that front.
ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues placed veteran forward Brandon Saad on waivers Tuesday with the intent of sending him to the minors.
General manager Doug Armstrong said Saad would be assigned to Springfield of the American Hockey League if he clears or be playing for a different NHL team if he is claimed. Saad has another year left on his contract at a salary cap hit of $4.5 million, which makes it unlikely he's going anywhere but the AHL.
"That will open up some space for different players that I'd like to see get in the lineup and see where it goes," Armstrong said, referring specifically to younger Alexandre Texier.
The 32-year-old Saad has been held without a goal in 40 of his 43 games this season. He has a total of 16 points on seven goals and nine assists and was not garnering much, if any, trade interest around the league.
"Obviously, the production's not there," Armstrong said. "Right now the cap is tight, and obviously statistically he's not having a great year and he's got another year left. If we could find a match, we would try."
The Blues are languishing on the edge of the Western Conference playoff race past the midway point of the season, five points back of the second and final wild-card spot. Armstrong made his first big move in November by firing Drew Bannister 22 games into being the full-time coach and hiring Jim Montgomery as his replacement.
St. Louis has gone 14-12-3 with Montgomery behind the bench. The organization is trying to build for the future but also attempt to win now, and there are plenty of questions about why that is not happening.
"I don't know why our home record is under .500," Armstrong said. "I don't know whey we didn't embrace the opportunity of a three-game homestand to make hay. But my job is to not react to it but to observe it and then say, 'OK, well what do we need to do moving forward?' Part of the retool is we're finding out positives and negatives about a lot of different situations in our group."
Saad is in his fourth season with the Blues. During the prime of his career, he helped Chicago win the Stanley Cup twice: in 2013 and then in 2015.
Putting him on waivers comes a day after trading defenseman Scott Perunovich to the New York Islanders for a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick.
"I talked to the coach over the last little while and he didn't see a future to get him in the lineup here," Armstrong said. "So, when an opportunity came to give him a chance to play and the Islanders were interested, it seemed like something that made sense for us to help him along and wish him nothing but the best."
Texier, 25, has three goals and eight points this season across just 24 games. Last season, appearing in 78 contests for the Columbus Blue Jackets, he had a career-high 12 goals and 30 points.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Wrexham drop first home game as rally falls short
Wrexham lost ground in the League One promotion race after a 3-2 home defeat to Stevenage in England's third division on Tuesday.
The Welsh side is attempting to earn a third straight promotion under the ownership of actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
The visitors grabbed an early 2-0 lead at the Racecourse Ground on goals by Dan Kemp and Jamie Reid. Wrexham's Oliver Rathbone cut the deficit in half before Jake Young restored Stevenage's two-goal advantage.
Max Cleworth's header in the 90th minute gave Wrexham hope, but Paul Mullin's shot went over the bar deep into stoppage time.
Wrexham haven't lost a League One home game all season. They remain in third place, six points behind second-place Wycombe, who won Tuesday. Both teams have 18 games remaining.
Birmingham retained their league lead at the top after a 1-0 victory over fourth-place Huddersfield. NFL great Tom Brady is a minority shareholder of Birmingham, who lead Wycombe by two points with two games in hand.
"HUGE win today boys," Brady said in a social media post.
The top two teams earn automatic promotion to the Championship, and the next four enter a playoff for one other promotion spot.
Source: Kingsbury opts not to pursue Saints job
Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has elected not to pursue a head coaching job in 2024, a team source confirmed to ESPN.
Kingsbury's decision takes him out of the running for the open position with the New Orleans Saints, who are the only team left with a head coaching vacancy.
Kingsbury had previously declined all potential coaching interviews while the Commanders were still in the playoffs, making him a long shot to take a job this year.
Because Kingsbury did not take any initial interviews, league rules would have prevented him from interviewing until after the Super Bowl was over if they had made it to that game. Kingsbury was available to do interviews after the Commanders were eliminated Sunday but opted against doing any this year.
Kingsbury is one of three coaches officially requested by the Saints that has later withdrawn from their interview process. Aaron Glenn, who played for the Saints in 2008 and coached there from 2016 to 2020, never made it to a second interview. Glenn interviewed virtually with the Saints but was hired by the New York Jets after interviewing with them in person.
Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, whose team was eliminated in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, opted to stay in Buffalo instead of pursuing a second interview in New Orleans. Brady was an assistant coach in New Orleans during the 2018-2019 seasons.
The remaining Saints candidates are believed to be New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who all did second, in-person interviews with the team. Former Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is also a potential candidate but has not yet interviewed.
Kingsbury, the Arizona Cardinals' head coach from 2019 to 2022, said in December that he'd like to be a head coach again "at some point." Kingsbury is still being paid by Arizona after the team signed him to a five-year extension in 2022 but fired him less than a year later.
Kingsbury made it clear to people that he has been happy with his situation in Washington because he could just focus on running the offense and not the other responsibilities that come with being a head coach. He has also enjoyed working with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is considered the favorite to earn Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, and told ESPN last month "it would take a lot to leave this kid."
"I didn't get into this to be a head coach again," Kingsbury told ESPN last month. "It's not about money. It never has been about money. So, that won't move me at all. It's just I want to do the best job we can here for those guys and then kind of go from there."
The news that Kingsbury has decided to remain with the Commanders was first reported by Fox Sports.
Wembanyama headlines 2025 Rising Stars rosters
The NBA announced the player pool Tuesday for the 2025 Rising Stars at NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco, and the group features four Frenchmen, including the top picks of the past two drafts in Victor Wembanyama (2023) and Zaccharie Risacher (2024) along with Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly.
The league's annual showcase features the top first- and second-year NBA players as well as NBA G League standouts broken into four teams for a Feb. 14 tournament that consists of three games total.
The player pool is made up of 10 NBA rookies, 11 NBA sophomores and seven G League players. Submitting one ballot per coaching staff that consisted of four frontcourt players, four guards and two additional players at either spot, NBA assistants selected the 21 NBA players in the pool who will be drafted onto three seven-player teams, while the league office picked the seven NBA G-League players that will make up the fourth squad.
2025 NBA Rising Stars rosters released: pic.twitter.com/0e7Bb7CbW4
Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 28, 2025
One of the new wrinkles for Rising Stars in 2025 involves the winning Rising Stars team playing in the All-Star Game mini-tournament on Feb. 16 against the NBA All-Stars. TNT analyst and three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker will serve as honorary GM of the Rising Stars champion, which will be called Team Candace.
The league will conduct the Rising Stars draft on Feb. 4 ahead of the game while the three teams of NBA All-Stars will be drafted by honorary head coaches, who will be announced later.
Once the tournament commences, Team A takes on Team B in the first semifinal matchup, while Team C and Team D meet in the second semifinal contest. The semifinal winners would then face off in a championship game. In the semifinal clashes, the winner will be the first team to reach or surpass 40 points. In the championship, the winner will be the first team to reach or surpass 25 points.
If a player is selected to play in both the NBA All-Star Game and Rising Stars, he will only compete on Feb. 16 for one of the three teams of NBA All-Stars.
The Sacramento Kings are expected to open up talks for a potential De'Aaron Fox trade ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
Fox, 27, has one year left on his contract before he hits free agency in summer 2026.
There will be plenty of suitors for Fox, who made an All-NBA team in 2022-23, but it's believed that the San Antonio Spurs are atop his list of preferred landing spots, league sources told ESPN. Fox and his representation, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, have a target destination in mind ahead of his free agency, those sources said.
The Kings fired head coach Mike Brown last month after the team appeared to be falling short of expectations. Since then, the Kings have won 11 of their past 15 games under interim coach Doug Christie.
Sacramento enters Tuesday night 1 games up on the Golden State Warriors for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Fox has played his entire career in Sacramento and ranks fourth in career points in Kings history -- trailing only Oscar Robertson, Jack Twyman and Mitch Richmond.
In his eighth season in the league, Fox is averaging 25.2 points and 6.2 assists while shooting 46.8% from the field.
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