"Dave," they called him. Just Dave. Just ... there. Dependable, reliable, unremarkable Dave. It started as a joke, old now and not that funny then, but maybe there's something in it.

The story is well known, and it's probably handy to remember in a London accent: when Cesar Azpilicueta joined Chelsea in 2012, then-captain John Terry decided his name was a bit difficult to say, so he called him Dave instead. (For the uninitiated, the reference comes from an old British comedy series "Only Fools and Horses" -- and yes, Azpilicueta has seen it since -- in which Trigger, named so because he's not the fastest, calls just about everyone Dave for one simple reason: he doesn't know or can't remember what they're actually called.

Dave, then. That'll do. A kind of everyman: blunt, basic, normal. Dave is anyone, a what's-his-face. There, but not there. Easily overlooked. Dave, driving a van. Laying bricks. Down the pub. He might as well have called him "Bloke." Azpilicueta has probably grown tired of it -- yeah, sorry about that -- and it is eight long years now since he did a neat video explaining how to say Azpilicueta. And what's so hard about Cesar, anyway? But again, maybe there's something in it.

This week, it kind of felt that way. It's not really that Dave wasn't in Luis Enrique's Spain squad when it was announced on Wednesday, just as he hadn't been in the one before, the one before that or the one before that; it was that no one asked him to be, no one even noticed. His wasn't a name they missed, an absence they felt. On Friday, two teams with Spanish captains were in the draw for the quarterfinals of the Champions League. On Monday, only one of them will report for duty at Las Rozas.

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Sometimes it can seem like Luis Enrique has called up every Spanish centre-back there is -- Pedro Porro was the latest unexpected name -- but not Azpilicueta.

This is no rant, it's not even an appeal for inclusion nor a call for "justice." It's not the most burning issue ever. Luis Enrique knows what he's doing, and he's not the only Spain manager to overlook Azpilicueta. There was a time as the World Cup-winning generation slipped by, when he could feel irritated by it, annoyed by the fact that he wasn't given greater opportunities, nor promoted from squad member to starter -- and he has played for Spain 25 times -- but now there is acceptance from everyone, like it's long gone. It's just not an issue. And that's pretty much the question, more pertinent this week: should it be?

Azpilicueta doesn't have a lobby and isn't in Spain -- although Luis Enrique has shown that he is not easily swayed by factors like those anyway -- but on Wednesday night his team knocked out the La Liga leaders. Over two legs, they didn't concede a goal (that said, maybe he should have conceded a penalty). They barely conceded a chance. And ... nothing. Strip it down to basics and it's this: Azpilicueta is the captain of Chelsea. He has started 26 games this season, in which they have kept 20 clean sheets, and he's not even a candidate. Like, really?

This isn't even really about the seleccion, that's just the symbol. Like everyone has turned a bit Trigger. Asked if Azpilicueta has been overlooked, Nacho Monreal replied: "Yes, totally. You only have to look at his career to realise what a player he is. He is one of those footballers who don't get talked about so much, who doesn't get the glory, but on the basis of their work they are there: captain of Chelsea, 10 years at the club, one of Chelsea's best defenders in recent times, in the perfect XIs, playing an incredible level. Everything he has achieved... you have to take your hat off to him."

Now Monreal would say that, perhaps. He and Azpilicueta are friends who came through the Osasuna youth system together, after all. And the moment you start talking about players being underrated, they no longer are. Sometimes it can tilt the other way. Underrated is the new overrated, a hill to shout from. Often the idea that no one is talking about a player, no one recognises him, is just not true; it can be a demand for a noise that's unnecessary. And Azpilicueta is recognised.

Try these:

• "A team of Azpilicuetas would win the Champions League."

• "He is one of the best in the world. He is a fantastic guy, always positive. For a coach to have him is a dream."

• "His attitude, his application every single day is the absolute standard for any young player. He is the epitome of the club. He is the one the fans look at and say: 'That's how we feel about Chelsea.' He's captain for that reason."

• "He's unbelievable. What a pleasure, what a gift to have a captain like this. He is key."

That's Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel -- just his Chelsea managers, the men who know him best, those who most relied on him. Then there was Barcelona trying to sign him when Robert Fernandez was the sporting director and Ernesto Valverde was coach, men who saw in him a Carles Puyol. He would have been talked about then.

As for the first of those comments, by the way, Azpilicueta's response was nice: "Maybe on penalties ... it wouldn't score many goals." Maybe not, but boy would it defend well. And while everyone knows all that, it often feels like they don't. That what Azpilicueta has achieved gets overlooked, certainly in Spain. Nine years at Chelsea, remember. Nine years. At Chelsea. Where he is captain. When he does get praised, it's for reliability -- a virtue that is sometimes an oddly backhanded compliment when it shouldn't be. As if that relentlessness, that consistency, came as standard in every player. As if being indestructible was easy.

These are facts. Only nine men have ever played more games for the club, and by the end of the season, it may well be only seven. He is one of only four players to have played every minute for a league title-winning team (Gary Pallister, Wes Brown and John Terry, in case you're wondering). Between the start of the 2015-16 season and the end of the 2018-2019 season, he missed just two of 152 games. In 2019, no outfield player in any of Europe's five major leagues played more minutes. Of 38 league games, in the past five season he played: 37, 38, 37, 38, 36.

This year, aged 31 now, it was a little different, it seemed. And then it wasn't. Tuchel turned to him. His ankle isn't in great shape but Azpilicueta has been there every minute. "If you have a guy so humble, so full of quality, so ready to give everything for the team, to have the mentality of a water carrier, to help everyone on and off the pitch, a smile every day in training, every time ready -- it's a gift for every manager and in my belief for every team," Tuchel said.

There is just one problem with those kinds of lines: the fondness can end up seeming grater than the football. Chelsea have kept 11 clean sheets in 13 games. It's not chance.

Watching a Chelsea side captained by Azpilicueta control Aletico on Wednesday, the mind was taken back to the last time they met in the knockout round, in 2014, when things ended very differently. Azpilicueta played that night and was beaten. So did Filipe Luis, who produced what he considered his best-ever game. Arguably the best left-back in Europe, Chelsea signed him that summer but it didn't work, largely because by his own admission, the competition was just too strong. And if Monreal would say what he said about Azpilicueta, Filipe Luis, beaten and with reasons to be bitter, wouldn't say this:

"The truth, the truth, is that he never gave me a chance to win my place, to take his place off him,' Filipe Luis said. "He never gave any reason for me to be first choice." And that may just be the biggest compliment there is.

Within a year, Filipe Luis had gone. His competition is still there nearly a decade on from the day he arrived, standing in front of his teammates and singing a song by the appropriately named Estopa. When he arrived at Stamford Bridge, Filipe Luis had a problem so many players have had over 413 games: his name is Cesar Azpilicueta Tanco, but they called him Dave.

Bangladesh 131 (Boult 4-27) v New Zealand

Bangladesh produced a limp batting display in the opening ODI as New Zealand's attack exploited the conditions superbly. Trent Boult set the tone and finished with a four-wicket haul as all the bowlers played their part, Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell Santner claiming a tidy brace apiece.

Only Madmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim passed 20 for Bangladesh as the line-up was challenged by the extra bounce on offer from the University Oval surface. In a sign of the hold New Zealand had with the ball, there were only eight boundaries (along with three sixes) as they were bundled out with eight overs remaining when Boult claimed the last two wickets in three balls.

This was New Zealand's first ODI in a year and just their fourth since the 2019 World Cup final. They named three debutants - the first time they had included that many since 2012 - with Devon Conway, Will Young and Daryl Mitchell coming into the side. Bangladesh gave a first ODI cap to allrounder Mahedi Hasan who would have the honour of scoring his first runs with a six.

The opening scoring shot of the game had also been a six as Tamim Iqbal upper cut Boult over backward point, but the contest was soon won by the left-armer with a classic set-up: after twice beating Iqbal with late away swing he made one hold its line which thundered into Iqbal's pads to earn the lbw.

Three balls later and Boult had his second when Soumya Sarker played a poor stroke against a shorter delivery, popping a catch into the off side.

Liton Das shaped up well in challenging conditions as he tried to commit either fully forward or fully back, but his hard work was undone when he got a leading edge to mid-on in Neesham's opening over.

The scoring rate rarely got above three an over against a relentless New Zealand attack. Kyle Jamieson, who struggled in the T20I series against Australia, went wicketless but at times Bangladesh could barely lay a bat on him as he gained troublesome bounce from a reasonably full length.

Rahim had played solidly to try and give his team some chance of building a foundation but became Neesham's second wicket when he was cramped for room playing a cut and found gully. That was the first of three wickets to fall for nine runs in six overs.

Bangladesh's woes were compounded when Mohammad Mithun was run out backing up after a firm straight drive from Mahmudullah flicked the finger of Neesham into the non-striker's stumps. Mehidy Hasan then moved too far across his crease against Santner and had his leg stump tickled.

Mahedi's first scoring stroke in ODIs was a huge 94-metre six over long-off but an attempt to repeat it four overs later offered a catch to mid-on leaving Bangladesh seven down with 18 overs remaining.

Madmudullah and Taskin Ahmed formed a 10-over stand although large parts of it was purely survival before Madmudullah, attempting to inject some impetus, picked out midwicket where Santner timed his leap perfectly. Boult did the rest.

As Oral Roberts coach Paul Mills prepared his players for overtime Friday against Ohio State, a 2-seed in the NCAA tournament and the Big Ten tournament runner-up, he had one message for them.

"We're winning this," he said.

Mills said he preached confidence to the 15-seed Golden Eagles, who beat the Buckeyes 75-72 for their first NCAA tournament win since 1974, when they were known as the Titans.

Few expected an Oral Roberts victory.

In ESPN's Men's Tournament Challenge, more than 95% of the brackets (nearly 14 million) picked the Buckeyes, who were 16-point favorites. It was the biggest upset since UMBC's first-round victory over top-seeded Virginia in 2018 as a plus-20.5 underdog and the eighth biggest since 1985.

The loss punctuated a season of turbulence for an Ohio State team that had positioned itself to compete for a No. 1 seed at one point in the season. The Buckeyes entered the month of February with four top-25 road wins. By Feb. 18, Chris Holtmann's squad had amassed an 18-4 record, but the Buckeyes lost the next four games before making a run to the Big Ten tournament title game, where they lost an overtime thriller to Illinois.

"I want to first begin by giving Oral Roberts credit," Holtmann said after the game. "I thought they really played well, as we expected they would. I thought their two players that obviously concerned us were terrific. So give them, their coaches, their players, their program, the university a lot of credit for this win."

Max Abmas, the nation's leading scorer, finished with 29 points (10-for-24, 5-for-10 from the 3-point line) and Kevin Obanor had 30 points and 11 rebounds in the biggest upset of the NCAA tournament thus far.

"We're very confident," Obanor said after the game. "When they rank us, it's only just a number at the end of the day. We put our shoes on just like they put their shoes on. ... We just knew that we were the underdogs and we wanted to win for our brothers."

Overall, the Buckeyes finished 3-6 in their last nine games of the season. Both Justin Ahrens and Duane Washington Jr. missed potential game-tying 3-pointers in the final seconds of overtime. Ohio State committed 16 turnovers. Oral Roberts had six.

The Buckeyes could not handle Abmas and Obanor, who combined to shoot 7-for-16 on contested 3-pointers, compared to Ohio State, which finished 1-for-10 on the same shots, per ESPN Stats & Information research.

But Mills did not want to dwell on the victory. He said he appreciated the historic nature of the game but also wanted his team to prepare for Sunday's game against Florida, which advanced to the second round after beating Virginia Tech on Friday.

He said he would advise his team to avoid returning any nonessential text messages until Monday.

"I thought we would win," Mills said. "Our guys thought we would win. The reality is you're about to turn around and play another one. So your celebration had better be pretty quick."

NCAA vice president for basketball Dan Gavitt apologized Friday in a video conference with media, acknowledging the NCAA fell short in regard to the large disparity in weight-training facilities in particular at the men's and women's tournaments in Indianapolis and San Antonio, respectively. He also said he hopes the ensuing furor, which was publicized on social media, helps the NCAA do a better job with internal communication.

However, coaches such as South Carolina's Dawn Staley and UConn's Geno Auriemma, whose teams are both No. 1 seeds, said the situation is reflective of general inequality women's programs are accustomed to dealing with.

The NCAA also has faced questions about differences in the so-called "swag bags" given to the men's and women's players, the food options available and the type of COVID-19 testing being done for both.

Speaking to the latter issue, Auriemma told reporters this week that his players are being given daily so-called rapid antigen tests while the men's team receives the standard PCR coronavirus tests, raising some questions as to why men's and women's basketball players would be administered different tests. Antigen tests, which look for a specific protein on the virus, are cheap and fast, but medical experts generally agree that they are less accurate than the standard PCR test.

NCAA president Mark Emmert told The Athletic, USA Today and The New York Times in an interview on Friday that the difference in weight-training facilities shouldn't have happened. He said due to COVID-19 challenges, there was less communication and collaboration between the men's and women's committees, but added that was no excuse. He said that issues with food deliveries to women's teams were being remedied, and that the differences in testing were linked to the specific testing providers in Indianapolis and Texas, but that the NCAA had confidence in both. As for the swag bags, Emmert said he thought they were of similar value, although social media photos suggest they weren't.

Gavitt said it was his role to oversee and coordinate all aspects of the championships.

"We have intentionally organized basketball under one umbrella, with the goal of consistency and collaboration. When we fall short of these expectations, that's on me," he said.

"I apologize to women's basketball student-athletes, to the coaches, to the women's basketball committee for dropping the ball, frankly, on the weight-room issue in San Antonio. We'll get it fixed as soon as possible."

NCAA vice president for women's basketball Lynn Holzman was also on the video call with Gavitt and said she and her staff had a call Thursday night with coaches and administrators for all 64 teams to get feedback on facilities and potential issues for the women's tournament, which will have first-round games in San Antonio, Austin and San Marcos before going entirely to San Antonio venues for the rest of the event. She said improvements with the weight training equipment would be in place as early as Friday.

Holzman said her background as a women's basketball player in the 1990s has made her especially committed to try to avoid the kinds of inequities that were just displayed.

"I think there are inherently questions and appropriate challenges relative to equality," Holzman said. "I have lived in this world. I've experienced when you don't have something that's the same. This is also why it hits such a nerve with me. It's our responsibility to give them a great championship experience, and one they can be proud of. It's disappointing. I don't even have the words to describe how painful it is personally."

Staley, speaking on a video call from San Antonio, said she felt Holzman was put in a difficult situation.

"It makes you go back to the very beginning, when the NCAA rolled out that the men were having their tournament in Indianapolis," Staley said. "And then [the women's tournament] rolls out a month later. There is a disconnect with that. If you're going to have a championship for both men's and women's, wouldn't it be best to roll it out at the same time? I don't know why they didn't work in concert. You've got to ask the powers that be that made the decision to do that. Because it makes you think about every single thing now."

Later on Twitter, Staley stressed that it is unacceptable that there be any disparity in available weight-room facilities and amenities for the women's basketball teams, urging "Mark Emmert and his team to own this mistake and address these issues and the overarching issues that exist in our sport."

"It is sad that the NCAA is not willing to recognize and invest in our growth despite its claims of togetherness and equality," Staley wrote in her post. "We all came to San Antonio with one goal: it's time for us to turn our attention to preparing our teams for that. But it is also time for the NCAA leadership to reevaluate the value they place on women."

Staley also posted a photo to Instagram on Friday evening of a prepackaged meal in a takeout container given to her team at the women's NCAA tournament bubble, as a way to highlight the disparity in the dining experience between the women's and men's tournaments.

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A post shared by Dawn Staley (@staley05)

Auriemma is not in San Antonio, as he is isolating at home in Connecticut after a positive COVID-19 test Sunday. But he spoke via video call about the big-picture aspects of the difference in treatment, including the fact that the NCAA also runs the men's NIT tournament but not the WNIT.

"This has been a lifelong issue. This isn't something new," Auriemma said. "What's happening at the NCAA level is a small sample of what occurs every single day on every college campus, pretty much, throughout this country.

"We're very fortunate at UConn, but it didn't used to be that way. I spent 20-some years here battling the same things."

Auriemma said he's very pleased with how things are at UConn -- but he also has won 11 national championships. He said it's up to school presidents and athletic directors to make real commitments to more equitable treatment.

"Not just, 'Let's give them enough so they stay out of my office and stop complaining,'" Auriemma said. "There are a few other coaches in America who are just like me: fortunate. Some other places they work just as hard, and they probably aren't [fortunate]."

UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey, who will fill in as head coach for the Huskies in Auriemma's absence, was a player in the early 1980s at Rutgers, where she won the last AIAW championship in 1982. The AIAW and NCAA both had national women's basketball tournaments that year before the NCAA took over for good in 1983. Dailey said she thinks the NCAA organizers this year never intended to have inequities, but important things were overlooked.

"We've come a long way, but we're still not close to where we need to be," Dailey said via video call from San Antonio. "One positive thing I would say -- Lynn did this last night -- they listened to the coaches. And hopefully they'll make bigger changes before we have to have a social media blast to have everyone be embarrassed and see the difference.

"On the one hand, it's unfortunate that it happened, but on the other hand, there's been a response to it. Hopefully it will improve not only for the rest of this tournament, but for the future. It will be looked at differently. There will be more eyes on it."

Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Friday he's not considering the head-coaching vacancy at Indiana University, issuing his strongest denial yet.

"I said it the other day: I'm not (considering it)," Stevens said. "And I tried to say it as clearly as I could and also make sure that people understand that that place to me is special. Because I don't want to make it sound like it's not. But, like I said the other day, I'm so grateful to this organization, and to the people here, and for all that they've done for us. I've got unbelievable leadership in Danny (Ainge) and Wyc (Grousbeck) and Pags (Steve Pagliuca), and what they've done for us, the way we've been supported ... we're going through a tough season, and I think that it's not my job to not go through it. It's not my job to not make sure I'm doing everything I can to help find a better version of ourselves this year. "

The Celtics are 20-21 on the season, currently sitting with the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. Stevens, an Indiana native who grew up an hour from Bloomington and spent 12 seasons as an assistant and head coach at Butler, moved to Boston in 2013, when the Celtics needed a replacement for Doc Rivers.

"I love coming to work every day. I love this area," Stevens continued. "People have been great to us. My family is so happy. And, at the same time, home is home. And that's why I wanted to make sure everybody understood that means a lot. But no. Just like I said on Tuesday, I'm not. So, I don't know if I will have to answer that again on Monday, but I hope that people understand that. And people can hopefully appreciate that it still means a lot to me and I hope they hire whoever they hire and they are there for 20 years and kids feel like I did. But I'm not a kid anymore. I'm a 44-year-old Ma--hole. I swerve around others when I'm driving, I eat Dunkin Donuts and I root for the Patriots. I'm, unfortunately, skewed in a lot of ways, I guess."

Indiana fired Archie Miller on Monday after four seasons in Bloomington. The Hoosiers failed to reach the NCAA tournament during his time at the helm and lost six straight games to end this season, finishing 12-15 overall and 7-12 in Big Ten play.

Due to his ties to the state, Stevens immediately emerged as the dream candidate for the Indiana fanbase. When asked earlier this week about it, he said that he was "extremely grateful" to be the coach of the Celtics, but also that "it means a lot" to see the support for him to return to his home state and take over the Hoosiers' program.

That did nothing to quell the rumors the last few days, with buzz growing about him weighing the option to leave the NBA and return to college. Friday's statements should finally put an end to the speculation.

Other names linked in recent days to the Indiana vacancy include former Michigan coach John Beilein, Texas Tech's Chris Beard, Baylor's Scott Drew and Arkansas' Eric Musselman. Nevada coach and Indiana legend Steve Alford is not under consideration, sources told ESPN, while Alabama's Nate Oats has a buyout north of $12 million, taking him off the list.

Beard, Drew and Musselman are all coaching in the NCAA tournament this weekend, and sources have told ESPN there has been limited contact, at most, with any of the three thus far.

Stevens quietly signed a contract extension -- his second since joining the Celtics after his stellar run at Butler in 2013 -- on an off-day in mid-August during the NBA's bubble in Orlando, Florida, just before the start of the playoffs. The next day, Stevens talked about how important it was for he and his wife, Tracy, to have stability for their family in a profession -- coaching -- that typically is anything but stable.

"I'd say it's obviously an honor and a privilege to coach the Celtics, and we recognize that," Stevens said. "We've had a really enjoyable experience and there have been so many good days. I felt like we've gotten better, I felt like we've put ourselves in position to compete and hopefully we'll continue to do so.

"One of the things that was really important to Tracy and I all the way through was that we were gonna do this coaching thing, try our best to be as stable as possible without moving too much. And we've been, like, incredibly blessed when you consider 13 years at Butler and now finishing the seventh year with the Celtics and moving on. I think in coaching, you just expect it to end at some point by being let go or by being fired. It's just kind of the nature of the business, so I've never really focused on that. I'm just trying to focus on doing the job as well as I can."

Since arriving in Boston, Stevens has established himself as one of the league's elite coaches, going 338-267 in his seven-plus seasons on the sideline for the Celtics, including reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the last four seasons.

Over that span, only the Golden State Warriors have won more playoff games than the Celtics have. Stevens is the fifth-longest tenured NBA coach with their current team, behind Gregg Popovich, Erik Spoelstra, Rick Carlisle and Terry Stotts.

Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry did not play in Friday's 116-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies and is doubtful for Saturday's game as he continues to recover from a tailbone contusion.

"Steph is still pretty sore," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said before Friday's game. "Frustrated he wants to be going tonight, but will not play. We'll just continue to call him day-to-day ... it's up to Steph and the training staff to determine what is the smart thing to do [regarding a return]. And so I would still call him doubtful for [Saturday]. He's still very sore. We'll just keep going day to day, see how it unfolds."

Curry injured his tailbone during Wednesday's 108-94 win over the Houston Rockets after he tripped over a riser near the floor and was unable to break his fall. Second-year guard Jordan Poole will start in Curry's place.

Kelly Oubre Jr. did play against the Grizzlies after missing Thursday's practice because of a foot injury. He had 4 points in 29 minutes.

"Kelly is going to give it a go," Kerr said before the game. "He's feeling a lot better this morning and went through shootaround so he'll start."

Kerr also noted that James Wiseman and Eric Paschall are back in the Bay Area after it was announced by the Warriors that both players would be out a week because of COVID-19 protocols. Both Wiseman and Paschall, who had been staying at the team hotel in Houston, missed Wednesday's win in Houston and will be out at least the next three games.

"They flew back this morning," Kerr said. "With most of our staff members who were also on that [protocol] list."

Brendan Rodgers and his strained right hamstring have the Colorado Rockies searching for a second option at second base.

With Rodgers sidelined at least a month, the Rockies may need to shuffle around the infield. The plan could be to move Ryan McMahon from third base to second and Josh Fuentes across the diamond from first to third. There's always the less complicated option of inserting either Chris Owings or Garrett Hampson at second.

One thing's for sure: The versatility of the Rockies is already being tested.

"We're not in a bind," Rockies manager Bud Black said Friday morning. "It's so advantageous to have those types of players who can bounce around because of cases like this, when maybe you lose a player."

Rodgers was having a productive spring, hitting .348 with two homers and five RBI, before hurting his hamstring last weekend while trying to steal second base. He was steadily progressing when recent tests revealed "the trauma to the hamstring, a little bit worse than was originally anticipated," Black explained.

Another setback for Rodgers, the third overall pick by Colorado in the 2015 first-year player draft.

"He was bummed," said Black, whose team opens the season at Coors Field against the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers on April 1. "He really felt as though this year could be a year for him to really come out and show the talent that he has. He was really excited for that opportunity in a lot of ways."

Last season, the 24-year-old Rodgers appeared in seven games - two hits in 21 at-bats - before landing on the injured list with a right shoulder injury.

"His frame of mind is such now that, hey, it's reality. Let's get to work on rehab, let's get it back to full strength and go from there," Black said. "There's nothing better than the start of a major league season, potentially being on an opening day roster and maybe potentially starting opening day.

"But every player's path is different to becoming a big leaguer. There's a lot of hurdles and roadblocks for some guys along the way. This is one of those for Brendan."

The Rockies will take things slow with Rodgers. He will play catch and then start hitting again in about a week.

"The true test will be when he's moving, he's running, he's moving on defense, all those things," Black said. "That's probably weeks away, from that higher-activity workout. We're going to watch this one closely. We're going to monitor it."

About the only certainty in the infield right now is at shortstop with Trevor Story.

McMahon spent quite a bit of time at second base for the Rockies last season. But with Nolan Arenado being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, McMahon was moved to third.

"Like we've said all along, we like the versatility of our group," Black said.

NEW YORK -- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has joined the board of directors of the New York Mets.

Christie, 58, was New Jersey's governor from January 2010 to January 2018. His son Andrew has worked for the team since 2018 and is the Mets' coordinator of international scouting.

Jeanne Melino also joined the Mets' board under new owner Steve Cohen, and New York said Friday she will be hired by the team as senior vice president of the Amazin' Mets Foundation. A former assistant district attorney in Westchester and Suffolk counties, she is executive director of the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation. She will oversee the Mets' community engagement and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

The Mets' board also includes chairman emeritus Fred Wilpon and vice chairman Andrew Cohen, who is not related to Steve.

"Chris and Jeanne are friends and trusted advisers with decades of leadership experience," Steve Cohen said in a statement. "I welcome them both to the Board and I look forward to working with them on behalf of our fans, our community and the team."

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Luis Castillo is set to start on Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds, heading a rotation that lost NL Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer to free agency.

"Luis is as ready as he's ever been," manager David Bell said Friday at the Reds' spring training complex.

The Reds open the season April 1 at home against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Castillo, 28, has seen limited action in spring training, pitching in two games so far and giving up no runs and five hits in five innings with three strikeouts. He's coming off a 2020 season in which he was 4-6 with a 3.21 ERA in 70 innings with 89 strikeouts.

Castillo was the Reds' Opening Day starter in 2019. He finished 15-8 with a 3.40 ERA and was selected to the NL All-Star team.

Bell said the other Cincinnati starters are still to be determined, with decisions likely being made in the next week. Sonny Gray, who started the opener in 2020, is the likely No. 2. Wade Miley, Tyler Mahle, Tejay Antone and Michael Lorenzen are the top candidates.

Bauer signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after going 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA during the pandemic-shortened season and helping the Reds reach the playoffs as a wild-card team.