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Mumbai Indians 170 for 6 (Harmanpreet 50, Sciver-Brunt 42, Wareham 3-21) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 167 for 7 (Perry 81, Ghosh 28, Amanjot 3-22) by four wickets

Win the toss, field first, win the match. This has been the story of all seven games in WPL 2025 so far. Mumbai Indians (MI) were the latest benefactors of winning the toss as they beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by four wickets in the first game of the Bengaluru leg.

Bowling first, MI restricted RCB to 167 for 7 despite a pristine 81 off 43 balls by Ellyse Perry. Then they had the joint-best powerplay of the season, cruising to 66 for 2. Harmanpreet Kaur's half-century kept MI in a comfortable position until Georgia Wareham dismissed her and S Sajana off successive balls in the 18th over. Amanjot Kaur took over from there and, with 22 needed from 12 balls, hit Kanika Ahuja for two sixes. That brought it down to run-a-ball in the final over. Still, it came down to two needed from two balls before G Kamalini smashed Ekta Bisht through covers to seal the game.

Mandhana vs Ismail - a short story

Shabnim Ismail is the fastest bowler in women's cricket and it showed immediately. Opening the bowling for MI, Ismail hurried Smriti Mandhana with a bouncer, the RCB captain's mistimed pull falling short of mid-on. However, Mandhana took just one delivery to adjust to the pace and the bounce of the pitch. Two balls later, when Ismail hurled another short ball, Mandhana quickly got into the position and pulled it over square leg for four.

It made Ismail switch to around the wicket. For the last ball of the over, she went short again, this time trying to cramp the batter. Mandhana unfurled another four with a pull.

Nat Sciver-Brunt, who opened the bowling from the other end, does not have Ismail's pace. That allowed Mandhana to use her feet and launch a straight six.

In her next over, Ismail erred in her line, and Mandhana duly cut her to the point boundary twice in three balls. But Ismail had the last laugh. She went short again, angling the ball on this occasion. Mandhana must have been feeling invincible by then. She attempted another pull. But this one took the top edge and Yastika Bhatia settled under it behind the stumps.

Quick wickets leave RCB in trouble

Perry opened her account with a first-ball four, flicking a full delivery from Ismail over square leg. In the next over, she freed her arms and hit Sciver-Brunt over long-on. But MI pulled things back with three quick wickets. Danni Wyatt-Hodge miscued an upper cut against Sciver-Brunt to short third; Raghvi Bist hit Hayley Matthews into the hands of deep midwicket; and Kanika Ahuja chopped Sanskriti Gupta onto her stumps. After nine overs, RCB were 62 for 4.

Perry pristine

RCB did not hit a single boundary from overs six to nine. Perry ended the drought in the tenth when she dispatched Matthews for four. She found support from Richa Ghosh, who smashed a six in the same over. The pair combined to pocket five more fours in the next three overs. By the time Amanjot bowled Ghosh for 28 off 25, the partnership had reached 50 in 38 deliveries.

From there on, Perry carried RCB almost singlehandedly. She hit Amelia Kerr inside out over extra cover to bring her fifty off 30 balls. Two balls later, she jumped out of her crease to deposit Kerr over long-on. In the next over, Matthews paid the price for bowling too short as Perry picked up two more fours. Perry eventually fell to Amanjot on the penultimate ball of the innings but not before hitting the bowler for back-to-back fours.

Matthews, Sciver-Brunt give MI flying start

MI started their chase in an attacking manner, with Bhatia hitting Renuka Singh for two fours in the opening over. Even though Kim Garth trapped Bhatia for 8, there was no respite for RCB. Sciver-Brunt hit two fours off the first two balls she faced to keep the runs flowing. She took it a notch higher in Garth's next over with three fours.

Matthews joined with back-to-back fours off Wareham. Ekta Bisht, who came in for the sixth over was not spared either. Sciver-Brunt started with a hat-trick of fours and Matthews chipped in with one. The only solace for Bisht was that she had Matthews lbw with her last ball.

Harmanpreet takes over

Garth provided RCB with some relief when she castled Sciver-Brunt for 42 off 21 balls in the eighth over. Two overs later, Wareham bowled a maiden in which she also had Kerr slicing to backward point.

Harmanpreet had had a slow start and was on 10 off ten balls after the tenth over. But she put the chase back on track with two fours off VJ Joshitha. MI needed 54 in the last six overs but Harmanpreet was well set by then. She hit Ahuja for successive fours, slog-swept Bisht into the stands, and picked up two more fours of Renuka to make MI firm favourites.

Wareham's twin strikes, Amanjot's twin sixes

With 24 required from three overs and Harmanpreet batting on 50 off 36, the match looked all but lost for RCB. But in an attempt to cut Wareham, Harmanpreet edged the ball to Ghosh. Sajana lasted just one ball, Wareham's slider trapping her lbw. Moreover, MI could score only two off the Wareham over.

Nerveless Amanjot, Kamalini finish the game

It was anyone's game at that point. But Amanjot, who had been playing second fiddle to Harmanpreet till then, stepped up. She was on 20 off 22 balls when her Punjab team-mate Ahuja started the 19th over. Amanjot went down the ground first ball and cleared long-on. Ahuja conceded only four in the next four balls but Amanjot cleared long-on once again on the final ball.

Not only did MI require just six in the final over, but RCB's slow over rate also meant there was one fielder fewer in the outfield. Bisht tried her best, darting the ball with the keeper standing back for the first two deliveries. But Kamalini kept her cool and took her side to victory with one ball to spare.

Hemant Brar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Sources: Collier shares 1-on-1 money with staff

Published in Breaking News
Friday, 21 February 2025 11:30

Unrivaled co-founder and player Napheesa Collier is giving $100,000 -- half of her prize money for winning the league's first one-on-one tournament -- to her training and performance staff and assistant coaches working with her team, the Lunar Owls, sources told ESPN on Friday.

Collier wanted to make sure she found a way to show appreciation to the staff members pouring hard work into her startup league, a source close to Unrivaled told ESPN. Through the first half of the season, Collier has made a point to continuously mention the personnel working with the players, calling them the "best in the world."

Almost immediately after she won the Unrivaled 1-on-1 Tournament title and the cash prize, she thought sharing it was the right thing to do.

Collier and Breanna Stewart founded the 3-on-3 Unrivaled league to give WNBA players an offseason alternative to playing overseas. Quickly, the amount of money and resources being poured into the league took center stage.

Unrivaled claims to be offering the highest average salary of any women's sports league. It also built a custom arena and practice and training facilities in Miami.

Many Unrivaled players believe what the league has done will have a direct impact on upcoming WNBA collective bargaining negotiations and has already played a role in how some players approached free agency -- finding teams that have these kinds of resources in their home markets.

Source: Unnamed Jets player followed, robbed

Published in Breaking News
Friday, 21 February 2025 11:30

MORRISTOWN, N.J. -- An unidentified New York Jets player was robbed at gunpoint Saturday morning near his New Jersey home after being followed home from New York City, a source confirmed to ESPN.

A witness saw a group of men exit a dark-colored SUV in the Windmill Pond neighborhood in Morristown and take money and personal items from two individuals in another car. No injuries were reported.

Among the items taken were jewelry and a watch. A neighbor told NBC New York one of the victims played for the Jets.

The victims were believed to be returning from a night out in Manhattan and were targeted by the group, according to the Morristown Department of Public Safety. Police are still investigating what is believed to be an isolated incident, according to a statement on the department's Facebook page.

The robbery comes on the heels of a string of seemingly orchestrated thefts involving the homes of several high-profile athletes. Members of a Chilean gang have been charged after allegedly stealing $3 million worth of goods from some of America's best-known athletes, including Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.

The burglars in those instances bounced from city to city using cars they rented with fake IDs and burner phones. They would stake out their marks for extended periods before breaking into the homes by smashing or prying open sliding doors and would grab watches, designer bags, gold chains, rings and cash.

They were apprehended in part because of pictures they posted with some of the lucrative items.

Beck, Cavinder luxury cars stolen; man arrested

Published in Breaking News
Friday, 21 February 2025 11:30

New Miami quarterback Carson Beck and his girlfriend, Miami basketball player Hanna Cavinder, had their cars stolen during a home burglary Thursday night.

According to multiple media outlets, the Miami-Dade Sherriff's Office arrested Tykwon Deandre Anderson and charged him with burglary of an occupied dwelling while wearing a mask, grand theft and grand theft of a vehicle.

In the arrest report cited by multiple media outlets, Beck told deputies he and Cavinder were asleep when the theft happened. Beck had a Mercedes and Lamborghini stolen, while Cavinder had her Range Rover stolen. The report said Anderson and three others arrived at the home in a rented vehicle. Two of them jumped over a concrete fence to get to the driveway, where two of the cars were parked. They gained access to the Range Rover, found the garage door opener, then went into the home to take the keys to the other vehicles. Deputies found the Range Rover and Mercedes abandoned later in the day.

Beck transferred to Miami in January after spending the first four years of his career at Georgia, while Cavinder and her twin sister, Haley, both play for the Hurricanes. Hanna has played in 26 games this season, averaging 6.7 points per game.

Athletes, including NFL players Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Joe Burrow, have been the subject of high-profile burglaries in recent months.

Sources: Saints hiring Staley to run defense

Published in Breaking News
Friday, 21 February 2025 11:30

NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints are hiring former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley as their defensive coordinator, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeremy Fowler.

Staley will be Saints coach Kellen Moore's third coordinator hire this week. Sources told ESPN the Saints are expected to hire Eagles quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier to be their offensive coordinator. They offered the special teams coordinator position to Phil Galiano, who was previously the Saints assistant special teams coordinator under Darren Rizzi.

Staley and Nussmeier both have previous ties to Moore and have been considered potential targets for the vacant positions for several weeks.

Moore was the Eagles offensive coordinator last season, and he and Nussmeier helped the team win Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was named Super Bowl MVP.

Nussmeier was an assistant coach under Moore when he was the Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator from 2019-2022 and during his lone season with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023.

Staley, 42, was the Chargers head coach from 2021-2023 and hired Moore to be his offensive coordinator in his final season. He and Chargers general manager Tom Telesco were fired on Dec. 15, 2023 after a 5-9 start to the season and a 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Staley spent the 2024 season as the San Francisco 49ers assistant head coach. Prior to his stint with the Chargers, he was the Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator in 2020. The Rams led the league in scoring defense and total defense that season, finishing 10-6 before losing in the NFC divisional round of the playoffs.

LeBron 'defies' age with another historic 40 in win

Published in Basketball
Thursday, 20 February 2025 23:38

PORTLAND -- Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick said his team didn't get to its hotel in Portland until nearly 3 a.m. Thursday after flying from L.A. following its game against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night.

The prospect of playing the Trail Blazers on the road on the second night of a back-to-back with Luka Doncic out to manage his left calf injury and LeBron James questionable because of a left foot and ankle injury was daunting to Redick.

Then again, maybe Redick should have counted on James delivering the way he has done throughout his 22-year career after the 40-year-old Lakers star dropped 40 points to lead L.A. to a 110-102 win.

"He really just defies anything that's normal," Redick said. "And not just the physical feats and the plays. It's the mentality. ... He's a billionaire, and he's playing on the second night of a back-to-back at 40 after 22 years with every fricking record and every accolade. ... It's like, he's amazing to coach. ... He sets the standard for how you're supposed to approach this craft."

James, when asked about his motivation to continue pushing his body through the rigorous NBA schedule when he has already accomplished nearly everything imaginable in the sport, pointed to passing on that standard to his son, Lakers rookie Bronny James.

"I still love the game, and I still got a lot to give to the game, to give to my teammates, to give to this league for while I'm here," James said. "I don't have much time left. So, while I'm here today in this time, I'm going to try to give what I got when I'm out on the floor.

"So, why? It's the love of the game and I have an opportunity now to show my son the ranks of how to be a professional in this league. And to be along [with] him every single day, that's a treat."

It was James' second time reaching 40 points since his 40th birthday in December, making him the only player in NBA history with multiple 40-point games at age 40 or older. The Lakers are 2-0 in those games.

James did it Thursday while playing in the 1,542nd regular-season game of his career, passing Vince Carter for No. 3 on the all-time list.

He also tied a career high with 11 turnovers, the third time in his career he has committed double-digit miscues. His teams are, surprisingly, undefeated in those games, too, going 3-0.

Redick said the Lakers played with a proper edge, winning their game with effort while overcoming a 9-for-32 (28.1%) shooting night from 3-point range, a bunch of turnovers and Doncic's absence.

"There's actually only one cheat code in the NBA, and that's playing hard," Redick said. "If you play hard every night, you have a chance to win. If you don't play hard every night, you're probably going to lose."

James agreed.

"That's the best way to play in this league," he said. "The best way to compete in this league is to play hard. You can get through a lot of games if you're able to just play hard. You're able to cover up for a lot of mistakes. We had 24 turnovers for 31 points. I had half of those. ... It definitely makes up for it when you're able to cover for one other and you're able to play hard. It's going to help us win a lot of ballgames."

Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who had 32 points and seven assists and made several key defensive plays down the stretch, said he was excited to hear that James was going to play against Charlotte and Portland after he missed the All-Star Game because of his left foot and ankle injury. James' mere presence gave Reaves confidence in L.A.'s chances.

"He really doesn't have anything else to prove," Reaves said. "And if people say he does, then they're [Michael] Jordan fans."

'Not as dominant': Embiid admits knee limiting him

Published in Basketball
Thursday, 20 February 2025 23:38

PHILADELPHIA -- After the Philadelphia 76ers were routed on their home court by their rivals, the Boston Celtics, to open the second half of the season Thursday night, a dejected Joel Embiid said he needs to "fix the problem" in his left knee to return to his All-Star form.

Embiid didn't look like himself Thursday night, scoring 15 points on just 3-for-9 shooting from the field in 27 minutes. The nine shot attempts were Embiid's fewest in a game this season in which he didn't leave early because of an injury or ejection.

The issues with Embiid's knee, combined with a foot sprain, have caused him to play in just 18 of 55 games for the Sixers (20-35), who remain tied for the sixth-worst record in the NBA after the Brooklyn Nets also lost.

"The way I was playing a year ago is not the way I'm playing right now," Embiid said after a 124-104 loss to Boston. "It sucks. ... I probably need to fix the problem, and then I'll be back at that level. But it's hard to have trust when you're not yourself."

Embiid played so poorly despite having more than a week off due to the All-Star break, adding to the concern. He said the time off helped "a little bit," but he still wasn't himself.

"I'm OK," he said. "Still managing it. Got to keep going and hope for the best."

The Celtics (40-16), winners of eight of their past nine games, made 11 of their first 16 3-pointers and scored 72 points in the first half. They reached 100 points after three quarters.

Boston looked like a team preparing for a deep playoff run and hoping to defend its title. The Sixers looked like a team that will struggle to make the play-in tournament, and likely won't be a factor in the playoffs.

The Sixers are also dealing with the health struggles of Paul George, who confirmed last week's report from ESPN's Shams Charania that he has been getting pain-killing injections to allow him to play in recent weeks.

"I'm hanging in there," said George, who had 17 points in 29 minutes Thursday. "I'm just trying to give this team everything I have.

"The report is true. I'm taking some sorts of medicines to kind of, I guess, play through pain. But yeah, I'm going to try to give everything I got."

After Thursday's loss, Tyrese Maxey said the team's issues come down to effort and trust.

Everything for the 76ers, though, begins and ends with Embiid, who was on pace to be the second player -- and the only one since Wilt Chamberlain 60 years ago -- to average more than a point per minute in a season. That version of him, though, currently doesn't exist.

In the meantime, Embiid said he can still make a positive impact, even if he knows he is capable of more.

"I'm not as dominant as I was a couple of months ago, but that doesn't mean I still can't have a lot of impact on the game," Embiid said. "Just me being out there, I think, helps a lot. My presence, my ability to attract double-teams, get guys more shots.

"It's just tough because you know you can do so much more. But there's no excuses. It's just the way it is. You just have to find ways to figure it out and get better."

Changing stripes: Yanks OK well-groomed beards

Published in Baseball
Friday, 21 February 2025 06:57

TAMPA, Fla. -- The New York Yankees' facial hair and grooming policy, an infamous edict in place for nearly 50 years, was formally amended for the first time Friday.

In a statement announcing the decision, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said the organization will allow "well-groomed beards" effective immediately, changing a rule his father, George, established in 1976. The modification does not address the organization's policy on hair length, which stipulates that uniformed personnel are not allowed to grow hair below their collar.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Steinbrenner said adjusting the mandate had been on his mind over the years. He emphasized the possibility of losing out on acquiring players because of the facial hair restrictions as a significant reason to make a change that registers as seismic for the franchise.

"If I ever found out that a player we wanted to acquire to make us better, to get us a championship, did not want to be here and, if he had the ability, would not come here because of that policy, as important as it is to that generation, that would be very, very concerning," Steinbrenner said. "And I'm fairly convinced that that's a real concern."

Steinbrenner said he spoke with several players, past and present, including Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole and Giancarlo Stanton individually Monday to hear their opinions on the matter. He noted that not all of them were for the change.

"I did make the decision that the policy that was in place was outdated and given how important it is to that generation, and given that it is a norm in this world today, that it was somewhat unreasonable," Steinbrenner said. "So I made the change."

Sitting next to Steinbrenner, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who has worked for the organization since 1986, said he supported the accommodation.

"It's time. It's not an easy decision for Hal Steinbrenner to make," Cashman said. "Like every decision he makes, he makes it with a lot of information before he ultimately gets there. We're like a gigantic naval battle cruiser. It takes a little while to turn."

Steinbrenner informed the team of the change during a team meeting Friday morning. He said a policy defining what is considered "well-groomed" would be announced as early as the end of the day.

"The only information we were offered, from Cash, was that we're not trying to look like 'Duck Dynasty,'" said Cole, who often wore a beard pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros before signing with the Yankees. "No diss against 'Duck Dynasty.' They're grinding in the woods all the time. You don't really have another option. But that was the only clarification we got so far."

George Steinbrenner, who had a military background as lieutenant in the Air Force, implemented grooming policy because he thought regulating players' appearance would instill discipline. The rules were codified before the 1976 season, leaving players with a choice of being clean-shaven or wearing a mustache, and not allowing them to grow hair past their collars. Hal Steinbrenner kept the codes in place after becoming chairman and controlling owner of the franchise in November 2008. George Steinbrenner died less than three years later.

"Winning was the most important thing to my father," Hal Steinbrenner said. "All we're trying to do every offseason, right, is put ourselves in the best position to get a player that we're trying to get. And if something like this would detract from that, lessen our chances, I don't know, I think he might be a little more apt to do the change that I did than people think because it was about winning."

Players, even those known for their facial hair in previous stops, overwhelmingly obliged with the grooming order over the next five decades, from spring training through October, often before letting themselves go during the offseason. But a few pushed the limits, and others have flatly declined to join the organization because of the policies in place.

In the 1990s, for example, star first baseman Don Mattingly was fined and benched by manager Stump Merrill for refusing to trim his mullet. Four years later, Mattingly wore a goatee for part of his final season in 1995.

In 2013, coming off winning the American League Cy Young Award, David Price, then with the Tampa Bay Rays, declared he would not consider signing with the Yankees when he hit free agency as long as the edict remained in place. Later that year, All-Star closer Brian Wilson, then the best reliever on the free agent market, refused to engage in talks with the Yankees because he didn't want to shave his trademark jet black beard.

Cashman on Friday remembered that CC Sabathia, a Hall of Fame inductee this year, was initially hesitant about joining the Yankees before the 2009 season because he didn't want to shave before the team convinced him with a eight-year, $180 million contract. The general manager noted there have been instances where draft prospects communicate they'd rather not go to the Yankees because of the mandate. This offseason, he said, the policy was an issue for a player the team pursued as a non-roster invitee for spring training.

Earlier this month, All-Star closer Devin Williams, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in December, reported to spring training despondent about having to shave his beard. He kept the beard when he reported to George M. Steinbrenner Field for his spring training physical before showing up with a mustache for the team's first workout the next day. A week later, however, Williams sported a light beard for the team's photo day.

On the other end of the spectrum, former Yankees Gleyber Torres and Clay Holmes reported to camp this spring with their new teams sporting full beards. Their old teammates now have the option to grow one in pinstripes.

"I think it's appropriate," Cole said. "Makes sense. It still embodies our look and our neatness but allows for some individual freedom and a few less razor burns."

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sometime around mid-August last year, Mookie Betts convened with the Los Angeles Dodgers' coaches. He had taken stock of what transpired while he rehabbed a broken wrist, surveyed his team's roster and accepted what had become plainly obvious: He needed to return to right field.

For the better part of five months, Betts had immersed himself in the painstaking task of learning shortstop in the midst of a major league season. It was a process that humbled him but also invigorated him, one he had desperately wanted to see through. On the day he gave it up, Chris Woodward, at that point an adviser who had intermittently helped guide Betts through the transition, sought him out. He shook Betts' hand, told him how much he respected his efforts and thanked him for the work.

"Oh, it ain't over yet," Betts responded. "For now it's over, but we're going to win the World Series, and then I'm coming back."

Woodward, now the Dodgers' full-time first-base coach and infield instructor, recalled that conversation from the team's spring training complex at Camelback Ranch last week and smiled while thinking about how those words had come to fruition. The Dodgers captured a championship last fall, then promptly determined that Betts, the perennial Gold Glove outfielder heading into his age-32 season, would be the every-day shortstop on one of the most talented baseball teams ever assembled.

From November to February, Betts visited high school and collegiate infields throughout the L.A. area on an almost daily basis in an effort to solidify the details of a transition he did not have time to truly prepare for last season.

Pedro Montero, one of the Dodgers' video coordinators, placed an iPad onto a tripod and aimed its camera in Betts' direction while he repeatedly pelted baseballs into the ground with a fungo bat, then sent Woodward the clips to review from his home in Arizona. The three spoke almost daily.

By the time Betts arrived in spring training, Woodward noticed a "night and day" difference from one year to the next. But he still acknowledges the difficulty of what Betts is undertaking, and he noted that meaningful games will ultimately serve as the truest arbiter.

The Dodgers have praised Betts for an act they described as unselfish, one that paved the way for both Teoscar Hernandez and Michael Conforto to join their corner outfield and thus strengthen their lineup. Betts himself has said his move to shortstop is a function of doing "what I feel like is best for the team." But it's also clear that shouldering that burden -- and all the second-guessing and scrutiny that will accompany it -- is something he wants.

He wants to be challenged. He wants to prove everybody wrong. He wants to bolster his legacy.

"Mookie wants to be the best player in baseball, and I don't see why he wouldn't want that," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "I think if you play shortstop, with his bat, that gives him a better chance."


ONLY 21 PLAYERS since 1900 have registered 100 career games in right field and 100 career games at shortstop, according to ESPN Research. It's a list compiled mostly of lifelong utility men. The only one among them who came close to following Betts' path might have been Tony Womack, an every-day right fielder in his age-29 season and an every-day shortstop in the three years that followed. But Womack had logged plenty of professional shortstop experience before then.

Through his first 12 years in professional baseball, Betts accumulated just 13 starts at shortstop, all of them in rookie ball and Low-A from 2011 to 2012. His path -- as a no-doubt Hall of Famer and nine-time Gold Glove right fielder who will switch to possibly the sport's most demanding position in his 30s -- is largely without precedent. And yet the overwhelming sense around the Dodgers is that if anyone can pull it off, it's him.

"Mookie's different," third baseman Max Muncy said. "I think this kind of challenge is really fun for him. I think he just really enjoys it. He's had to put in a lot of hard work -- a lot of work that people haven't seen -- but I just think he's such a different guy when it comes to the challenge of it that he's really enjoying it. When you look at how he approaches it, he's having so much fun trying to get as good as he can be. There's not really any question in anyone's mind here that he's going to be a very good defensive shortstop."

Betts entered the 2024 season as the primary second baseman, a position to which he had long sought a return, but transitioned to shortstop on March 8, 12 days before the Dodgers would open their season from South Korea, after throwing issues began to plague Gavin Lux. Almost every day for the next three months, Betts put himself through a rigorous pregame routine alongside teammate Miguel Rojas and third-base coach Dino Ebel in an effort to survive at the position.

The metrics were unfavorable, scouts were generally unimpressed and traditional statistics painted an unflattering picture -- all of which was to be expected. Simply put, Betts did not have the reps. He hadn't spent significant time at shortstop since he was a teenager at Overton High School in Nashville, Tennessee. He was attempting to cram years of experience through every level of professional baseball into the space allotted to him before each game, a task that proved impossible.

Betts committed nine errors during his time at shortstop, eight of them the result of errant throws. He often lacked the proper footwork to put himself in the best position to throw accurately across the diamond, but the Dodgers were impressed by how quickly he seemed to grasp other aspects of the position that seemed more difficult for others -- pre-pitch timing, range, completion of difficult plays.

Shortly after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees to win their first full-season championship since 1988, Betts sat down with Dodgers coaches and executives and expressed his belief that, if given the proper time, he would figure it out. And so it was.

"If Mook really wants to do something, he's going to do everything he can to be an elite, elite shortstop," Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said. "I'm not going to bet against that guy."


THE FIRST TASK was determining what type of shortstop Betts would be. Woodward consulted with Ryan Goins, the current Los Angeles Angels infield coach who is one of Betts' best friends. The two agreed that he should play "downhill," attacking the baseball, making more one-handed plays and throwing largely on the run, a style that fit better for a transitioning outfielder.

During a prior stint on the Dodgers' coaching staff, Woodward -- the former Texas Rangers manager who rejoined the Dodgers staff after Los Angeles' previous first-base coach, Clayton McCullough, became the Miami Marlins' manager in the offseason -- implemented the same style with Corey Seager, who was widely deemed too tall to remain a shortstop.

"He doesn't love the old-school, right-left, two-hands, make-sure-you-get-in-front-of-the-ball type of thing," Woodward said of Betts. "It doesn't make sense to him. And I don't coach that way. I want them to be athletic, like the best athlete they can possibly be, so that way they can use their lower half, get into their legs, get proper direction through the baseball to line to first. And that's what Mookie's really good at."

Dodger Stadium underwent a major renovation of its clubhouse space over the offseason, making the field unusable and turning Montero and Betts into nomads. From the second week of November through the first week of February, the two trained at Crespi Carmelite High School near Betts' home in Encino, California, then Sierra Canyon, Los Angeles Valley College and, finally, Loyola High.

For a handful of days around New Year's, Betts flew to Austin, Texas, to get tutelage from Troy Tulowitzki, the five-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner whose mechanics Betts was drawn to. In early January, when wildfires spread through the L.A. area, Betts flew to Glendale, Arizona, to train with Woodward in person.

Mostly, though, it was Montero as the eyes and ears on the ground and Woodward as the adviser from afar. Their sessions normally lasted about two hours in the morning, evolving from three days a week to five and continually ramping up in intensity. The goal for the first two months was to hone the footwork skills required to make a variety of different throws, but also to give Betts plenty of reps on every ground ball imaginable.

When January came, Betts began to carve out a detailed, efficient routine that would keep him from overworking when the games began. It accounted for every situation, included backup scenarios for uncontrollable events -- when it rained, when there wasn't enough time, when pregame batting practice stretched too long -- and was designed to help Betts hold up. What was once hundreds of ground balls was pared down to somewhere in the neighborhood of 35, but everything was accounted for.


LAST YEAR, BETTS' throws were especially difficult for Freddie Freeman to catch at first base, often cutting or sailing or darting. But when Freeman joined Betts in spring training, he noticed crisp throws that consistently arrived with backspin and almost always hit the designated target. Betts was doing a better job of getting his legs under him on batted balls hit in a multitude of directions. Also, Rojas said, he "found his slot."

"Technically, talking about playing shortstop, finding your slot is very important because you're throwing the ball from a different position than when you throw it from right field," Rojas explained. "You're not throwing the ball from way over the top or on the bottom. So he's finding a slot that is going to work for him. He's understanding now that you need a slot to throw the ball to first base, you need a slot to throw the ball to second base, you need a slot to throw the ball home and from the side."

Dodgers super-utility player Enrique Hernandez has noticed a "more loose" Betts at shortstop this spring. Roberts said Betts is "two grades better" than he was last year, before a sprained left wrist placed him on the injured list on June 17 and prematurely ended his first attempt. Before reporting to spring training, Betts described himself as "a completely new person over there."

"But we'll see," he added.

The games will be the real test. At that point, Woodward said, it'll largely come down to trusting the work he has put in over the past four months. Betts is famously hard on himself, and so Woodward has made it a point to remind him that, as long as his process is sound, imperfection is acceptable.

"This is dirt," Woodward will often tell him. "This isn't perfect."

The Dodgers certainly don't need Betts to be their shortstop. If it doesn't work out, he can easily slide back to second base. Rojas, the superior defender whose offensive production prompted Betts' return to right field last season, can fill in on at least a part-time basis. So can Tommy Edman, who at this point will probably split his time between center field and second base, and so might Hyeseong Kim, the 26-year-old middle infielder who was signed out of South Korea this offseason.

But it's clear Betts wants to give it another shot.

As Roberts acknowledged, "He certainly felt he had unfinished business."

Draper beats Berrettini in fightback to reach Qatar semis

Published in Tennis
Thursday, 20 February 2025 13:21

British number one Jack Draper fought back from a set down to beat Matteo Berrettini and reach the Qatar Open semi-finals.

Former Wimbledon runner-up Berrettini took the opening set, but world number 16 Draper, whose recent injury problems have been well documented, responded in style to wrap up a 4-6 6-4 6-3 victory over the Italian.

"I felt in the second set I was knocking on the door and not quite taking my opportunities but I stayed strong," Draper told Sky Sports.

"It was such a tough battle against such a great player. In Australia I was very proud of my efforts because I got to the fourth round without playing any tennis in the off-season.

"I worked really hard with my coach and fitness and I am just glad I have found a better level this week, playing matches and getting my confidence back."

Draper will now face Jiri Lehecka in the last four after the Czech player claimed a shock 6-3 3-6 6-4 victory over top seed Carlos Alcaraz.

It was only the second defeat of the year for Spain's four-time Grand Slam champion, who also lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January.

Russia's Andrey Rublev defeated second seed Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-1 3-6 7-6 (10-8) to set up a semi-final meeting with Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was awarded a walkover victory against Daniil Medvedev after the Russian retired with illness.

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