Rangers are finally World Series champions; Remembering Bob Knight; Where do Raiders go next?

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🏆 Good morning to everybody however particularly …

THE WORLD SERIES CHAMPION TEXAS RANGERS

For six innings, Zac Gallen used to be untouchable. No hits allowed. Rangers flailing in every single place seeking to resolve him. Domination to the best possible level at the greatest degree.

But pitching is a sport of errors, and the Rangers’ explosive offense is aware of the way to profit from them.

Corey Seager ended the no-no with a unmarried to steer off the 7th inning, and he quickly scored on a Mitch Garver unmarried for what proved to be the game-winning run. The Rangers supplied a security web busting the sport open with a four-run 9th inning in a 5-0 World Series-clinching Game 5 win over the Diamondbacks.

It’s the primary World Series in Rangers franchise historical past, finishing what have been the longest name wait within the game.

• Seager, unsurprisingly, received World Series MVP. Also the 2020 World Series MVP with the Dodgers, he joins Reggie Jackson — “Mr. October” — as the one gamers to win the award with more than one groups.
• Things fell aside within the 9th for the D-backs. Alek Thomas made an terrible error that allowed two runs to attain, and Marcus Semien blasted a two-run house run in a while thereafter.

While Gallen mowed down Rangers, Nathan Eovaldi pulled off his largest Houdini act but, by hook or by crook going six scoreless regardless of 4 hits and 5 walks. He held Arizona to one for 12 with males on base and nil for 9 with runners in scoring place. Eovaldi joins Stephen Strasburg (2019) because the simplest pitchers to go 5-0 in one postseason.

These Rangers got here in combination slowly after which abruptly. We can level to Dec. 1, 2021, when Seager and Semien joined the crew. But we will have to level to Oct. 21, 2022. That’s when the Rangers employed Bruce Bochy as supervisor. His secure management via ups and downs; via accidents to Jacob deGrom, Adolis García and Max Scherzer; and during the rigors of playoff baseball earned him his fourth ring. The Rangers are superior, however Bochy made them champions — and cemented his legacy as an all-time nice — writes Matt Snyder.

• Snyder: “That level of calmness and not letting the moment overwork him is one of his best qualities in the playoffs. He doesn’t panic. He just makes the moves he believes need to be made. … Bochy is already a legend in San Diego and, to a much greater extent, San Francisco. After bringing this one home, he’s an instant legend in Texas, too. Really, he’s a legend throughout Major League Baseball. Doing this job just cements that status even further. “

Here’s extra on Texas’ long-awaited name:

And after all, we have now season-ending Power Rankings and a rating of the highest 50 MLB unfastened brokers coming into the 2024 season. What a season, and what a option to finish it. The Rangers, in the end, are international champions.

👍 Honorable mentions

👎 Not so honorable mentions

• The Bears fired working backs trainer David Walker for failing to uphold crew requirements “on and off the field.”
• Marquez Valdes-Scantling isn’t keen on touring to Germany to play.
• The Wizards … *facepalm*
• Plans to convey a WNBA crew to Portland have fallen aside.

🏀 Legendary head trainer Bob Knight dies at 83

Bob Knight, the mythical school basketball trainer who received 3 nationwide championship at Indiana, died Wednesday at 83 years outdated, his circle of relatives’s group introduced. Matt Norlander shared an in depth account of Knight’s background and legacy each off and on the court docket.

• Knight’s school basketball occupation started as a participant at Ohio State the place he received a championship and used to be teammates with fellow long run Naismith Hall of Famers Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek.
• In 1965, 3 years after his taking part in occupation ended, he were given his first head training gig at Army. Among Knight’s gamers all over his six seasons there? Mike Krzyzewski, who would in the end cross Knight at the all-time wins record.
• In 1971, Knight took the Indiana task, turning the Hoosiers right into a powerhouse. He led Indiana to a Final Four in his moment yr earlier than shooting NCAA Tournament titles in 1976, 1981 and 1987. Only John Wooden, Krzyzewski and Adolph Rupp have received extra nationwide championships. The 1975-76 crew remains to be the ultimate undefeated nationwide champion the game has produced.
• Knight then led Texas Tech from 2001-08 earlier than calling it a occupation. His 902 occupation wins are sixth-most in males’s Division I historical past.
• Along the way in which, he received the NIT in 1979 and an Olympic gold medal in 1984 the place he known Michael Jordan as “the best athlete I’ve ever seen play basketball” earlier than Jordan had performed an NBA sport. Knight is certainly one of 3 coaches to win the NCAA Tournament, the NIT and an Olympic gold.

Knight’s training tree extends well past Krzyzewski (present Indiana head trainer Mike Woodson is amongst a number of branches) or even past basketball: Two-time Super Bowl winner Bill Parcells used to be a Knight assistant at Army.

Knight’s legacy, on the other hand, is sophisticated by way of a litany of controversies. “The General” used to be no-nonsense and hot-tempered. That mood were given him into hassle on a number of events.

• Perhaps his maximum iconic second — past the titles — used to be Knight throwing a chair onto the court docket in opposition to Purdue in 1985.
• In 2000, a video emerged of Knight showing to choke former Indiana participant Neil Reed in a 1997 apply. Knight used to be given a zero-tolerance caution.
• Months later, Knight allegedly grabbed IU scholar Kent Harvey. Knight refused to surrender, and athletic director Miles Brand fired him. In 2017, when talking on the ones concerned within the firing, Knight stated “I hope they’re all dead.”

He additionally vowed to by no means go back to Indiana, however he did — in 2020 along his former gamers — or even attended Woodson-led Indiana practices as just lately as ultimate season. Knight, who lived his ultimate years and died in Bloomington, used to be a Hoosier via and thru.

☠️ Las Vegas Raiders head training choices?

It’s a brand new generation in Las Vegas after head trainer Josh McDaniels and common supervisor Dave Ziegler had been fired past due Tuesday evening and offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi used to be fired Wednesday morning. It persevered a tough run for Bill Belichick‘s training tree: McDaniels is the simplest trainer in NFL historical past to be fired earlier than the tip of his moment season by way of more than one groups.

Antonio Pierce is the intervening time head trainer, and for now a minimum of, Aidan O’Connell (who?) is the beginning quarterback with the crew it seems that transferring on from NFL interception chief Jimmy Garoppolo.

Long tale brief, it is a mess. Pierce has the unenviable process of making an attempt to pick out up the items, and he will want O’Connell to cleared the path. Simply making it to the tip of the season respectably is the purpose, as it’s for just about any intervening time trainer. Raiders gamers and coaches may not admit it, after all, however it is true.

Once they get to the tip of the season, they’re going to be out there for a full-time head trainer. Cody Benjamin put in combination a record of 7 applicants. In at No. 1 is …

• Benjamin: “Jim Harbaugh (Michigan) — Harbaugh hasn’t coached in the NFL for nearly a decade, but he’s flirted with a return in recent years … Securing him wouldn’t necessarily erase potential discipline for his hand in Michigan’s alleged wrongdoing, but the Raiders might be willing to wait out a suspension if it meant getting Harbaugh on their sidelines for the next five to 10 years. His arrival would draw both big headlines and justified hopes of a turnaround.”

As for the (doubtless intervening time) beginning quarterback, O’Connell is certainly one of a number of new faces below middle this week:

• Taylor Heinicke will get started over Desmond Ridder.
• Jaren Hall will get started following Kirk Cousins‘ harm.
• Clayton Tune will get started if Kyler Murray can’t.

Overall, we will have seven rookie quarterbacks beginning this week — second-most in every week for the reason that 1970 merger. That throws a wrench in our QB Power Rankings. At the highest, although, it is quite strong …

1. Tua Tagovailoa (earlier: 3)
2. Josh Allen (2)
3. Lamar Jackson (4)
4. Jalen Hurts (5)
5. Patrick Mahomes (1)

🏈 College Football QB Power Rankings

Of direction, we do not simplest rank NFL quarterbacks. We rank school ones, too. With reigning Heisman Trophy winner (and projected No. 1 pick out) Caleb Williams and projected No. 2 pick out Drake Maye suffering of past due, neither are even within the best 5. Plus, we have now a brand new No. 1.

1. Bo Nix, Oregon (earlier: 5)
2. Jayden Daniels, LSU (1)
3. J.J. McCarthy, Michigan (2)
4. Michael Penix Jr., Washington (4)
5. Jordan Travis, Florida State (7)

How did Nix make the massive bounce? Let Tom Fornelli give an explanation for:

• Fornelli: “Today, we say goodbye to Road Bo Nix. It’s a dead narrative, and honestly, it’s been on life support for a while. Nix finally put a dagger through its deteriorating heart Saturday in Salt Lake City, Utah … Nix finished with 256 yards and the three touchdowns and could’ve done more if Oregon needed him to … And it was nothing new. While he didn’t have a perfect game in Oregon’s loss to Washington in Seattle, Nix finished that game with 337 yards passing and three touchdowns.”

📺 What we are staring at Thursday

🏀 Raptors at 76ers, 7 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 TCU at Texas Tech, 7 p.m. on FS1
🏈 Wake Forest at Duke, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 Titans at Steelers, 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video
🏀 Spurs at Suns, 10 p.m. on NBA TV