When Yu Darvish met with Theo Epstein and other Chicago Cubs officials last December in the Dallas area Authentic Customized Redskins Jerseys , the Japanese pitcher liked what he heard.
”The Cubs really stood out, and everyone was sincere at the meeting,” Darvish said Tuesday through a translator after finalizing a $126 million, six-year contract.
Darvish gets $25 million this year, $20 million in 2019, $22 million in each of the following two seasons, $19 million in 2022 and $18 million in 2023. He can opt out of the deal after the 2019 season and become a free agent again.
His approval is needed for any trade through 2019. After that, he can list 12 teams he cannot be dealt to without his consent.
Darvish joins a rotation that includes Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and Tyler Chatwood, who agreed to a $38 million, three-year contract in December.
”Yu was our primary target,” said Epstein, the Cubs’ president of baseball operations. ”It’s a great day for the Cubs organization to welcome a pitcher of this caliber. He is probably the pre-eminent strikeout pitcher of our generation. We are getting him at a wonderful point in his career where he has matured and is ready to go out and do some special things, with the World Series being his top priority.”
A four-time All-Star, Darvish finished last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers Womens Jared McCann Jersey , helping them knock out the defending champion Cubs in the playoffs to reach the World Series. The 31-year-old Japanese right-hander is expected to take the rotation spot of Jake Arrieta, who became a free agent.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Notre Dame’s president ripped the NCAA’s decision to deny the school’s appeal to restore 21 vacated football victories from an academic misconduct violation, saying the association ”perverted” the notion that universities determine how they police academics.
The NCAA denied Notre Dame’s appeal Tuesday, wiping off the books all 12 wins from the Fighting Irish’s 2012 national championship game run under coach Brian Kelly.
In a letter to Notre Dame alumni, University President Fr. John Jenkins says the penalty was unprecedented considering who was involved in the misconduct, and the school was being punished for rigorously enforcing its honor code. He called the ruling unfair, referencing the recent North Carolina case in which the NCAA did not punish the school after an investigation of athletes taking irregular courses.
The appeals committee was not swayed and upheld the penalty passed down in November 2016 by the committee on infractions.
Notre Dame agreed to accept certain NCAA findings and acknowledged cheating involving several football players and a student athletic trainer, but appealed only the penalty that vacated victories.
NFL
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Frank Reich did some of his most memorable work in relief.
He engineered the biggest comeback in NFL playoff history while pinch-hitting for Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. He orchestrated the second-largest comeback in college football history after spending three years as Boomer Esiason’s understudy. Heck, he even won a Super Bowl with a backup quarterback.
So when the Indianapolis Colts offered Reich a chance to be their second choice as head coach, the super sub figured it was the perfect it.
”The backup role has suited me well in my career,” Reich joked at his introductory news conference at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Reich inherits a team that went 4-12 in 2017, missed the playoffs for the third straight year and was desperately trying to remove an embarrassing stain following last week’s announcement that New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels would not take the Colts’ job.
This time, team owner Jim Irsay made sure the Colts weren’t caught off-guard again. Shortly after team officials confirmed the deal, the team posted a photo on Twitter of Reich signing a five-year deal at Irsay’s house.
WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW
NEW YORK (AP) – Flynn the bichon frise won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club, a choice that seemed to surprise almost everyone in the crowd at Madison Square Garden.
Fans who had been loudly shouting for their favorites fell into stunned silence when judge Betty-Anne Stenmark announced her decision.
No matter, the white powder puff was picked and walked off as America’s top dog.
Guided by expert handler Bill McFadden Rick Leonard Color Rush Jersey , Flynn beat out Ty the giant schnauzer, Biggie the pug, Bean the Sussex spaniel, Lucy the borzoi, Slick the border collie and Winston the Norfolk terrier.
”It feels a little unreal,” McFadden said. ”I came in expecting nothing except hoping for a good performance, and I think I got it.”
Underdogs and upsets are way more than norm on the green carpet of the Garden – inside dog fanciers indeed fancied Flynn, but the people sitting in the stands were obviously pulling for other dogs.
Ty came into this competition as the nation’s No. 1 show dog last year and finished as the runner-up. He endeared himself to the crowd by jumping up and putting his front paws around handler Katie Bernardin after winning the working group earlier in the evening. Slick and Lucy also drew applause.
WASHINGTON — A pair of old friends will reconnect when the Boston Red Sox visit the Washington Nationals on Monday night.
Former teammates Rick Porcello (9-2, 3.60) of the Red Sox and Max Scherzer (10-4, 2.04) square off for the first time in the opener of a three-game series.
Porcello and Scherzer spent five seasons together with the Detroit Tigers, reaching the 2012 World Series before losing to the San Francisco Giants.
Since leaving Detroit, Porcello won the 2016 American League Cy Young Award and Scherzer is making a strong case for his third straight National League Cy Young. Both have been aware this matchup was coming.
“Looking forward to it. We’ve been texting back and forth,” Porcello told the Boston Globe. “We’ve had a good time with it and I’m sure we’ll both get a kick about going against each other once the game starts.”
Scherzer is looking for his first win since June 5, though he’s pitched well enough to win each of his past four starts, allowing two earned runs or less in each outing. The Nationals are 1-3 in those starts and were shut out in each loss.
“I think everybody’s been punched in the face before of not having success,” Scherzer told The Washington Post after his last start Will Hernandez Color Rush Jersey , a 1-0 loss to the Marlins. “This is the big leagues; they are going to keep coming down your throat and keep attacking you.”
Scherzer, Washington’s only dependable starter of late, is 4-4 with a 6.05 ERA in 10 starts versus Boston.
Porcello allowed four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings last time out in a no-decision against the Angels.
He’s 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in his lone start against Washington, an eight-inning effort in April of 2015.
The Nationals (42-40) squandered an early 3-0 lead in Philadelphia on Sunday and fell 4-3 in 13 innings on Andrew Knapp’s pinch-hit walk-off home run as Washington dropped a second straight weekend series to their division rivals.
Washington managed only four hits in eight innings against the Philadelphia bullpen in the finale.
“Offensively, we’ve got to do more,” outfielder Adam Eaton told The Post. “That’s plain and simple. We score early and then we can’t coast. We can’t take our foot off the accelerator. We got to keep going.”
The Nationals are now 6-15 in their past 21 games and fell six games behind Atlanta in the NL East.
In each of their last nine losses, they’ve scored three or fewer runs.
“We’ve got to start striking out less,” manager Dave Martinez told MASN, “putting the balls in play, driving in runs when we have the ability to drive in runs.”
Boston (56-29) finished a three-game series against the Yankees on a forgettable note Sunday night, getting routed 11-1 behind starter David Price as New York blasted six home runs, including three by Aaron Hicks.
Price allowed eight runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings.
The Red Sox dropped two of three and travel south percentage points behind the Yankees in the AL East.