TONY: NO PROBLEMS
White Sox manager Tony La Russa says he doesn’t have a drinking problem. He also says he has to prove that with his behavior. The 76-year-old La Russa pleaded guilty Monday to a lesser charge to resolve misdemeanor drunken driving charges stemming from his arrest nearly 10 months ago on a freeway in metro Phoenix.
La Russa also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in Florida in 2007 after police found him asleep inside his running SUV at a stop light and smelling of alcohol. After the 2007 case was resolved, La Russa accepted responsibility and said it would never happen again.
La Russa’s Arizona arrest occurred Feb. 24, but the charges were filed Oct. 28 — one day before he was hired to manage the White Sox. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving in Maricopa County Justice Court and was sentenced to one day of home detention, a fine of nearly $1,400 and 20 hours of community service.
“I know I don’t have a drinking problem, just like I know I made a serious mistake in February,” La Russa said on a conference call with reporters, “and where I am right now is to prove that I don’t have a drinking problem and to prove it every day off the field that I’m going to handle it and what’s painfully clear to me is if I have a drink I will not drive. There’s always an alternative.”
Authorities say La Russa, who won a World Series with Oakland and two more with St. Louis, blew out a tire on the grey Lexus he was driving. The Hall of Fame manager smashed into a curb, leaving the vehicle smoking. Tests taken the night of his arrest showed his blood alcohol concentration was .095 — above the legal limit of .08.
La Russa said he feels “deep remorse and regret.” He underwent 20 hours of alcohol counseling after his arrest, which he described as “very helpful.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Monday he is confident that the league’s health and safety protocols will allow teams to get through the season even as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Silver spoke on the eve of the season-opening doubleheader — Golden State visiting the Nets and the Clippers playing against the defending champion Lakers — and warned that he does not expect this season to go as smoothly as the games did last summer in the restart bubble at Walt Disney World.
That said, he added that if the league didn’t believe its plan would work, the season wouldn’t be starting. Teams will play a 72-game regular season, down from the customary 82-game slate. The season is starting two months later than usual and the playoffs are set to stretch into July, all with players and coaches being tested daily and with nearly 60 players having already missed some time with their teams during training camp and the preseason because of positive COVID-19 tests.
ARMY GOES BOWLING
Army went from left out of the bowls to replacing Tennessee in the Liberty Bowl on Monday night, hours after the Volunteers withdrew because of COVID-19 test results.
“WE’RE BOWL BOUND?? (hash) GoARMY,” Army football wrote on Twitter.
The 9-2 Black Knights were left without a bowl Sunday night after a nearly twomonth-long commitment to the Independence Bowl when the Dec. 26 game in Louisiana was called off without an available team to play.
Howie Kendrick is retiring after 15 major-league seasons that included an NLCS MVP during the Nationals’ 2019 World Series run.
Kendrick announced his retirement Monday night on Instagram, saying he’s “forever grateful for the many life lessons” learned over 32 years in baseball since he began to play at age 5.
Marty Hurney is out again as Carolina’s general manager.
The Panthers fired their GM for a second time on Monday after the team lost eight of its last nine games and failed to make the playoffs for a third straight season.