Future of Marlins’ outfield sculpture could be in doubt
BASEBALL: Royals LHP Danny Duffy pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in a Kansas City suburb in August and has been placed on a year’s probation. Duffy, who went 9-10 with a 3.81 ERA in 2017, must report to a probation officer once a month and abstain from drugs and alcohol. He also will be subject to random breath, urine or blood screenings . ... Former big-league manager Gene Lamont has been hired as a special assistant to Royals general manager Dayton Moore, reuniting him with the organization with which he coached prospects for nearly a decade. Lamont, who spent the last 11 seasons with the Tigers, previously managed the White Sox and Pirates, leading the former to the American League West title in 1993 . ... Reliever Addison Reed finalized a two-year, $16.75 million contract with the Twins. Reed has 125 saves in seven major-league seasons.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Heisman Trophy runner-up and Doak Walker Award winner Bryce Love is returning to Stanford for his senior season. Love set a Cardinal record with 2,118 yards rushing this season and an FBS record with 13 runs of at least 50 yards. The running back topped the 100-yard mark 12 times despite being hampered by a sprained ankle the second half of the season and a hand injury in Stanford’s 37-35 Alamo Bowl loss to TCU . ... Chargers tight ends coach John McNulty is returning to the college ranks for a second stint as the offensive coordinator at Rutgers. He replaces Jerry Kill, who resigned after one year because of health concerns . ... Syracuse has hired Mike Cavanaugh as offensive line coach. He spent the last three seasons at Nebraska and was at Oregon State from 2005-14.
GOLF: Rory McIlroy will play his first round of golf since Oct. 8 when he tees off Thursday at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. McIlroy, a four-time major champion who has slipped to No. 11 in the world rankings, injured a rib in his first outing of 2017 and felt its effects throughout the year.
NFL: QB Drew Brees expects to remain with the Saints as long as they’ll have him. Brees knows he’d have the leverage to shop around if the Saints don’t reach an extension with him before his contract voids when the new league year starts in March, but the 39-year-old said he doesn’t plan on that . ... Packers WR Davante Adams has been named to the NFC’s Pro Bowl roster to replace Falcons WR Julio Jones, who battled an ankle injury late in the season . ... Titans TE Delanie Walker replaced Chiefs TE Travis Kelce on the AFC roster for the Pro Bowl . ... The Seahawks hired Brian Schottenheimer as their offensive coordinator and Ken Norton Jr. to oversee the defense. Norton had been hired by the 49ers last week as an assistant head coach but chose to join the Seahawks instead, where he’ll replace Kris Richard as defensive coordinator. Schottenheimer replaces Darrell Bevell.
SOCCER: Roberto Assis, the agent and brother of Ronaldinho, said the former star for Brazil and Barcelona has retired and that farewell matches for the 37-year-old are likely to be scheduled after the World Cup ends July 15. Ronaldinho’s career includes one World Cup title (2002) and one Champions League win (2006).
With two All-Star outfielders already shipped out this offseason, the Miami Marlins are reportedly considering dumping another outfield fixture — the home run sculpture.
CEO Derek Jeter and the Marlins hosted Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez for separate tours Tuesday, a team spokesman said. And the future of the brightly colored, seathemed home-run sculpture in left-center field was among the main topics of discussion with Gimenez and other county representatives.
Jeter and the Marlins are very much interested in removing it.
“Clearly, they look at it as being emblematic of the former owner,” said Michael Spring, a senior advisor to Gimenez and the director of the county’s Department of Cultural Affairs who was with the mayor at the ballpark Tuesday. “But they also realize it’s massive and it’s integrated into the fabric of the ballpark.”
Spring said as recently as late summer, when rumors called into question the sculpture’s fate, that moving it was not option. After meeting with Jeter and other team officials, including executive vice president of operations and events Claude Delorme, and seeing how respectful they were toward the sculpture and other works of public art that are a part of the countyowned ballpark, Spring had a new conclusion — moving the sculpture would be possible, but difficult.
That process is only in its early stages. Over the next few weeks, Spring said, the county will do some legwork on how much it will cost to remove and re-install elsewhere and potential new homes for the sculpture. He will also speak to the artist, Red Grooms, who would need to be involved.
And the Marlins would need to cover the cost of moving the 73-foot behemoth that cost nearly $2.5 million to build in advance of the stadium opening in 2012. It’s not clear how much the project would cost, nor have the Marlins’ cost-conscious new owners indicated how willing they would be to foot the bill.
Gimenez’s office did not return a message left Tuesday afternoon. A Marlins spokesman declined to comment on the sculpture or whether it was discussed with the visiting mayors Tuesday.
Gimenez, like the Marlins, doesn’t like the sculpture. He also has not been a fan of most aspects of the Marlins for years. As a county commissioner, he voted against the funding plan for Marlins Park, which was paid for largely with taxpayer dollars. And he had a strained relationship with former owner Jeffrey Loria right through last summer, when Gimenez said he wasn’t invited to the All-Star Game at Marlins Park.