Blue Jackets extend Tortorella’s contract

John Tortorella of the Columbus Blue Jackets is getting a one-year contract extension following a season in which he was the NHL’s Coach of the Year.

General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced the move Monday. Financial terms were not released.

Tortorella was entering the last year of a fiveyear, $10 million deal he signed with Vancouver in 2013.

Since joining Columbus on Oct. 21, 2015, Tortorella has led the Blue Jackets to an 84-57-16 record and .586 winning percentage.

Columbus had a 5024-8 record and 108 points last year, the NHL’s fourth-best record. This was a 32-point turnaround from 201516.

MLB

BARTMAN TO RECEIVE CUBS RING » Having ended their title drought, the Chicago Cubs want their most notorious fan to share in their good fortune.

The Cubs announced Monday they were giving a World Series ring to Steve Bartman, who deflected a foul ball that might have landed in left fielder Moises Alou’s glove with Chicago five outs from the World Series in 2003.

Bartman was harassed after the incident and has avoided the spotlight since. Chicago beat Cleveland last fall for its first championship since 1908.

The Cubs say they “hope this provides closure on an unfortunate chapter” and Bartman “continues to be fully embraced by this organization.”

Bartman released a statement saying he is “deeply moved and sincerely grateful.” He praised team owners the Ricketts family and management, and called the ring a reminder of “how we should treat each other in today’s society.”

“My hope is that we all can learn from my experience to view sports as entertainment and prevent harsh scapegoating, and to challenge the media and opportunistic profiteers to conduct business ethically by respecting personal privacy rights and not exploit any individual to advance their own selfinterest or economic gain,” he said. “Moreover, I am hopeful this ring gesture will be the start of an important healing and reconciliation process for all involved.”

The Cubs said they “hope this provides closure on an unfortunate chapter.”

“While no gesture can fully lift the public burden he has endured for more than a decade, we felt it was important Steve knows he has been and continues to be fully embraced by this organization,” he said. “After all he has sacrificed, we are proud to recognize Steve Bartman with this gift today.”

General Manager Jed Hoyer said it’s “impossible not to look at him in an incredibly sympathetic way.” He said Bartman was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” and his life has been “dramatically impacted indirectly by the Cubs organization, by this franchise, for 14 years.”

NFL

CONLEY NOT CHARGED WITH RAPE » A grand jury in Cleveland has decided not to charge Oakland Raiders rookie Gareon Conley with any crimes after a rape investigation.

Spokesman Ryan Miday of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement Monday that the grand jury declined all possible charges for Conley after being presented the facts and circumstances surrounding the sexual assault allegations.

“I’m excited for him,” Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said from training camp in Napa, California. “It’s tough on a young man like that to go through this. I’m excited for Gareon and the Raiders for the process to work. We’re excited and now we can move forward.”

Conley is a defensive back who starred at Ohio State. He was accused by a 23-year-old woman of sexually assaulting her in a Cleveland hotel room April 9. Conley’s attorney says the sex was consensual. Conley has cooperated with the investigation and said he passed a polygraph test.