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W. Series MVP Pearce stays with Red Sox for $6.25M
BOSTON — World Series MVP Steve Pearce is staying with the Red Sox.
The journeyman first baseman agreed to a $6.25 million, one-year contract with Boston on Friday.
The 35-year-old Pearce was a free agent after completing a $12.5 million, two-year deal that he got from Toronto in December 2016. He earned an additional $150,000 bonus for his selection as World Series MVP. His new deal also includes award bonuses.
“We’re thrilled to have Steve back with us for another year as we think he’s a great fit for our club,” Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in a statement. “Obviously, we all saw what kind of impact he can have on the field, especially with the postseason that he had. He also provides good depth and balance from the right side for us.”
A major league nomad of 12 teams, Pearce was traded to Boston in late June. He played 50 games for the Red Sox, hitting five home runs against the New York Yankees, including three on Aug. 2.
He made his biggest impact in the postseason, batting .289 with four home runs and 11 RBIs. He went deep in Game 4 of the World Series and connected two more times in the Game 5 finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He reached base in each of his 12 postseason games.
Pearce called this past season a dream.
“You never know where the game will take you,” he said after Boston’s World Series victory last month. “And I’ve gone through a lot in my life or in my career to be here, and I couldn’t be more thankful.”
Nuggets add Sue Bird to front office staff
DENVER — WNBA champion Sue Bird is joining the Denver Nuggets’ front office while continuing her own professional basketball playing career.
Tim Connelly, the Nuggets’ president of basketball operations, said Bird’s new title is basketball operations associate.
In a statement, Connelly said, “We are very excited to have Sue join our organization. Her resume certainly speaks for itself and as a still active player she will offer an extremely unique perspective.”
Bird recently completed her 16th season in the WNBA with her third championship, all with the Seattle Storm.
The New York native was the first overall draft pick in 2002 out of UConn, where she won two national titles.
Arizona State heads to Oregon this weekend needing a win to stay alive in the Pac-12 South.
If the Sun Devils (6-4, 4-3 Pac-12) can take care of the Ducks, then win at rival Arizona in the regular-season finale, the team will go to the league championship game. Or, they could seal a trip a week early if they win at Oregon, combined with a Utah loss at Colorado and an Arizona loss at Washington State.
Basically, there are still a lot of moving parts to the South race. What is for sure is that the Sun Devils have those coveted six wins.
“It is fun to say that you are bowl-eligible,” Arizona State coach Herm Edwards said. “It is like getting in the playoffs for the NFL. We always say that it is a race to 10 in the NFL. If you can get to 10, things start looking really good. You will probably make it into the playoffs and if you win a few more, you can maybe win your division. In college, if you win six, you are eligible for a bowl and if you win more, then bigger bowls appear. Our players are well aware of that. It is a good thing.”
The Sun Devils are coming off a 31-28 victory over UCLA for their third straight win. It gave them bowl eligibility.
The Ducks (6-4, 3-4) are also bowl-eligible but have stumbled with three losses in their last four games. Saturday’s game will be
Washington State has a big game looming against rival No. 17 Washington that could determine the Pac-12 North title and extend the No. 8 Cougars’ longshot bid for the College Football Playoff.
But the Apple Cup is next week. First, there’s the matter of Saturday’s game against Arizona.
“There is nothing more important than Arizona,” coach Mike Leach said. “Anyone who thinks other than that is wrong.”
Washington State (9-1, 6-1, No. 8 CFP) is seeking its first Pac-12 North title and needs the win against Arizona to help it get there. A 10th win would also tie the program record for victories in a season. Oregon’s last at home this season before the Civil War against Oregon State on Thanksgiving weekend.
A victory against the Sun Devils would assure that Oregon finishes above .500.
Coach Mario Cristobal went into his new job this season knowing there would be ups and downs.
“When we don’t win of course we’re going to be disappointed. We’re big on the whole Bill Parcells thing: There are no medals for trying. We’ve highlighted to our team, when you are working hard and you are rebuilding a culture, The Cougars also seek to extend a 12-game home winning streak.
The Cougars have the best record in the Pac-12 and are a potent mix of offense and defense. They own the nation’s best passing attack (392 yards per the painful steps that come with it,” he said.
The Ducks are coming off a 32-25 loss at Utah last Saturday.
ROBERTSON’S ABSENCE
The Sun Devils will be without freshman linebacker Merlin Robertson for the first half against Oregon after he was flagged for targeting UCLA quarterback Wilton Speight in the third quarter of last weekend’s game.
Robertson has 66 tackles, five sacks, an interception and a recovered fumble this season.
“He is standing with me game) and rank 20th in defense (324 yards per game). The Cougars average 470 yards of offense overall behind quarterback Gardner Minshew, while Arizona is yielding 417 yards per game.
“He (Minshew) has gotten with a baseball hat,” Edwards said. “Let him get a couple of plays called and then as soon as he can go in, I’m going to shove him in there real fast.”
THE WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART
The game in Eugene comes at 7:30 p.m. local time, after three straight daytime starts for the Sun Devils. Then there’s the temperature: The low on Saturday night at gametime is expected to be 43 degrees.
“I have played in some really cold, cold games and they don’t cancel them, you more and more confident throughout the year as he’s played,” said Kevin Sumlin, Arizona’s firstyear coach. “He’s a leader, a competitor, and you see that in games.”
Arizona (5-5, struggled this 4-3) has season, just play. When you start talking about all that stuff, it’s just why? You are going to play so why worry about it?” Edwards said.
IT ALL STARTS AT THE LINE
The Sun Devils have running back Eno Benjamin, who leads the Pac-12 with an average of 129.5 yards a game. Cristobal said part of what makes ASU’s rush tough to defend is a stout offensive line.
“Those guys have done a great job opening up holes for Benjamin and all their backs and giving the quarterback time to throw the