Pac-12 baseball coaches pick Stanford to capture crown
Pac-12 baseball coaches again selected Stanford to win the conference title this season in a vote announced Wednesday.
The Cardinal also had a conference-leading eight players named to this year's Preseason AllPac-12 Team.
Stanford was also selected by Pac-12 coaches to win the conference last season.
Stanford's All-Conference picks include Drew Bowser, Ryan Bruno, Joey Dixon, Carter Graham, Quinn Mathews, Braden Montgomery, Eddie Park and Tommy Troy. Park is from San Jose and Troy is from Los Gatos.
Graham, Mathews and Montgomery all landed on Pac-12 All-Conference teams a year ago, while Montgomery was also tabbed the 2022 Pac12 Freshman of the Year. Dixon had previously been named an All-Pac-12 honorable mention pick at the conclusion of the 2021 campaign.
The Cardinal earned 99 points in the preseason poll, including nine firstplace votes. UCLA followed with two first-place votes to earn 90 points and claim second. Oregon State (77 points), Arizona (74 points) and Oregon (68 points) rounded out the top five.
Cal was selected to finish eighth with 40 points. The lone Golden Bears player to be named preseason all-conference was Caleb Lomavita, who had a .272/.345/.414 slash line last season with 10 doubles, seven home runs and 45 RBI.
Last season, Stanford went 47-18 overall and 21-9 in the Pac-12 before it advanced to the College World Series. The Cardinal also won the Pac-12's regular season title and tournament championship.
Stanford's season opener is at Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 17. Cal also opens its season that day, as the Bears begin a threegame series at Houston.
College basketball
MCNAMARA HONORED BY CAL >> Mark McNamara, a Cal Athletics Hall of Famer who set numerous scoring records throughout his Golden Bear men's basketball career before playing eight seasons in the NBA, was named the 2022-23 recipient of the Pete Newell Career Achievement Award. The award will be presented at halftime of Cal's home game against Arizona State on Saturday. Mark's sister, Lauren, will receive the award on the family's behalf. McNamara died in 2020 at the age of 60.
WNBA
LEAGUE INVESTIGATES BULLYING ALLEGATIONS >> The WNBA is investigating former Las Vegas player Dearica Hamby's allegations that the Aces bullied and manipulated her for being pregnant, the league said in a statement Wednesday.
It was the first time the league acknowledged publicly it was looking into the situation. The players' union had pushed for an inquiry into whether Hamby's rights under the league's 2020 labor agreement were violated, as well as state and federal laws.
The investigation also includes looking into allegations that the Aces circumvented the salary cap by making under-the-table payments to players, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made.
The salary cap allegations were first reported by the website The Next, which covers women's basketball.
Hamby made her allegations after being traded Jan. 21 to the Los Angeles Sparks. The Aces were trying to clear up salarycap room to sign two-time MVP Candace Parker, who agreed to a deal Jan. 28.
Hamby, who is pregnant with her second child, stuck by her words in her introductory news conference with the Sparks.
Aces President Nikki Fargas responded to Hamby's comments Tuesday during Parker's introductory news conference, but didn't use Hamby's name in saying that “our players and their families will always be in the forefront of who we are as a franchise.” GRINER STAYS IN TOUCH >> Brittney Griner texted her good friend Diana Taurasi on Tuesday asking how the USA Basketball training camp was going. Griner was back in Arizona, choosing to skip the camp in Minnesota so she can be with her wife and recover from a 10-month stay in a Russian jail. She returned to the U.S. in December after a dramatic prisoner swap.
“She wants to be a part of this like no one else,” Taurasi said. “So, she'll get there eventually. She'll find her footing. We've been on the court together working out. We've sat down and talked for hours. It's been really nice to reconnect.”
Soccer
MORGAN QUESTIONS WHETHER TO PLAY IN TEXAS, FLORIDA >> Forward Alex Morgan says the U.S. women's national team should have internal discussions about whether to play exhibition games in states that restrict transgender kids from participating in sports.
The American team currently preparing for the SheBelieves Cup, a roundrobin tournament with Canada, Brazil and Japan that starts next week. Matches are scheduled in Florida and Texas, two states that have enacted laws aimed at transgender athletes.
“Looking at these games in Florida and Texas respectively, we're going to need to continue to step it up, and have internal discussions as well with the team, because we're not ones to shy away from hard conversation or taking a stand for what's right,” Morgan, a Cal alum, told reporters Wednesday during a conference call.
Youth sports
FLORIDA RETHINKS FORM >> Facing blowback, the director of Florida's high school sports governing body is backing away from using an eligibility form that requires female athletes to disclose their menstrual history to compete. Instead, the executive director of the Florida High School Athletic Association is recommending that most personal information revealed on medical history forms stay at the doctor's office and not be stored at school.
The association's board has an emergency meeting Thursday to vote on whether to adopt the fourpage form — which would remove questions that force student-athletes to share details about their menstruation cycles to be able to participate in sports. Many other states ask or order female athletes to include details about their menstruation cycles with other health information.
The Florida association's spokesperson has said the proposed changes were not in response to concerns about transgender athletes competing in women's sports, as some social media users claim.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021 signed a bill barring transgender girls and women from playing on public school teams intended for student athletes identified as girls at birth, which put DeSantis and the state into the national cultural debate over transgender rights.
MLB
TUCKER, ASTROS HEAD TO ARBITRATION >> All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker went to salary arbitration with the Houston Astros on Wednesday, asking for $7.5 million rather than the team's $5 million offer. The $2.5 million gap matched the largest among 33 players who exchanged proposed salaries with their teams last month. The case was heard by John Stout, Fredric Horowitz and Jules Bloch, who are holding their decision until after additional cases.
Tucker, 26, hit .257 with 30 homers, a career-best 107 RBIs and 25 stolen bases last year after batting .294 with 30 homers and 92 RBIs in 2021. He had a $764,200 salary last year and was eligible for arbitration for the first time.
GUARDIANS, REDS SWAP OUTFIELDERS >> Cleveland traded outfielder Will Benson to Cincinnati for outfielder Justin Boyd. The Guardians, defending AL Central champions, will also will get a player to be named from the Reds. CARDINALS ACQUIRE LEFTY >> St. Louis acquired lefthander Anthony Misiewicz from Kansas City for cash considerations on Wednesday. To make room on the 40-man roster, St. Louis designated right-hander James Naile for assignment on the Missouri native's 30th birthday.