MORNING ROUNDUP
Barbary returns as OKC Dodgers manager for fourth season
The Oklahoma City Dodgers, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Dodgers, announced the 2023 OKC Dodgers field staff on Tuesday, led by manager Travis Barbary.
Hitting coach Manny Burriss returns for a third season, and he'll be joined by pitching coaches Doug Mathis and Justin DeFratus. Mathis begins his first season in OKC and after spending the last three seasons on the coaching staff of the Texas Rangers, while DeFratus returns for his third season. Another newcomer is bench coach Chris Gutierrez, who reprised the same role at Double-A Tulsa last season.
Barbary is entering his 29th season in the Dodgers organization as a player, staff member or coach and his fourth consecutive season as Oklahoma City's field manager. In 2022, Barbary led the OKC Dodgers to an 84-62 record, finishing just one game out of first place in the Pacific Coast League's East Division. The 84 wins were team's second-most during the Bricktown era (since 1998). The team has finished in second place in its division during each of the last two seasons.
Lead athletic trainer Chelsea Willette returns for a third season with the club. Griffin Boyte also joins the training staff after spending last season with High-A Great Lakes. Paul Fournier will begin his second season as the team's performance coach.
Tchatchoua, a 'walking miracle,' back for No. 14 Baylor
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua knows how special it is just getting back on the court for 14th-ranked Baylor nearly a full year after a gruesome knee injury that many people thought would end his career.
The big man for the Bears is a testament to an unwavering spiritual faith and hard work.
“You didn't know if he would ever walk, run, let alone play basketball,” Bears coach Scott Drew said. “But one thing about Jon is his timetable is a little different than everyone else's. And his work ethic is a little bit different. ... And I know God's blessed him with allowing him to be able to recover.”
There were 51 weeks that passed after Tchamwa Tchatchoua crumbled to the court with multiple torn ligaments in his left knee on a non-contact injury at home against Texas last Feb. 12, until the 6-foot-8 forward's return for the Bears (17-6, 6-4 Big 12) on Saturday with eight points and four rebounds in 14 minutes against Texas Tech. They are home again Wednesday against Oklahoma.
“Me even stepping on the floor, playing the game that I love, is just a miracle in itself,” Tchamwa Tchatchoua said. “I see myself as a walking miracle, as proof that the Lord can affect your life in a better way.” Iowa-Northwestern football game set for Wrigley in November
Wrigley Field will host a college football game for the third time since 2010 when Iowa plays Northwestern next season. Northwestern and the Chicago Cubs announced that the Wildcats' home game would be played Nov. 4. Northwestern played Illinois at Wrigley in 2010 in the MLB ballpark's first college football game since 1938 and the Wildcats hosted Purdue there in 2021. MIAMI: The Hurricanes are hiring Lance Guidry, who was defensive coordinator at Marshall last season and recently accepted the same position at Tulane, to lead their defense, according to multiple reports. Guidry was hired way from Marshall by Tulane just last month. Now he'll replace Kevin Steele on Mario Cristobal's staff at Miami. Steele is reportedly on his way to Alabama to become Nick Saban's defensive coordinator after holding that position for one season in Miami.
Extra points
NFL: The San Francisco 49ers are hiring former Carolina interim head coach Steve Wilks as their new defensive coordinator. A person familiar with the choice said Tuesday that Wilks will fill the void created when DeMeco Ryans was hired as head coach in Houston. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the hiring hadn't been announced. NFL Network first reported that Wilks got the job.
ETC.: Pro tennis player Jessica Pegula has revealed that her mother, Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres co-owner Kim Pegula, went into cardiac arrest in June and is still recovering. In an essay that The Players' Tribune published Tuesday, Pegula writes that her mother is improving every day as she deals with significant language and memory issues, and that her long-term status is unknown.